Pingdi

emperor of Han dynasty

Also known as: P’ing-ti

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Wade-Giles romanization:: P’ing-ti

Born:: 9 bc, China

Died:: ad 5, Chang’an [now Xi’an, Shaanxi province]

Also Known As:: P’ing-ti

Title / Office:: emperor (1BC-6), China

Pingdi (born 9 bc, China—died ad 5, Chang’an [now Xi’an, Shaanxi province]) was the last ruling emperor of China’s Xi (Western) Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 25).

Pingdi, at the time only nine years old, was placed on the throne in 1 bc by the powerful minister Wang Mang, whose daughter he married five years later. Though proof is lacking, it has been claimed that Pingdi was poisoned by his father-in-law. In any case, Pingdi’s death allowed Wang to assume the title of regent to a child emperor; in ad 8, Wang finally set aside the Han dynasty altogether and established himself as emperor of the Xin dynasty.

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