Xin dynasty
Before Wang Mang established the Xin dynasty in AD 9, there was a man living in Chang'an named Liu Ziyu (刘子輿) who claimed to be the son of Emperor Cheng of Han. When Liu Ziyu was murdered on the orders of the Xin dynasty emperor Wang Mang, Wang Lang took the opportunity to pretend to be the real Liu Ziyu. Together with (劉林), son of king Miao of Zhao (赵缪王), he claimed that in order to avoid Empress Zhao Feiyan's persecutions they had fled to Sichuan, and knowing that Hebei had the "qi" of the Son of Heaven. Liu Lin planned, with the support of the powerful families of Li Yu (李育) and Zhang Can (張参), to declare Wang Lang emperor.