Tales of the Han Dynasty, Vol. 3

Emperor Jing of Han’s policy of “ruling by doing nothing” ultimately unleashed a storm of bloodshed in the imperial harem. First came a battle for the title of “queen of the harem,” which eventually turned into a struggle over the crown prince. In the end, Liu Che took the position. Once on the throne, he was full of ambition. First, he launched an unprecedented “revolution in thought,” making Confucianism the ideological foundation of imperial rule. Then he began a “military revolution,” sending the Han Empire down a long path of conquest, determined to punish its enemies no matter how far away they were.