Liu Yu

Biography

Early Life

Liu Yu was born in the 16th year of Yuanjia (439). In the 22nd year of Yuanjia (449), he was invested as Prince of Huaiyang, enjoying a fief of 2,000 households. In the 29th year of Yuanjia (452), he was reinvested as Prince of Xiangdong. In the 1st year of Taichu (453), Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song, Liu Jun, ascended the throne. Since Liu Yu's biological mother, Consort Shen Rongji, had already passed away, the 15-year-old Liu Yu was cared for by Liu Jun's biological mother, Empress Dowager Lu. Liu Yu was very filial to Empress Dowager Lu, often attending to her medicine, and was deeply loved by her. Although Liu Jun was suspicious of his imperial brothers, he was particularly close to Liu Yu, appointing him to key positions such as Director of the Palace Library, Central Protector-General, Palace Attendant concurrently with General of the Guards, and General of the Central Guards, allowing him to hold some military power in the capital and participate in confidential affairs. As a youth, Liu Yu was handsome, loved literary creation, and historical records describe his temperament as gentle and his demeanor as dignified and elegant, with a fondness for reading and literary meaning. However, after reaching adulthood, Liu Yu lacked exercise and became extremely obese; while he had literary talent, he lacked military strategy.

Killing His Nephew and Seizing the Throne

In the 8th year of Daming (464), Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song, Liu Jun, died of illness, and the former deposed emperor, Liu Ziye, succeeded him. Liu Ziye was cruel in nature, killing his great-uncle Liu Yigong, forcing his uncle Liu Chang to surrender, and confining his uncles Liu Yu and Liu Xiuren in the palace, where he beat and humiliated them at will, even planning to kill Liu Yu. Due to Liu Yu's obese physique, Liu Ziye mockingly called him the "Pig King." Liu Yu sent his confidant Ruan Tianfu to cultivate relationships with Liu Ziye's guards, such as Shou Jizhi, and struck first, killing his nephew Liu Ziye. Subsequently, Liu Yu accepted the support of his brother Liu Xiuren, ascended the throne, and changed the era name to Taishi. At the same time, he executed Liu Ziye's brother Liu Zishang and sister Liu Chuyu, and seized control of the capital's military power.

The Yijia Crisis

One month before Liu Yu deposed and killed Liu Ziye, the Prefect of Jiangzhou, Deng Wan, joined with the Inspector of Yongzhou, Yuan Yi, and, under the pretext of deposing the incompetent and establishing the bright, supported the 11-year-old Inspector of Jiangzhou, Liu Zixun (the third son of Emperor Xiaowu), to ascend the throne, with the era name Yijia. After Liu Zixun ascended the throne, he gained the support of various imperial princes and regional commanders. The edicts of Liu Yu's regime did not extend more than 100 li outside the city of Jiankang. Liu Zixun and various regional commanders condemned Liu Yu's usurpation and dispatched troops to attack Jiankang. At the time, Liu Yu's brothers in the center supported Liu Yu, while the sons of Emperor Xiaowu, mostly in the provinces, supported Liu Zixun, creating a situation of internal struggle between the Emperor Wen faction and the Emperor Xiaowu faction, historically known as the "Yijia Crisis."

Suppressing the Rebellion and Losing Territory

Although the territory and population of Liu Yu's regime were far smaller than those of Liu Zixun's regime, it adopted active measures with the central army: it adopted the advice of the eminent scholar Cai Xingzong; heavily relied on military generals such as Wu Xi, Shen Youzhi, Zhang Yong, Liu Xin, and Xiao Daocheng; and delegated power to his brothers, such as Liu Xiuren, to actively suppress the rebellion. Liu Yu treated people with benevolence; even if a general's father, brother, or son participated in the rebel army, he still appointed them to lead the imperial guard, causing everyone to devote themselves wholeheartedly. Ultimately, in late 466, the Liu Zixun regime was eliminated, and the regions of Jiangnan and Huainan were pacified, and all the sons of Emperor Xiaowu were executed.

After suppressing the rebellion, most of the rebel army was pardoned, and those with talent were recommended and heavily relied upon. However, the Huai North regional commander Xue Andu and others were suspected and forced to seek aid from the Northern Wei. The Northern Wei successively captured the Huai North and Shandong Peninsula regions within four years. The national power of Liu Song declined greatly, and the people suffered immensely. Furthermore, due to the lavish rewards given to meritorious military men, the aristocratic clan system was severely damaged, with a confusion of noble and lowly ranks and a disorder in official grades.

Extravagance and Cruelty

Due to the war with the Northern Wei, the treasury was empty, and the salaries of officials inside and outside the court were cut off. Liu Yu lived an excessively extravagant life, often producing 90 sets of items for backup. Eunuchs and favored ministers abused their power, court politics were corrupt, and the burden on the people was heavy. Liu Yu soaked fish and meat in honey and could eat several liters at a time; he often ate more than 200 slices of cured meat.

Afraid that his brothers would seize the throne from Crown Prince Liu Yu, Liu Yu accepted the advice of his favorites Wang Daolong and Ruan Tianfu and executed his brothers who had made great military contributions, such as Liu Xiuren, Liu Xiuyou, and Liu Xiuruo. Only Liu Xiufan survived due to his mediocrity and cowardice. After Wang Daolong and Ruan Tianfu seized power, they abused their authority, sold official posts, and their wealth exceeded that of the imperial treasury. Liu Yu also killed important ministers who might be unfavorable to the crown prince, such as the meritorious military generals Shou Jizhi and Wu Xi, and the high-born scholar Wang Jingwen (the brother of Empress Wang Zhenfeng). These measures created a political chaos after Liu Yu's succession, where the central and local military garrisons suspected and attacked each other, allowing the military general Xiao Daocheng to rise and eventually usurp the Song to establish the Qi.

On the 17th day of the 4th month of the 1st year of Taiyu (472), Liu Yu died of illness at the age of 34. His testamentary edict entrusted the orphans to Cai Xingzong, Yuan Can, Chu Yuan, Liu Xin, and Shen Youzhi, who were to control the major internal and external regions respectively. He also ordered Xiao Daocheng to serve as General of the Guards, participating in confidential affairs. Crown Prince Liu Yu succeeded him. In reality, those who accepted Liu Yu's secret testamentary order to assist the new emperor Liu Yu and control the major internal and external powers of the palace were Liu Yu's most trusted close favorites—Wang Daolong and Ruan Tianfu. In the 5th month, Liu Yu was buried in Gaoning Mausoleum on Mofu Mountain in Linyi County.

Mocking the Pig King

The former deposed emperor, Liu Ziye, was violent in nature and mentally unstable. Fearing that his uncles would rebel, he recalled them to the capital and imprisoned them. Among them, Liu Yu, Liu Xiuren, and Liu Xiuyou were all tall and strong, and older in age, which made Liu Ziye wary. Liu Yu was especially obese; Liu Ziye called Liu Yu the "Pig King," Liu Xiuren the "Killer King," and Liu Xiuyou the "Bandit King," beating and humiliating them at will. He once had a large pit dug in the ground, filled with water and mud mixed into a slurry, then stripped Liu Yu of his clothes and threw him into the pit. He also had a wooden trough placed in the pit, poured leftover food into it, and ordered Liu Yu to eat it. Liu Ziye repeatedly tried to kill these three uncles, but thanks to Liu Xiuren's wit and intelligence, who used jokes to please Liu Ziye, they were able to survive.

The concubine of Liu Meng, the Commandant of Justice, became pregnant. Liu Ziye actually took her into the rear palace and planned to make her child the crown prince. Liu Ziye had Liu Yu tied to a thick wooden pole and carried to the kitchen, saying he was going to slaughter a pig. Liu Xiuren laughed and said, "It is not yet time to slaughter the pig. Once the crown prince is born, we will slaughter the pig and take its liver." Liu Ziye laughed heartily: "Good! Good! Slaughter the pig in a few days." The next day, Liu Xiuren submitted a memorial to Liu Ziye saying, "The pig should be well fed; if it is imprisoned like this, it will become thin, and the meat will not be good." Liu Ziye then released Liu Yu. Soon, the "crown prince" was born, and Liu Ziye issued a general amnesty, forgetting about the "pig slaughter." Liu Yu had narrowly escaped death, but after ascending the throne, he killed his brothers Liu Xiuren, Liu Xiuyou, and others.

Nude Performance

In the 6th month of the 6th year of Taishi (470), Liu Yu held a grand banquet in the palace to watch a nude performance by women. Liu Yu's action can be said to have committed a great sin against the world, but as the ruler of the country, who dared to oppose him? Moreover, the ministers probably did not want to oppose it either, hoping to broaden their horizons. Only Empress Wang did not wish to watch; she covered her face with a fan. Liu Yu angrily scolded her, saying, "You poor beggar from the in-law family! Now everyone is enjoying themselves, why are you the only one not watching?" The Empress replied, "There are many things that bring joy; how can one gather sisters and strip them naked! The entertainment of the in-law family has never been so absurd." Liu Yu was furious and ordered her to leave. The Empress's brother, Wang Jingwen, heard about this and sighed, "When my sister was in her maiden home, she was always mediocre and timid; now she is actually so upright!"

Superstition and Ghosts

Liu Yu was gentle in temperament in his early years and was appreciated by Liu Jun. At the beginning of his reign, he eliminated the Liu Zixun regime and pardoned Liu Zixun's confidants, selecting only the talented. However, in the later part of his reign, he was cruel and suspicious, fond of ghosts and spirits, and had many taboos. There were over a thousand words in speech and documents that needed to be avoided, and violators were invariably punished and killed. He considered the character "gua" (guā, a yellow horse with a black mouth) similar to "calamity" (huò, calamity) and changed "gua" to "horse+melon" (horse + melon). Liu Yu considered the Southern Garden (a garden south of the imperial palace) inauspicious and lent it to General Zhang Yong, saying, "I will lend it to you for three hundred years; return it when the term expires."

The Xuan Yang Gate was commonly called the "White Gate" by the people. Liu Yu considered the "White Gate" inauspicious and was very taboo about it. Jiang Mi, the Right Assistant Director of the Secretariat, once accidentally violated this taboo. Liu Yu changed color and said, "White your family's gate." Jiang Mi quickly kowtowed and admitted his mistake. Inside and outside the court, people were often worried about violating taboos, and no one could guarantee their own safety. There were many taboos in the palace; moving beds and repairing walls required first worshipping the earth god, having literati write prayers, just like a major sacrifice.

Building Temples

In the 6th year of Taishi (471), Liu Yu ordered that his former princely residence be converted into a temple, called Xianggong Temple, which was decorated and built with extreme grandeur and beauty. He planned to build a ten-story pagoda, but it was not successful, so he built two five-story pagodas. When Chao Shangzhi, the Prefect of Xin'an, returned to the capital, Liu Yu said to him, "Have you been to Xianggong Temple? It is my greatest merit; it cost a lot of money."

Yu Yuan, the Supernumerary Gentleman Attendant of the Cavalier Service, said, "That is not Your Majesty's money; it is the money of how many commoners who sold their sons and daughters. If the Buddha has spirit, he will weep and lament. The sin of building the temple is greater than the pagoda; what merit is there!" The people present changed color. Liu Yu was furious and ordered Yu Yuan to be expelled from the hall. Yu Yuan left calmly, without any expression of fear.

Liu Yu was born in 439 and was enfeoffed as a prince at ten with two thousand households of revenue, being transferred to the princedom of Xiangdong in 452. He held the offices of director of the imperial library, commander of the central guards, palace attendant and commander of the guards, and was among the more learned of Emperor Wen's sons. After the death of his mother, the consort Shen, he was raised by the empress dowager Lu, mother of Emperor Xiaowu, from the age of fifteen; he served her with affection, often attending her in illness, and was especially dear to her. Xiaowu was always suspicious of his brothers, but was particularly close to Liu Yu, and so his position in that reign was comparatively secure.

In 465, when the deposed emperor Liu Ziye came to the throne and treated the imperial clan with suspicion and humiliation, Liu Yu was among those he feared. That year Liu Yu and his confidants killed the emperor in a coup and took the throne as Emperor Ming, changing the era to Taishi. At the outset local governors and frontier commands set up Liu Zixun, prince of Jin'an, as emperor at Xunyang with the era name Yijia, an upheaval known as the trouble of Yijia. The revolt spread through the realm and Liu Yu was at first the weaker party; controlling the court and the guards, he gradually turned the situation and put down the resistance. Later writers have allowed his military gift, holding that in the affair of Yijia he fought the many with the few and the strong with the weak, a rare case in war.

After the rising was put down Liu Yu slaughtered princes of the clan and meritorious generals one after another to remove threats to the throne. The practice secured him for the time but gravely weakened the imperial house and the army. In the same years the war with the Northern Wei went badly, the country north of the Huai and the Shandong peninsula falling to the Wei one after another, the territory much reduced and the state's strength plainly declining. To meet military and court expenses taxes were raised, the people were hard pressed and the treasury empty.

Liu Yu was fond of letters and compiled a record of prose since the crossing of the river, and added a continuation of two fascicles to Wei Guan's commentary on the Analects, now lost; his activity helped the collecting and preserving of literary texts in the Southern Dynasties. In his first years he employed men of learning and had the name of a lenient ruler; in his later years he trusted slanderers, lived extravagantly and was given to ghosts and taboos, and the government decayed. Judgments of him have been divided: his military ability has been allowed, while the abuses of his later years have been much criticised, the Song History saying that in his last years he kept company with flatterers and that from that time the fortunes of the house of Song declined.

Liu Yu died in 472 at thirty-four, with the temple name Taizong and the posthumous name Emperor Ming; his son Liu Yu succeeded. The politics of the Song grew more turbulent afterward, with the throne changing hands repeatedly within a few years, until Xiao Daocheng took the throne and founded the Qi. Liu Yu's killing of princes and generals and his disruption of the aristocratic order and of the ranks of office are reckoned among the chief causes of the decline of the Liu Song, and they opened the way for Xiao Daocheng's rise.

The trouble of Yijia was the greatest civil war of the Liu Song. After Liu Zixun, prince of Jin'an, was set up as emperor at Xunyang, the governors of Xu, Nanyan, Qing and Ji went over to him one after another, and a rival court faced Jiankang, Liu Yu holding chiefly the capital and a few districts about it. Relying on his control of the guards and the central government he steadied Jiankang first, then sent out his forces by several routes and broke the resistance in detail. The fighting lasted more than a year and ended in his victory. It consumed a great deal of the state's men and resources and visibly changed the relation between the provincial commands and the centre.

During the war Liu Yu had promised rich rewards to the generals who fought for him, and afterward regarded them with suspicion. Xue Andu and others, fearing the court's proceedings against them, offered their submission to the Northern Wei, and the country north of the Huai passed into Wei hands; in the years that followed the Song lines in Xu, Yan and Qing collapsed one after another and the Shandong peninsula too was taken. The territory of the Song thus shrank from the wide lands north of the river held in Emperor Wen's time back to the line of the Huai, and the loss of strength was never made good in the decades that followed.

His last years at court were marked by extravagance and suspicion. He built on a great scale and spent hugely on the palace, was given to talk of ghosts and spirits and full of taboos, so that a word or a phrase that gave offence often brought heavy punishment. In appointments he raised favourites out of their turn, unsettling the established grades of office and confusing the relation between family standing and actual post. Such practices weakened the administration and much reduced the loyalty of the great families to the throne.

In letters his contribution and his misgovernment stand side by side. Fond of literature, he collected and arranged the prose of earlier ages, compiled a record of prose since the crossing of the river and continued a commentary on the Analects, work of some value for the preservation of Southern Dynasties texts. He also gathered men of letters to discuss the books, and the literary activity of his court is a link in the literary history of the Southern Dynasties.

After his death his son Liu Yu came to the throne as the last deposed emperor. He ruled with violence and folly, was deposed and killed by Xiao Daocheng and his fellows, and Liu Zhun was set up as Emperor Shun with all power in Xiao Daocheng's hands. In 479 Xiao Daocheng took the throne by abdication and founded the Qi, and the Liu Song ended. Later discussion of the fall of the Song traces it back to the reign of Emperor Ming: the slaughter of princes and generals, the loss of the country north of the Huai with the straits of the treasury, and the disorder of the ranks of office are all taken as the chief causes of its decline.

His temple name was Taizong and his posthumous name Emperor Ming.

Major Activities

Suppressing the Yijia Crisis

The greatest crisis Liu Yu faced in the early part of his reign was the "Yijia Crisis." Facing the fact that the Liu Zixun regime gained recognition from most of the country, Liu Yu relied on a small but elite central army and adopted active measures. He adopted Cai Xingzong's advice, heavily relied on military generals such as Wu Xi, Shen Youzhi, Zhang Yong, Liu Xin, and Xiao Daocheng, and delegated power to his brothers, such as Liu Xiuren. Liu Yu treated people with benevolence; even if a general's father, brother, or son participated in the rebel army, he still appointed them to lead the imperial guard, causing everyone to devote themselves wholeheartedly. Ultimately, in late 466, the Liu Zixun regime was eliminated, and the regions of Jiangnan and Huainan were pacified.

Northern Wei Invasion and Loss of Territory

After suppressing the rebellion, Liu Yu wanted to display military strength and ordered Zhang Yong and Shen Youzhi to lead heavy troops to meet Xue Andu, the Inspector of Xuzhou, who had surrendered after the Yijia Crisis. Xue Andu, fearing that Liu Yu would take advantage of the situation to harm him, pledged loyalty to the Northern Wei and begged for troops to save himself. In early 467, the Northern Wei dispatched Wei Yuan and Kong Bogong to lead troops to rescue Xuzhou, and separately dispatched Tuoba Shi and Zhang Qiongqi to lead troops to rescue Xuanhu. The Wei general Wei Yuan subsequently defeated the Song generals Zhang Yong and Shen Youzhi in the Luliang area. The Song army was almost entirely annihilated; Zhang Yong and Shen Youzhi escaped back to Jiangnan alone, and the provinces of Xu and Yan fell. Shen Wenxiu, the Inspector of Qingzhou, and Cui Daogu, the Inspector of Jizhou, surrendered to the Northern Wei, but soon returned to Liu Song in the 4th month. The Northern Wei then dispatched Zhangsun Ling and Murong Baiyao to attack Qingzhou. Liu Yu ordered Shen Youzhi to lead troops to rescue them, but he was defeated by the Wei general Kong Bogong at Suqingkou and retreated to Huaiyin. Qingzhou and Jizhou, awaiting aid that did not arrive, were besieged for several years and successively surrendered to the Wei; the provinces of Qing and Ji also fell. The Southern Song thus lost four more provinces, and its national power became even weaker.

Massacre of Imperial Clansmen and Meritorious Officials

In his later years, Liu Yu feared that his brothers would seize the throne from Crown Prince Liu Yu after his death. He therefore accepted the advice of his favorites Wang Daolong and Ruan Tianfu and massacred his brothers who had made military contributions. Only Liu Xiufan was spared because he was mediocre and weak. After Wang Daolong and Ruan Tianfu seized power, they abused their authority, sold official posts for bribes, and their wealth exceeded that of the imperial household. Liu Yu also killed important ministers who might be unfavorable to the crown prince, such as the meritorious military generals Shou Jizhi and Wu Xi, and the high-born scholar Wang Jingwen (the brother of Empress Wang Zhenfeng and Liu Yu's brother-in-law). As a result, after Liu Yu's succession, the central and local military garrisons suspected and attacked each other, creating political chaos that allowed the military general Xiao Daocheng to rise and eventually usurp the Song to establish the Qi.

Personal Relations

• Father**: Emperor Wen of Liu Song, Liu Yilong
• Mother**: Consort Shen Rongji (Empress Dowager Xuan)
• Brothers**: Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song, Liu Jun (half-brother), Liu Xiuren, Liu Xiuyou, Liu Xiuruo, Liu Xiufan
• Empress**: Wang Zhenfeng (Empress Minggong)
• Sons**: Liu Yu (Later Deposed Emperor of Song), Liu Faliang, Liu Zhun (Emperor Shun of Song), Liu Zhijing, Liu Xie, Liu You, Liu Ji, Liu Zan, Liu Kui, Liu Song, Liu Xi
• Daughters**: Liu Bosi (Princess of Jinling), Liu Boyuan (Princess of Jian'an), Princess of Yangxian

Historical Assessment

• Liu Xiuren: "Who's power has gained the realm? Emperor Xiaowu exterminated his brothers, and his descendants were cut off. Now it is done again; how long can the Song's mandate last!"
• Shen Yue: "Emperor Taizong, relying on the easy gap in the situation and the established precedents, cut off the great branches without being able to give them due consideration. Thereafter, the root had no protection, and the young ruler stood alone. The imperial power, weakened by circumstance, shifted and fell; the spirit of life, following the push of the times, returned and changed. This was indeed a gradual process of treading on frost, where solid ice naturally arrived; the cause was far removed!"
• Sima Guang: "Emperor (Ming) was suspicious, cruel, and extravagant; the way of Song declined further. With the arrogance and licentiousness of Emperor Xiaowu and the suspicion and cruelty of Emperor Ming, to preserve one's head and die under the window is fortunate; what is there to speak of for the future?"
• Pei Ziye: "Jinghe (Liu Ziye) applied licentious cruelty; Emperor Taizong replaced it with incompetence and indulgence. Armies rose repeatedly, the borders were pressed, people held on to survival, and the court had no discipline. While internal favorites were discussing safety, external affairs had already shown their failure."
• Mao Zedong: "Liu Yu held Jiankang, and all four sides rebelled. Internal line operations, with the few against the many, the weak against the strong. With Cai Xingzong as the chief strategist, and Liu Xiuruo, Liu Xiuyou, Liu Xiuren, Wu Xi, Ren Nongfu, Zhang Yong, Xiao Daocheng, Wang Daolong, Liu Xin, Shen Youzhi, Huang Hui, Lü Anguo, Zhang Xingshi, and Liu Sizuo as generals, he ultimately achieved a complete victory, which can be called remarkable."