Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that answer the question.
Query: Who was the last Han Dynasty Emperor?
Emperor Xian, the last emperor of the Han dynasty, was a descendant of the first emperor Liu Bang. Lasting for over 400 years (the first to last for more than a century), the Han Dynasty is regarded as one of the golden ages of Chinese history. The Han Dynasty was interrupted by the reign of the usurper Wang Mang, who declared the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD); on this basis, the Han Dynasty is generally divided into the Western Han (206 BC – 9 AD and 23–25 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). The rulers of the Shu Han, one of the three successor states to the Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period, were descended from the Han imperial family, and considered themselves a continuation of the Han Dynasty; they are included below.
Emperor Ai of Tang (27 October 89226 March 908), also known as Emperor Zhaoxuan (), born Li Zuo, later known as Li Chu (), was the last emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned—as but a puppet ruler—from 904 to 907. Emperor Ai was the son of Emperor Zhaozong.
Like their Ming (1368–1644) predecessors—but unlike the emperors of earlier dynasties like the Han (206 BCE–220 CE), Tang (618–907), and Song (960–1276)—Qing emperors used only one era name ("Shunzhi", "Qianlong", "Guangxu", etc.) for their entire reign, and are most commonly known by that name. Starting with Nurhaci, there were thirteen Qing rulers. Following the capture of Beijing in 1644, the Shunzhi Emperor (r. 1643–1661) became the first of the eleven Qing sovereigns to rule over China proper. At 61 years, the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722) was the longest, though his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796), would have reigned even longer if he had not purposely ceded the throne to the Jiaqing Emperor (r. 1796–1820) in order not to reign longer than his grandfather. Qing emperors succeeded each other from father to son until the Tongzhi Emperor (r. 1861–1875), the 11th Qing ruler, died childess in 1875. The last two emperors were chosen by Empress Dowager Cixi from other branches of the imperial clan.
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 1711 – 7 February 1799) was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. Born Hongli, the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796. On 8 February, he abdicated in favour of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor—a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power as the Emperor Emeritus (or Retired Emperor) until his death in 1799; he thus was one of the longest-reigning "de facto" rulers in the history of the world, and dying at the age of 87, one of the longest-lived. As a capable and cultured ruler inheriting a thriving empire, during his long reign the Qing Empire reached its most splendid and prosperous era, boasting a large population and economy. As a military leader, he led military campaigns expanding the dynastic territory to the largest extent by conquering and sometimes destroying Central Asian kingdoms. This turned around in his late years: the Qing empire began to decline with corruption and wastefulness in his court and a stagnating civil society.
Yang Pu (楊溥) (900 – January 21, 939), formally Emperor Rui of Wu (吳睿帝), known as Emperor Gaoshang Sixuan Honggu Rang (高尚思玄弘古讓皇(帝)) or, in short, Emperor Rang (讓皇, "the emperor who yielded"), while still living during the initial months of succeeding Southern Tang, was the last ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Wu, and the only one that claimed the title of emperor. During his reign, the state was in effective control of the regents Xu Wen and Xu Wen's adoptive son and successor Xu Zhigao. In 938, Xu Zhigao forced Yang Pu to yield the throne to him, who then established Southern Tang.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang or Illustrious August, personal name Li Longji, also known as Wu Longji () from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 713 to 756 C.E. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the early half of his reign he was a diligent and astute ruler. Ably assisted by capable chancellors like Yao Chong, Song Jing and Zhang Yue, he was credited with bringing Tang China to a pinnacle of culture and power. Emperor Xuanzong, however, was blamed for over-trusting Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong and An Lushan during his late reign, with Tang's golden age ending in the Anshi Rebellion.
The Warring States period in China drew to a close, with Qin Shi Huang conquering the six other nation-states and establishing the short-lived Qin dynasty, the first empire of China, which was followed in the same century by the long-lasting Han dynasty. However, a brief interregnum and civil war existed between the Qin and Han periods known as the Chu-Han contention, lasting until 202 BC with the ultimate victory of Liu Bang over Xiang Yu.
The Eastern Han (), also known as the Later Han (), formally began on 5 August 25, when Liu Xiu became Emperor Guangwu of Han. During the widespread rebellion against Wang Mang, the state of Goguryeo was free to raid Han's Korean commanderies; Han did not reaffirm its control over the region until AD 30. The Trưng Sisters of Vietnam rebelled against Han in AD 40. Their rebellion was crushed by Han general Ma Yuan (d. AD 49) in a campaign from AD 42–43. Wang Mang renewed hostilities against the Xiongnu, who were estranged from Han until their leader Bi (比), a rival claimant to the throne against his cousin Punu (蒲奴), submitted to Han as a tributary vassal in AD 50. This created two rival Xiongnu states: the Southern Xiongnu led by Bi, an ally of Han, and the Northern Xiongnu led by Punu, an enemy of Han.
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 18 February 25910 September 210) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and was the first emperor of a unified China. He was born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), a prince of the state of Qin. He became Zheng, the King of Qin () when he was thirteen, then China's first emperor when he was 38 after the Qin had conquered all of the other Warring States and unified all of China in 221 BC. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( "wáng") borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor () of the Qin dynasty from 220 to 210 BC. His self-invented title "emperor" ( ""), as indicated by his use of the word "First", would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia.
Zhang Ti (236–280), courtesy name Juxian, was an official of the state of Eastern Wu during the late Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. He was the last Imperial Chancellor of Wu. In 280, when the Jin dynasty invaded Wu as part of its strategy to reunify China under Jin rule, Zhang Ti led the Wu forces into battle to resist the Jin invasion. He was killed in action during a battle around present-day He and Dangtu counties in Anhui. In the same year, the Wu emperor Sun Hao surrendered to the Jin dynasty, thus bringing an end to the existence of Wu and the Three Kingdoms period.
Emperor Renzong of Song (30 May 1010 – 30 April 1063, Chinese calendar: 14 April 1010（the 3rd year of Dazhongxiangfu, 大中祥符三年） - 29 March 1063 (the 8th year of Jiayou, 嘉祐八年)), personal name Zhao Zhen, was the fourth emperor of the Song dynasty in China. He reigned for about 41 years from 1022 to his death in 1063, and was the longest reigning Song dynasty emperor. He was the sixth son of his predecessor, Emperor Zhenzong, and was succeeded by his cousin's son, Zhao Shu who took the throne as Emperor Yingzong because his own sons died prematurely. His original personal name was Zhao Shouyi but it was changed by imperial decree in 1018 to "Zhao Zhen", which means 'auspicious' in Chinese.
The Warring States period ended in 221  after the state of Qin conquered the other six kingdoms, reunited China and established the dominant order of totalitarian autocracy. King Zheng of Qin proclaimed himself the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty. He enacted Qin's legalist reforms throughout China, notably the forced standardization of Chinese characters, measurements, road widths (i.e., cart axles' length), and currency. His dynasty also conquered the Yue tribes in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Vietnam. The Qin dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after the First Emperor's death, as his harsh authoritarian policies led to widespread rebellion.
Liu Bei (; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande, was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Despite early failings compared to his rivals and lacking both the material resources and social status they commanded, he gathered support among disheartened Han loyalists who opposed Cao Cao, the warlord who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian, and led a popular movement to restore the Han dynasty through this support. Liu Bei overcame his many defeats to carve out his own realm, which at its peak spanned present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, and parts of Hubei and Gansu.
After the collapse of a united China under the Han dynasty in 220 due in large part to the Yellow Turban and the Five Pecks of Rice rebellions, China eventually coalesced into the Three Kingdoms. Of these, Cao Wei was the strongest, followed by Eastern Wu and Shu Han, but they were initially in a relatively stable formation. After a 249 coup by Sima Yi, the Sima family essentially controlled Cao Wei and the conquest of Shu by Wei rapidly followed.
The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century. Romulus Augustulus is often considered to be the last emperor of the West after his forced abdication in 476, although Julius Nepos maintained a claim recognized by the Eastern Empire to the title until his death in 480. Following Nepos' death, the Eastern Emperor Zeno abolished the division of the position and proclaimed himself as the sole Emperor of a reunited Roman Empire. The Eastern imperial lineage continued to rule from Constantinople ("New Rome"); they continued to style themselves as Emperor of the Romans (later βασιλεύς Ῥωμαίων in Greek), but are often referred to in modern scholarship as Byzantine emperors. Constantine XI Palaiologos was the last Roman emperor in Constantinople, dying in the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453.
This is a timeline of the Tang dynasty, which covers a period of roughly 289 years, from 618, when the dynasty was founded, to 907, when the last Tang emperor was deposed by the warlord Zhu Wen, who established the Later Liang dynasty, inaugurating the period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Information on areas and events relevant to the Tang dynasty such as the Wu interregnum, when Wu Zetian established her own Zhou dynasty, and other realms such as the Sui dynasty, Tibetan Empire, Three Kingdoms of Korea, Nanzhao, Japan and steppe nomads are also included where necessary.
In China, the period known as the Sixteen Kingdoms, where various barbarian tribes formed their own kingdoms, persisted. After the fall of the Former Qin towards the end of the previous century, the north of China was eventually once again reunited by Northern Wei in 439. Meanwhile, in the Eastern Jin dynasty, the Jin statesman and general Liu Yu started consolidating his power and eventually forced the last Emperor of the Jin dynasty, Emperor Gong of Jin, to abdicate to him in 420, creating the (Liu) Song dynasty, which was also the starting point of the period known as the Northern and Southern dynasties.
The Last Emperor () is a 1987 British-Italian epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures. Puyi's life is depicted from his ascent to the throne as a small boy to his imprisonment and political rehabilitation by the Communist Party of China.
The Qin dynasty (秦朝) was established in 221 BCE after Qin Shi Huang, King of Qin, conquered his final independent neighbour, the state of Qi. It is now recognised as the first Chinese imperial dynasty in the modern sense of the term; in recognition of this, its rulers were for the first time titled "Emperor" (皇帝), a title of which the components are drawn from legend, higher than the previous title "King" (王). The ancestral name of the family was Ying (嬴), although it is anachronistic to regard this as a family name in the modern sense: it would not have been used together with a given name. The titles of the Qin emperors were literally regnal numbers: "Qin Shi Huang" (秦始皇), in full "Qin Shi Huangdi" (秦始皇帝) means literally "the first Emperor of Qin", "Qin Er Shi" (秦二世), in full "Qin Er Shi Huangdi" (秦二世皇帝) means "the second Emperor of Qin", and so forth.
In ancient China, the rulers of the Shang ("c". 1600 – "c". 1050 BC) and Zhou ("c". 1050 – 256 BC) dynasties were referred to as kings (王 "wang"). By the time of the Zhou dynasty, they were also referred to as Sons of Heaven (天子 "Tianzi"). By 221 BC, the King of Qin, Ying Zheng, conquered and united all the Warring States of ancient China. To elevate himself above the Shang and Zhou kings of old, he accepted the new title of emperor (皇帝 "huangdi") and is known to posterity as the First Emperor of Qin ("Qin Shi Huang"). The new title of emperor was created by combining the titles for the Three Sovereigns ("Sanhuang") and Five Emperors ("Wudi") from Chinese mythology. This title was used by each successive ruler of China until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911.
The earliest Han expedition against the Dian Kingdom was led by Tang Meng in 135 BC, who established the Jianwei commandery in the region. Han dynasty observers saw Dian as a potential periphery that can absorbed by the empire beyond its frontiers. The Dian Kingdom was a major business center, linked by networks of prosperous trading routes to modern South and Southeast Asia. The trade connections were seen as attractive to the Han rulers as they desired to capture the areas prosperous maritime trade routes. These incentives motivated Emperor Han Wudi to attempt to extend the Han dynasty's control towards the Dian Kingdom to secure access to trade routes of various products such as silk and bamboo. Another incentive for the Han dynasty to expand against the Dian was the rich endowment of minerals and commodities such as iron, tine, silver, and lead that the territory of present-day Yunnan province offered. The Han had been attracted by the wealth of the kingdom, which traded cattle, fruit, horses, and slaves. Han soldiers opened up new trade routes, then expanded further north, toward an area near Shu. The commandery was later abandoned because of rising costs and the wars against the Xiongnu to the north of China. A later Chinese expedition, heading south to established a trade route after a report on Central Asian trade in 122 BC, was captured by the Dian for four years.
Emperor He was the son of Emperor Zhang. He ascended the throne at the age of nine and reigned for 17 years. It was during Emperor He's reign that the Eastern Han began its decline. Strife between consort clans and eunuchs began when the Empress Dowager Dou (Emperor He's adoptive mother) made her own family members important government officials. Her family was corrupt and intolerant of dissension. In 92, Emperor He was able to remedy the situation by removing the empress dowager's brothers with the aid of the eunuch Zheng Zhong and his brother Liu Qing the Prince of Qinghe. This in turn created a precedent for eunuchs to be involved in important affairs of state. These trend would continue to escalate for the next century contributing to the fall of the Han dynasty. Further, while Qiang revolts, spurred by corrupt and/or oppressive Han officials, started during his father Emperor Zhang's reign, they began to create major problems for the Han during Emperor He's reign and would last until the reign of Emperor Ling.
Cao Cao died in 220 and was succeeded by his son, Cao Pi, who forced the last Han ruler, Emperor Xian, to abdicate the throne in his favour. Cao Pi then established the state of Cao Wei and declared himself emperor. Liu Bei contested Cao Pi's claim to the throne and proclaimed himself "Emperor of Shu Han" in 221. Although Liu Bei is widely seen as the founder of Shu, he never claimed to be the founder of a new dynasty; rather, he viewed Shu as a continuation of the fallen Han dynasty.
Emperor Ling's reign left the Eastern Han dynasty weak and on the verge of collapse. After his death, the Han Empire disintegrated in chaos for the subsequent decades as various regional warlords fought for power and dominance. (See End of the Han dynasty.) The Han dynasty ended in 220 when Emperor Ling's son, Emperor Xian, abdicated his throne – an event leading to the start of the Three Kingdoms period in China.
The later Zhou, the last dynasty of the Five Dynasties period was founded by Guo Wei, a Han Chinese, who served as the Assistant Military Commissioner at the court of the Later Han which was ruled by Shatuo Turks. He founded his dynasty by launching a military coup against the Turkic Later Han Emperor, however his newly established dynasty was short lived and was conquered by the Song Dynasty in 960.
In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127), the sixteen ceded prefectures continued to be an area of contention between Song China and the Liao Dynasty. Later the Southern Song Dynasty abandoned all of North China, including Shanxi, to the Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234) in 1127 after the Jingkang Incident of the Jin-Song wars.