or Kao-tsu orig. Liu Bang or Liu Pang
born 256 BC, Peixian, in modern Jiangsu province, China
died 195 BC, China
Man of peasant background who rose to become the founder of China's Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220).
When Shihuangdi , emperor of the Qin dynasty , died in 210 BC, Liu joined the rebels led by Xiang Yu in an effort to overthrow the Qin. Xiang Yu triumphed and rewarded Liu with the kingdom of Han in western China, but the two allies subsequently turned against each other. Liu's pragmatic shrewdness triumphed over Xiang Yu's aristocratic naiveté, and, taking the name Gaozu, he became the Han dynasty's first ruler.