Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, is often credited with unifying China. However, the Qin dynasty quickly collapsed just a few years after his death, plunging the country into chaos and division as powerful warlords fought for control.
In this context, a rebellion leader from the commoner class named Liu Bang overcame all rivals, defeated opposing forces, and established the Han Dynasty. This dynasty ruled a unified China for the next four centuries, becoming one of the most important and prosperous periods in Chinese history.
Narrow escape
In 206 BCE, two powerful warlords of China met at a banquet at Hongmen Gate in Xianyang, the capital of the recently collapsed Qin Dynasty, near present-day Xi’an. These were Xiang Yu, the Duke of Lu, and Liu Bang, the Duke of Ba, who had led the forces that first captured Xianyang.
Although the two had previously been allies in the fight against the Qin dynasty, the banquet took place in a tense atmosphere. Xiang Yu, the leader of the alliance, was angered that Liu Bang had reached Xianyang before him. Despite his advisor, Fan Zeng, warning him that Liu Bang might be planning to betray him, Xiang Yu still maintained a respectful attitude and invited Liu Bang to the banquet.
Meanwhile, Liu Bang had been warned about the threat of assassination by Xiang Yu’s uncle, Xiang Bo. At the banquet, Liu Bang apologized to Xiang Yu for arriving at Xianyang before him, but Fan Zeng remained suspicious and ordered Xiang Yu’s cousin, Xiang Chang, to perform a sword dance with the intention of killing Liu Bang during the moment of distraction.
Realizing the plot, Xiang Bo intervened in the sword dance, deliberately standing between Xiang Chang and Liu Bang to protect him. Aware of the danger, Liu Bang seized the opportunity to retreat under the pretext of needing to use the restroom, leaving his strategist, Zhang Liang, behind to apologize on his behalf and offer Xiang Yu a pair of jade as a gift to ease the tension.
Through his cleverness and vigilance, Liu Bang managed to escape a dangerous trap, paving the way for strategic moves in his journey to unify China.
Serving the Qin Dynasty
Liu Bang was born into a farming family in Baixi County, in what is now Jiangsu Province, during the mid-3rd century BCE. From humble beginnings, he gradually rose to become a minor official in the local government. Around 210 BCE, Liu Bang was ordered to escort a group of chained laborers to Mount Li, near Xianyang, where Qin Shi Huang was constructing his tomb – a project of which the famous Terracotta Army is only a small part.
The Qin Empire was established in 221 BCE when King Ying Zheng of Qin conquered the Warring States vassal states and proclaimed himself emperor under the title Qin Shi Huang. This emperor is famous for his brutal rule, and under the harsh labor conditions, some members of the labor group Liu Bang was supervising decided to escape.
Under the harsh laws of the Qin Dynasty, any official who allowed a laborer to escape would be executed. Faced with a situation where he had nothing to lose, Liu Bang decided to remove the chains from all the remaining laborers and grant them freedom. He then also fled and lived in hiding.
According to the historian Sima Qian, the author of Records of the Grand Historian, Liu Bang’s noble act left a strong impression on the group of laborers. Among them, ten individuals chose to stay by his side, becoming his loyal companions in the early stages of his journey that would change the history of China.
Leader of the rebellion
In July 210 BCE, Qin Shi Huang died during an eastern tour of China. Due to a conspiracy by the eunuch Zhao Gao, the Crown Prince Fusu, the eldest son, was executed, and instead, his second son, Hu Hai, ascended the throne under the title Emperor Qin Er Shi.
Zhao Gao seized power, and the weakness of Emperor Qin Er Shi led to deep dissatisfaction among the people. In 209 BCE, Chen Sheng led a rebellion in the Qi region of eastern China. The rebel army advanced towards the gates of Xianyang, but Zhang Han, an official of the Qin Dynasty overseeing the construction of Qin Shi Huang’s tomb, hastily gathered a peasant army to suppress the uprising.
The rebellion led by Chen Sheng sparked a series of opposition movements across the empire. Among them, the strongest was the force led by Xiang Liang and his nephew Xiang Yu in the southern region of Chu in 208 BCE. Amidst the political chaos, the county magistrate of Baixi remained loyal to the Qin dynasty but was overthrown by a popular uprising. Liu Bang was invited to take on the role of General and became the leader of the Baixi region.
As Zhang Han marched east to restore power to the Qin dynasty, Liu Bang allied himself with Xiang Liang. However, shortly after, Xiang Liang was killed in battle, and command of the Chu army passed into the hands of Xiang Yu. Taking advantage of the situation, Xiang Yu advanced north and achieved a decisive victory at the Battle of Julu in the summer of 207 BCE, forcing Zhang Han to surrender.
Meanwhile, the Qin court was in a state of division and internal strife. Taking advantage of the situation, Liu Bang broke into the heart of the Qin Empire and captured the capital, Xianyang, in the winter of 207 BCE, marking a significant turning point in the struggle to end the rule of the Qin dynasty.
The Han–Chu War
After the banquet at Hongmen Gate, Xiang Yu ravaged Xianyang and killed Ziying, the last king of the Qin dynasty. Instead of establishing his own empire, Xiang Yu chose a strategy of divide and rule, declaring himself the King of Western Chu and governing through a system of vassal kings who paid tribute to him. Although Liu Bang was promised the region of Guanzhong, the heart of the Qin Empire, this territory was divided and given to three former Qin generals. Liu Bang was only granted the title of King of Han and was assigned to rule the Han Zhong region south of the Qinling Mountains.
Dissatisfied with Xiang Yu’s decision, Liu Bang began preparing to fight against his former ally. In the summer of 206 BCE, he advanced into Guanzhong and quickly convinced the three kings of the region to surrender. Then, in April 205 BCE, Liu Bang launched a campaign to attack Xiang Yu’s capital, Pengcheng, while the King of Western Chu was preoccupied with military operations elsewhere. Although the Han army temporarily captured Pengcheng, Xiang Yu quickly returned with 30,000 elite troops and defeated Liu Bang, forcing him to retreat in order to save his life.
While Liu Bang struggled to deal with Xiang Yu, his general, Han Xin, successfully conquered much of Eastern and Northern China, helping to expand the power of the Han state and weakening Chu. In January 202 BCE, Han Xin, Liu Bang, and a third Han army met at Cai Xia, in what is now Anhui Province.
Here, the united Han army defeated Xiang Yu’s forces. In the final battle, Xiang Yu made a desperate last stand and is said to have personally killed hundreds of Han soldiers before choosing to commit suicide to preserve his honor.
Meritorious officials and Generals
Liu Bang’s victory at the Battle of Cai Xia enabled him to establish the Han dynasty. Although the official histories of the Han often portray his triumph over Xiang Yu as inevitable, in reality, Liu Bang owed much of his success, and even his life, to three talented subordinates.
Zhang Liang, Liu Bang’s strategist, was the one who relayed Zhang Ba’s warning at the Hongmen banquet, helping Liu Bang escape safely. Later, when Liu Bang captured Han Zhong, Zhang Liang advised him to destroy the road crossing the Qinling Mountains to prevent Xiang Yu from pursuing him.
Xiao He, Liu Bang’s political advisor and old friend from Baixi County, was responsible for governing the Guanzhong region and rebuilding the Han army after the defeat at Pengcheng. It was Xiao He who recommended Han Xin as the commander-in-chief of the Han army. After the Han dynasty was established, Xiao He became the Chancellor and was granted more privileges than any other official.
Han Xin was once a low-ranking official in Liu Bang’s army, having previously abandoned Xiang Yu’s forces. In 206 BCE, feeling overlooked, Han Xin planned to leave Liu Bang’s army. However, Xiao He personally chased after him during the night to convince Liu Bang to appoint him as the Commander-in-Chief.
After retaking Guanzhong, Han Xin led an army to conquer northern China, while Liu Bang kept Xiang Yu occupied in the Central Plains. Han Xin’s military achievements led to a series of defections to the Han state, strengthening Liu Bang’s position until their decisive victory at the Battle of Cai Xia.
Emperor of China
Although posthumously given the title Gao Di (Emperor Gao), the most commonly used name for Liu Bang is Gaozu (Emperor Gaozu), a title employed by the historian Sima Qian. After unifying the country, Gaozu chose Chang’an (modern-day Xi’an) near Tianshui as the capital. He issued a general amnesty for his enemies, disbanded the army, and reduced taxes and forced labor obligations. These policies helped him maintain popular support and garnered praise from Confucian scholars.
Although retaining the concept of imperial power from the Qin dynasty, Emperor Gaozu implemented a hybrid system of governance to rule his empire. Qin Shi Huang had divided the empire into commanderies and districts, with officials appointed and dismissed by the central government to manage them.
Meanwhile, Emperor Gaozu established 14 commanderies in the western and central regions of China, while maintaining a series of vassal kingdoms in the east to reward allies and ensure the loyalty of local lords. However, within just a decade, most of these kingdoms were abolished and replaced by members of the imperial family.
The collapse of the Qin Dynasty created an opportunity for the rise of the Xiongnu tribal alliance in the north, under the leadership of Modu (known in Chinese sources as Mao Dun). In 200 BCE, Emperor Gaozu personally led an army against the Xiongnu but fell into a trap and was surrounded during the Battle of Baideng.
After having to “ransom” himself through negotiations, Emperor Gaozu abandoned military campaigns against the Xiongnu and accepted the “heqin” policy, in which the Han dynasty would marry a royal princess to the Xiongnu leader, along with annual “gifts,” in exchange for peace.
The legacy of the empire
Emperor Gaozu passed away in 195 BCE and was succeeded by his son, Emperor Hui. In contrast to the short-lived Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty founded by Liu Bang endured for four centuries (with a brief interruption), lasting until the early 3rd century CE. The successors of Gaozu expanded the territory westward into Central Asia, controlling the eastern terminus of the Eurasian trade network, later known as the Silk Road, thus establishing indirect trade relations with the Roman Empire.
In the north, Han armies launched campaigns against the Xiongnu and pursued them all the way to Lake Baikal. The collapse of the Xiongnu state in the 2nd century CE may have led to their migration westward, where three centuries later, they reappeared under the name Huns.
The Han dynasty is regarded as a golden age of Chinese civilization, leaving a profound legacy in the national identity of China. The majority ethnic group in modern-day China is called the Han people, making up over 90% of the population. Similarly, the Chinese writing system is called Hanzi, and the Chinese language is referred to as Hanyu.
Although Qin Shi Huang was the first to unify China, it was the Han Dynasty, founded by Liu Bang, that established a stable imperial governance system, shaping the concept of a unified Chinese nation.
This empire stretched from the Central Asian deserts in the west to the Pacific coast in the east, from the Mongolian steppes in the north to the mountains of Yunnan in the south. The Han Dynasty not only solidified the imperial political model but also laid the foundation for a lasting cultural and national identity for China that would endure for thousands of years.
Conclusion
Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, left a deep mark on Chinese history with his journey from a farmer to emperor. From escaping the threat of assassination at the Hongmen banquet to his victory in the Han–Chu war and the establishment of the Han Dynasty, he not only built a unified empire that lasted for four centuries but also laid the foundation for the national identity of China.
Through Thefactsofwar is article, we hope you have gained a deeper understanding of the life, strategies, and vision of Liu Bang in building a glorious dynasty. His achievements not only shaped history but also serve as a lesson in willpower and leadership. Continue following Thefactsofwar to explore more fascinating and meaningful stories about history and great historical figures.
Translated by Minh Tuấn
Source: thecollector.com – Liu Bang: How a Peasant Became Emperor of China
