汉武帝 (Hànwǔdì): Emperor Wu of Han (156–87 BC, reigned 141–87 BC), seventh emperor of the Han dynasty under whom Chinese territory reached its greatest early extent

His 54-year reign saw Wei Qing and Huo Qubing crush the Xiongnu in the north, Zhang Qian open the routes later called the Silk Road, and state monopolies created over salt and iron. He also adopted Dong Zhongshu's proposal 罢黜百家，独尊儒术 — making Confucianism the state orthodoxy.

culture

The period era name '汉' (Han) supplied the modern self-identifier for the Han ethnic group (汉族) and the name of Chinese characters (汉字). Emperor Wu is paired with 秦始皇 in the idiom '秦皇汉武' as the archetypal ambitious empire-builder.