Wu-ti

Wu-ti (wOO dē) [key], posthumous temple name of the 5th emperor (140 B.C.–87 B.C.) of the Han dynasty. Wu-ti [Chin.,=martial emperor] ruled directly through a palace secretariat. During his vigorous reign he incorporated the native states of S China into the empire, drove the nomadic Hsiung-nu out of the Ordos region on the northern frontier, and extended Chinese rule to the Tarim basin of Central Asia (modern Xinjiang). Wu-ti was the first Chinese monarch to extend court patronage to Confucianism, although contemporary Confucian scholars emphasized cosmology and ritual rather than ethics.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

• • Cite
  • Print
  • Email
  • Bookmark
    • Add bookmark
    • Add to del.icio.us
    • Digg It!
    • Add to Reddit