西漢初年由陳平等開國元老所主導的「誅呂」與「安劉」政變，對西漢帝國的延續具有重大的貢獻。「誅呂」政變解決了諸劉與諸呂的政爭，避免了帝國的全面內戰；「安劉」政變解決了皇位繼承問題，鞏固了皇帝的權威。太史公司馬遷稱陳平具有「定社稷」、「安宗廟」的大功是恰當的。 「誅呂」政變的起因，不是由於相國呂産與上將軍呂祿等「諸呂」欲劫持皇帝或竄奪皇位，而是由於呂后死後爆發了諸劉與諸呂的政爭。齊王與楚王等諸劉起兵欲誅諸呂，相國呂産欲發兵平定叛亂。這兩大統治家族的政爭幾乎釀成帝國的全面內戰。幸賴陳平等文武開國元老的介入與仲裁，將全面內戰轉化爲誅呂政變，使人民避免了戰禍、使漢帝國避免了像秦帝國一樣早崩的厄運。在這個過程中，陳平雖然運用了不合法與不道德的手段，但他所達成的目的卻是光明正大的，對國家社會的貢獻也是不可抹煞的。 「安劉」政變的原因，在於漢初的皇權脆弱與皇位繼承出現危機。惠帝早死，呂后主政時所立的少年皇帝繼承皇位的正當性不足，齊王與楚王等劉氏諸侯起兵欲爭壓皇位。爲了解決皇位的紛爭陳平等將他廢殺，擁立高祖四子劉恒爲皇帝，即文帝；爲了避免再發生皇位繼承的紛爭，陳平等爲他樹立太子，即景帝；爲了壓制諸侯王覬覦皇位，陳平等懲處了擅自起兵的齊王與楚王；爲了避免宦官弄權，陳平等廢除其侯位；爲了樹立皇帝的權威，陳平等與文帝在朝議時「套招演戲」。文、景二朝四十年的皇位穩定與功臣列侯的輔佐是西漢帝國得以延續兩百多年的關鍵之一。 最後，本文指出，要瞭解「誅呂安劉」事件的真相，必須以系統性的研究法對《史記》全書有關的記述與兩場政變的過程進行分析。要瞭解這個事件的歷史意義，必須從宏觀的視野來觀察。此外，這個事件難以理解的主因之一在於司馬遷運用了奇特的記述筆法。他以謎語寫史書，以「明文」和「隱文」在同一文中述說兩個故事。未能解開他所精心設計的謎題，就無法瞭解事實的真相；未能同時解讀「明文」與「隱文」，就無法瞭解司馬遷的史識與這個事件的歷史意義。班固不瞭解司馬遷的筆法，改寫了他的記述，刪除了「隱文」。

For over two thousand years, the coup of annihilating Empress Lü's families (諸呂) that occurred in the 23th year of the Western Han Empire (180 B. C.) had been widely misunderstood. Empress Lü's (呂后) descendants were thought to be guilty and justly executed, because they intended to commit the crime of treason. This view has been challenged by contemporary scholars who reached the consensus that Lü's families were innocent in fact. They argued that the Prime Minister Lü Chan (呂産) and the Supreme Commander Lü Lu (呂祿) were murdered in a dirty coup conspired by the elder statesmen and generals who had contributed to the founding of the Empire, especially the former Prime Minister Chen Ping (陳平), for the sake of power and self-interests. Through systematic examination of the original historical record, i.e., Shih-chi (史記) by Ssu-ma Chien(司馬遷), this article demonstrates that both of these two conflicting views are far from the truth. The truth is that the sharp political conflicts between the two ruling families, i.e., those of the First Emperor Liu Pang (劉邦) and of his widow the Empress Lü, were about to trigger a whole-scaled civil war which might cause the death of millions of people and the collapse of the new-born Empire. The conflict was resolved and the civil war was fortunately prevented, as the elder statesmen and generals intervened and staged a coup to annihilate the Lü's families. In the process, the prime ‘conspirator’ Chen Ping had conducted many immoral and illegal acts. Nevertheless, his means is justified by his end to save the people and the state. In the coup that immediately followed the extermination of the Lü's families, Chen Ping and his followers murdered the young Emperor crowned by the Empress Lü, whose legitimacy had been challenged by the feudal lords of the Liu families. By setting up the First Emperor's son Liu Heng (劉恆) as the new Emperor and by setting up his son as heir apparent, the crisis of political succession was resolved and the authority of the imperial house was consolidated. This also contributes greatly to the survival of the Empire for over two hundred years. Overall, Chen Ping had done great contributions to the Western Han Empire. This is the reason why the Grand Historian Ssu-ma Chien regarded him with admiration and respect. Finally, this article demonstrates that the original historical records of this event was written by Ssu-ma Chien in extremely peculiar manners. Most records of political history are the victor's stories. Shih-chi is a rare exception. By planting riddles in the narration of facts, he presented two stories of the same event. One, the victor's; the other, the loser's. This is one of the main reasons why the truth and the historical meanings of the event are so difficult to grasp.