The Historical Significance of Liu Bang's Claim to the Throne

Liu Bang was a commoner who carried a three-foot sword and gained access to the world to establish the foundation of the Han Dynasty. Liu Bang, who was indefatigable and more courageous than ever, learnt how to deal with people through his role as the chief of a small pavilion, and then succeeded in enlisting the hearts of the people. In the face of the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty and the weakness of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang united the heroes and heroines, starting with the successful attack on Pei County, then leading them to continue the uprising, successfully taking one city after another, and later, in the Chu-Han War, against Xiang Yu, he won the final victory and officially unified the country, claiming the throne and establishing the Han Dynasty. This is a historical example of the victory of the weak over the strong. Liu Bang's claim to the throne also shows that only by following the trend of history, by following the way of heaven, by making rational use of human resources and by winning the hearts of the people, can we win the world! This is a historical example of the struggle between good and evil. Liu Bang led an allied team of heroes and heroines, fewer in number than the enemy, to maintain justice and to do justice for Heaven, eventually winning the throne and establishing a new dynasty: the Han Dynasty, which also proved that the light of justice and morality must break through the dark forces of evil.

After Liu Bang became emperor, he was called Han Gaozu.

Politically, he had the support and assistance of his heroes, who enabled him to consolidate the Han dynasty, develop its culture, economy and agriculture, reorganise the customs, morals and manners of the people in peace, and govern the country so that the people could live and work in peace and happiness.

After the establishment of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang asked Xiao He to compile nine chapters of laws based on the laws of the Qin dynasty, which were suitable for the time. In contrast to the strict laws of the Qin dynasty, the Han dynasty laws sought to be lenient and soft, and equally strict and loose. The Nine Chapters of the Law had a profound influence on future generations, and most of the laws of the post-Han dynasty were modelled on the Han Law, which has been regarded as the father of law and order and "the way of the hundred generations".

Liu Bang's governing strategy adopted the philosophy of relieving the people of their burdens, recuperating and allowing the economy to develop rapidly, and Liu's reign was marked by very lenient policies. The reign of Liu Bang was marked by lenient policies. Thinking that only by keeping the people well-fed and warm could the country be stabilised and the hearts of the people be stabilised, Liu Bang attached great importance to agricultural development, and as the social economy became better, so did the social order, morality, manners and customs of the people. Moreover, Liu Bang and Xiongnu adopted a foreign policy of peaceful coexistence, and together with this foreign policy of peace with Xiongnu, Liu Bang's reign was therefore free from attacks by Xiongnu on the frontier people.

In addition, Liu Bang was an emperor who focused on building culture. In terms of culture, Liu Bang respected talent and knew people well. Liu Bang gave every talent the opportunity to play a role regardless of class high, low, noble or low, and from Liu Bang onwards, the selection of Chinese emperors, officials and talents was based more on ability than on origin. Liu Bang broke the rigid concept of class and established an ideology of equality for all.

During Liu Bang's reign, Confucianism was particularly promoted. During the Warring States period, rites and music had collapsed, the Zhou rites had been abandoned, and the seven kingdoms had been at war for a long time, leading to cultural fragmentation. After Liu Bang founded the Han Dynasty, he began to integrate the cultures of various countries, forming a set of cultural systems applicable to the whole country. Under this set of cultures were regional cultures such as Qi culture, Chu culture and Shu culture. The Han dynasty established by Liu Bang was centred on the Chinese culture, and from the west to the central plains, after drawing on the essence of the eight cultures of China, a set of distinctive cultures was formed that was superior to the local cultures. Liu Bang was therefore the great founder and pioneer of the Han nation and Han culture.

During his reign, Liu also established the national library, the Tianlu Pavilion and the Shiqu Pavilion, which housed books from the seven kingdoms. Due to the burning of books by Qin Shi Huang, a large number of books were destroyed. The countless canonical books that were regarded as classics by later generations were arranged to be rearranged and reorganised by Liu Bang after he established the Han Dynasty. Liu also had military wizards Xiao He and Han Xin, who led wars with him, write books on the art of war and pass them on to future generations.

Like Confucius, Liu Bang was also very concerned with the health and physical exercise of his people, and the sport of cuju (football) became very popular during Liu Bang's reign. Football was even revered by Liu as a method of governing and practising martial arts, and was played not only by civilians and soldiers, but also by powerful ministers and nobles. Football was not only a way to exercise and practice martial arts, but also a way to promote communication between people, and it kept the people healthy and happy! As football could be played by nobles and commoners alike, it became a healthy exercise tool that broke down class attitudes.

In order to perfect the feudal ruling system and in consolidating his rule, Liu Bang carried out a rational design. The political system he designed and the arrangements he made for future generations allowed the Han Dynasty to continue for over four hundred years, the longest-standing unified dynasty of feudal emperors in Chinese history. Many later dynasties followed the set of political institutions and economic systems created by Liu Bang, who established the legal system and feudal system that had been used by later generations for a thousand years, and the Han Empire established by Liu Bang was arguably the most economically and culturally powerful dynasty in Chinese history. Because of this, many Chinese people to this day also refer to themselves as Han Chinese and Han Chinese.