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biography
| name: |
Wudi
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also spelled Wu-ti
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pronunciation:
[woo dee]
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (141–86 BC)
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| biography:
| Han dynasty emperor of China (his name means ‘martial emperor’). He respected Confucian scholarship, and began selecting administrators by oral examination (setting questions himself). Appointing himself head of the bureaucracy, he established (124 BC) a Confucian university for scholar-administrators. He sequestered noble lands, extended crown possessions, annexed S China, conquered Korea, Tonkin, and the SW with large armies, and invaded the Hun territories. He sent a major expedition (138–125 BC) to Bactria to ensure W trade routes, and a second expedition (101 BC, 30 000 troops) conquered Ferghana (2200 mi from Wudi's capital). These expeditions ensured Chinese control over the Tarim (later Xinjiang), and set a precedent for later spectacular Han triumphs. |
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