汉文帝刘恒

Son of Han Gaozu Liu Bang and Consort Bo. After the Lü clan's coup was crushed, Liu Heng — then king of Dai — was chosen as a compromise candidate and proved astonishingly effective: he slashed taxes, cut palace expenses, and abolished mutilating punishments. His reign together with his son's became the 文景之治 (Wén Jǐng zhī Zhì), the textbook example of Confucian-Daoist 'wú wéi' governance and the platform for Han Wudi's later expansion.

Confucian tradition counts him as one of the 二十四孝 (Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars) for personally tasting his sick mother's medicine — story 亲尝汤药 (qīncháng tāngyào).