Prophecy played an important role throughout the rise and fall of the Han dynasty. At the end of the Western Han when Wang Mang usurped the throne, and later when the Guangwu emperor Liu Xiu overthrew Wang Mang and established the Eastern Han, the events were accompanied by prophecies and legends of every kind.
讖語在整個漢朝的興衰過程都扮演要角，西漢末年王莽篡位、接下來光武帝劉秀再推翻王莽建立東漢，就有各式各樣的讖語神話敲邊鼓。