Liu Hsiu

Liu Hsiu (lyū shyū), A.D. 6-A.D. 57, restorer of the Han dynasty. As first emperor (A.D. 25-A.D. 57) of the Later, or Eastern, Han (A.D. 25-A.D. 200), he curbed the power of the imperial princes and recreated the centralized state administration of the Former, or Western, Han (206 B.C.-A.D. 8). Although only a distant relative of the last emperor of the Earlier Han, Liu Hsiu emerged victorious from the free-for-all that followed the downfall of the usurper Wang Mang. Liu Hsiu moved the capital eastward from Xi'an, which had been destroyed by rebels, to Luoyang. The new capital was nearer his large landholdings in E Henan prov. and was more easily supplied with grain than the old capital. Liu Hsiu is also known by his posthumous temple name, Kuang-wu-ti.