As Duke/Prince of Donghai and Crown Prince
In 39, Emperor Guangwu created all of his sons, other than Crown Prince Jiang, dukes, and Prince Yang was created the Duke of Donghai. He quickly became known for his intelligence even in his young age, and he often made quick judgments of situations that turned out to be correct. Emperor Guangwu became very impressed with him.
By 41, Empress Guo, having lost favor, was constantly complaining about that fact, which angered Emperor Guangwu. In 41, he deposed her and created Duke Yang's mother Consort Yin empress instead. All of the imperial dukes were promoted to princes to accommodate Emperor Guangwu's new title for Empress Guo—Princess Dowager of Zhongshan (after creating her son Liu Fu (劉輔) the Prince of Zhongshan), and Duke Yang was created the Prince of Donghai.
After Empress Guo was deposed, her son, Crown Prince Jiang, became apprehensive about remaining crown prince, and repeatedly requested to be replaced. Emperor Guangwu was initially hesitant to depose both mother and son, but in 43, he resolved to swap Princes Jiang's and Yang's positions. He created Prince Jiang the Prince of Donghai, and created Prince Yang crown prince. At this time, he also changed Prince Yang's name to Zhuang, perhaps because Yang (which means "sun") is such a commonly used character that the law of naming taboo would cause the people too much trouble. The new name was not without its own problems, and many members of the Zhuang clan were forced to change their names.
In 51, the woman who would eventually become his empress – Consort Ma, the youngest daughter of famed general Ma Yuan – would become a consort of his. She was 12, and he was 23. She would become a favorite of his, but never bore a son. Her niece (the daughter of her older sister), Consort Jia, also a consort of Crown Prince Zhuang, did give birth to a child—Liu Da (劉炟). At Crown Prince Zhuang's direction, Consort Ma adopted Consort Jia's son as her own.
As crown prince, Crown Prince Zhuang was often requested by Emperor Guangwu to render opinions in important matters. In 51, he was involved in making a major correct decision in Han's relationship with Xiongnu. By that point, Xiongnu had a civil war and divided into two—with North Xiongnu ruled by Chanyu Punu (蒲奴) and South Xiongnu ruled by Chanyu Bi (比). Han had become allied with South Xiongnu, and in response, Chanyu Punu, also wanting peace with Han, requested a heqin marriage. Prince Zhuang suggested that Emperor Guangwu refuse the proposal, reasoning that North Xiongnu had only made the proposal to alienate South Xiongnu from Han. Emperor Guangwu agreed.
In 57, Emperor Guangwu died, and Crown Prince Zhuang succeeded to the throne as Emperor Ming.
Read more about this topic: Emperor Ming Of Han
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