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Zang Tu (died c.October 202 BC) was a Chinese military general,monarch,politician,and warlord who lived during the late Qin dynasty and early Han dynasty of China.
Zang Tu was originally a military general serving under Han Guang,the king of the Yan state. Around 207 BC,when rebellions broke out all over China to overthrow the Qin dynasty,Zang Tu was sent to lead an army to assist rebel forces from the insurgent Zhao state,which were under attack by a Qin army led by Zhang Han. Following the defeat of Qin forces at the Battle of Julu,Zang Tu joined a coalition rebel army under the command of Xiang Yu of the Chu state,and followed Xiang Yu as they fought their way to the Qin capital Xianyang.
In 206 BC,after the fall of the Qin dynasty,Xiang Yu divided the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms and appointed Zang Tu as the King of Yan (燕王). Part of the former Yan kingdom was granted to Han Guang,who was appointed by Xiang Yu as the King of Liaodong. Zang Tu then returned to the Yan kingdom and attempted to force Han Guang to move to his allocated kingdom in the Liaodong Peninsula,but the latter refused to comply. As a result,Zang Tu attacked Han Guang and killed him at Wuzhong,thereby becoming king of a united Yan kingdom. [1]
In 204 BC,after his victory against the Zhao kingdom at the Battle of Jingxing,Han Xin followed Li Zuoche's advice and sent a messenger to Zang Tu,asking him to pledge allegiance to Liu Bang,the King of Han. Zang Tu agreed. In 202 BC,Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and unified China under his rule,proclaiming himself Emperor of China and establishing the Han dynasty on 28 February. Zang Tu became a vassal of the Han Empire and retained his kingly title and territories. Later that year in c.August, [2] Zang Tu rebelled against the Han Empire,invading and capturing territory in the Dai kingdom. Liu Bang personally led an army to suppress the rebellion. Zang Tu was defeated in battle and captured [3] in c.October. [4] He refused to surrender and was executed by Liu Bang.
Zang Tu had a son called Zang Yan (臧衍),who escaped to join the Xiongnu after his father died.
Zang Tu's granddaughter,Zang Er (臧兒),married Wang Zhong,and had a daughter called Wang Zhi. Wang Zhi became the second wife of Emperor Jing,the fourth emperor of the Han dynasty,and the mother of the future Emperor Wu.
LüZhi,courtesy name E'xu (娥姁) and commonly known as Empress Lü and formally Empress Gao of Han,was the empress consort of Gaozu,the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. They had two known children,Liu Ying and Princess Yuan of Lu. Lüwas the first woman to assume the title Empress of China and paramount power. After Gaozu's death,she was honoured as empress dowager and regent during the short reigns of Emperor Hui and his successors Emperor Qianshao of Han and Liu Hong.
Yan was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Its capital was Ji. During the Warring States period,the court was also moved to another capital at Xiadu at times.
The Chu–Han Contention (楚漢相爭),also known as the Chu–Han War (楚漢戰爭),was an interregnum period in ancient China between the fall of the Qin dynasty and the establishment of the Han dynasty. After the third and last Qin ruler,Ziying,unconditionally surrendered to rebel forces in 206 BCE,the former Qin Empire was divided by rebel leader Xiang Yu into the Eighteen Kingdoms,which were ruled by various rebel leaders and surrendered Qin generals. A civil war soon broke out,most prominently between two major contending powers –Xiang Yu's Western Chu and Liu Bang's Han. Some of the other kingdoms also waged war among themselves but these were largely insignificant compared to the main conflict between Chu and Han. The war ended in 202 BCE with a Han victory at the Battle of Gaixia,during which Xiang Yu committed suicide after making a last stand. Liu Bang subsequently proclaimed himself emperor and established the Han dynasty as the ruling dynasty of China.
Xiang Yu,born Xiang Ji,was the Hegemon-King of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period of China. A noble of the Chu state,Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynasty,destroying their last remnants and becoming a powerful warlord. He was granted the title of "Duke of Lu" (魯公) by King Huai II of the restoring Chu state in 208 BC. The following year,he led the Chu forces to victory at the Battle of Julu against the Qin armies led by Zhang Han. After the fall of Qin,Xiang Yu was enthroned as the "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" (西楚霸王) and ruled a vast area covering modern-day central and eastern China,with Pengcheng as his capital. He engaged Liu Bang,the founding emperor of the Han dynasty,in a long struggle for power,known as the Chu–Han Contention,which concluded with his eventual defeat at the Battle of Gaixia and his suicide. Xiang Yu is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu by Jin Guliang.
Zhang Han was a Chinese military general of the Qin dynasty. When uprisings erupted throughout China during the reign of Qin Er Shi,Zhang Han led the Qin armies and successfully quelled several of these rebel forces. In 207 BC,Zhang Han was defeated by Xiang Yu of Chu at the Battle of Julu,after which he surrendered along with his 200,000 troops. He was conferred the title "King of Yong" (雍王) by Xiang Yu and given part of the lands in Guanzhong as his fief when Xiang split the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms after the fall of the Qin dynasty. Zhang Han's territory was conquered by Liu Bang in 206 BC,and he committed suicide a year later.
Han Xin was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the early Han dynasty",along with Zhang Liang and Xiao He.
After Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and proclaimed himself emperor of the Han dynasty,he followed the practice of Xiang Yu and enfeoffed many generals,noblemen,and imperial relatives as kings,the same title borne by the sovereigns of the Shang and Zhou dynasties and by the rulers of the Warring States. Each king had his own semi-autonomous kingdom. This was a departure from the policy of the Qin dynasty,which divided China into commanderies governed by non-hereditary governors.
Emperor Yi of Chu,also known as King Huai II of Chu before receiving his de jure emperor title,personal name Xiong Xin,was the ruler of the revived Chu state in the late Qin dynasty. He was a grandson of King Huai of Chu. In 223 BC,during the Warring States period,the Chu state was conquered by the Qin state,which unified the various Chinese feudal states in a series of wars and established the Qin dynasty in 221 BC. In 209 BC,when rebellions broke out throughout China to overthrow the Qin dynasty,the Chu state was revived as an insurgent state against Qin imperial rule. Xiong Xin was discovered by Xiang Liang,a rebel leader who descended from a famous Chu general,Xiang Yan,and installed on the Chu throne as "King Huai II of Chu". However,Xiong Xin was merely a puppet ruler because power was concentrated in Xiang Liang's hands,and was later passed on to Xiang Liang's nephew,Xiang Yu,after Xiang Liang was killed in battle. In 206 BC,the Qin dynasty was overthrown by the rebels,after which Xiang Yu,who was the de facto leader of all the rebel forces,divided the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms. He promoted King Huai II to a more "honourable" title –Emperor Yi of Chu –and made him the nominal sovereign ruler over all the Eighteen Kingdoms. Xiang Yu then had Emperor Yi relocated to Chen County and secretly ordered Ying Bu to assassinate the emperor during the journey.
Empress Wang of Jing,also known by her birth name Wang Zhi (王娡) and by her title Lady Wang,was an empress during the Han dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Jing and the mother of Emperor Wu. She was also the first known empress of China who was previously married to another man before becoming empress.
Lu Wan was a Chinese military general,monarch,and politician who served as the vassal king of the early Han dynasty. He served under Liu Bang,the founding emperor of the Han dynasty.
Peng Yue,courtesy name Zhong,was a Chinese military general and politician in the late Qin dynasty and early Western Han dynasty. He was involved in the Chu–Han Contention –a power struggle between the Han dynasty's founder,Liu Bang,and his rival,Xiang Yu –as an ally of Liu Bang. In recognition of his contributions,Liu Bang granted Peng Yue the title "King of Liang" (梁王) after the Han dynasty was established.
Cao Shen or Cao Can,courtesy name Jingbo,was a Chinese politician. He served as a chancellor of the Western Han dynasty. He participated in the Chu–Han Contention on Liu Bang 's side and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty.
Han Guang was the ruler of the Kingdom of Liaodong (遼東國) of the Eighteen Kingdoms during the Chu–Han Contention,an interregnum between the Qin and Han dynasties of China.
Prince or King of Yan was a Chinese feudal title referring to the ancient Chinese State of Yan and to its fiefs including the capital Yanjing.
Chen Ping was a Chinese politician who served as a chancellor in the early Western Han dynasty. He was an advisor to Liu Bang,the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. He played an important role in helping Liu Bang overcome his rival,Xiang Yu,in the Chu–Han Contention.
Ying Bu was a warlord and vassal king who lived in the early Han dynasty. He was a native of Lu County. In his early life under the Qin dynasty,Ying Bu was convicted and sentenced to qing,so he was also called Qing Bu (黥布). He was then sent to Mount Li to perform hard labour by constructing Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. He later escaped with some men and became the leader of a bandit gang. Ying Bu participated in the insurrection against the Qin dynasty after the Dazexiang Uprising broke out in 209 BC. After the uprising failed,he became part of a rebel force led by Xiang Liang. He assisted Xiang Liang's nephew and successor Xiang Yu in overthrowing the Qin dynasty. After the fall of Qin,he initially fought on Xiang Yu's side in the Chu–Han Contention,a power struggle for supremacy over China between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang. However,later,he defected to Liu Bang's side and helped Liu defeat Xiang Yu and become the emperor. During this period of time,Ying Bu held the title "King of Jiujiang". In c.August 203,Liu Bang appointed Ying Bu as a vassal king and granted him the title "King of Huainan". In 196 BC,Ying Bu rebelled against the Han dynasty but was defeated and killed.
Ji or Jicheng was an ancient city in northern China,which has become the longest continuously inhabited section of modern Beijing. Historical mention of Ji dates to the founding of the Zhou dynasty in about 1045 BC. Archaeological finds in southwestern Beijing where Ji was believed to be located date to the Spring and Autumn period. The city of Ji served as the capital of the ancient states of Ji and Yan until the unification of China by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Thereafter,the city was a prefectural capital for Youzhou through the Han dynasty,Three Kingdoms,Western Jin dynasty,Sixteen Kingdoms,Northern Dynasties,and Sui dynasty. With the creation of a Jizhou (蓟州) during the Tang dynasty in what is now Tianjin Municipality,the city of Ji took on the name Youzhou. Youzhou was one of the Sixteen Prefectures ceded to the Khitans during the Five Dynasties. The city then became the southern capital of the Liao dynasty and then main capital of the Jin dynasty (1115–1234). In the 13th century,Kublai Khan built a new capital city for the Yuan dynasty adjacent to Ji to the north. The old city of Ji became a suburb to Dadu. In the Ming dynasty,the old and new cities were merged by Beijing's Ming-era city wall.
Zhou Bo,posthumously known as Marquis Wu of Jiang (绛武侯),was a Chinese military general and politician who served as a chancellor of the early Western Han dynasty.
Chen Xi was a Chinese rebel leader against the first Han emperor Liu Bang.
Yan (燕國) was a kingdom/principality in early Imperial China. It first appeared during the interregnum between the Qin and Han dynasties as one of the Eighteen Kingdoms created by Xiang Yu,and was subsequently dissolved and recreated multiple times,mainly during the Han dynasty. It was eventually dissolved in the War of the Eight Princes during the Jin dynasty.