Emperor Gaozu of Han
Emperor Gaozu of Han (; 256 BCE – 1 June 195 BCE), born Liu Bang (劉邦), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 – 195 BCE. He was one of the few dynasty founders in Chinese history who was born in a peasant family.
Han dynasty
Some important texts were created and studied by scholars. Philosophical works written by Yang Xiong (53 BC–18 AD), Huan Tan (43 BC–28 AD), Wang Chong (27–100 AD), and Wang Fu (78–163 AD) questioned whether human nature was innately good or evil and posed challenges to Dong's universal order. The "Records of the Grand Historian" by Sima Tan (d. 110 BC) and his son Sima Qian (145–86 BC) established the standard model for all of imperial China's Standard Histories, such as the "Book of Han" written by Ban Biao (3–54 AD), his son Ban Gu (32–92 AD), and his daughter Ban Zhao (45–116 AD). There were dictionaries such as the "Shuowen Jiezi" by Xu Shen (c. 58–c. 147 AD) and the "Fangyan" by Yang Xiong. Biographies on important figures were written by various gentrymen. Han dynasty poetry was dominated by the "fu" genre, which achieved its greatest prominence during the reign of Emperor Wu.