Emperor Hui of Han (; 210 BCEmperor Hui's biography in Book of Han indicated that he was 5 (by East Asian reckoning) when his father Liu Bang became King of Han. – 26 September 188 BC),wuyin day of the 8th month of the 7th year of Emperor Hui's reign, per Emperor Hui's biography in Book of Han born Liu Ying (), was the second emperor of the Han dynasty. He was the second son of Emperor Gaozu, the first Han emperor, and the only son of Empress Lü from the powerful Lü clan. Emperor Hui is generally remembered as a somewhat weak character dominated and terrorized by his mother, Empress Lü, who became Empress Dowager when her husband died after being wounded in a war she had encouraged him to personally take command in.Zizhi Tongjian, vol.12
Huidi was personally kind and well-intentioned, simple, hesitant, soft-hearted and generous, unable to escape the impact of his mother's viciousness. He tried to protect his younger half-brother Ruyi, Prince Yin of Zhao from being murdered by Empress Dowager Lü, but failed. After that, he indulged himself in drinking and sex, gave up government affairs to his mother, and died at a relatively young age. Emperor Hui's wife was Empress Zhang Yan, a niece of his by his elder sister Princess Yuan of Lu; their marriage was the result of insistence by Empress Dowager Lü and was a childless one. After Emperor Hui died without a designated heir, Empress Dowager Lü installed two of his alleged sons whom she adopted into her clan, Emperor Qianshao of Han and Liu Hong, sons of one or more of the Emperor's concubines. They and the rest of the Lü clan were exterminated in the wake of the ensuing Lü Clan disturbance, and Emperor Hui's half-brother Liu Heng was established as Emperor Wen.
Early life and years as crown prince
Early years Liu Ying was born during the Qin dynasty. Liu Ying's childhood is not completely clear. His father Liu Bang would after Liu Ying's birth go on to found the Han dynasty, and later given the posthumous name of Han Gaodi (emperor Gao of Han). What is known is that Liu Ying was not Liu Bang's oldest son—that would be Liu Fei, who would later be made the Prince of Qi. However, Liu Ying was considered to be the proper heir because his mother, the later Empress Lü, was Liu Bang's wife, while Liu Fei's mother was either a concubine or a mistress who was with Liu Bang before he became King of Han.() Book of Han, vol.38
Chu–Han Contention During Chu–Han Contention, while Liu Bang fought a five-year war with Xiang Yu for supremacy over the Chinese world, his mother, his sister, and he did not initially follow his father to the Principality of Han (modern Sichuan, Chongqing, and southern Shaanxi); rather, they stayed in his father's home territory, perhaps in his home town of Pei (, in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) deep in Xiang's Principality of Western Chu, presumably with his grandfather Liu Taigong.
Father Liu's big setback In 205 BC, Liu Bang appeared to be near total victory, having captured Xiang's capital of Pengcheng. How his family received this news was unclear, but a few months later, when Xiang responded and crushed Liu's forces, Liu fled and, in his flight, attempted to pass through his hometown to take his family with him. He was able to find his children and carry them along with him, but his father and wife were captured by Xiang's forces and kept as hostages—and would not be returned to him until Liu and Xiang temporarily made peace in 203 BC. The then-very young Liu Ying must have then spent these days not knowing what the eventual fate of his grandfather and mother would be.
Father Liu's big victory After Liu Bang's victory and self-declaration as the emperor (later known as Emperor Gao), thus establishing the Han dynasty, in 202 BC, he made his wife empress and Liu Ying, as his proper heir, crown prince. Thus, Liu Ying became the first crown prince in Chinese imperial history. Under the title of Ying Taizi ("Crown Prince Ying"), he was considered to be kind and tolerant, characteristics that Emperor Gao did not like. Rather, he favored his young son Liu Ruyi, whom he considered to be more like him and whose mother, Consort Qi, was his favorite concubine. With the support of the officials and the Four Whiteheads of Mount Shang, Prince Ying's status as heir survived despite Consort Qi's machinations.() Shiji, vol.55. Zhang Liang's biography in Book of Han also contained this anecdote.
Four Whiteheads of Mount Shang
Soon after establishing the Han dynasty, the new emperor, Gaodi, was eager to recruit talented persons. In 196 BCE, Gao even issued a decree to the effect that any official knowing of a virtuous man must so report on penalty of being fired (unless they were too old or sick). Sometime before or after that, Gao attempted to obtain the services of the Four Whiteheads of Mount Shang: Master Dongyuan, Qi Liji, Master Xiahuang and Mr. Lu Li. During the time of troubles which characterized the Qin dynasty, these four had entered into a life of seclusion on Mount Shang. They were old and had white hair and beards. Thus, they were known as the Four Whiteheads of Mount Shang. Liu Bang was well aware of the reputation of these four sages, and when he became emperor Gao, the four refused his ardent entreaties to assume positions of importance in his newly established government. When the question of who was to be imperial heir came up, two of Gaodi's women both advocated for their own son: Lü for Ying and Qi for her own son. Gao favored Qi's son, as he thought the youth embodied more of his personality. Lü Hou got the advantage: she went to the powerful official Zhang Liang, who said, “His Majesty had long heard about the Four Whiteheads of Mount Shang and wanted to invite them to serve the country. However, they refused. If the Crown Prince could obtain the support of the Four Whiteheads of Mount Shang, then His Majesty would not depose him.” Lü Hou then applied her forces of persuasion. The Four Whiteheads of Mount Shang showed up at court. The four agreed that according to the Confucian precepts of filial piety, as the elder son the future Huidi should succeed to the rulership. Furthermore, Liu Ying's nature was benevolent and compassionate. Gaodi noticed the presence of four elders with white hair and white beards at his court, and inquired as to their identity. Upon finding out who they were and what their position was, Gaodi went to Lady Qi and told her: “I cannot appoint your son as the successor because the Crown Prince has already obtained the support of such capable people. His position is firmly entrenched.”
Empress Lü: Growing ascendancy As crown prince, Prince Ying, along with his mother, would be the ones who would rule on important matters at the capital in his father's absence during various campaigns. When Ying Bu rebelled in 196 BC, Emperor Gao was ill and considered sending Prince Ying as the commander of the forces against Ying Bu rather than campaigning himself, but at the suggestion of Empress Lü (who averred that the generals, who were generally Emperor Gao's old friends, might not fully obey the young prince), went on the campaign himself. Prince Ying was instead put in charge of home territories around the capital Chang'an, assisted by Confucian scholar Shusun Tong () and strategist Zhang Liang (). He appeared to carry out the tasks competently but without distinction, but his mother, Empress Lu, first received the memorials and determined what subjects would be given to her son, the crown prince. On important matters, she had to be informed and consulted for decision-making, and orders were issued with her approval.
Succession to the imperial power Prince Ying succeeded to the throne of Han when his father died in 195 BC from complications of an arrow wound suffered during the campaign against Ying Bu, after Lü Hou had insisted on Gaodi personally leading the fight.() Zizhi Tongjian, vol.12. However, the same volume of Zizhi Tongjian also recorded that Liu Bang was already ill when he chose to lead an army against Ying Bu, and that it was he who refused further treatment after a doctor assessed that he could be saved. ()
Reign as emperor under Empress Lü's regency
Immediately upon Prince Ying's ascension to the throne as Emperor Hui, Empress Lü, now empress dowager, became the effective lead figure in his administration. She wanted to carry out a plot of revenge against Consort Qi and her son Ruyi. She first arrested Consort Qi and put her in prison garb (shaved head, confined by stock, and wearing red clothes). She then summoned Liu Ruyi to the capital—an attempt that was initially resisted by Ruyi's chief of staff Zhou Chang (), whom she respected because he was one of the officials who insisted on Liu Ying being the rightful heir. Instead of directly moving against Zhou and Liu Ruyi, though, Lü circumvented Zhou by first summoning him to the capital, and then summoning Liu Ruyi.() Book of Han, vol.42
Emperor Hui tried to save Liu Ruyi's life. Before Liu Ruyi could get to the capital, Emperor Hui intercepted his young brother at Bashang (, in modern Xi'an) and received Liu Ruyi into his palace, and they dined and slept together. Empress Dowager Lü wanted to kill Liu Ruyi, but was afraid that any attempt might also harm her own son, and therefore could not carry out her plot for several months.() Zizhi Tongjian, vol.12
Empress Dowager Lü got her chance in January 194 BC. One morning, Emperor Hui was out hunting and wanted to take Liu Ruyi with him. The young prince was then only 14 years old and refused to get up from bed, and Emperor Hui left for the hunt on his own. Empress Dowager Lü heard this and immediately sent an assassin into the emperor's palace to force poisoned wine down the prince's throat. By the time that Emperor Hui returned, his brother was dead. She then had Consort Qi's eyes gouged out, made her ears deaf, drugged her to make her unable to speak and had her arms and legs cut off. The mutilated woman was thrown into a latrine and then fed and kept alive in a pig's bin and was called the "", meaning literally the "human swine". (She would die from the torture.) When Emperor Hui saw his father's favorite and the mother of his beloved little brother in such a condition, he cried out loud and became depressed and sick for about a year. He told his mother that he could not govern the empire, given that he was the son of someone like her who has done such inhuman deeds. From that point, Emperor Hui only "indulged himself with wine and women" and no longer made major and key governing decisions, leaving them to his mother, and Empress Dowager Lü had so much power that Emperor Hui was ineffective.