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Emperor Wu of Han汉武帝

Archaic / OtherHistory × Fiction

Emperor of the Western Han dynasty. During a sacrifice at Ganquan, he encountered a strange event and once had Liu Ping remove a demon. While traveling east, he met a monster and Dongfang Shuo made it drink wine. He also moved the sacrifice to Nanyue, dug Kunming Pool, and witnessed a fight between snakes.

DIRECT FIGURES
64
RELATION RECORDS
103
SOURCE WORKS
13

RELATIONSHIP COMPASS

Emperor Wu of Han, and the people around them.

Open one chapter at a time. Each chapter gives the relationship first, then the source text behind it.

01
KINSHIP

Kinship

Blood, marriage and sworn bonds

6 figures · 6 records
2 more in the complete record
02
ALLEGIANCE

Allegiance

Rulers, appointments and allegiance

17 figures · 26 records
14 more in the complete record
03
CONFLICT

Conflict

Battles, captures and defeat

2 figures · 2 records
04
THE UNSEEN

Mythic acts

Transformation, aid and divine punishment

5 figures · 6 records
2 more in the complete record

12 key relationships are shown here. The complete record remains below.

In history · Records of the Three Kingdoms · Records of the Grand Historian · History of Song · Old Book of Tang

Shi Qing served as Prime Minister, while Wei Wan and Zhi Buyi were dismissed. As an emperor of the Han dynasty, he valued Dongfang Shuo, accepted remonstrance but also favored flatterers. As a Western Han emperor, he recruited talents, and Dongfang Shuo was his minister.

In fiction · Records of Myriad Things · Book of the Later Han · Extensive Records of the Taiping Era · Researches into Lost Records · In Search of the Supernatural · New Book of Tang · Correct Meaning of the Zuo Tradition · Book of Han

The Han emperor received incense and glue from a western envoy, did not believe in their wonders, but later verified them. He was fond of immortality, and the Queen Mother of the West came to meet him; Dongfang Shuo tested the method of guarding the palace.

Across source works

How this figure changes across texts

Works are shown side by side, not as a chronology. No influence between texts is inferred.

  1. Literature / legend

    Records of Myriad Things

    3 profile notes
    1 relations1 verified quotations
    • Queen Mother of the Westgive peachEmperor Wu of Han
    Verified original text · 1
    1. 以五枚与帝

      give peach · Records of Myriad Things, 史补

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  2. Official history

    Book of Han

    37 profile notes
    31 relations43 verified quotations
    • Emperor Wu of Hansacrificethe Yellow Emperor
    • Emperor Xuan of Hanhonor templeEmperor Wu of Han
    • Emperor Wu of Hanfather-sonEmperor Jing of Han
    • Huo GuangdecreedEmperor Wu of Han
    Verified original text · 43
    1. 还祭黄帝冢桥山

      sacrifice · Book of Han, 郊祀志_ch. 25上

    2. 孝宣皇帝尊孝武庙曰世宗

      honor temple · Book of Han, 韦贤传

    41 more verified quotations in the relationship records below.

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  3. Official history

    Book of the Later Han

    10 profile notes
    2 relations2 verified quotations
    • Emperor GuangwusacrificeEmperor Wu of Han
    • Emperor GuangwuimitateEmperor Wu of Han
    Verified original text · 2
    1. 武帝为世宗

      sacrifice · Book of the Later Han, 祭祀下宗庙社稷灵星先农迎春

    2. 宪章稽古,封岱勒成,仪炳乎世宗

      imitate · Book of the Later Han, 班彪列传下

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  4. Official history

    Old Book of Tang

    8 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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  5. 4 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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  6. 5 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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  7. 13 profile notes
    13 relations18 verified quotations
    • Emperor Wu of Hangrandparent-grandchildEmperor Xuan of Han
    • Emperor Wu of Hanruler-subjectHuo Guang
    • Wei Qingruler-subjectEmperor Wu of Han
    • Emperor Wu of HanappointHuo Qubing
    Verified original text · 18
    1. 宣帝初立,推恩宣德

      grandparent-grandchild · Records of the Grand Historian, 三王世家

    2. 大将军光辅政

      ruler-subject · Records of the Grand Historian, 三王世家

    16 more verified quotations in the relationship records below.

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  8. Literature / legend

    Researches into Lost Records

    1 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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  9. Official history

    History of Song

    7 profile notes
    1 relations1 verified quotations
    • Lü DafangquoteEmperor Wu of Han
    Verified original text · 1
    1. 如汉武帝五日一朝长乐宫

      quote · History of Song, 吕大防大忠大钧大临刘挚苏颂传

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  10. 5 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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  11. Literature / legend

    Romance of Sui and Tang

    1 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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  12. 36 profile notes
    3 relations4 verified quotations
    • Emperor Wu of Hanfather-sonEmperor Jing of Han
    • Queen Mother of the Westgive peachEmperor Wu of Han
    • Emperor Wu of Hansought DaoQueen Mother of the West
    Verified original text · 4
    1. 景帝子也

      father-son · Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, 神仙三

    2. 西王母降于汉宫

      降临 · Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, 女仙一

    2 more verified quotations in the relationship records below.

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  13. Official history

    New Book of Tang

    5 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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  14. 1 profile notes
    0 relations0 verified quotations

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History vs. fiction

In the official history, Emperor Wu of Han missed Lady Li and ordered the alchemist Shaoweng to set up a tent to summon her spirit, while the supernatural tale details his poetic lament.

  • The Book of Han, Treatise on Sacrifices, Part 1, records that Emperor Wu favored Lady Li, and when she died, Shaoweng used his arts to summon her and the stove god's appearance at night, and the emperor saw them from behind a curtain. He then appointed Shaoweng as General of Literary Accomplishment. In Search of the Supernatural, Volume 2, describes Shaoweng setting up a tent at night to summon her spirit, and Emperor Wu saw a beautiful woman in the tent, and "the emperor became even more sorrowful and composed a poem: 'Is it she? Or not? I stand and gaze, she is graceful, why does she come so slowly?'" This act of summoning the spirit is indeed recorded in the official history.

Relationship network

36 figures · 134 links
Emperor Wu of HanEmperor Wu of HanEmperor GuangwuEmperor Guangwuthe Yellow Emperorthe Yellow EmperorEmperor Xuan of HanEmperor Xuan of HanEmperor Jing of HanEmperor Jing of HanHuo GuangHuo GuangWei QingWei QingQueen Mother of the WestQueen Mother of the WestEmpress Dowager DouEmpress Dowager DouLü DafangLü DafangXiao HeXiao HeHuo QubingYang XiongSima XiangruZhang TangXiao WangzhiGongsun HongDou YingTian FenEmperor Zhao of HanZhang ErHan AnguoDong ZhongshuShangguan JieLi GuangKuang HengEmperor GaoDongfang ShuoLiu ZeZhao ChongguoGongsun HeZhang QianEmpress Dowager WangOld ManSima QianJi An
historyliteraturedual
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Sources: Records of the Three Kingdoms, 吴书·王楼贺韦华传; Records of Myriad Things, 卷之二; Records of the Grand Historian, 万石张叔列传; Book of the Later Han, 东夷列传; Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, 俊辩一; History of Song, 儒林传一; Researches into Lost Records, 卷五; In Search of the Supernatural, ch. 2

This page was extracted from classical texts with AI assistance and revised; errors remain possible. Spotted a mistake? Tell us →

Compiled with AI assistance from public-domain texts; for cultural reference. Mythological accounts vary — corrections welcome.