Gengshi Emperor

Gengshi Emperor
更始帝
Emperor of the Han dynasty
Reign23–25 AD
PredecessorRuzi Ying (Western Han)
SuccessorEmperor Guangwu (Eastern Han)
Died25 AD
Burial
Baling
Spouses
  • Consort Zhao
  • Consort Han
  • Consort Fan
Era dates
Gengshi (更始; 23–25)
Posthumous name
Prince of Huaiyang (淮陽王)
FatherLiu Zizhang
MotherLady He
Chinese name
Chinese更始帝
Hanyu PinyinGēngshǐ dì
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGēngshǐ dì
Wade–GilesKeng1-shih3 ti4
Courtesy name
Traditional Chinese聖公
Simplified Chinese圣公
Hanyu PinyinShènggōng
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinShènggōng
Personal name
Traditional Chinese劉玄
Simplified Chinese刘玄
Hanyu PinyinLiú Xuán
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLiú Xuán

The Gengshi Emperor (died c.November AD 25), born Liu Xuan, was an emperor of the Han dynasty that had been restored following the downfall of Wang Mang's short-lived Xin dynasty. He was also known by his courtesy name Shenggong and as the King or Prince of Huaiyang, a posthumous title bestowed upon him by Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han. The Gengshi Emperor was viewed as a weak and incompetent ruler, who briefly ruled over an empire willing to let him rule over them, but was unable to keep that empire together. He was eventually deposed by the Red Eyebrows and strangled a few months after his defeat.

Traditionally, historians treated his emperor status ambiguously: sometimes he would be referred to as the Gengshi Emperor, and sometimes by his posthumous title, Prince of Huaiyang. The regime of the Gengshi Emperor is known in historiography as the Xuan Han (玄漢), after his personal name Liu Xuan.