Emperor Gaozu of Later Han

Background

Liu Zhiyuan was born in 895, during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, at Taiyuan. His ancestors were of Shatuo extraction. His father Liu Dian (劉琠) served as an officer under the major late-Tang warlord Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered at Taiyuan). His mother was a Lady An, likely Liu Dian's wife. He had at least one other brother of the same father (and possibly of the same mother), Liu Chong. Lady An — likely after Liu Dian's death — bore a son to a man with the surname of Murong. This half-brother of Liu Zhiyuan's was named Murong Yanchao. Liu Zhiyuan was said to be serious in his disposition as a young man. He became a guard soldier for Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Siyuan.

During Jin and Later Tang

In 907, Li Keyong's archrival Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan), who then had the Tang imperial court under his control, seized the throne from Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor Emperor Ai, ending Tang and starting a new dynasty known as Later Liang. Li Keyong and several other warlords refused to recognize him as the new emperor, and Li Keyong, from that on, became effectively the ruler of an independent state of Jin, which, under him and his biological son and successor Li Cunxu, engaged in numerous wars with Later Liang. In 919, there was a battle at Desheng (德勝, in modern Puyang, Henan), a fortress on the Yellow River that Li Cunxu was trying to enlarge. During the battle, Li Siyuan's son-in-law Shi Jingtang, who served as one of the commanders under him, was stricken by a Later Liang soldier, and his horse's armor was broken. Liu Zhiyuan, who was near Shi at that time, gave Shi his own armored horse, while taking Shi's horse and moving gradually, such that the Later Liang soldiers in pursuit believed that he was leading them into a trap, and broke off the pursuit. From this point on, he became close to Shi.

By 932 — at which point Jin had destroyed Later Liang and taken over its territory as a new state of Later Tang, and Li Siyuan was its emperor — Shi was made the military governor of Hedong. He made Liu and Zhou Gui (周瓌) the commanders of his guards, entrusting military matters to Liu and financial matters to Zhou.

In 934, by which time Li Siyuan's biological son Li Conghou was emperor, Li Conghou's chiefs of staff Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun, suspicious of both Shi and Li Siyuan's adoptive son Li Congke, then the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), decided to move them to other circuits. They issued a number of orders, moving Li Congke from Fengxiang to Hedong, Shi from Hedong to Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), and Chengde's military governor Fan Yanguang to Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei). Li Congke, fearful of what the consequences might be if he gave up his military command, rebelled. He defeated the first army Li Conghou sent against him, commanded by Wang Sitong, and a second army that Li Conghou sent against him, commanded by Kang Yicheng (康義誠), defected and submitted to him. Li Conghou fled the capital Luoyang and headed north, while Shi, hearing of Li Congke's rebellion, was heading toward Luoyang himself, with the intent of bolstering Li Conghou. They encountered each other near Wei Prefecture (衛州, in modern Puyang). Li Conghou was initially pleased at Shi's arrival, but Shi, realizing that it would be difficult to defeat Li Congke at this point, changed his mind and refused to support Li Conghou. Angry at Shi's betrayal, Li Conghou's guards She Shourong (沙守榮) and Ben Hongjin (奔洪進) rebuked Shi and tried to attack him, resulting in a melee in which Sha and Shi's guard Chen Hui (陳暉) killed each other, and Ben committed suicide. Hearing of the melee, Liu led Shi's guard soldiers in and slaughtered all of Li Conghou's guards. Shi then departed for Luoyang to pay allegiance to Li Congke, while leaving Li Conghou, by himself, at Wei. (Li Congke subsequently declared himself emperor, and ordered Li Conghou's death.) While Li Congke had long disliked and was apprehensive of Shi, he, at the urging of Shi's wife (his sister) the Princess of Wei, and the princess' mother Empress Dowager Cao, returned Shi to Hedong.

During Later Jin

During Shi Jingtang's reign

In winter 936, Emperor Taizong declared Shi Jingtang the emperor of a new state of Later Jin. As part of Shi's orders establishing an imperial administration, Liu Zhiyuan was made the commander of his guards. Subsequently, after the Later Tang army at Jin'an finally capitulated, and the joint Khitan/Later Jin forces prepared to head south toward the Later Tang capital Luoyang, the former Later Tang general Yang Guangyuan (who had assassinated Zhang Jingda and surrendered) was made the commander of the imperial guards, and Liu made the discipline officer of the guards, but was also given the military governorship of Baoyi Circuit (保義, headquartered in modern Sanmenxia, Henan). Eventually, when the joint army reached Lu Prefecture (潞州, in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), Emperor Taizong decided to head back to Liao with his Khitan army to avoid the Han Chinese from being shocked by the presence of Khitans. As he prepared to leave, he stated to Shi, "Liu Zhiyuan, Zhao Ying, and Sang Weihan are all great contributors to your establishment of the empire. Do not abandon them unless they had major faults."

As Shi headed for Luoyang, Li Congke, finding defeat inevitable, committed suicide by immolation with his family and officers closed to him. Shi subsequently entered Luoyang. As part of his initial preparations, he put Liu in charge of the city. It was said that Liu was effective in making sure that the Han soldiers were all properly housed in their camps and that the Khitan support soldiers that Emperor Taizong left for Shi were housed at a temple, with neither the Han nor the Khitan pillaging the people. Within a few days, the city was back in order.

In 937, Fan Yanguang, who had initially submitted to Shi, rebelled at Tianxiong. Soon, the general Zhang Congbin (張從賓) also rebelled near Luoyang and seized control of the city. Shi, who had made Kaifeng his capital, sent Yang to lead the army against Fan and Shi's brother-in-law Du Chongwei against Zhang. At that time, it was said that because of these rebellions (as well as a suppressed mutiny at Hua Prefecture (滑州, in modern Anyang, Henan), the people of the new Later Jin state were in great shock. When Shi asked Liu for his opinions on what to do, Liu responded:

For an emperor to rise, it must be by the Mandate of Heaven. When Your Imperial Majesty was at Jinyang [(i.e., Taiyuan)], you did not have more than five days of food left, but you were able to eventually establish your empire. Now the state is firm; we have elite forces internally, and we have a northern alliance with strong barbarians [(i.e., the Khitan)]. How can these rodents do much? May it be that you, Your Imperial Majesty, can comfort generals and chancellors with grace. I ask you to allow me to govern the soldiers with force. When there is both grace and force, the capital will be pacified. Once the root is secure, there will be no harm to branches or leaves.

During Shi Chonggui's reign

Under Jing Yanguang's advice, Shi Chonggui took a hard line against Liao, including refusing to submit as a subject (referring to himself only as "grandson," as Shi Jingtang had referred to himself as "son emperor" and honored Liao's Emperor Taizong as "father emperor"), and arresting Liao merchants in Later Jin territory and seizing their assets. It was said that Liu Zhiyuan knew that Jing's advice would eventually bring disaster on the state, but because Jing was the leading chancellor at that point, he did not dare to speak. Instead, he recruited more soldiers to add to the Hedong army, establishing more than 10 corps to defend against the potential Liao attack.

In 944, Liao launched a major invasion into Later Jin, anticipating that Yang Guangyuan, then the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Weifang, Shandong) and in secret communications with Liao, would rebel and join the Liao operations. As part of the operations, Emperor Taizong, whose main forces headed toward Tianxiong, sent his uncle Yelü Anduan (耶律安端) the Prince of Wei to attack Hedong. As part of the Later Jin defense, Shi Chonggui commissioned Liu as the commander of the operations against You Prefecture (幽州, capital of Lulong) with Du Wei (i.e., Du Chongwei, who changed his name to Du Wei to observe naming taboo for Shi Chonggui), then the military governor of Shunguo Circuit (順國, i.e., Chengde, the name of which was changed to Shunguo after An Chongrong's rebellion) serving as his deputy and Ma Quanjie (馬全節) the military governor of Yiwu Circuit (義武, headquartered in modern Baoding, Hebei) serving as the disciplinary officer, apparently to try to distract the main Liao operations. However, after Liu, in cooperation with Bai Chengfu, repelled Yelü Anduan's incursion, Liu made no additional action against Liao despite Shi Chonggui's orders to have him join forces with Du and Ma at Xing Prefecture (邢州, in modern Xingtai, Hebei) and to send forces north to attack Liao. Still, after the eventual Liao withdrawal (and Yang's defeat and death), Liu was given the title of the commander of the armies to the north, although he had no actual participation in the overall strategies, as Shi was suspicious of him, stating to close associates, "Given that Taiyuan is not aiding me, he [(i.e., Liu)] must have other plans. If so, it would be good it he carried out soon!" Liu was aware of the alienation, and decided to just be careful and defend Hedong. When Guo Wei saw Liu with worried expressions, he stated to Liu, "Hedong's mountains and rivers are secure to defend. Its people have a military tradition, and it is full of soldiers and horses. When they are at peace, they are diligent in tending the fields. When they are active, they get trained in military matters. This is your asset in becoming the lord of the people. Why do you worry?" Shi also created him the title of Prince of Taiyuan, later changed to Prince of Beiping.

During brief Liao rule of Central Plain

Liao's Emperor Taizong declared himself emperor of China, and most Later Jin military governors submitted to him and went to Kaifeng to pay homage to him; two exceptions were Shi Kuangwei (史匡威) the military governor of Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern Pingliang, Gansu), who refused his orders, and He Chongjian (何重建) the military governor of Xiongwu Circuit (雄武, headquartered in modern Tianshui, Gansu), who executed his messengers and submitted the circuit to Later Shu. As for Liu Zhiyuan, he firmed up Hedong's defenses and then sent his subordinate Wang Jun to submit three petitions to Emperor Taizong, showing submission. First, he congratulated the Liao emperor on entering Kaifeng. Second, he claimed that he could not leave Taiyuan to come pay homage because Taiyuan was where the Han and the non-Han were mixed and where many soldiers were stationed. Third, he claimed that he was ready to submit tributes to the emperor, but that the Liao general Liu Jiu (劉久) was just outside Taiyuan and watching the city, causing the people of the city to be apprehensive, so (he claimed) if Liu Jiu's army were withdrawn, he would submit tributes immediately.

In response to Liu's petitions, Emperor Taizong issued an edict praising him, referring to him as "son" in the edict. He also bestowed a wooden cane on Liu — a special award that he had only previously bestowed on Yelü Anduan, as his uncle. Subsequently, Liu sent the deputy defender of Taiyuan, Bai Wenke (白文珂), to submit an unusual horse as a tribute. However, Emperor Taizong realized that Liu was still observing the situation and not committing to Liao, and therefore had Bai return and deliver the message from him, stating, "You did not serve the southern dynasty [(i.e., Later Jin)], and now you are not serving the northern dynasty [(i.e., Liao)]. What are you intending?" Guo Wei advised against fully submitting to Liao, stating to Liu, "Barbarians hate us deeply. As Wang Jun opined, the Khitan are greedy and cruel, and they will not have China for long." There were also others who suggested that Liu rise against Liao immediately, but he responded:

Sometimes you have to use force quickly, and sometimes you have to use it slowly, depending on the situation. Currently, the Khitan possess newly surrendered Jin forces numbering 100,000, and are occupying the capital like a tiger. If there were no new developments, how could we act suddenly? It appears to me that what they wanted are goods and wealth. Once they are satisfied with goods and wealth, they will return to the north. In particular, the ice and snow have melted, so they cannot stay for long. We should wait until they leave, and then seize the territory. That is the perfect strategy.

Reign as emperor of Later Han

March to Kaifeng

Upon hearing the news that Liu Zhiyuan had declared himself emperor, Liao's Emperor Taizong initially stationed several generals to prepare to impede him. However, the nearby circuits soon began to declare loyalty to Liu. Finding the Han Chinese to be turning against him, Emperor Taizong decided to return to Liao proper, although he left his cousin (his mother Empress Dowager Shulü's nephew) Xiao Han in command at Kaifeng as Xuanwu Circuit's military governor. He fell ill on the way back to Liao proper, and died near Heng Prefecture (恆州, Shunguo's capital). His nephew Yelü Ruan the Prince of Yongkang, after a power struggle with the Han Chinese general Zhao Yanshou, claimed the Liao throne (as Emperor Shizong).

Meanwhile, Liu created his wife Empress Li empress. Hearing of Emperor Taizong's departure from Kaifeng, he decided to march toward it, with Shi Hongzhao serving as his forward commander. He marched toward the Luoyang-Kaifeng region. Xiao became fearful and decided that he should withdraw from the region as well, but also believed that if there were no one in command at Kaifeng, the region would fall into turmoil and it would be impossible for him to withdraw. He therefore seized Li Siyuan's youngest son Li Congyi and declared Li Congyi emperor, before departing Kaifeng. Li Congyi's mother Consort Dowager Wang, however, finding the situation hopeless, had Li Congyi demote his own title to Prince of Liang after Xiao left, and submitted a petition welcoming Liu to Kaifeng. Liu subsequently arrived at Luoyang, and sent the general Guo Congyi (郭從義) to Kaifeng to kill Li Congyi and Consort Dowager Wang, before he headed to Kaifeng himself.

Reign at Kaifeng

Once at Kaifeng, Liu Zhiyuan declared it the eastern capital and Luoyang the western capital. He also declared the name of his state to be Han, but (for the time being) continued to use the era name of Tianfu, stating, "I do not yet have the heart to forget Jin." Meanwhile, the military governors of various circuits continued to submit to him. That included Du Chongwei, who was then the military governor of Tianxiong, but Du was apprehensive because of his prior submission to Liao. When Liu then issued an edict moving him to Guide Circuit and moving Guide's military governor Gao Xingzhou to Tianxiong, Du rebelled and sought aid from the Liao general Yelü Mada (耶律麻荅), who had been left in control of Heng by Emperor Shizong. Liu declared a campaign against Du and commissioned Gao as the commander of the army against Du, with Murong Yanchao serving as Gao's deputy. Shortly after, the Han soldiers at Heng rose against Yelü Mada, and he was forced to flee himself, leaving Du supportless.

However, Du continued to hold Yedu's defenses, aided by the Liao general Zhang Lian (張璉), who commanded Han Chinese soldiers from You Prefecture and who was particularly against Liu, because Liu had, upon entering Kaifeng, slaughtered the You Prefecture soldiers stationed there. Gao decided to try to surround the city for a long time to force its surrender, rather than force a costly battle. When Liu decided to go to the front himself to oversee the situation (as Du had previously claimed that if Liu came, he would surrender), Du continued to hold the defenses, and an attack advocated by Murong was unsuccessful, so Gao continued his strategy of surrounding the city. By the end of the year, the city was starving, and Du surrendered. Liu, against his own promise that Zhang would be spared, executed Zhang and his officers, although the soldiers were allowed to leave for You. Du was spared, but his assets were confiscated and awarded to the Later Han soldiers. This episode brought a strong criticism from the Song historian Sima Guang, the lead editor of the Zizhi Tongjian:

Han's Emperor Gaozu killed 1,500 innocent soldiers from You; this showed a lack of compassion. He enticed Zhang Lian and then executed Zhang; this showed a lack of faith. He pardoned Du Chongwei despite Du's great crimes; this showed a lack of proper punishment. Compassion is used to unite the people; faith is used to properly command others; and punishment is used to punish the wicked. If one did not have these three things, how does one protect a state? It is appropriate that the life of his state was not long.

Family

Father

Liu Dian (劉琠), posthumously honored Emperor Zhangsheng with the temple name of Xianzu

Mother

Lady An, Lady Dowager of Wu, posthumously honored Empress Zhangyi

Wife

Empress Li (created 947), mother of Prince Chengyou

Children

Liu Chengxùn (劉承訓, note different tone than his brother) (922–948), posthumously created the Prince of Wei

Liu Chengyou (劉承祐) (931–950), the Prince of Zhou (created 948), later Emperor Yin of Later Han

Liu Chengxūn (劉承勛, note different tone than his brother) (d. 951), name later changed to Liu Xun (劉勛), posthumously created the Prince of Chen by Guo Wei

Princess Yongning (created 947), posthumously created Princess Qin (created 949)

Adopted Child

Liu Yun (劉贇), biological child of Emperor Gaozu's brother Liu Chong (Emperor Shizu of Northern Han), the Duke of Huaiyin (created 951, executed by Guo Wei 951)