A Powerful Emperor and an Even More Powerful Barbarian
Ancient China’s Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 195 BC) was no idiot. Born Liu Bang, he was a peasant who rose to become a minor official in the Chin Dynasty. When the realm fell into chaos following the death of Shi Huang Di, China’s first emperor, Liu Bang became a rebel leader and proved himself a master of anarchy. He invaded the Chin heartland and forced that dynasty’s last ruler to surrender in 206 BC. He then fought a civil war between the anti-Chin rebel leaders, won, and in 202 BC declared himself Emperor Gaozu (“High Founder”).
The former peasant turned emperor established the Han Dynasty, which ruled China for four centuries. However, Gaozu did make one bad move that cost him – and China for centuries after his death – dearly. It came about in a failed attempt to crush Steppe nomads whose raids had inflicted serious damage upon his realm. They were led by Modu Chanyu (234 – 174 BC), a powerful Steppe warrior and chieftain who habitually turned his defeated enemies’ skulls into cups from which he drank blood.