Reign
After Emperor Shang was proclaimed emperor, his brother Prince Sheng was created the Prince of Pingyuan.
Concerned that Emperor Shang might not live long, Empress Dowager Deng also kept Liu Hu, the twelve-year old cousin of Emperor Shang and future Emperor An of Han in the capital Luoyang as insurance against the infant emperor's death. (Prince Hu was the son of Prince Qing of Qinghe—who was once a crown prince under Emperor He's father Emperor Zhang but was deposed due to machinations of Emperor Zhang's wife Empress Dou. Therefore, he was viewed by some as the rightful heir.)
As Emperor Shang was an infant, actual and formal power were in Empress Deng's hands. Her brother Deng Zhi (鄧騭) became the most powerful official in the imperial government. She issued a general pardon, which benefitted the people who had rights stripped from them for associating with the family of Empress Dou.
Late in 106, Emperor Shang died. The officials had by this time realized that Prince Sheng, his older brother, was not as ill as originally thought, and wanted to make him emperor. However, Empress Dowager Deng was concerned that he might bear a grudge at not being made emperor before his brother, and therefore insisted on making Emperor Shang's cousin Prince Hu emperor instead, and he took the throne as Emperor An.
Emperor Shang, having died as a toddler, was not given a separate tomb, as is customary for emperors. Rather, in order to avoid unnecessary expenses, he was buried in the same tomb complex as his father Emperor He.
Read more about this topic: Emperor Shang Of Han
Famous quotes containing the word reign:
“Here reign the simplicity and purity of a primitive age, and a health and hope far remote from towns and cities.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I am monarch of all I survey;
My right there is none to dispute;
From the center all round to the sea
I am lord of the fowl and the brute.
O Solitude! where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy face?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms,
Than reign in this horrible place.”
—William Cowper (1731–1800)
“No one would have doubted his ability to reign had he never been emperor.”
—Tacitus (c. 55–c. 120)