Emperor Wen of Han - Early Reign

Early Reign

Emperor Wen quickly showed an aptitude to govern the empire with diligence, and appeared to be genuinely concerned for the people's welfare. Heavily influenced by his wife Empress Dou, who was an adherent to Taoism, Emperor Wen governed the country with the general policies of non-intereference with the people and relaxed laws. His personal life was marked by thriftiness and general willingness to forgive. He was initially very deferential to Zhou Bo, Chen Ping, and Guan Ying (灌嬰), who were instrumental in his accession, and they served as successive prime ministers.

Examples of Emperor Wen's policies that showed kindness and concern for the people include:

• In 179 BC, he abolished the law that permitted the arrest and imprisonment of parents, wives, and siblings of criminals, with the exception for the crime of treason.
• In 179 BC, he created a governmental assistance program for those in need. Loans or tax exemptions were offered to widowers, widows, orphans, and seniors without children. He also ordered that monthly stipends of rice, wine, and meat be given to seniors over 80 years in age, and that additional stipends of cloth and cotton be given to seniors over 90 years in age.
• In 179 BC, he made peace with Nanyue, whose king Zhao Tuo Empress Dowager Lü had offended by an economic embargo and which therefore engaged in raids against the Principality of Changsha (modern Hunan) and the Commandery of Nan (modern Hubei). Emperor Wen accomplished this by writing humble yet assertive letters to Zhao offering peace with dignity and by caring for Zhao's relatives remaining in his native town of Zhending (真定, in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei).
• In 178 BC, after a solar eclipse (then viewed as a symbol of divine displeasure), he requested that officials give him honest criticism and recommend capable individuals for governmental positions. He also tried to decrease mandatory taxes and hard labor.

In 179 BC, after some hesitation (during which he, apparently influenced by the theory of chanrang (禪讓), thought that maybe it would be more proper for him to find the wisest person in the empire and offer the throne to him, or that he should consider offering the throne to his uncle Liu Jiao (劉交), the Prince of Chu; his cousin Liu Pi (劉濞), the Prince of Wu; or his younger brother Liu Chang (劉長), the Prince of Huainan), he created his oldest son Liu Qi the Crown Prince and Prince Qi's mother, Consort Dou, Empress.

In addition to Empress Dou, Emperor Wen also favored Consort Shen (慎夫人). Despite her favored state, however, she only wore simple dresses rather than elaborate designs, as a means of savings.

Emperor Wen, during the early part of his reign, was often impressed with suggestions tendered by a young official, Jia Yi, but opposed by senior officials, he did not promote Jia to particularly high positions; rather, Jia was put into a rotation as a teacher for various princes. Jia proposed dividing the larger principalities ruled by branch lines of the imperial family, a proposal that Emperor Wen agreed with but hesitated to actually carry out, and he did not actually implement Jia's proposal, which later might have prevented the Rebellion of the Seven States.