Interview with an Important ruler/Famous person from Han dynasty

I will tell you about Wendi is a son of Liu Bang, Liu Bang was the founder of the Han dynasty.

Question 1:Give me some of the reasons as to why you are a famous and an important leader during the Han dynasty?

Answer 1: Well I am remembered as a model Confucian ruler, I lived frugally and worked hard to strengthen my empire and improve the lives of my subjects, I also organized a system for providing relief to starving peasant(the poor) in times of famine and for giving pension to the elderly. I  governed the dynasty with the general polices of non-interference with the people and relaxed laws. 

Question 2:What was one of your biggest accomplishments you did for your people during the Han dynasty?


Answer 2: I abolished the law on slavery for the wife and children of criminals, despite opposition from officials who felt it had a deterrent effect. My argument was that education was better than deterrence, and that unjust laws would negate any deterrent effect by alienating the people. In my personal life I was marked by thriftiness and general willingness to forgive and attempts to reduce burdens on the people.

Question 3: Did you also reiterate Empress Lu's abolition of "yi san zu" ? 

Answer 3: Yes, but later on he reinstated this punishment for a con-man named Xinyuan Ping who had deceived him by presenting him with a jade bangle with promising success and claiming it came from Heaven (it was actually made by Xinyuan Ping himself). Xinyuan Ping had brought me on a wild goose chase of building five shrines at the Wei River (near Chang'an you can view on the Han dynasty map) and conducting ancient rites there with the promise that Heaven would confer a jade bangle as a sign of favor.

Question 4: Why were you planning a thorough revision of the governmental system and the building of many temples?

Answer 4: I was planning this because I became superstitious and started search for supernatural events

Question 5: What makes you a different from all the other Han dynasty emperor?

Answer 5: I lightened the taxes and paid great importance to production thus promoting the development of society, I also was a famously frugal emperor. 




At Wendi’s death, the throne was passed peacefully to his son, Liu Qi (the Jingdi emperor).