or Wu-ti orig. Liu Che
born 156 BC
died March 29, 87 BC
Emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty who vastly increased its authority and its influence abroad and made Confucianism China's state religion.
Under Wudi, China's armies drove back the nomadic Xiongnu tribes that plagued the northern border, incorporated southern China and northern and central Vietnam into the empire, and reconquered Korea. Their farthest expedition was to Fergana (in modern Uzbekistan). Wudi's military campaigns strained the state's reserves; seeking new income, he decreed new taxes and established state monopolies on salt, iron, and wine.