Chinese emperors family tree (early)
Emperor Xian, the last emperor of the Han dynasty, was a descendant of the first emperor Liu Bang. Lasting for over 400 years (the first to last for more than a century), the Han Dynasty is regarded as one of the golden ages of Chinese history. The Han Dynasty was interrupted by the reign of the usurper Wang Mang, who declared the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD); on this basis, the Han Dynasty is generally divided into the Western Han (206 BC – 9 AD and 23–25 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). The rulers of the Shu Han, one of the three successor states to the Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period, were descended from the Han imperial family, and considered themselves a continuation of the Han Dynasty; they are included below.
Jian'an poetry
The term "Jian'an poetry" covers the final years at the end of the Han Dynasty and during which the Cao family was rising, or risen, to prominence were known as the "Jian'an" era (196-220), the final reign era of Emperor Xian of Han: the following period is known as the Three Kingdoms era, due to the three kingdoms which divided up the Han Dynasty, and war with one another for succession to the Han empire. A prominent Han dynasty general, Cao Cao effectively took control of the Han dynasty from the Liu imperial family, and following Cao Cao's death, his son Cao Pi formalized this by accepting the abdication of the last titular ruler of Han and establishing the Cao family as the ruling dynastic family of a new state, Wei (also known as Cao Wei), one of the Three Kingdoms which were successor states to the Han empire. Besides their role as leaders in war and politics, the Cao family also had an important role in the field of poetry and literature.