Emperor Wu of Han, born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi Emperor more than 1,800 years later – and remains the record for ethnic Han emperors. His reign resulted in a vast expansion of geopolitical influence for the Chinese civilization, and the development of a strong centralized state via governmental policies, economical reorganization and promotion of a hybrid Legalist–Confucian doctrine. In the field of historical social and cultural studies, Emperor Wu is known for his religious innovations and patronage of the poetic and musical arts, including development of the Imperial Music Bureau into a prestigious entity. It was also during his reign that cultural contact with western Eurasia was greatly increased, directly and indirectly.
Emperor Wu with two attendants
Chinese ceramic statues of cavalry and infantry, wearing armour and bearing shields (with missing weapons), from the Yangjiawan terracotta army, Hainan Provincial Museum
Ceramic statues of a prancing horse (foreground) and a cavalryman on horseback (background), Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD)
A scene of historic paragons of filial piety conversing with one another, Chinese painted artwork on a lacquered basketwork box, excavated from an Eastern-Han tomb of what was the Chinese Lelang Commandery in present-day North Korea
Throughout Chinese history, "Emperor" was the superlative title held by the monarchs who ruled various imperial dynasties. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the "Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine mandate right to rule all under Heaven. Emperors were worshiped posthumously under an imperial cult. The lineage of emperors descended from a paternal family line constituted a dynasty, and succession in most cases theoretically followed agnatic primogeniture.
Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China (r. 221–210 BC)
Qin Shi Huang escaping assassination (3rd century AD)
An 18th century depiction of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor of China
Yellow Emperor