Interview with a Famous Person

 

Interview with Liu Bang

 

 

Teaghan: I will be conducting an interview with the first emperor of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang.

 

Question: As a child you were always underestimated, how did that change as you aged?

Answer: I changed a lot since I was a child. As a boy I was considered futile with no ambition. As I got older, I was very fortunate for receiving a job as an official. However one day, I saw the Qin emperor riding on a carriage. He looked very rich and happy. From that day on I knew I wanted to become an emperor and be rich like him (Liu Bang - Emperor Gaozu of Western Han).

 

Question: You eventually overthrew the emperor of the Qin dynasty, tell me about that.

Answer: I started a rebellion of the Qin dynasty. It took two years to win that war. However, the director of another rebellion group was very angry about my victory. Xiang Yu, that director planned to kill me and a four year war began. However, after I had won the war, Xiang Yu committed suicide in a nearby river (Liu Bang - Emperor Gaozu of Western Han).

 

Question: Tell me about some of your laws and duties.

Answer: When I came to power, I needed more men for my military. I used the civil service to find those men. I also asked my family to take roles in the military. However I still needed civil servants. I found help from a new group called the gentry. This class had the smartest men be government officials and the other men become farmers. Also, there was more respect for women in my dynasty thanks to appropriate marriages (Wu).

 

Question: What religions did you follow?

Answer: While I was looking for civil servants, I talked with many scholars in my empire. They were followers of Confucianism and this did not mix well with my legalist thoughts and ideas (Wu). Although I did not like the Qin dynasty, I followed the same political ideas as them. I did finally incorporate some Confucian ideas into my governing (Han Dynasty 1).

 

 

Question: How did you die?

Answer: As my health was declining, I instructed my second son to be my heir. However the empress, Lu, did not want my son to fight against Ying Bu. Because of this I was forced to fight him myself. I was struck in my shoulder and severely injured. After that I plotted to kill the empress and my son but my past injuries sent me into relapse and I died at age 61 from those injuries. However, I died one of the greatest emperors of all time (Wu).