•
Liu Bang (256 or 247 BCE – 195 BCE), posthumously known as Emperor Gaozu of Han, was the founder of the Western Han dynasty and reigned from 202 to 195 BCE. His courtesy name was Ji, and he was from Pei County (in present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu). He initially served as a minor local official…
•
After the prolonged hegemonic wars of the Spring and Autumn period, the number of vassal states within the Zhou dynasty had significantly decreased. The Zhou royal court, though nominally the supreme ruler of the realm, had become a mere shell of its former self. The vassal states were constantly at war with one another.