Liu Ziye
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| Liu Ziye 劉子業 | |||||||||||||
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| Emperor of Liu Song | |||||||||||||
| Reign | 12 July 464[1] – 1 January 466 | ||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Emperor Xiaowu | ||||||||||||
| Successor | Emperor Ming | ||||||||||||
| Born | Liu Fashi (劉法師) 25 February 449 | ||||||||||||
| Died | 1 January 466 (aged 16) Jiankang, Liu Song | ||||||||||||
| Consorts | Empress Xian (He Lingwan) Lady Lu | ||||||||||||
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| Father | Emperor Xiaowu | ||||||||||||
| Mother | Empress Wenmu | ||||||||||||
Former Deposed Emperor of Liu Song or Emperor Qianfei ((劉)宋前廢帝; 25 February 449[2] – 1 January 466[3]), personal name Liu Ziye (劉子業), childhood name Fashi (法師), was an emperor of the Chinese Liu Song dynasty. His brief reign as a teenager was known for his violent and impulsive acts, including the slaughter of many high-level officials and his sexually immoral behavior. He was assassinated less than 18 months after becoming emperor.
Background
[edit]Liu Ziye was born in 449, when his father Liu Jun was still the Prince of Wuling under his grandfather Emperor Wen. His mother Princess Wang Xianyuan was Liu Jun's wife. While his father was rotated through several provincial governorships, Liu Ziye remained at the capital Jiankang, and was imprisoned by his uncle Liu Shao. After Liu Shao assassinated Emperor Wen and assumed the throne himself in 453, Liu Jun rose to oppose him. Liu Shao considered executing Liu Ziye but did not do so. Later that year, once Liu Jun had defeated and killed Liu Shao and taken the throne as Emperor Xiaowu, Liu Ziye was rescued out of captivity, and on 13 March 454 was appointed as crown prince.[4]
On 17 February 456,[5] Emperor Xiaowu married He Lingwan (何令婉), a daughter of his official He Yu (何瑀), to Liu Ziye as crown princess. In 458, Emperor Xiaowu set up a household for Crown Prince Ziye, at a separate palace as was customary for crown princes. In 460, he gave a public reading of the Xiao Jing, and on 28 October 463[6] he assumed adult clothing. During his years as a crown prince, he was said to be constantly making mistakes and often drew rebukes from Emperor Xiaowu, causing him to be resentful to both Emperor Xiaowu and his younger brother Liu Ziluan (劉子鸞) the Prince of Xin'an, whom Emperor Xiaowu at times considered replacing Liu Ziye with (as by this time, Emperor Xiaowu also greatly favoured Liu Ziluan's mother Lady Yin). However, the official Yuan Yi (袁顗) praised him for his studiousness, and this stopped Emperor Xiaowu from the idea of replacing Liu Ziye with Liu Ziluan.[7] On 24 October 461,[8] He Lingwan passed away; the couple were not recorded to have any children.
In July 464, Emperor Xiaowu died, and Liu Ziye took the throne as Emperor Qianfei. When the official Cai Xingzong (蔡興宗) offered the imperial seal to him, he took it with an arrogant and careless attitude, without any expression of sadness, and Cai commented to others that this was a bad sign for his reign. On 31 August 464,[9] he honored his grandmother Empress Dowager Lu as grand empress dowager, and his mother Empress Wang as empress dowager.
Reign
[edit] |
Upon assuming the throne, apparently because of his resentment toward his father Emperor Xiaowu, the new emperor immediately ordered that all of Emperor Xiaowu's changes to the laws established during his grandfather Emperor Wen's reign be rescinded. Another sign of his resentment toward Emperor Xiaowu could be seen in that after he commissioned new imperial portraits for the ancestral temples, he went to look at them. Upon seeing the founder (his great-grandfather) Emperor Wu's portrait, he commented, "He was a great hero who captured several emperors." Upon seeing Emperor Wen's portrait, he commented, "He was also pretty good, but it was unfortunate he lost his head to his son." Upon seeing Emperor Xiaowu's portrait, he, displeased, made the comment, "He had such a big nose from overdrinking. Where was the nose?" and he ordered that the portrait be redrawn to exaggerate Emperor Xiaowu's nose.[10]
Late in 464, Empress Dowager Wang grew extremely ill, and she summoned Emperor Qianfei to see her. He refused, stating that in sick people's rooms there would be ghosts, and he could not go. In anger, she told her servant girls, "Bring a sword and cut me open, to see how it is this animal came out of me!"[11] She soon died.
In the imperial administration, his granduncle Liu Yigong (劉義恭) the Prince of Jiangxia was the highest-ranked official, and other high-level officials included Yan Shibo (顔師伯) and Liu Yuanjing (柳元景). However, initially, actual power was held by Emperor Xiaowu's close associates Dai Faxing (戴法興) and Chao Shangzhi (巢尚之). Dai often curbed Emperor Qianfei's impulsive actions, warning him about the fate of his granduncle Emperor Shao, who was deposed and killed because of his incompetence. In fall 465, Emperor Qianfei ordered Dai to commit suicide and relieved Chao of his posts. These actions shocked the high-level officials, and Liu Yuanjing and Yan planned to depose Emperor Qianfei and support Liu Yigong as the replacement emperor. When Liu consulted with the general Shen Qingzhi (沈慶之), Shen, who had no prior friendship with Liu Yigong and was resentful of disrespect by Yan, informed them. As a result, just 12 days after forcing Dai to commit suicide, Emperor Qianfei personally led the imperial guards to attack and kill Liu Yigong and his four sons. Liu Yuanjing and Yan, and their sons, were all killed as well. Emperor Qianfei cut off Liu Yigong's limbs, cut his abdomen open, and pulled out the entrails to be cut to pieces. He also gouged out Liu Yigong's eyes and put them in honey, calling them "pickled ghost eyes." From this point on, the people that Emperor Qianfei trusted included Yuan Yi, Xu Yuan (徐爰), Shen, his brother Liu Zishang (劉子尚) the Prince of Yuzhang, and his sister Liu Chuyu the Princess Kuaiji.[citation needed] In an action that was considered highly immoral at the time, upon Princess Chuyu's pronouncement that it was unfair that Emperor Qianfei could have thousands of concubines but she could only have one husband, Emperor Qianfei selected 30 handsome young men and gave them to her to serve as her lovers.[12] Emperor Qianfei also, still resentful of his brother Liu Ziluan, not only forced Liu Ziluan to commit suicide, but also killed Liu Ziluan's mother Consort Yin's other two children, Liu Zishi (劉子師) the Prince of Nanhaiand a sister of theirs.[13]
At this time, Emperor Qianfei also stated that he wanted to get a chance to declare a state of emergency. When his uncle Liu Chang (劉昶) the Prince of Yiyang and governor of Xu Province (徐州, modern northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui) requested permission to return to Jiankang, he falsely accused Liu Chang of planning a rebellion, and sent Shen Qingzhi to command troops against Liu Chang. In fear, Liu Chang initially tried to resist, but when he saw he could not, he fled to Northern Wei.[14]
Meanwhile, in the winter of 465, Emperor Qianfei continued his killing streak. He had been carrying on an incestuous relationship with his aunt Liu Yingmei (劉英媚) the Princess Xincai, and, resolved to keep her as a concubine, killed a lady-in-waiting and delivered her body to Liu Yingmei's husband He Mai (何邁, who was also his brother-in-law), informing him that his wife had died. He Mai knew what the truth was, and, not able to bear this humiliation, considered deposing Emperor Qianfei and making his brother Liu Zixun the Prince of Jin'an emperor. The plot was leaked, and Emperor Qianfei personally attacked He and killed him. When Shen Qingzhi tried to urge Emperor Qianfei to change his ways in light of what happened with He Mai, Emperor Qianfei poisoned him. Meanwhile, Emperor Qianfei created Grand Empress Dowager Lu Huinan's niece Lady Lu as empress on 16 December 465[15]
Emperor Qianfei was very suspicious of his uncles—that they would rebel against him—so he gathered them in Jiankang and put them under house arrest in his palace. He often battered them and treated them as less than human. He, in particular, put Liu Yu the Prince of Xiangdong, Liu Xiuren (劉休仁) the Prince of Jian'an, and Liu Xiuyou (劉休祐) the Prince of Shanyang, all of whom were overweight, into cages and measured their weight as if weighing pigs. He referred to Liu Yu as the Prince of Pigs, Liu Xiuren as the Prince of Murderers, and Liu Xiuyou as the Prince of Thieves. Because another uncle, Liu Hui (劉褘) the Prince of Donghai, was considered obstinate and unintelligent, he referred to Liu Hui as the Prince of Donkeys. He often wanted to kill Liu Yu, Liu Xiuren, and Liu Xiuyiu, but each time Liu Xiuren flattered him and caused him to change his mind. In one particular incident, he tied Liu Yu up like how a pig would be tied up, and had him delivered to the kitchen, stating, "Today is pig-killing day." Liu Xiuren, however, stated, "This is not the pig-killing day." He angrily asked Liu Xiuren why that was the case, and Liu Xiuren stated, "After your son is born, then kill the pig and take out his entrails!" Emperor Qianfei liked Liu Xiuren's joke and did not kill Liu Yu.[16]
Fearful that he would be assassinated, Emperor Qianfei entrusted the defense of the palace to a number of fierce warriors, including Zong Yue (宗越), Tan Jin (譚金), Tong Taiyi (童太一), and Shen Youzhi.
Emperor Qianfei also saw his brother Liu Zixun as a threat—particularly because he saw that Emperor Wen, Emperor Xiaowu, and Liu Zixun were all third sons of their fathers. He therefore used the He Mai plot as an excuse, sending his attendant Zhu Jingyun (朱景雲) to deliver poison to Liu Zixun to force him to commit suicide, but as Zhu approached Liu Zixun's defense post at Xunyang (尋陽, in modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi), he intentionally slowed down and leaked the news. Liu Zixun's assistant Deng Wan (鄧琬) then had an opportunity to declare a rebellion, although at this stage Deng was not yet declaring Liu Zixun an emperor.[17]
At the same time, Emperor Qianfei continued his immoral behavior. He summoned the princesses to the palace and ordered them to lie down and allow his attendants to have sexual intercourse with them. When his aunt Princess Dowager Jiang of Nanping (the wife of his deceased uncle Liu Shuo (劉鑠)) refused, he had her whipped. He had her three sons, Liu Jingyou (劉敬猷) the Prince of Nanping, Liu Jingxian (劉敬先) the Prince of Luling, and Liu Jingyuan (劉敬淵) the Marquess of Annan put to death. He also ordered his ladies in waiting to strip and chase each other naked. When one lady in waiting refused, he beheaded her. That night, he dreamed of a woman cursing him, "You are so violent and immoral that you will not live to see the wheat harvest next year." After he woke up, he found a lady in waiting whose appearance was similar to the woman he saw in the dream, and beheaded her. He then had another dream in which the executed lady in waiting cursed him. He therefore decided to hold a ghost-killing ceremony the next night.[18]
At the ceremony, one of Emperor Qianfei's attendants, Shou Jizhi (壽寂之), who had often been rebuked by Emperor Qianfei and who had entered into a plot with a number of people to assassinate Emperor Qianfei, unleashed his conspirators and surrounded Emperor Qianfei. Emperor Qianfei tried to flee, but was unable to, and Shou killed him. He was buried with his deceased wife, Crown Princess He. Liu Yu took the throne as Emperor Ming.
Family
[edit]Consorts:
- Empress Xian, of the He clan of Lujiang (獻皇后 廬江何氏; 445–461), first cousin once removed, personal name Lingwan (令婉)
- Empress, of the Lu clan (皇后 路氏), first cousin once removed
- Noble Imperial Concubine Xie, of the Xie clan (謝貴嬪 謝氏)
- Lady of Virtue, of the Yang clan (良娣 羊氏)
- Lady of Treasure, of the Yuan clan (保林 袁氏)
Ancestry
[edit]| Liu Qiao | |||||||||||||||||||
| Emperor Wu of Song (363–422) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Empress Xiaomu (343–363) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Emperor Wen of Song (407–453) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Empress Dowager Zhang (368–409) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Emperor Xiaowu of Song (430–464) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Lu Xingzhi | |||||||||||||||||||
| Empress Dowager Zhao (412–466) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Lady Xu | |||||||||||||||||||
| Liu Ziye (449–466) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Wang Hun | |||||||||||||||||||
| Wang Gu | |||||||||||||||||||
| Wang Yan (403–456) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Emperor Jianwen of Jin (320–372) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Princess Poyang | |||||||||||||||||||
| Empress Dowager Xiaowuwen (351–400) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Empress Wenmu (428–464) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Liu Qiao | |||||||||||||||||||
| Emperor Wu of Song (363–422) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Princess Wuxingzhao | |||||||||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ gengshen day of the leap 5th month of the 8th year of the Da'ming era, per Liu Ziye's biography in Book of Song
- ^ jiashen day of the 1st month of the 26th year of the Yuanjia era, per Liu Ziye's biography in Book of Song
- ^ wuwu day of the 11th month of the 1st year of the Yong'guang era, per Liu Ziye's biography in Book of Song
- ^ bing'yin day of the 1st month of the 1st year of the Xiao'jian era, per Emperor Xiaowu's biography in Book of Song
- ^ ren'zi day of the 1st month of the 3rd year of the Xiao'jian era, per vol.128 of Zizhi Tongjian
- ^ ren'yin day of the 10th month of the 7th year of the Da'ming era, per Emperor Xiaowu's biography in Book of Song
- ^ (大明末，新安王子鸾以母嬖有盛宠，太子在东宫多过失，上微有废太子，立子鸾之意，从容颇言之。𫖮盛称太子好学，有日新之美。) Song Shu, vol.84
- ^ wu'zi day of the leap month of the 5th year of the Da'ming era, per Emperor Xiaowu's biography in Book of Song
- ^ geng'xu day of the 7th month of the 8th year of the Da'ming era, per Liu Ziye's biography in Book of Song
- ^ （帝令太庙别画祖考之像，帝入庙，指高祖像曰：“渠大英雄，生擒数天子。”指太祖像曰：“渠亦不恶，但末年不免儿斫去头。”指世祖像曰：“渠大齇鼻。如何不齇？”立召画工令齇之。）Zizhi Tongjian, vol.130
- ^ (初太后疾笃，遣呼帝。帝曰：“病人间多鬼，可畏，那可往。”太后怒，语侍者：“将刀来，破我腹，那得生如此宁馨儿！”) Song Shu, vol.7. (王太后疾笃，使呼废帝。帝曰：“病人间多鬼，那可往！”太后怒，谓侍者：“取刀来，剖我腹，那得生宁馨儿！”) Zizhi Tongjian, vol.129
- ^ Robert Hans van Gulik: 中國古代房内考: A Preliminary Survey of Chinese Sex and Society from Ca ...
- ^ (同生弟妹并死，.......未拜，景和元年，为前废帝所害，时年六岁。) Song Shu, vol.80
- ^ (废帝既诛群公，弥纵狂悖，常语左右曰：“我即大位来，遂未尝戒严，使人邑邑。”江夏王义恭诛后，昶表入朝，遣典签籧法生衔使，帝谓法生曰：“义阳与太宰谋反，我正欲讨之，今知求还，甚善。”....昶知其不捷，乃夜与数十骑开门北奔索虏...) Song Shu, vol.72
- ^ ([景和元年十一月]壬寅，立皇后路氏.) Book of Song, vol.07. (以太后弟道庆.....立道庆女为皇后) Book of Song, vol.41.
- ^ (彧尝忤旨，帝裸之，缚其手足，贯之以杖，使人提付太官，曰：“今日屠猪！”休仁笑曰：“猪未应死。”帝问其故，休仁曰：“待皇太子生，杀猪取其肝肺。”帝怒乃解，曰：“且付廷尉。”一宿，释之。) Zizhi Tongjian, vol.130
- ^ (前废帝狂悖无道，以太祖、世祖并第数居三以登极位，子勋次第既同，深构嫌隙，因何迈之谋，乃遣使赍药赐子勋死。使至，子勋典签谢道遇、斋帅潘欣之、侍书褚灵嗣等驰以告琬，泣涕请计。琬曰：“身南土寒士，蒙先帝殊恩，以爱子见托，岂得惜门户百口，其当以死报效。幼主昏暴，社稷危殆，虽曰天子，事犹独夫。今便指率文武，直造京邑，与群公卿士，废昏立明。”) Song Shu, vol.84. Deng Wan only proclaimed Liu Zixun to be emperor after Emperor Ming's accession. (会太宗定乱，进子勋号车骑将军、开府仪同三司。令书至，诸佐吏并喜，造琬曰：“暴乱既除，殿下又开黄阁，实为公私大庆。”琬以子勋次第居三，又以寻阳起事，有符世祖，理必万克。乃取令书投地曰：“殿下当开端门，黄阁是吾徒事耳。”) Song Shu, vol.84
- ^ (帝游华林园竹林堂，使宫人裸相逐，一人不从命，斩之。夜，梦在竹林堂，有女子骂曰：“帝悖虐不道，明年不及熟矣！”帝于宫中求得一人似所梦者斩之。又梦所杀者骂曰：“我已诉上帝矣！”于是巫觋言竹林堂有鬼。是日晡时，帝出华林园。) Zizhi Tongjian, vol.130
- Book of Song, vol. 7.
- History of Southern Dynasties, vol. 2.[1]
- Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 128, 129, 130.
External links
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