Family background

Liu Xiu was the sixth generation descendant of Emperor Jing of the Western Han dynasty. He was the son of Liu Qin (劉欽), magistrate (i.e., head official) of Nandun county (南頓令). Liu Qin was the son of Liu Hui (劉回), vice governor in charge of military affairs for Julu Commandery (鉅鹿都尉). Liu Hui was the son of Liu Wai (劉外), governor of Yulin Commandery (鬱林太守). Liu Wai was the son of Liu Mai (劉買), known posthumously as Marquess Jie of Chongling (舂陵節侯). Liu Mai was the son of Liu Fa (劉發), known posthumously as Prince Ding of Changsha (長沙定王). The Prince of Changsha was a brother of Emperor Wu, a famous emperor of the Former Han and the son of Emperor Jing and Lady Tang. As a descendant of Liu Fa, this also made Liu Xiu third cousin to the Gengshi Emperor.

Liu Qin was married to the daughter of one Fan Chong (樊重), and he and his wife had three sons – Liu Yan, Liu Zhong (劉仲), and Liu Xiu. Liu Qin died early, and the brothers were raised by their uncle Liu Liang (劉良). Liu Yan was ambitious, and ever since Wang Mang usurped the Han throne in AD 8 and established the Xin dynasty, Liu Yan was constantly considering starting a rebellion to restore the Han Dynasty. Liu Xiu, in contrast, was a careful man who was content to be a farmer. However, his brother-in-law Deng Chen (鄧晨), the husband of his sister Liu Yuan (劉元), who believed in a prophecy that a man named Liu Xiu would be emperor, constantly encouraged him to be more ambitious.

Participation in his brothers rebellion

In AD 22, with virtually the entire empire rebelling against Wang Mang's incompetent rule, Liu Yan prepared his rebellion. He planned, along with his brothers, and Li Tong (李通) and his cousin Li Yi (李軼), to kidnap the governor for Nanyang Commandery (roughly modern Nanyang, Henan) and call for the people of the commandery to join him. When the young men of their home territory of Chongling heard about the rebellion, they were all scared to join—until they saw that Liu Xiu was part of the rebellion as well, figuring that if even a careful man like Liu Xiu was part of the rebellion, the rebellion was carefully planned.

However, the news of the plan leaked out, and Li Tong and Li Yi barely escaped with their lives (but their family was slaughtered). Liu Yan changed his plan and persuaded two branches of the Lülin – the Xinshi Force (新市兵) and Pinglin Force (平林兵) to join forces with him, and they had some military success. Encouraged, Liu Yan made a frontal assault against Wancheng (宛城), the capital of Nanyang Commandery—and suffered a major loss. Liu Yan and Liu Xiu, along with their sister Liu Boji (劉伯姬), survived, but their brother Liu Zhong and sister Liu Yuan died in the battle. Liu Yan's allies, seeing his defeat, considered leaving him, but Liu Yan was able to persuade them, along with another branch of the Lülin, the Xiajiang Force (下江兵), to join him. In AD 23, they had a major victory against Xin forces, killing Zhen Fu (甄阜), the governor of Nanyang Commandery.

As official under Gengshi Emperor

The Gengshi Emperor

By this point, many other rebel leaders had become jealous of Liu Yan's capabilities, and while a good number of their men admired Liu Yan and wanted him to become the emperor of a newly declared Han Dynasty, they had other ideas. They found another local rebel leader, Liu Xuan, a third cousin of Liu Yan, who was claiming the title of General Gengshi (更始將軍) at the time and who was considered a weak personality, and requested that he be made emperor. Liu Yan initially opposed this move and instead suggested that Liu Xuan carry the title "Prince of Han" first (echoing the founder of the Han dynasty, Emperor Gaozu). The other rebel leaders refused, and in early AD 23, Liu Xuan was proclaimed emperor. Liu Yan became prime minister. Liu Xiu, along with many other rebel leaders, carried the title "general".

The Battle of Kunyang

Liu Xiu would be instrumental in the key victory that sealed Wang Mang's fate. Wang, aware that Gengshi Emperor was becoming a major threat, sent his cousin Wang Yi (王邑) and his prime minister Wang Xun (王尋) with what he considered to be overwhelming force, some 430,000 men, intending to crush the newly constituted Han regime. The Han forces were at this point in two groups—one led by Wang Feng (王鳳), Wang Chang (王常), and Liu Xiu, which, in response to the arrival of the Xin forces, withdrew to the small town of Kunyang (昆陽, in modern Ye County, Henan) and one led by Liu Yan, which was still besieging Wancheng. The rebels in Kunyang initially wanted to scatter, but Liu Xiu opposed it; rather, he advocated that they guard Kunyang securely, while he would gather all other available troops in surrounding areas and attack the Xin forces from the outside. After initially rejecting Liu Xiu's idea, the Kunyang rebels eventually agreed.

Liu Xiu carried out his action, and when he returned to Kunyang, he began harassing the sieging Xin forces from the outside. Wang Yi and Wang Xun, annoyed, led 10,000 men to attack Liu Xiu and ordered the rest of their troops not to move from their siege locations. Once they engaged in battle, however, after minor losses, the other units were hesitant to assist them, and Liu Xiu killed Wang Xun in battle. Once that happened, the Han forces inside Kunyang burst out of the city and attacked the other Xin units, and the much larger Xin forces suffered a total collapse. The soldiers largely deserted and went home, unable to be gathered again. Wang Yi had to withdraw with only several thousand men back to Luoyang. This was a major blow to Xin, psychologically; after this point on, there would be no hope for it.

Liu Yans death and Liu Xius bare survival

The very first major incident of infighting in Gengshi Emperor's regime would happen in this time, though. Gengshi Emperor was fearful of Liu Yan's capabilities and keenly aware that many of Liu Yan's followers were angry that he was not made emperor. One, Liu Ji (劉稷), was particularly critical of Gengshi Emperor. Gengshi Emperor arrested Liu Ji and wanted to execute him, but Liu Yan tried to intercede. Gengshi Emperor, encouraged by Li Yi (who had by that point turned against Liu Yan) and Zhu Wei (朱鮪), took this opportunity to execute Liu Yan as well.

At this time, Liu Xiu was fighting on the frontlines. When he heard about his brother's death, he quickly left his army and went back to the temporary capital Wancheng to beg forgiveness. When Liu Yan's followers greeted him, he only thanked them but did not speak of his feelings, but rather blamed himself and did not mention of his achievements at Kunyang. He did not dare to mourn his brother. Gengshi Emperor, ashamed of what he had done, spared Liu Xiu and created him the Marquess of Wuxin (武信侯).

Around this time, Liu Xiu married his childhood sweetheart, the famed beauty Yin Lihua. (According to Hou Han Shu, while much younger, when Liu Xiu was visiting the capital Chang'an, he became impressed with the mayor of the capital (zhijinyu, 執金吾) and, already impressed by Yin's beauty, he made the remarks: "If I were to be an official, I want to be zhijinyu; if I were to marry, I want to marry Yin Lihua". He eventually was able to accomplish both of these things and more.)

Role in reorganization of Gengshi Emperors regime and dispatch to northern China

First Days under the new Emperor

Soon, Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty and its capital Chang'an fell to the Gengshi Emperor's forces, and Gengshi Emperor was acknowledged by virtually the entire empire as the emperor of the restored Han Dynasty. He initially planned to set his capital at Luoyang, and he made Liu Xiu governor of the capital region. Liu Xiu was commissioned to repair the palaces and governmental offices at Luoyang. Of all of the major Han officials following the restoration, Liu Xiu alone quickly showed his talent for organization, and his agency quickly grew to resemble its pre-Wang Mang counterpart.

In any case, Gengshi Emperor's regime was only able to obtain nominal submission from many regions of the empire, and one of the troublesome regions was north of the Yellow River. The Emperor considered dispatching a general to try to pacify the region, and his cousin Liu Ci (劉賜), who had succeeded Liu Yan as prime minister, endorsed Liu Xiu for that task. Liu Yan's political enemies, including Li and Zhu, opposed, but after Liu Ci repeatedly endorsed Liu Xiu, the Gengshi Emperor relented and, in autumn of AD 23, he sent Liu Xiu to the region north of the Yellow River.

Liu Xiu was initially met with great gladness by the people north of the Yellow River. It was around this time that Deng Yu joined him (later to be his prime minister); other later important figures who joined him around this time included Feng Yi and Geng Chun (耿純). Deng, seeing that Gengshi Emperor lacked the ability to rule, persuaded Liu Xiu to keep his sights broad and consider eventual independence.

Northern expedition

Liu Xiu would soon have a major problem on his hand, however, in winter 23, as he faced a pretender for the Han throne. A fortune teller in Handan named Wang Lang claimed to be actually named Liu Ziyu (劉子輿) and a son of Emperor Cheng. He claimed that his mother was a singer in Emperor Cheng's service, and that Empress Zhao Feiyan had tried to kill him after his birth, but that a substitute child was killed indeed. After he spread these rumors among the people, the people of Handan began to believe that he was a genuine son of Emperor Cheng, and the commanderies north of the Yellow River quickly pledged allegiance to him as emperor. In the spring of AD 24, Liu Xiu was forced to withdraw to the northern city of Jicheng (modern Beijing). Not long after, he faced rebellions in his immediate vicinity, and was nearly killed by rebels who pledged allegiance to Wang. He reached two commanderies in modern central Hebei that were still loyal to Gengshi Emperor—Xindu (信都, roughly modern Hengshui, Hebei), whose governor was Ren Guang (任光), and Herong, (和戎, roughly part of modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), whose governor was Pi Tong (邳彤). Ren's deputy Li Chong (李忠), Wan Xiu (萬脩) and Liu Zhi (劉植), who was powerful clan in the region, also joined him. Additionally, he began to make Liu Zhi persuade Liu Yang (劉楊) the Prince of Zhending, who held 100,000 troops, to join him. He entered into a political marriage with Guo Shengtong, the niece of Liu Yang, and combined his forces. He mobilized their forces and won some major battles against Wang's generals.

Meanwhile, a follower of Liu Xiu, Geng Yan, the son of the governor of Shanggu Commandery (上谷, roughly modern Zhangjiakou, Hebei), had fled back to his father's commandery, and persuaded both his father Geng Kuang (耿況) and the governor of the neighboring Yuyang Commandery (漁陽, roughly modern Beijing), Peng Chong (彭寵), to support Liu Xiu. Geng Yan, being supported by Gen Kuang's deputy Kou Xun (寇恂) and Jing Dan (景丹), and Peng's deputy, Wu Han, led the two commanderies' cavalry and infantry forces south to join Liu Xiu. The combined forces gave Liu Xiu enough strength to make a direct assault against Handan, trapping and killing Wang Lang.

After Wang's death, Gengshi Emperor created Liu Xiu the Prince of Xiao and summoned him back to the capital (then moved to Chang'an). Liu Xiu, persuaded by Geng Yan that he should be ready to set out his own course because the people were badly shaken by Gengshi Emperor and his officials' misrule, declined and claimed that the region still needed to be pacified.

Independence from Gengshi Emperor

In the autumn of AD 24, Liu Xiu, still ostensibly an official under Gengshi Emperor, successfully pacified some of the larger agrarian rebel groups and merged them into his own forces. He also started replacing officials loyal to Gengshi Emperor with those loyal to himself. He consolidated his power north of the Yellow River and, as he predicted that the powerful Chimei would destroy Gengshi Emperor's government for him, he waited by for that to happen, not intervening on either side as that conflict was developing. He put Kou Xun in charge of the Henei (modern northern Henan, north of the Yellow River) region and made it the base for food and manpower supplies, while commissioning Deng with an expedition force to the modern Shaanxi region, waiting for the confrontation between Gengshi Emperor and Chimei. In early AD 25, Deng, on his way west, seized the modern Shanxi region and put it under Liu Xiu's control, before crossing the Yellow River into modern Shaanxi.

At this point, territories that Liu Xiu controlled were already impressive, compared to any other regional power in the empire broken apart by civil war—but he still carried just the title Prince of Xiao (which Gengshi Emperor had created him) and still ostensibly was controlling those territories as Gengshi Emperor's deputy, even as he was already engaging militarily against some generals (e.g. Xie Gong – 謝躬) loyal to Gengshi Emperor (During this incident, Liu Xiu succeeded to persuade Ma Wu (馬武), who was the deputy of Xie Gong, to join him.). In the summer of AD 25, after repeated urging by his followers, he finally claimed the title of emperor and the right to succeed to the Han throne—as Emperor Guangwu.

Campaign to unify the empire

Victory over the Chimei

Soon after Emperor Guangwu's ascension, the Gengshi Emperor's regime was destroyed by the Chimei, who supported their own pretender to the Han throne, Liu Penzi. The Chimei leaders, despite being militarily powerful, were however even less capable at ruling than the Gengshi Emperor, and they soon alienated the people of the Guanzhong (關中, modern central Shaanxi) region, which they had taken over when they overthrew the Gengshi Emperor. They pillaged the Guanzhong region for supplies, but as eventually the supplies ran out, they were forced to withdraw east in an attempt to return home to what is now modern Shandong and northern Jiangsu. Emperor Guangwu, anticipating this, set up his forces to harass and tire the Chimei out, and then block them off at Yiyang (宜陽, in modern Luoyang, Henan). With their path blocked and their troops exhausted, the Chimei leaders surrendered. Emperor Guangwu spared them, including their pretender Liu Penzi.

Gradual victories over other regional powers

Chimei was the largest of the enemy forces that Emperor Guangwu had to deal with in his campaign to reunify the empire under the rule of his Eastern Han Dynasty, but there were a number of regional powers that he had to deal with. These included:

• Liu Yong (劉永), also claiming to be the proper emperor of Han, based on his lineage—as the son of Liu Li (劉立), the Prince of Liang under the reigns of Emperor Cheng, Emperor Ai, and Emperor Ping who had been forced by Wang Mang to commit suicide; he controlled the modern eastern Henan and northern Jiangsu region.

• Peng Chong, who had been by this point aggravated by Emperor Guangwu's official Zhu Fu (朱浮) into rebellion (in a rare case of a succession of wrong decisions by Emperor Guangwu—mistakes that he learned from and would not repeat); he claimed the title of the Prince of Yan and controlled the modern Beijing region.

• Zhang Bu (張步), nominally the Prince of Qi under Liu Yong, but who independently controlled the modern Shandong region.

• Wei Xiao (隗囂), nominally the commander of the Xizhou (西州) region paying allegiance to Emperor Guangwu, but who independently controlled the modern eastern Gansu region, east of the Yellow River.

• Dou Rong (竇融), nominally the governor of Liang Province (涼州) paying allegiance to Emperor Guangwu, but who independently controlled the modern western Gansu and northern Qinghai region, west of the Yellow River.

• Lu Fang (盧芳), who also claimed the name Liu Wenbo (劉文伯) and claimed to be a descendant of Emperor Wu and the proper Han emperor. He, supported by Xiongnu's Chanyu Yu (輿), controlled the modern central and western Inner Mongolia region. Some Russian archaeologists have identified a Han-era Chinese-style palace unearthed near Abakan (in Southern Siberia) in 1941–45 as Lu Fang's residence after he had left China for the lands of the Xiongnu.

• Gongsun Shu, who proclaimed himself emperor of Chengjia, who controlled the Yi Province, modern Sichuan, Chongqing and parts of Shaanxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan.

Of these powers, Gongsun Shu's Chengjia was wealthy and powerful, but Gongsun was content to maintain his regional empire and not carry out any military expeditions outside his empire. Instead, he sat by as Emperor Guangwu carried out his unification campaign. Emperor Guangwu, hesitant to carry out annihilation campaigns, largely preferred first trying to persuade the regional warlords to submit to him. Wei and Dou did in AD 29, and as they were assisting Eastern Han forces to the north of Chengjia, Gongsun was further discouraged from trying to expand his empire.

Also in AD 29, Liu Yong's son and heir Liu Yu (劉紆) was defeated by Eastern Han forces and killed. Also in AD 29, Peng's slaves assassinated him, leading to a collapse of his regime. Zhang, seeing the futility of resistance, surrendered and was created a marquess. By AD 30, all of eastern China was under Emperor Guangwu's rule.

Wei, seeing that Eastern Han was gradually unifying the empire, inexplicably began considering independence. He tried to persuade Dou to enter into an alliance with him to resist Eastern Han; Dou refused. When Eastern Han started considering conquering Chengjia, Wei, apprehensive of the implications of Chengjia's fall, tried to persuade Emperor Guangwu not to carry out a campaign against Chengjia, and later refused to lead his forces south against Chengjia.

Emperor Guangwu, who in any case preferred peaceful resolution, repeatedly wrote both Wei and Gongsun with humble terms, trying to get them to submit to him, promising them titles and honors. Wei continued to nominally submit but act as an independent power, while Gongsun refused outright—but continued to be indecisive and took no actions while Eastern Han's rule was being confirmed throughout the land.

Realizing that neither Wei nor Gongsun would voluntarily submit, Emperor Guangwu started a campaign against Wei in the summer of AD 30—assisted by Wei's friend Ma Yuan, who had served as Wei's liaison officer to Emperor Guangwu and had tried in vain to persuade him not to take the course of independence. In response, Wei formally submitted to Gongsun and accepted a princely title—Prince of Shuoning—from him, and also tried to persuade Dou to join him. Dou refused, and attacked Wei in coordination with Emperor Guangwu's forces. After some initial successes, Wei's small independent regime eventually collapsed under overwhelming force and was reduced severely. In AD 33, Wei died and was succeeded by his son Wei Chun (隗純). In the winter of AD 34, Shuoning's capital Luomen (落門, in modern Tianshui, Gansu) fell, and Wei Chun surrendered.

Emperor Guangwu then turned his attention to Chengjia. He commissioned his generals Wu Han, Cen Peng (岑彭), Lai She (來歙), and Gai Yan (蓋延) to go on a two-pronged attack on Chengjia—Wu and Cen leading an army and a navy up the Yangtze river from modern Hubei, while Lai and Gai led an army south from modern Shaanxi. Instead of fighting the Eastern Han expedition on the battlefield, Gongsun tried to repel them by assassinating their generals—and he was initially successful, assassinating Cen and Lai and temporarily causing the Eastern Han forces to halt. However, Eastern Han forces regrouped, and in 36 they had Gongsun surrounded in his capital Chengdu (成都, modern Chengdu, Sichuan). However, initial attempts to siege the city was unsuccessful, and Wu, then in command of the expeditory force, considered withdrawing. Persuaded by his lieutenant Zhang Kan (張堪) that Gongsun was in desperate straits, however, Wu tricked Gongsun into believing that the Eastern Han forces were collapsing from fatigue, drawing him out of the city and engaging in battle. Gongsun was mortally wounded in battle, and Chengdu surrendered in the winter of AD 36. Liu's general Wu Han then killed more than 10,000 people.

After Chengjia's fall, Dou turned over the lands under his control to Emperor Guangwu in AD 36, and was made prime controller. Lu, after initially submitting to Emperor Guangwu and made the Prince of Dai (as Emperor Guangwu maintained the fiction that Lu was actually from imperial lineage), eventually rebelled again, but, unable to succeed, eventually fled to Xiongnu in AD 42. The empire was entirely under Emperor Guangwu's rule. During the wartime, Liu's general Geng Yan massacred 300 cities.

Reign over unified empire

Although Emperor Guangwu had already created many of his generals and officials marquesses, in AD 37, after the conquest of the empire was largely complete, he readjusted their marches in accordance with their accomplishments. He also considered what would be the best way to preserve the relationships between him and his generals and to protect their title and position so he therefore resolved to give the generals large marches but not give them official positions in his government. He rewarded them with great wealth and often listened to their advice, but rarely put them in positions of authority. He thereby reduced friction between him and his generals, thus allowing for their relationships to be preserved. In this, he was matched perhaps only by Emperor Taizu of Song.

As the emperor of the unified empire, Emperor Guangwu's reign was marked by thriftiness, efficiency, and laxity of laws. For example, in AD 38, his official Liang Tong (梁統) submitted a petition to restore the criminal laws of late Western Han Dynasty—which were far more severe. After discussion with other officials, Emperor Guangwu tabled Liang's suggestion. But he originated the order that servants in the inner palace must be eunuchs.

Emperor Guangwu, however, had to deal with two campaigns against non-Chinese peoples. In AD 40, a Vietnamese woman named Trưng Trắc (Chinese: Zheng Ce (徵側)) and her sister Trưng Nhị (Chinese: Zheng Er (徵貳)) rebelled. Trưng Trắc claimed the title of queen, and she ruled over an independent kingdom for several years. In AD 41, Emperor Guangwu sent Ma Yuan against the Trưng sisters. In AD 43, he defeated the Trưng sisters and killed them. (According to Vietnamese historians, they committed suicide by drowning.)

Emperor Guangwu also had to deal with periodic minor battles against the Xiongnu to the north. However, throughout his reign, there were no major wars with Xiongnu. Nevertheless, because of raids by Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei, the northern commanderies became largely unpopulated, as the people suffered great casualties and also fled to more southerly lands.

With these engagements, Emperor Guangwu declined yet another foreign engagement. In AD 46, many Xiyu (modern Xinjiang and former Soviet central Asia) kingdoms were suffering under the hegemony of one of the kingdoms, Shache (Yarkand). They petitioned Emperor Guangwu to again reestablish the Western Han post of the governor of Xiyu. Emperor Guangwu declined, stating that his empire was so lacking in strength at the time that he could not expend efforts to protect Xiyu kingdoms. In response, the Xiyu kingdoms submitted to Xiongnu.

Marital and succession issues

As alluded to above, while still under Gengshi Emperor, Emperor Guangwu married his childhood sweetheart Yin Lihua. Later, in AD 24, while he was on his expedition north of the Yellow River, he entered a political marriage with Guo Shengtong (郭聖通), the niece of a regional warlord, Liu Yang (劉楊) the Prince of Zhending. In AD 25, Guo bore him a son, Liu Jiang (劉疆).

In AD 26, Emperor Guangwu was prepared to create an empress, and he favored his first love, Yin. However, Yin had not yet had a son by that point, and she declined the empress position and endorsed Guo. Emperor Guangwu therefore made Guo empress and her son Prince Jiang crown prince.

By AD 41, however, Empress Guo had long lost the emperor's favor. She continuously complained about that fact, and this angered Emperor Guangwu. In AD 41, he deposed her and made Yin empress instead. Rather than imprisoning Guo (as is often the fate of deposed empresses), however, he created her son Liu Fu (劉輔) the Prince of Zhongshan and made her the Princess Dowager of Zhongshan. He made her brother Guo Kuang (郭況) an important official and, perhaps as a form of alimony, rewarded him with great wealth.

Not having the heart to depose mother and son, Emperor Guangwu initially left Guo's son, Jiang, as crown prince. However, Crown Prince Jiang, realizing that his position was precarious, repeatedly offered to step down. In AD 43, Emperor Guangwu agreed and made Liu Yang (劉陽), the oldest son of Empress Yin, crown prince instead. Former Crown Prince Jiang was made the Prince of Donghai. He also changed Prince Yang's name to Zhuang (莊).

Late reign

In AD 47, an opportunity arose with regard to Xiongnu. Xiongnu had a succession dispute, pitting the current chanyu, Punu (蒲奴) against his cousin Bi (比), the son of a former chanyu. In AD 48, Bi also claimed the title of chanyu, and submitted to Emperor Guangwu's authority. Punu also submitted, in response, and the divided Xiongnu stopped waging war against Han.

In AD 49, a rare blot on Emperor Guangwu's rule occurred. He had once again commissioned Ma Yuan to go on an expedition—against the indigenous people of the Wulin Commandery (modern northwestern Hunan and eastern Guizhou), who had rebelled. While Ma was on the expedition, however, a number of Ma's political enemies made false accusations against Ma. Emperor Guangwu, believing these accusations, began investigating Ma, who happened to die of illness while on the campaign. With Ma dead and unable to defend himself, Emperor Guangwu stripped Ma of his marquess title and denounced him posthumously. (Ma's reputation was not restored until his daughter later became empress to Emperor Guangwu's son Emperor Ming.)

In AD 57, Emperor Guangwu died. He was succeeded by Crown Prince Zhuang, who ascended the throne as Emperor Ming.

Era names

• Jianwu (建武): AD 25–56

• Jianwuzhongyuan (建武中元): AD 56–58

Family

Consorts and Issue:

• Empress Guanglie, of the Yin clan (光烈皇后 陰氏; 5–64), personal name Lihua (麗華)

　• Liu Zhuang, Emperor Xiaoming (孝明皇帝 劉莊; 28–75), fourth son

　• Liu Cang, Prince Xian of Dongping (東平憲王 劉蒼; d. 83), sixth son

　• Princess Nieyang (涅陽公主), personal name Zhongli (中禮), second daughter

　　• Married Dou Gu of Fufeng, Marquis Xianqin (扶風 竇固; d. 88)

　• Liu Jing, Prince Si of Guangling (廣陵思王 劉荊; d. 67), eighth son

　• Liu Heng, Duke Huai of Linhuai (臨淮懷公 劉衡; d. 41), ninth son

　• Liu Jing, Prince Xiao of Langya (琅邪孝王 劉京; d. 81), 11th son

• Empress, of the Guo clan (皇后 郭氏; d. 52), fifth cousin, personal name Shengtong (聖通)

　• Liu Qiang, Prince Gong of Donghai (東海恭王 劉強; 25–58), first son

　• Liu Fu, Prince Xian of Pei (沛獻王 劉輔; d. 84), second son

　• Liu Kang, Prince An of Jinan (濟南安王 劉康; d. 97), fifth son

　• Princess Guantao (館陶公主; d. 73), personal name Hongfu (紅夫), third daughter

　　• Married Han Guang (韓光; d. 73), and had issue (one son)

　• Liu Yan, Prince Zhi of Fuling (阜陵質王 劉延; d. 89), seventh son

　• Liu Yan, Prince Jian of Zhongshan (中山簡王 劉焉; 39–90), tenth son

• Meiren, of the Xu clan (美人 許氏; d. 86)

　• Liu Ying, Prince Chu (楚王 劉英; d. 71), third son

• Unknown

　• Princess Wuyang (舞陽公主), personal name Yiwang (義王), first daughter

　　• Married Liang Song of Anding, Marquis Ling (安定 梁松), and had issue (one son)

　• Princess Yuyang (淯陽公主), personal name Liliu (禮劉), fourth daughter

　　• Married Guo Huang, Marquis Yang'an (郭璜; d. 92) in 52

　• Princess Liyi (酈邑公主; d. 59), personal name Shou (綬), fifth daughter

　　• Married Yin Feng (陰豐; d. 59)

Ancestry

生平經歷

早年

漢哀帝建平元年十二月甲子（前5年1月15日）夜於陳留郡濟陽縣出生。劉秀出生的時候，有赤光照耀整個房間，當年稻禾（嘉禾）一莖九穗，因此得名秀。

劉秀是漢高帝劉邦九世孫，西漢景帝子長沙定王劉發之子舂陵節侯劉買的玄孫，與更始帝有同一位高祖父劉買。其父為南頓令劉欽，母樊嫻都。世代居住在南陽郡蔡陽（今湖北省棗陽市西南），屬地方豪族。劉秀九歲時，父親逝世，便由叔父劉良撫養。由于劉秀勤于農事，而兄劉縯愛好遊俠，豢養門客，經常取笑劉秀，將他比做劉邦的兄弟劉喜。新朝天鳳年間（14年—19年），劉秀至長安，學習《尚書》，略通大義。成年後劉秀身高七尺三寸。

劉秀在新野縣時，聽聞陰麗華的美貌，心悅之。後至長安，見執金吾車騎甚盛，因歎曰：「仕宦當作執金吾，娶妻當得陰麗華。」

赤眉綠林起義

時值新莽天鳳五年（17年），天下大亂，赤眉軍與綠林軍各自起兵反王莽。地皇三年（22年），劉秀避吏於新野，因賣穀而至宛（今河南省南陽市），經李通勸說在宛起兵。地皇四年（23年）二月，劉縯、劉秀兄弟與綠林兵共同擁護劉玄稱帝，國號仍為漢，改元更始，史稱更始帝。同年劉秀率綠林軍1萬以少勝多於昆陽滅王莽軍42萬，殺其主帥王尋，史稱昆陽之戰。

此後劉縯、劉秀兄弟威望大盛，遭到劉玄的猜忌。劉秀有所察覺，但劉縯不以為意，終被劉玄藉故殺死，同被殺死的還有同宗劉稷。此時劉秀也處於危險之中，只得向劉玄謝罪，並不敢為哥哥服喪，飲食言笑如常。劉玄心有所慚，故而拜劉秀為破虜大將軍、武信侯。

一統天下

後更始帝劉玄攻占長安，新莽滅亡。時河北王郎起兵，于是更始帝派劉秀巡視黃河以北，劉秀始得脫離險境。劉秀遂在河北積蓄力量，日益壯大，被更始帝封為「蕭王」。劉秀率吳漢、鄧禹等手下大將，繼續在北方大破銅馬等割據勢力，被關西人號為「銅馬帝」。由於劉秀與更始帝心生二意，自此劉秀手下便不斷勸進。

更始三年（25年）六月，赤眉軍立劉盆子為傀儡皇帝。同月二十二己未日（25年8月5日），劉秀于鄗城即皇帝位，改元建武，國號仍為漢，史稱東漢。九月，赤眉軍擊敗劉玄，漢更始帝投降，同年十二月被殺。

劉秀因為漢朝是火德的緣故遷都洛陽，改洛陽為「雒陽」。劉秀先後蕩平赤眉、張步、隗囂等割據勢力，然割據一方的盧芳，劉秀屢次遣吳漢、杜茂往擊，均不克。建武十二年（36年），盧芳進攻雲中郡，留守九原的部將隨育脅迫盧芳降伏劉秀。盧芳放棄軍隊，逃往匈奴。同年十一月十九己卯日（36年12月25日），吳漢攻克成都，割據四川的公孫述成家政權滅亡，東漢統一中國。

倭國授印

建武中元二年（公元57年），第一次有明文記載「倭人國家」與中國往來。九州北部（博多灣沿岸）的倭奴國接受漢王朝的策封，光武帝封其為「倭奴國王」，並授予金印。

1784年，在日本北九州地區博多灣志賀島，出土一枚刻有「漢委奴國王」個字的金印。這一枚金印也為中日兩國最早交往的證明。

執政時期

劉秀勤于政事，「每旦視朝，日仄乃罷，數引公卿郎將議論經理，夜分乃寐」。在位期間，多次發布釋放奴婢和禁止殘害奴婢的詔書。為減少貧民賣身為奴婢，經常發救濟糧，減少租徭役，興修水利，發展農業生產。裁併郡縣，精簡官員。結果，裁併四百餘縣，官員十置其一。歷史上稱其統治時期為光武中興。其間國勢昌隆，號稱「建武盛世」。

劉秀統一中國後，厭武事，不言軍旅，建武二十七年（51年），朗陵侯臧宮、揚虛侯馬武上書：請乘匈奴分裂、北匈奴衰弱之際發兵擊之，立「萬世刻石之功」。光武卻下詔：「今國無善政，災變不息，人不自保，而複欲遠事邊外乎！……不如息民。」劉秀不同于明太祖朱元璋得天下後誅殺大批功臣只留下湯和徐達的無情，劉秀分封三百六十多位功臣為列侯，給予他們尊崇的地位，只解其兵權，劉秀誅殺功臣一說源于戲劇，令劉秀蒙受「不白之冤」。其實，在統一中國之前，他就開始削弱國防建設，廢郡國兵制，罷郡國都尉。削弱地方兵權的同時，導致後來無力抵禦外患，而豪強地主的部曲家兵則迅速發展，像東漢末年的董卓就是一例。劉秀以後不設丞相，而是「雖置三公」但「事歸台閣」；一方面削弱三公權力，使三公成為虛位，另一方面又擴大尚書台的職權，成為皇帝發號施令的執行機構，所有權力集中于皇帝一身。」《後漢書·申屠剛傳》說：「時內外群官，多帝自選舉，加以法理嚴察，職事過苦，尚書近臣，至乃捶撲牽曳于前，群臣莫敢正言。」「自是大臣難居相任」。建武二十八年（52年）他藉故搜捕王侯賓客，「坐死者數千人」，嚴禁結黨營私。

駕崩

建武中元二年二月初五日戊戌（57年3月29日），崩于雒陽南宮前殿，享壽六十二歲，在位三十二年。三月丁卯（4月27日），安葬于漢原陵（今河南孟津縣鐵謝村附近），廟號世祖，謚光武皇帝。劉秀駕崩後，其子漢明帝劉莊將統一戰爭中功勞最大的二十八人的影像畫在雲台閣，稱雲台二十八將。

人物評價

正面

• 《資治通鑑》稱劉秀是個寬厚簡易的人。在統一過程中，劉玄的一些手下曾參與謀害他的哥哥，他能夠不計前嫌地招降並厚待；分封功臣時，不顧他人勸說，將最大的封地劃到了四縣之廣；戰爭尚未結束，就將原來十分之一的稅率減到三十分之一；馬援為隗囂所使，分別訪問公孫述和劉秀，獨為劉秀的人格魅力折服；耿弇、竇融曾專制一方，以兵多權大心不自安，而劉秀對他們未有半點疑慮。凡此種種，都成為他成功的決定性因素。甚至在統一之後，他廢郭皇后及太子劉彊，立陰皇后及次子劉陽（後改名莊），猶能令郭皇后到其子中山王的封國安享餘年，兩子之間不生嫌隙，也沒有受到臣下及後人的議論。

• 范曄：「雖身濟大業，競競如不及，故能明慎政體，總欖權綱，量時度力，舉無過事，退功臣而進文吏，戢弓矢而散馬牛，雖道未方古，斯亦止戈之武焉。」

• 諸葛亮：「光武神略計較，生于天心，故帷幄無他所思，六奇無他所出，于是以謀合議同，共成王業而已。」

• 明朝官修皇帝實錄《明太祖實錄》記載，明太祖朱元璋在洪武七年八月初一日（1374年9月7日），親自前往南京歷代帝王廟祭祀三皇、五帝、夏禹王、商湯王、周武王、漢高祖、漢光武帝、隋文帝、唐太宗、宋太祖、元世祖一共十七位帝王，其中對漢光武帝劉秀的祝文是：「惟漢光武皇帝延攬英雄，勵精圖治，載興炎運，四海咸安。有君天下之德而安萬世之功者也。元璋以菲德荷天佑人助，君臨天下，繼承中國帝王正統，伏念列聖去世已遠，神靈在天，萬古長存，崇報之禮，多未舉行，故于祭祀有闕。是用肇新廟宇于京師，列序聖像及歷代開基帝王，每歲祀以春、秋仲月，永為常典。今禮奠之初，謹奉牲醴、庶品致祭，伏惟神鑒。尚享！」

• 王夫之《讀通鑑論》：「光武之得天下，較高帝而尤難矣。光武之神武不可測也！三代而下，取天下者，唯光武獨焉！」「自三代而下，唯光武允冠百王矣」。

負面

• 光武帝承襲西漢後期法律寬鬆的弊病，又過于剝奪三公的職權，明章之治以後皇帝幼小，陷入了長期的戚宦之爭之黑暗和混亂。

• 劉秀迷信圖讖，與不信讖的大臣發生衝突，且時而感情用事，處事不公，韓歆因直諫被逼死，劉秀又包庇湖陽公主險些殺死董宣。

• 劉秀縱容部下吳漢軍對鄧奉的家鄉進行劫掠，導致鄧奉反叛，後來鄧奉兵敗投降被殺。平狄將軍龐萌與蓋延共擊董憲，而詔書卻只下達給蓋延、不給龐萌，龐萌以為蓋延說自己壞話，起疑，反叛，後來龐萌兵敗被殺。

家族成員

祖先

• 漢景帝與程姬的侍者唐兒（即唐姬）生長沙定王劉發。

• 劉發，生舂陵節侯劉買。

• 劉買，生舂陵戴侯劉熊渠和鬱林太守劉外。

• 劉外，生巨鹿都尉劉回。

• 劉回，生南頓令劉欽和劉良。

• 劉欽，娶樊重女樊嫻都，生長女劉黃、次女劉元、長男劉縯、次男劉仲、三男劉秀、三女劉伯姬。

嗣父

• 漢元帝劉奭

后妃

• 皇后 郭聖通

• 光烈皇后 陰麗華

• 美人 許氏

• 除兩位皇后外，劉秀妃嬪僅知許氏一人，其餘有無已不可考。根據《後漢書·卷十上·皇后紀》的記載，光武帝初時，後宮稱號初有皇后、貴人，後增美人、宮人、採女三等。亦曾在洛陽鄉中選聘良家童女入後宮。

子女

• 東海恭王劉彊，母郭皇后

• 沛獻王劉輔，母郭皇后

• 楚王劉英，母許美人

• 漢明帝劉莊，母陰皇后

• 濟南安王劉康，母郭皇后

• 東平憲王劉蒼，母陰皇后

• 阜陵質王劉延，母郭皇后

• 廣陵思王劉荊，母陰皇后

• 臨淮懷公劉衡，母陰皇后

• 中山簡王劉焉，母郭皇后

• 琅邪孝王劉京，母陰皇后

• 舞陰長公主劉義王

• 涅陽公主劉中禮

• 館陶公主劉紅夫

• 淯陽公主劉禮劉

• 酈邑公主劉綬

軼事典故

光武省親：

建武三年（公元27年）冬十月壬申，幸舂陵（今湖北省棗陽市吳店鎮），祠園廟，因置酒舊宅，大會故人父老。

提高家鄉建制：

建武六年（公元30年）春正月丙辰，改舂陵鄉為章陵縣。世世複徭役，比豐、沛，無有所豫。

以柔治國：

建武十七年（公元41年）冬十月甲申，幸章陵。修園廟，祠舊宅，觀田廬，置酒作樂，賞賜。時，宗室諸母因酣悅，相與語曰：「文叔少時謹信，與人不款曲，唯直柔耳。今乃能如此！」帝聞之，大笑曰：「吾理天下，亦欲以柔道行之。」乃悉為舂陵宗室起祠堂。

影視形象

• 電視歌仔戲《東漢演義》（1990年）：由黃香蓮飾演劉秀

• 外臺歌仔戲《劉秀興漢》（2000年）：由黃香蓮飾演劉秀

• 大陸電視劇《秀麗江山之長歌行》（2016年）：由袁弘飾演劉秀

電玩

• 《軒轅劍柒》

注釋