Liu With the era name Yuanping, he was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty. Initially the governor of Changyi, he was established as emperor in 74 BC by the minister Huo Guang.
Twenty-seven days later, he was deposed and removed from the official list of emperors, with palace officials citing 1,127 instances of malfeasance in articles of impeachment.
Liu He was exiled to live as a commoner, where he perished in his early thirties in 59 B.C., survived by his sixteen spouses and twenty-two children.
He was laid to rest in the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun, which was located in the northern portion of Xinjian in Jiangxi. In 2011, archaeologists discovered the tomb, and ongoing excavations have uncovered approximately 20,000 artifacts.
His tomb is one of the best-preserved from the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.) with the most integrated structure, distinct configuration, and comprehensive sacrificial system ever discovered. The tomb has yielded the greatest quantity and variety of artifacts in Jiangxi, as well as the highest craftsmanship.
Archaeologists discovered a shattered lacquer “screen” in the tomb’s main chamber and restored two portraits, one of which is believed to be the earliest portrait of Confucius ever discovered in China.
Over 5,000 bamboo papers of Confucian classics were also unearthed, indicating that Confucius’ teachings were prevalent over 2,000 years ago.
The Qi version of The Analects of Confucius, which had been lost for approximately 1,800 years, was discovered on bamboo slips subjected to infrared scanning and is now available for further study.
These misfortunes may have deprived his life of imperial splendour, but the relics unearthed from his tomb tell a different tale, disclosing the splendor of a dynasty. The trove of gold artifacts excavated is the largest single collection ever discovered in a Han Dynasty tomb, demonstrating the dynasty’s abundant gold reserves.
It is also the only tomb south of the Yangtze River with a chariot burial site. Five well-preserved horse-drawn vehicles, each with four sacrificed horses, were discovered, indicating that the proprietor was a member of the Han Dynasty’s highest strata.
Liu, the marquis, was the grandson of Emperor Wu, whose tenure is believed to have ushered in a prosperous period for the Han Dynasty comparable to that of the first Qin emperor.
Terra-cotta Warriors can be used to learn about Emperor Qin and his dynasty using archaeological artifacts. Prior to the discovery of the Haihunhou tomb, however, there were insufficient artifacts for a comprehensive examination of Emperor Wu, according to Yang Jun, a researcher at the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the leading archaeologist.
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