Liu Wu (刘武) (–144 BC),
posthumously named Prince Xiao of Liang, was a
Han prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
. He was a son of
Emperor Wen and
Empress Xiaowen, and a younger brother of
Emperor Jing. He played a prominent role in the suppression of the
Rebellion of the Seven Princes. He was also responsible for the assassination of the minister
Yuan Ang.
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 be ...
. ''Records of the Grand Historian
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...
'' in ang Xiuliang 'Shiji Cidian'' p. 698. Shandong Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Jinan), 1991 in Theobald, Ulrich. ''China Knowledge''. "Persons in Chinese History
Liang Xiaowang Liu Wu
. 2011. Accessed 29 November 2013.[ Ban Biao & al. '' Book of Han'' in ang Xiuliang 'Hanshu Cidian'' p. 946. Shandong Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Jinan), 1991 in Theobald, Ulrich. ''China Knowledge''. "Persons in Chinese History]
Liang Xiaowang Liu Wu
. 2011. Accessed 29 November 2013.
Life
Liu Wu was initially created prince of Dai () in 178 BC. In 176, he became prince of
Huaiyang () instead and his brother
Liu Can
Liu Can (died 318), courtesy name Shiguang, Posthumous name (as given by Jin Zhun) Emperor Yin of Han (Zhao), was an emperor of the Xiongnu-led Han Zhao dynasty of China, who reigned briefly in 318 before being killed by his trusted father-in-law ...
() replaced him as prince of Dai. In 168, this was changed again to
Liang.
[
]
Rebellion of the Seven Princes
After Emperor Jing ordered the execution of Chao Cuo
Chao Cuo (, ca. 200–154 BC) was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer. He was a political advisor and official of the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), renowned for his intellectual capabilities and foresight in martial and politic ...
at the urging of Yuan Ang, Liu Wu was besieged at his capital Suiyang by the armies of Wu and Chu during 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 ...
. His mother the empress dowager
Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere.
The title was a ...
Xiaowen urged the emperor to send the imperial army to relieve him. The general Zhou Yafu succeeded in counselling against a direct assault: instead, his force took advantage of disorder among the rebels to establish a strong camp at Xiayi (, modern Dangshan
Dangshan County () is a county in the far north of Anhui Province, China. It is under the administration of Suzhou city. It is famous for fruits (pear, peach, plum and watermelon).
Administrative divisions
Dangshan County administers 13 towns an ...
in Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...
) athwart their line of supply and communication along the Si River. Ignoring Liu Wu's pleas for help and imperial orders to advance to the city, he occupied his time strengthening his defenses and sending Han Tuidang's cavalry raiders to disrupt what little overland supply the rebels could manage from Chu. Having wearied their armies assaulting Suiyang, the rebel princes were forced to fall back for supplies and their assaults on Xiayi were defeated with such prepared ease that Zhou initially refused to be woken from bed.[ This was effectively the end of the rebellion: the Prince of Chu took his own life and Liu Pi was killed by Yue natives as he fled.][Whiting, Marvin. ''Imperial Chinese Military History: 8000 BC–1912 AD'']
pp. 143 ff.
Accessed 30 Nov 2013. Luan Bu followed this by defeating the other rebel princes, who chose either death or execution. The successful strategy earned Zhou Yafu the wrath of the Prince of Liang and his mother, however.[ They eventually succeeded in poisoning the emperor against him: he was imprisoned on minor issues involving his son's dispute with a supplier and, in the end, chose to fast to death in prison.
]
Patron of the arts
For his support during the rebellion, his brother Emperor Jing gave him many honors and privileges. His private gardens rivaled the emperor'sSima 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 be ...
. ''Records of the Grand Historian
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...
'', 58 2087 in Wang
pp. 161 f
and the prince expanded his number of retainers, bringing in Yang Sheng (), Gongsun Gui (), and Zou Yang (). He became a famous patron, particularly of '' fu'' poets such as Sima Xiangru. One particularly influential piece was the "Memorial from Prison to the Prince of Liang", whereby Zou Yang successfully pleaded his case against the slander of other courtiers and freed himself from a death sentence not by addressing the charges against him but by multiplying historical examples of the disaster of gossip and libel.
Fall from grace
When the emperor demoted his eldest son Liu Rong from heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
to prince of Linjiang
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
in 150 BC, the empress dowager took the occasion of an imperial feast to demand that Emperor Jing name Liu Wu as his crown prince in preference to his other sons. He immediately agreed,[Xiao, Lily & al. ''Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 BCE–618 CE'']
pp. 134 ff
M.E. Sharpe (Armonk
Armonk is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of North Castle, located in Westchester County, New York, United States.
The corporate headquarters of IBM are located in Armonk.
Geography and climate
As of the 2010 census, Ar ...
), 2007. Accessed 29 Nov 2013. only to be talked out of it by his advisors. Yuan Ang in particular counseled strongly against breaking the laws of succession, as the act would set a highly destabilizing precedent. Acting in support of their patron, Gongsun Gui and Yang Sheng conspired to have the elderly minister stabbed to death outside the walls of the imperial suburb of Anling. They were responsible for nine related murders as well.[ Upon the emperor's discovering their involvement, Liu Wu ordered them to commit suicide][Knechtges, David & al. ''Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature'', Vol. I]
p. 277
Brill (Leiden), 2010. Accessed 29 Nov 2013. and presented their bodies to the emperor,[ but he never regained his brother's favor and was only seldom received at court.][ Instead, following custom, Liu Che, the prince of Jiaodong, was promoted to crown prince and his mother ]Lady Wang
Lady Wang (王夫人) is a character in the classic Chinese 18th century novel ''Dream of the Red Chamber''. She is the wife of Jia Zheng, and mother of Jia Zhu (dead at the start of the novel), Jia Yuanchun and Jia Baoyu. She is the elder sis ...
to empress.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 be ...
. ''Records of the Grand Historian
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...
'' in ang Xiuliang 'Shiji Cidian'' p. 662. Shandong Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Jinan), 1991 in Theobald, Ulrich. ''China Knowledge''. "Persons in Chinese History
Han Jingdi Liu Qi
. 2011. Accessed 29 November 2013.[ Ban Biao & al. '' Book of Han'' in ang Xiuliang 'Hanshu Cidian'' p. 893. Shandong Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Jinan), 1991 in Theobald, Ulrich. ''China Knowledge''. "Persons in Chinese History]
Han Jingdi Liu Qi
. 2011. Accessed 29 November 2013. Afraid for her younger son's life, the empress dowager refused to eat until he was cleared of any charges. The official charged with the investigation reported back to Emperor Jing that, in his view, Liu Wu had been involved and that "sparing the Prince of Liang would break the law of Han"; nonetheless, "killing him would deeply distress the empress dowager and upset the emperor even more". He counseled the emperor to drop the issue. In discussion with the empresses, he blamed the murders solely upon the two courtiers and explained they had already been lawfully punished.[
]
Death
Liu Wu died at home in 144 BC after a trip to Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...
. His memorial
A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...
to his brother asking to extend his stay at the capital was rejected and he took ill soon after returning home.[ He was around forty years old. His estate at his death was estimated to include 400,000 catties of gold and an equivalent amount of wealth in land — if true, and assuming the gold was pure, this fortune would be equivalent to more than US$30 billion today.][ His third son was the ]serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
Liu Pengli. The other four were (in order) Liu Mai Liu Mai (, ''Liú Mǎi''), posthumously named Prince Gong of Liang (, ''Liáng Gōngwàng''), was a prince of the Han dynasty. He was the eldest son and heir of Liu Wu, prince of Liang
Liu Wu (刘武) (–144 BC), posthumously named ...
, Liu Ming, Liu Ding, and Liu Bushi.[ His mother the empress dowager was at first inconsolable, but Emperor Jing placated her by dividing the ]realm of Liang
Liang () was a ancient China, traditional Chinese fengjian, fief centered on present-day Kaifeng. It was held by various powers over the course of Chinese history. It generally comprised modern Henan with a small part of Shanxi.
Ancient China
Li ...
into five pieces and bestowing them upon Liu Wu's sons.[
]
Tomb
The tomb of the Prince of Liang and his wife is located within Mount Mangdang
Mount Mangdang ( zh, s=芒砀山, t=芒碭山) is a hill in Yongcheng, Henan, China, best known for being the spot where the Emperor Gaozu of Han started his rebellion against the Qin dynasty.
History
The region near Mount Mangdang played an imp ...
in present-day Yongcheng
Yongcheng () is county-level city in Henan province, China, and is the easternmost county-level division of the province, bordering Anhui province on all sides except the northwest and due north. Yongcheng has significant coal deposits and some i ...
in 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 a ...
. It is the site of the oldest known surviving Chinese murals, depicting the four symbols: the blue dragon, white tiger
The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, in the Sunderbans region and ...
, red bird, and black turtle. The paint was composed of vermillion, mica
Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...
, and malachite
Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the formula Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses, in fracture ...
.[Tie Fude. "Conservation of Mural Paintings Transferred from a Royal Mausoleum of the Western Han Dynasty at Shiyuan, Henan Province" in ''Conservation of Ancient Sites on the Silk Road: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Conservation of Grotto Sites, Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang, People's Republic of China'', June 28–July 3, 2004. Getty, 2004. Accessed 30 Nov 2013.] Because of the tomb's high humidity, the mural was cut into five pieces and transferred to a wooden frame in 1992. It was relocated to the Henan Provincial Museum and displayed in 1998. Within a year, the conditions at the museum had warped and cracked the frame and painting. It was somewhat repaired in 2003.[ The tombs also included ornate ]jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group ...
burial suits and ''bi''.[ u Weibr>]
["''Hénán Yǒngchéng Xīhàn Liángwàng Língmù Chūtǔ Zàng Yù Lí Tàn''", "An Exploration of the Burial Jades Excavated in Yongcheng, Henan, at the Tomb of the Prince of Liang during the Western Han"]. [Zhōngyuán Wénwù, ''Cultural Relics of the Central Plains''], No. 3. 2008. Accessed 1 Dec 2013.
See also
* Principality of Liang
References
{{reflist, 2
180s BC births
144 BC deaths
Prince of Dai
Prince of Huaiyang
Prince of Liang
Han dynasty imperial princes