ABSTRACT
Liu-Pang, whose dynastic title was Kau Ti, claimed the throne from B. C. 206, though he did not ascend it till the year in which his fierce competitor Hiang-yu disappeared from the scene in B. C. 202. He would never have attained to the dignity of being the founder of a dynasty had he not been assisted by men of extraordinary abilities, both as statesmen and generals. His famous prime minister Siau-ho was a man of remarkable talents, and besides him he had the services of three men who in Chinese history are known by the name of the Three Heroes, viz., Han-sin, Chang-liang and Ch‘en-p‘ing, to whose energy and self-sacrifice it was mainly due that he finally acquired the kingdom.*
