Liu Wu, Prince of Liang

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Liu Wu, Prince of Chu, who lived at the same time.
Liu Wu
Hanyu Pinyin
Liáng Xìaowáng
Wade–GilesLiang Hsiao Wang

Liu Wu (刘武) (c. 184 - c.May 144 BC

Rebellion of the Seven Princes. He was also responsible for the assassination of the minister Yuan Ang.[3][4]

Life

Liu Wu was initially created prince of Dai (代王) in 178 BC. In 176, he became prince of

Liang.[3][4]

Rebellion of the Seven Princes

After Emperor Jing ordered the execution of

Dangshan in Anhui) athwart their line of supply and communication along the Si River.[5] 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.[6] 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.[6] 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.[3][4] 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.[7]

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's[8] and the prince expanded his number of retainers, bringing in Yang Sheng (羊勝), Gongsun Gui (公孫詭), and Zou Yang (鄒陽).[9] He became a famous patron, particularly of fu poets such as Sima Xiangru.[10] 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.[11]

Fall from grace

When the emperor demoted his eldest son

Lady Wang to empress.[15][16][17] 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.[12]

Henan Provincial Museum
.

Death

Liu Wu died at home in 144 BC after a trip to

realm of Liang into five pieces and bestowing them upon Liu Wu's sons.[12]

Tomb

The tomb of the Prince of Liang and his wife is located within

bi.[21]

See also

  • Principality of Liang

References

  1. ^ Both Emperor Jing's biography in Shiji and volume 16 of Zizhi Tongjian recorded that Liu Wu died in the 4th month of the 6th year of the Middle era of Emperor Jing's reign. The month corresponds to 14 May to 12 Jun 144 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar.
  2. emperor
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian in 倉修良 [Cang Xiuliang]. 《史記辭典》 [Shiji Cidian], p. 698. Shandong Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Jinan), 1991 in Theobald, Ulrich. China Knowledge. "Persons in Chinese History: Liang Xiaowang 梁孝王 Liu Wu 劉武". 2011. Accessed 29 November 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e Ban Biao & al. Book of Han in 倉修良 [Cang Xiuliang]. 《漢書辭典》 [Hanshu Cidian], p. 946. Shandong Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Jinan), 1991 in Theobald, Ulrich. China Knowledge. "Persons in Chinese History: Liang Xiaowang 梁孝王 Liu Wu 劉武". 2011. Accessed 29 November 2013.
  5. ^ The Si was formerly a much larger and more important watercourse, before the southward swing of the Yellow River's AD 1194 flood wiped out its lower reaches.
  6. ^ a b Whiting, Marvin. Imperial Chinese Military History: 8000 BC–1912 AD, pp. 143 ff. Accessed 30 Nov 2013.
  7. ^ Seung Kew Choi. Tomb Complexes of Later Han Dynasty in Shandong Province: Structural and Iconographic Problems of Relief Stone Tombs, p. 64. University of Pittsburgh, 1988.
  8. ^ a b Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian, 58 2087 in Wang, pp. 161 f.
  9. ^ Wang Ping. The Age of Courtly Writing: Wenxuan Compiler Xiao Tong (501–531) and His Circle, p. 116. Brill, 2012. Accessed 29 Nov 2013.
  10. ^ Wang, pp. 100, 125, & 161 f.
  11. ^ Luo Yuming. A Concise History of Chinese Literature, p. 102. Brill (Leiden), 2011. Accessed 29 Nov 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Xiao, Lily & al. Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 BCE–618 CE, pp. 134 ff. M.E. Sharpe (Armonk), 2007. Accessed 29 Nov 2013.
  13. ^ Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian, 101 2744 in Knechtges, David. Wen Xuan, or, Selections of Refined Literature: Rhapsodies on Sacrifices, Hunting, Travel, Sightseeing, Palaces and Halls, Rivers and Seas, p. 224. Princeton Univ. Press (Princeton), 1987.
  14. ^ Knechtges, David & al. Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature, Vol. I, p. 277. Brill (Leiden), 2010. Accessed 29 Nov 2013.
  15. ^ Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian in 倉修良 [Cang Xiuliang]. 《史記辭典》 [Shiji Cidian], p. 662. Shandong Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Jinan), 1991 in Theobald, Ulrich. China Knowledge. "Persons in Chinese History: Han Jingdi 漢景帝 Liu Qi 劉啟". 2011. Accessed 29 November 2013.
  16. ^ Ban Biao & al. Book of Han in 倉修良 [Cang Xiuliang]. 《漢書辭典》 [Hanshu Cidian], p. 893. Shandong Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Jinan), 1991 in Theobald, Ulrich. China Knowledge. "Persons in Chinese History: Han Jingdi 漢景帝 Liu Qi 劉啟". 2011. Accessed 29 November 2013.
  17. ^ 陳全力 [Chen Quanli] & al. 《帝王辭典》 [Diwang Cidian], p. 34. Shaanxi Renmin Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Xi'an), 1988 in Theobald, Ulrich. China Knowledge. "Persons in Chinese History: Han Jingdi 漢景帝 Liu Qi 劉啟". 2011. Accessed 29 November 2013.
  18. ^ Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian. "Family of Prince Xiao of Liang", §19. Accessed 30 Nov 2013. (in Chinese)
  19. ^ 郑岩 [Zheng Yan]. "Refections on the Question of the Origins of Tomb Wall Paintings: Focus on the Han Dynasty tombs in Shiyuan,Yongcheng, Henan Archived 2013-11-29 at archive.today". 故宫博物院院刊, Palace Museum Journal, No. 3, 2005. (in Chinese)
  20. ^ a b 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.
  21. ^ 武玮 [Wu Wei]. 《河南永城西汉梁王陵墓出土葬玉蠡探》 Archived 2013-12-03 at the Wayback Machine ["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"].　中原文物 [Zhōngyuán Wénwù, Cultural Relics of the Central Plains], No. 3. 2008. Accessed 1 Dec 2013. (in Chinese)
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