Emperor Jing of Han
emperor of the Han Dynasty (188–141 BCE)
Emperor Jing of Han (188 BC – 9 March 141 BC), born Liu Qi, was the sixth emperor of the Han dynasty from 157 to 141 BC. His reign saw the limiting of the power of the feudal kings and princes which resulted in the Rebellion of the Seven States in 154 BC. Emperor Jing managed to crush the revolt and princes were thereafter denied rights to appoint ministers for their fiefs. This move helped to consolidate central power which paved the way for the long reign of his son Emperor Wu of Han.
Emperor Jing had a complicated personality. He continued his father Emperor Wen's policy of general non-interference with the people, reduced tax and other burdens, and promoted government thrift. He continued and magnified his father's policy of reduction in criminal sentences. His light governance of the people was due to the Taoist influences of his mother, Empress Dou. Still, during his reign he arrested and imprisoned Zhou Yafu, and he was generally ungrateful to his wife Empress Bo.
He was the last emperor of Han who was the common ancestor of all subsequent emperors; all subsequent emperors of the Western Han were descendants of Emperor Wu, while all emperors of the Eastern Han were descendants of his sixth son Liu Fa, Prince Ding of Changsha.
Early life and career as crown prince
Emperor Jing was born to Emperor Wen, then Prince of Dai, and Consort Dou, one of his favorite consorts, in 188 BC. He was his father's oldest son. After his father became emperor in November 180 BC, then-Prince Qi was made crown prince in February or March 179 BC. Two months later, his mother was made empress.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Emperor Jing of Han” is emperor of the Han Dynasty (188–141 BCE). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Emperor, Jing and emperor, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “emperor of the Han Dynasty (188–141 BCE)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7224. VIAF identifies the subject as 29111819. The Library of Congress control number is no94036418. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.
- Event chronology
- Institutional context
- Locating named record creators
Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Emperor Jing of Han”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Emperor Jing of Han primary sources, Emperor Jing of Han archive and Emperor research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Emperor Jing of Han”?
- What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
- Who created the surviving record, and for what administrative purpose?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Emperor Jing of Han” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.