Gaozu of Later Han

Gaozu of Later Han or Liu Zhiyuan (895-948) was the Shatuo Turk founder of the Later Han Dynasty, the fourth of the Five Dynasties in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period of Chinese history. It was also one of the shortest-lived kingdoms in Chinese history, lasting only three years. Liu was posthumously given the title of Gaozu.

Founder of a Dynasty

Liu Zhiyuan was the military governor of Bingzhou, an area around modern-day Taiyuan in Shanxi, long a stronghold of the Shatuo Turks, for the Later Jin Dynasty. The Later Jin had been little more than a puppet of the powerful Khitan empire to the north. When, in 946, the emperor of the Later Jin decided to defy the Khitan under growing pressure from not only subjects among the Shatuo Turks, but also Han Chinese at their subservient status, the Khitans led a military attack that shattered the Later Jin Dynasty. On the return to their southern capital at present-day Beijing, the Khitan emperor died, providing just enough of a vacuum of power for Liu Zhiyuan to move in and declare the establishment of the Later Han Dynasty. He named his government "Han" as a consequence of claiming to be a descendant of Liu Bang, the first Emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, thus relinquishing his Shatuo Turk originality.

Brief rule

Liu Zhiyuan was able to take control over the same territories that the Later Jin Dynasty had reigned over. Declaring himself emperor of the Later Han Dynasty, he was able to enjoy his new status for only a brief period of time as he died the following year. Liu was succeeded by his teenage son. The dynasty would fall two years later in a military coup that resulted in the founding of the Later Zhou Dynasty.

References

*cite book|title=Imperial China: (900-1800)|author=Mote, F.W.|year=1999|publisher=Harvard University Press|pages=13

width=25% align=center|Preceded by:
None
width=25% align=center|Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty
"'947–948
width=25% align=center|Succeeded by:
Liu Chengyou