Liu Fei (; 169–128 BCE), posthumously known as King Yi of Jiangdu (), was the King/Prince of

Jiangdu Jiangdu (), historically known as Kiangtu is one of three districts of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The district spans an area of , and as of November 1, 2020, has 926,577 inhabitants. Formerly a county, Jiangdu became a district in July 199 ...

(reigned 153–128 BCE), an autonomous kingdom within the

Han Empire The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

of Chinese history, in modern-day

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

province. He was a son of Emperor Jing and a half-brother of Emperor Wu. Originally King of

Runan Runan County () is a counties of China, county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhumadian, in the southeast of Henan, Henan Province, China. History In ancient times, this area was called "the middle of the world" (), ...

, he was awarded the Kingdom of Jiangdu for his role in suppressing the

Rebellion of the Seven States The Rebellion of the Seven States or Revolt of the Seven Kingdoms () took place in 154 BC against the Han dynasty of China by its regional semi-autonomous kings, to resist the emperor's attempt to centralize the government further. Background ...

Dong Zhongshu Dong Zhongshu (; 179–104 BC) was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer of the Han Dynasty. He is traditionally associated with the promotion of Confucianism as the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state. He apparently favored ...

, the prominent

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

scholar, served as his Prime Minister. Liu Fei's mausoleum has been excavated by archaeologists from the

Nanjing Museum The Nanjing Museum () is located in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province in East China. With an area of , it is one of the largest museums in China. The museum has over 400,000 items in its permanent collection, making it one of the largest ...

, who unearthed numerous artifacts, including 100,000 coins, dozens of chariots, and the only jade coffin to have survived intact in Chinese archaeology.

Biography

Liu Fei was one of the fourteen sons of

Emperor Jing of Han Emperor Jing of Han (Liu Qi (劉啟); 188 BC – 9 March 141 BC) was the sixth emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty from 157 to 141 BC. His reign saw the limiting of the power of the feudal kings/princes which resulted in the Rebellion of the Sev ...

(reigned 157–141 BCE). With the exception of crown prince Liu Che, who later ascended the throne as Emperor Wu, Emperor Jing created all his other sons kings with their own fiefdoms. Liu Fei was made the King of

, with its capital at

Shangcai Shangcai County () is a county in the south of Henan province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhumadian Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It border ...

, in modern-day

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

province. His mother was Consort Cheng, a concubine of Emperor Jing, who also gave birth to

Liu Yu, Prince of Lu Liu Yu (; died 128 BC) was a prince of the Western Han Dynasty. He was the fifth son of Emperor Jing of Han, Emperor Jing. His mother was Consort Cheng (程妃). In 155 BC he was instated as Prince of Huaiyang (淮陽王), but a year later his t ...

, and Liu Duan, King of Jiaoxi. In 154 BCE, rulers of seven kingdoms, led by Liu Pi, the King of Wu,

rebelled Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

against the Han dynasty. Liu Fei, then a strong 15-year-old, volunteered to join the fight against the rebels. Emperor Jing awarded him the seal of the general, and let him lead an army to attack Wu, the main rebel kingdom. The rebellion was suppressed after a few months. The following year, Emperor Jing created the kingdom of Jiangdu in part of the former territory of Wu and made Liu Fei its king. Wu's capital Guangling (present-day

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

) became the capital of Jiangdu. In addition, he was awarded the banners of the

Son of Heaven Son of Heaven, or ''Tianzi'' (), was the sacred monarchical title of the Chinese sovereign. It originated with the Zhou dynasty and was founded on the political and spiritual doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven. Since the Qin dynasty, the secula ...

for his contribution in the suppression of the rebellion. In 129 BCE, during the reign of Emperor Wu, the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

nomadic empire attacked the Han. Liu Fei volunteered to join the counterattack against Xiongnu, but his request was denied by the emperor. According to the Han historian

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

, Liu Fei built many palaces and towers, and his life "was marked by extreme arrogance and luxury". He valued physical prowess, and invited strong men to his court from everywhere. He also employed the influential

scholar

as his Prime Minister.

Death and aftermath

Liu Fei died in 128 BCE, after 26 years of reign as King of Jiangdu. He was given the

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

King "Yi" (易), meaning "willing to change". His son, crown prince Liu Jian, succeeded him as king. Liu Jian was said to lead a debauched life, once having an orgy with ten women above his father's tomb. He also took Lady Nao, his father's favoured concubine famed for her beauty, as his own consort. In 121 BCE, Liu Jian was involved in the plot of rebellion by

Liu An Liú Ān (, c. 179–122 BC) was a Han dynasty Chinese prince, ruling the Huainan Kingdom, and an advisor to his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han (武帝). He is best known for editing the (139 BC) ''Huainanzi'' compendium of Daoist, Confucianist, and ...

, King of Huainan, and Liu Ci, King of Hengshan. After the plot was discovered, all three committed suicide, and their kingdoms were abolished. Jiangdu came under direct imperial rule and was reorganized as

Guangling Commandery Guangling Commandery ( zh, 廣陵郡) was a historical commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in present-day central Jiangsu province in central coastal China. It was named after Guangling, a historical name of Yangzhou. In e ...

Mausoleum

Liu Fei's mausoleum has been located in present-day

Xuyi County Xuyi County () is under the administration of Huai'an, Jiangsu province, China. The southernmost of Huai'an's county-level divisions, it borders the prefecture-level cities of Suqian to the north and Chuzhou (Anhui) to the south and west. Xuyi is ...

province. Because it was threatened by quarrying, archaeologists from the

performed a "rescue excavation" of the site from 2009 to 2011, and published the excavation report in 2014. The complex includes three major tombs, eleven subsidiary tombs, two horse-and-chariot pits, and two pits for weapons. It is surrounded by an enclosure wall, which was originally long on each side. Although the site has been looted in ancient times, archaeologists still unearthed more than ten thousand artifacts: gold, bronze vessels, weapons, a

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...

with jade pegs, lamps of various shapes, a silver basin inscribed with the name of the Kingdom of Jiangdu, and a kitchen with food. Other findings include a treasury holding more than 100,000

banliang The Ban Liang (Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ''bàn liǎng'') was the first unified currency of the Chinese empire, first minted as early as 378 BCE and introduced by the first emperor Qin Shi Huang as China's first unified currency around 210 ...

coins, and dozens of model chariots and several life-sized ones. Liu Fei's coffins were damaged and his body was missing, but fragments of his

jade burial suit A jade burial suit () is a ceremonial suit made of pieces of jade in which royal members in Han dynasty China were buried. Structure Of the jade suits that have been found, the pieces of jade are mostly square or rectangular in shape, though t ...

were found. The most important find was from an adjacent tomb, labeled M2, which contained the only jade coffin known to have survived intact in China. One of the eleven attendant tombs contained items inscribed with the surname Nao (淖). Its occupant was probably related to Liu Fei's consort Lady Nao.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Fei 169 BC births 128 BC deaths 2nd-century BC Chinese people Han dynasty imperial princes