Emperor Liu Heng of Han had eight sons, but all four sons born to the Empress Dowager had all died of illness. Only four sons remained, Liu Qi, Liu Wu, Liu Shan, and Liu Sheng. Liu Qi, who was born to Dou, was already the eldest of his sons at that time, so Liu Heng made Liu Qi crown prince, and his mother Dou Was made empress. After the death of Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Qi successfully succeeded him, that is, Emperor Jing of Han.
Liu Heng was liu bang's fourth son, but he was not the crown prince at that time, but was made the acting king. After Liu Bang's death, Emperor Hui of Han ascended the throne as emperor, but the power was in the hands of Empress Lü. Lü Hou committed misdeeds and even used exterminational means to consolidate his position, and after Lü Hou's death, Chen Ping, the chancellor who was loyal to Liu Bang, and the taiwei Zhou Bo, and the brothers Liu Zhang, the emperor's grandson Zhu Xuanhou, joined hands to destroy the Lü forces, and even deposed Liu Hong, the young emperor who had returned Lü Houli.
In this way, who to choose to be the emperor has become a top priority. But who to choose? Liu Heng, the acting king with a relatively good reputation and no foreign power, became the best choice, so he sent someone to take him over to inherit the throne.
Liu Heng stayed in the fiefdom for more than ten years, and the queen did not record her surname, did not have a cemetery, did not posthumously seal, and there was no record in any history books about her, which was also a very strange thing. Moreover, he died before he went to Chang'an to become emperor, and within two months of his ascension to the throne, all four sons born to the queen also died of illness.
Liu Qi's mother was Dou Shi, who entered the Han Palace to serve Empress Lü during Lü Hou's reign, and later Lü Hou rewarded a number of palace women to the princes, dou clan was also among them, and the direction of Dou clan was Daiguo, and she was still very fond of her when she came to Daiguo.
When Liu Heng ascended the throne as empress, Qunchen suggested that he be made crown prince early, and since the four sons born to the queen of the times were dead, Liu Qi was the eldest son, and some people believed that Liu Qi was pure and kind and could be made crown prince. Therefore, Liu Heng made Liu Qi crown prince and dou shi empress. In this way, since Han Gaozu, the pre-established prince has become the custom of the Han family.
Objectively speaking, although Liu Qi was a little frivolous when he was a child, he was usually very arrogant, and even beat Liu Xian, the crown prince of Wu, to death because of a small matter, Liu Qi inherited and developed Liu Heng's policies during his time as emperor, and the two together created the rule of the Western Han Dynasty.