Emperor Xian of Han

Emperor of the Han dynasty from 189 to 220

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China rank#249
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Lived 181–234, aged 53China

China Historical Figures

Wikipedia
33 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in China
#249
Historical Figures
Era
181–234
Aged 53

Summary

Updated 2026-06-11

The last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty never ruled. Liu Xie spent thirty-one years on the throne as a hostage passed between warlords — a legitimacy token in other men's wars, until one of them finally took the title for himself.

Biography

About

Liu Xie became emperor at eight in 189 after the warlord Dong Zhuo deposed his half-brother and installed him as a puppet. When rival warlords rose against Dong Zhuo in 190, the general razed Luoyang and dragged the imperial court to Chang'an. After Dong Zhuo's assassination in 192, two of his former officers kept the boy emperor captive while regional powers acknowledged his legitimacy from a distance but sent no rescue. In 195 he escaped during a power struggle and reached the ruins of Luoyang, stranded, until Cao Cao arrived in 196 and took him to Xu. For the next two decades Cao Cao wielde…

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