Li Shou

Li Shou (Chinese: 李壽; 300–343), courtesy name Wukao (武考), formally Emperor Zhaowen of (Cheng) Han ((成)漢昭文帝), was an emperor of the Chinese/Ba-Di state Cheng Han. He was the cousin of Cheng Han's founding emperor Li Xiong, but after he overthrew Li Xiong's son Li Qi in 338, he disassociated himself from Li Xiong's regime by renaming the state from Cheng to Han, and further setting up a different imperial ancestral temple. Traditional historians, however, did not consider his regime a separate state and treated the succession from Li Xiong to Li Shou's son Li Shi as a single Cheng Han state. Li Shou was initially known for lenience and thriftiness—the same virtues commonly associated with Li Xiong—but later imitated the ruling style of Shi Hu the emperor of Later Zhao by ruling harshly and extravagantly, greatly inflicting burdens on the people and damaging the Cheng Han state.

During Li Xiong's reign

Li Shou was a son of Li Xiong's trusted uncle and key advisor Li Xiang (李驤), who carried the title of the Prince of Han. When Li Shou was 18, Li Xiong, believing in his talent, made him in general, and he distinguished himself at his post of Jinshou (晉壽, in modern Guangyuan, Sichuan). After his father died in 328, he was given a number of important posts and created the Duke of Fufeng. In a campaign in 332 and 333, he further led a Cheng Han army to conquer the Jin possession Ning Province (寧州, modern Yunnan and Guizhou) -- which Cheng Han forces had previously been unable to conquer, further solidifying his reputation as a general. For this victory, he was created the Prince of Jianning.