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Emperor Guangwen of Han 漢光文帝 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Emperor of Han-Zhao | |||||||||||||||||||||
Reign | 304 – 19 August 310 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Successor | Liu He | ||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 310 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Burial | Yongguang Mausoleum (永光陵) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||
Issue | see #Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
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House | Liu | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dynasty | Han-Zhao | ||||||||||||||||||||
Father | Liu Bao | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mother | Lady Huyan |
Liu Yuan (劉淵) (died 19 August 310), courtesy name Yuanhai (元海), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Guangwen of Han (Zhao) (漢(趙)光文帝) was the founding emperor of the Xiongnu-led Han-Zhao dynasty of China during the Sixteen Kingdoms period.[1] Due to Tang dynasty naming taboo, he is referred to by his courtesy name as Liu Yuanhai (劉元海) in the Book of Jin.[2]
Liu Yuan was a direct descendant of the Southern Xiongnu chanyus, whose power was abolished near the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. Growing up in the Chinese capital of Luoyang, he was highly sinicized and held several offices overseeing the Xiongnu tribes in Bingzhou under the Western Jin dynasty. With the War of the Eight Princes weakening Jin authority in northern China, the Xiongnu of Bingzhou rebelled and acclaimed Liu Yuan as their leader in 304. Liu Yuan established his state on the basis of restoring the Han dynasty, which he claimed descent through his ancestors who married Han princesses by heqin.
The formation of Han-Zhao, along with Cheng-Han in southwestern China, is often seen as the start of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, ending China's brief period of unification since the end of the Three Kingdoms period in 280. As anti-Jin sentiment continued to grow in northern China, Liu Yuan soon found himself leading a coalition of Han Chinese and tribal rebels. Though he would not live long to see it, his family and generals would eventually drive the Jin dynasty out of the north.