Emperor Wu of Han

Emperor Wu’s first marriage was to an older cousin, Chen Jiao, who later became known as Empress Chen of Wu. This marriage was a political alliance and did not result in the birth of any children. The empress was deposed in 130 BC for committing witchcraft.

His second marriage was to Wei Zifu which lasted for 49 years. She was the mother of Emperor Wu's heir apparent, Crown Prince Liu Ju. In addition to his two wives, he had several concubines who bore him numerous children.

Wei Zifu and the crown prince were falsely accused of practicing witchcraft by some political conspirators following which the prince led an uprising in which thousands of people were killed. After the failed uprising, both the mother and son committed suicide.

He was born as Liu Che on 30 June 156 BC in Chang'an, (now Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China) to Liu Qi and his consort Wang Zhi. His grandfather was Emperor Wen of Han upon whose death Liu Qi ascended the throne as Emperor Jing of Han.

Liu Che was his father’s tenth son and thus initially considered unlikely to inherit the throne. However he became his father’s favorite son and was made the Prince of Jiaodong in 153 BC. He was later made crown prince in 149 BC.

Emperor Jing died in 141 BC and Crown Prince Liu Che ascended the throne as Emperor Wu. He was just 15 years old at that time.

Up to that time, the Han dynasty was run according to a Taoist wu wei ideology which emphasized on economic freedom and decentralization of government. Even though these policies helped to bring economic stability, they also resulted in the loss of political control by the government.

Young Emperor Wu was not satisfied with the ongoing policies and strived to bring about economic and political reforms. He consulted Confucian scholars and launched a series of reforms which came to be known as the Jianyuan Reforms.

However, since the emperor was still young, he was unable to fully implement his proposed policies as they were opposed by his mother and grandmother in whose hands the real political power to manage the government existed.

In 135 BC, his grandmother Grand Empress Dowager Dou died, and Emperor Wu could finally implement his ambitious plans. Almost immediately, he began a military campaign of territorial expansion and sent out troops in all directions.

The Han-Xiongnu War, a series of battles fought between the Chinese Han Empire and the Xiongnu confederated state from 133 BC to 89 AD, was the biggest war that took place during Emperor Wu’s reign. The war culminated in the total victory of the Han Empire over the Xiongnu state in 89 AD.