liu qin was married to the daughter of one fan chong (樊重), and he and his wife had three sons – liu yan, liu zhong (劉仲), and liu xiu. liu qin died early, and the brothers were raised by their uncle liu liang (劉良). liu yan was ambitious, and ever since wang mang usurped the han throne in 8 and established the xin dynasty, liu yan was constantly considering starting a rebellion to restore the han dynasty. liu xiu, in contrast, was a careful man who was content to be a farmer. however, his brother-in-law deng chen (鄧晨), the husband of his sister liu yuan (劉元), who believed in a prophecy that a man named liu xiu would be emperor, constantly encouraged him to be more ambitious.