Prelude
At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang created princely titles for many of his relatives in certain territories that accounted for between approximately one-third to one-half of the empire. This was an attempt to consolidate Liu family rule over the parts of China that were not ruled directly from the capital under the jùnxiàn (郡县/郡縣) commandery system.
During the reign of Emperor Wen, these princes were still setting their own laws, but in addition they were minting their own coins (albeit with Emperor Wen's approval) and collecting their own taxes. Many princes were effectively ignoring the imperial government's authority within their own principalities. When Emperor Jing became emperor in 157 BC, the rich Principality of Wu was especially domineering.
Read more about this topic: Rebellion Of The Seven States
Famous quotes containing the word prelude:
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