Qin and Han · Ruler

Emperor Gaozu of Han 漢高帝

Attested BC 206 - BC 195

Passages: 4
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Emperor Gaozu of Han was a ruler.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Temple name	Gaohuang	高皇
Regnal name	Gaozu	高祖

Life and dates

Attested activity

BC 206 to BC 195 高帝
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 39, passage 22

Events and relationships

Invoked as virtue match for Guangwu
Rhetorical comparison · Exemplar · Mode quotation Speaker Liang Tong (梁統)
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 39, passage 28
Received the mandate, eliminated tyranny, and fixed statutes
Legal · Ruler · Mode named-source-report Speaker Liang Tong (梁統)
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 39, passage 22

References in the histories

Book of Later Han, Chapter 39Volume 34: Biography of Liang Tong · 4 passages

高帝受命誅暴，平蕩天下，約令定律，誠得其宜。 Gaozu swept away tyranny and framed statutes that fit the age.

伏惟陛下包元履德，權時撥亂，功逾文、武，德侔高皇，誠不宜因循季末衰微之軌。 Your Majesty embraces primal virtue and has acted as the times required to restore order; your achievements surpass those of Kings Wen and Wu, and your virtue matches that of the Exalted Emperor. You truly should not follow the declining precedents of the dynasty's final years.

竊謂高帝以後，至乎孝宣，其所施行，多合經傳，宜比方今事，驗之往古，聿遵前典，事無難改，不勝至願。 From Gaozu through Xuandi the code matched the classics; compare present cases to antiquity, restore sound precedent—such reform is no great hurdle and would fulfill my deepest hope.

自高祖之興，至於孝宣，君明臣忠，謨謀深博，猶因循舊章，不輕改革，海內稱理，斷獄益少。 From Gaozu to Xuandi, wise rulers and loyal ministers kept established law and seldom altered it—the realm was deemed orderly and lawsuits dwindled.