Liu Ruyi (208 – January 194BCAccording to volume 12 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', Liu Ruyi was poisoned in the 12th month of the 1st year of Emperor Hui's reign. This corresponds to 31 Dec 195 BCE - 28 Jan 194 BCE in the proleptic Julian calendar.), posthumously known as the "Suffering King of Zhao" (趙隱王, ''Zhào Yǐnwáng''), was the only son of the first

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

emperor

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Emper ...

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

Consort Qi. He was a favorite of the emperor and appointed king or prince of Dai and Zhao, but loathed by his stepmother, the

Empress Lü Empress (Dowager) Lü Zhi (241–18 August 180 BC), commonly known as Empress Lü () and formally Empress Gao of Han (), was the empress consort of Gaozu, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. They had two known children, Liu Ying (later Em ...

Zhi, as consort Qi had attempted to persuade Liu Bang to have Liu Ruyi replace Liu Ying (Lü's son) as crown prince. Despite his half-brother Emperor Hui's protection, she finally succeeded in killing him in 194BC.

Life

Liu Ruyi was the third son of

, the founder of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Han dynasty 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 ...

who became posthumously known as Emperor Gaozu ("High Ancestor"). He was the only son of the

Consort Qi. As a boy, after his uncle Liu Zhong abandoned his post during a

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 ...

invasion, Liu Ruyi was created prince or king of Dai in 200BC. After

Zhang Ao Zhang may refer to: Chinese culture, etc. * Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname ** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname * Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu * Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan * ''Z ...

was falsely accused of conspiring against the throne, Ruyi replaced him as prince or king of Zhao in 198BC. The next year, he received Chen Xi as his

chancellor of the realm Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

but Chen soon launched a rebellion at Julu (within present-day

Pingxiang County Pingxiang County () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xingtai, in the south of Hebei province, China, located about from downtown Xingtai. It has a population of 280,000 residing in an area of . In the Han dynas ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

); he was defeated in battle but remained at large for several years. When Liu Bang fell ill in early 195BC, he found that

Zhi was plotting to kill Ruyi in order to eliminate a rival claimant to the imperial throne; Liu Bang at one point had considered making Liu Ruyi crown prince, but eventually did not do so after advice from various officials, including

Shusun Tong Shusun Tong (; died ca 188 BCE) was a Chinese politician and writer who served the Qin and Western Han courts. He is known for organization of the first court worship for the Emperor Gaozu of Han (202 BCE), as well as for the custody over the youn ...

, Liu Ying's teacher. The emperor then appointed

Zhou Chang Zhou may refer to: Chinese history * King Zhou of Shang () (1105 BC–1046 BC), the last king of the Shang dynasty * Predynastic Zhou (), 11th-century BC precursor to the Zhou dynasty * Zhou dynasty () (1046 BC–256 BC), a dynasty of China ** West ...

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

in Zhao to protect the prince from his stepmother. The emperor died later that year, and the new emperor Liu Ying—posthumously known as "Huidi" or "Benevolent Emperor"—continued to protect his half-brother from his mother's numerous attempts on the boy's life. Lü Zhi was finally able to accomplish her task in January 194BC; she also had Consort Qi brutally tortured to death in the same year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Ruyi 208 BC births 194 BC deaths Emperor Gaozu of Han