Liu Yifu

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Liu Yifu was born in 406, the second year of the Yixi era, when his father Liu Yu was already forty-four and still had no son. His birth delighted Liu Yu, who treasured him greatly. Liu Yu was then a powerful figure of Eastern Jin and held the title Duke of Yuzhang, so Liu Yifu, as heir to the dukedom, received considerable attention.

As a youth, Liu Yifu was physically strong, possessed exceptional arm strength, excelled at riding and archery, understood music, and had wide interests. The Book of Song records that he was "strong of body, skilled at riding and archery, and knowledgeable in music." At the same time, he was described as excessively indulgent. While living in the Eastern Palace, he often played with men of low status and neglected proper duties, tendencies that foreshadowed his later political fate.

In 413, at only seven, Liu Yifu was appointed General Who Subdues the Caitiffs and assigned to guard Jingkou. Liu Yu attached great importance to the appointment and carefully selected talented staff for his headquarters: Wang Hui served as chief clerk, Tan Daoji as marshal, Zhang Shao as recording secretary, Xun Bozi as merit officer, and Kuai En as military aide. Over the next several years, Liu Yifu's offices rose with Liu Yu's political standing. In 415 he became Inspector of Yanzhou; in 416 he was transferred to Yuzhou and, in the third month of the same year, to Xuzhou and Yanzhou while remaining at Jingkou. In the eighth month, when Liu Yu campaigned north toward Guanzhong, Liu Yifu was promoted to General of the Central Army and placed in charge of the Grand Commandant's affairs left at the capital. He remained in Jiankang, where most practical business was handled by Liu Muzhi, Left Director of the Department of State Affairs.

In 417, after Liu Yu pacified Guanzhong, he considered appointing Liu Yifu General of the Western Center and sending him to guard Jingzhou, but abandoned the plan after advisers objected. In 418, Liu Yu accepted the Jin court's titles of Duke of Song and Chancellor of State, establishing the Duchy of Song. Liu Yifu was made its heir while retaining the rank of General of the Central Army and serving as deputy within the chancellor's administration. In 419, when Liu Yu was elevated to Prince of Song, Liu Yifu became Crown Prince of Song.

Period as Crown Prince

In the seventh month of 420, one month after Emperor Wu Liu Yu accepted the abdication and proclaimed himself emperor, he made Liu Yifu crown prince. Liu Yifu was then fourteen.

Although he had been designated heir, his conduct had already caused concern among senior officials. Central Army Commander Xie Hui once told Liu Yu that the emperor was advanced in age and should consider the long-term preservation of the dynasty, because the imperial succession was too important to entrust to someone unqualified. Liu Yu asked whether Prince Yizhen of Luling might be suitable. Xie Hui then visited Liu Yizhen. Yizhen spoke to him warmly, but Xie Hui gave little response and later reported that Yizhen had more talent than virtue and was unfit to rule. Liu Yizhen was soon sent away from Yangzhou to serve as Inspector of Southern Yuzhou, and Liu Yifu's position as crown prince remained secure.

This episode reflects Liu Yu's hesitation late in life over the succession, although he ultimately retained his eldest son Liu Yifu as heir. His doubts were not baseless, for Liu Yifu's behavior in the Eastern Palace had already raised questions about his suitability to rule.

Accession and Misgovernment

In the fifth month of 422, the third year of Yongchu, Liu Yu became gravely ill and summoned Liu Yifu to entrust him with final instructions. He said that Tan Daoji possessed administrative and military ability but lacked far-reaching ambition; Xu Xianzhi and Fu Liang were unlikely to harbor disloyal intentions; Xie Hui, experienced in campaigns and adept at responding to circumstances, was the one to watch if disagreements arose. On the guihai day of that month, June 26, 422, Emperor Wu died in the Western Hall. Crown Prince Liu Yifu ascended the throne the same day at age seventeen and proclaimed a general amnesty. The following year he changed the era name to Jingping.

After his accession, Liu Yifu honored Xiao Wenshou as Grand Empress Dowager, his birth mother Lady Zhang as Empress Dowager, and his crown-princess consort Sima Maoying as empress. In the sixth month, he appointed Fu Liang, then Director of the Department of State Affairs, concurrently as Director of the Secretariat and Director of the Department of State Affairs, to assist in government with Xu Xianzhi, Minister over the Masses, and Xie Hui, General of the Guards.

Liu Yifu issued an edict to Xu Xianzhi and Fu Liang stating that handling criminal lawsuits was a primary concern of government, but that he was still in mourning and unable to review them personally; they were therefore to lead the officials in deciding cases once each month. In practice, this left state affairs largely to the regents while Liu Yifu immersed himself in recreation.

Even during mourning for his father, Liu Yifu showed little regard for ritual propriety. He enjoyed intimate games with attendants and indulged heavily in amusement. The retired senior official Fan Tai submitted a memorial criticizing his frequent martial exercises in the rear gardens and the constant sound of drums from within the palace, warning that such behavior would not awe neighboring peoples but instead bewilder the realm. Fan praised the emperor's original delegation of government during mourning as resembling the conduct of ancient worthy rulers, but warned that intimacy with petty men would endanger long-term order. Liu Yifu ignored the advice.

Within Hualin Garden, Liu Yifu created a mock marketplace where he personally set up stalls and sold goods. He also dug channels and heaped earth to imitate the Pogang embankment, then pulled boats through the waterways with attendants while singing and shouting for amusement. In the evening he went to Tianquan Pool and even slept aboard a dragon boat.

Northern Wei Invasion and the Loss of Northern Strongholds

In the twelfth month of 422, after learning of Liu Yu's death, Emperor Mingyuan of Northern Wei, Tuoba Si, launched a major southern campaign and besieged Huatai. Wang Jingdu, Administrator of Dong Commandery, fled, while Yang Zan, Administrator of Puyang, was killed in battle. On the dingchou day of the second month of 423, Grand Empress Dowager Xiao Wenshou died. In the third month, Sun Faliang of Fuyang raised a rebellion in the east, which was suppressed by Kuaiji Administrator Chu Danzhi; Yingchuan Administrator Li Yuande withdrew in defeat from Xuchang. In the fourth month, Northern Wei captured Hulao. Liu Song forces inside and outside the region feared Wei strength and hesitated to advance. Mao Dezu, Inspector of Sizhou, defended for more than two hundred days without relief, exhausted his supplies, and was captured. General Who Guards the North Tan Daoji led troops to relieve Qingzhou, prompting Wei forces to relinquish some gains and withdraw.

After the campaign, Xu Xianzhi, Xie Hui, and Fu Liang submitted a memorial impeaching themselves, acknowledging that their poor planning had caused loyal officers to perish, armies to suffer humiliation, and the state's strategic position to deteriorate. Liu Yifu did not punish the regents. The court instead sentenced defeated officials such as Wang Jingdu, Administrator of Dong Commandery, and Xu Yan, Inspector of Yanzhou, to penal servitude.

Liu Yifu remained indifferent to the Northern Wei advance and the loss of major northern strongholds, continuing his amusements. The military advantages accumulated under Liu Yu were weakened as Huatai, Jinyong, Hulao, and other positions fell to Northern Wei.

Deposition and Death

In the first month of 424, regents Xu Xianzhi, Xie Hui, and Fu Liang gradually agreed that Emperor Shao had lost the moral standing necessary to rule. Liu Yifu's younger brother Liu Yizhen, Prince of Luling, was both at odds with Xu Xianzhi and estranged from Liu Yifu. The regents therefore planned first to remove Liu Yizhen and then act against Liu Yifu. Yizhen associated closely with Xie Lingyun, Yan Yanzhi, the monk Huilin, and others, and repeatedly asked to return to the capital from his provincial post. Xu Xianzhi and the other regents accused him of violating mourning observances, insulting imperial envoys, and plotting misconduct, and exiled him to Xin'an Commandery.

In the fifth month, Xu Xianzhi and his colleagues summoned General Who Guards the North Tan Daoji and Jiangzhou Inspector Wang Hong to the capital. With Secretariat clerks Xing Antai and Pan Sheng serving as palace insiders, they quickly launched the operation to depose Liu Yifu. Tan Daoji led troops at the front, entering through the Eastern Side Gate and Yunlong Gate. Palace guards had already been informed and offered no resistance. The emperor, who frequently played at trading goods in Hualin Garden and boating with attendants, had spent that night aboard a dragon boat on Tianyuan Pool. Tan Daoji's soldiers rushed in, killed two of the emperor's attendants, injured Liu Yifu's finger, escorted him out through the Eastern Pavilion, and seized the imperial seals and ribbons.

An edict was then issued in the name of Empress Dowager Zhang listing Liu Yifu's alleged offenses: rejoicing during mourning and speaking irreverently; summoning entertainers and musicians and consuming delicacies even more lavishly than before; indulging in entertainment near the mourning hall after the death of the Grand Empress Dowager; exhausting the treasury by constant construction to support day-and-night amusements with petty companions; imitating menial labor and personally beating servants for sport; and repeatedly building and demolishing ponds and palaces, thereby burdening craftsmen and the people. The edict deposed him as Prince of Yingyang, following the precedents of the King of Changyi under Han and the Duke of Haixi under Jin, and summoned the Prince of Yidu to inherit the throne.

Officials bade farewell as Liu Yifu left the palace. He was first confined in the Eastern Palace and then escorted to Wu County. On the guichou day of the sixth month, August 4, 424, Xu Xianzhi and his associates ordered Secretariat clerk Xing Antai to kill the deposed emperor at Jinchang Pavilion. Liu Yifu, physically strong, resisted and broke away, running outside the gate, but the pursuers caught and subdued him near Changmen and killed him. He was nineteen. Xu Xianzhi also sent men to kill Liu Yizhen at Xin'an. The officials then agreed to enthrone Liu Yu's third son, Liu Yilong, Prince of Yidu, who became Emperor Wen of Liu Song.

Major Activities

Accession and the Regency Structure

Liu Yifu succeeded to the throne in the fifth month of 422. Xu Xianzhi, Fu Liang, Xie Hui, and Tan Daoji were appointed as the principal regents under Liu Yu's final arrangements, intended to stabilize the regime after a young ruler's accession. Liu Yifu, however, delegated nearly all government business to them and devoted himself to recreation, gradually creating conflict between the emperor and the regency group.

Northern Wei Invasion and Territorial Losses

During Liu Yifu's reign, Northern Wei took advantage of Liu Yu's death to invade southward and captured Huatai, Jinyong, Hulao, and other strongholds south of the Yellow River. Mao Dezu, Inspector of Sizhou, defended Hulao for more than two hundred days but was captured after relief failed to arrive. Liu Song's northern military advantage from Liu Yu's reign was substantially weakened, making this the most serious military failure of Liu Yifu's rule.

Amusements in Hualin Garden and Charges of Misconduct

One of the best-known features of Liu Yifu's reign was his conduct in Hualin Garden. He set up a mock market and personally sold goods, dug waterways and piled earth to imitate the Pogang embankment, pulled boats with attendants while singing and shouting, and frequently practiced martial exercises inside the palace. Fan Tai submitted a memorial of remonstrance, but Liu Yifu ignored it. These actions later became central justifications cited by the regents for his deposition.

Deposition and Killing

In 424, the second year of Jingping, Xu Xianzhi, Fu Liang, Xie Hui, Tan Daoji, and other regents jointly staged a coup, deposed Liu Yifu as Prince of Yingyang, and soon had him killed at Jinchang Pavilion in Wu County. This was the first case in Southern Dynasties history in which a regency group deposed and killed an emperor, establishing a precedent with lasting political consequences.

Personal Relations

• Father: Liu Yu, Emperor Wu of Liu Song
• Mother: Lady Zhang (Zhang Que), later Empress Dowager
• Second younger brother: Liu Yizhen, Prince of Luling, deposed and killed by Xu Xianzhi and others
• Third younger brother: Liu Yilong, Emperor Wen of Liu Song, later killed by Crown Prince Liu Shao
• Fourth younger brother: Liu Yikang, Prince of Pengcheng, ordered to die by Liu Yilong
• Fifth younger brother: Liu Yigong, Prince of Jiangxia
• Sixth younger brother: Liu Yixuan, Prince of Nanjun
• Seventh younger brother: Liu Yiji, Prince of Hengyang
• Wife: Sima Maoying, empress and daughter of Sima Dewen, Emperor Gong of Jin
• Adopted heir: Liu Lang, Prince of Nanfeng and son of Liu Yigong, adopted in Yuanjia 9 as Liu Yifu's successor
• Xu Xianzhi: regent and one of the principal organizers of Liu Yifu's deposition
• Fu Liang: regent and one of the principal organizers of Liu Yifu's deposition
• Xie Hui: regent who had earlier warned Liu Yu that Liu Yifu was unfit to rule
• Tan Daoji: regent who led troops into the palace to depose Liu Yifu
• Fan Tai: senior official who submitted a memorial remonstrating with Liu Yifu, without success
• Xiao Wenshou: Grand Empress Dowager and stepmother of Liu Yu
• Wang Hong: Inspector of Jiangzhou who participated in the deposition
• Xing Antai: Secretariat clerk, palace insider, and later the agent ordered to kill Liu Yifu
• Pan Sheng: Secretariat clerk who served as an insider during the coup

Historical Assessment

Southern Dynasties

• Shen Yue, author of the Book of Song, wrote that Liu Yifu "possessed physical strength, excelled at riding and archery, and understood music." The work records his talents while also documenting the misconduct of his reign.
• Li Yanshou, author of the History of the Southern Dynasties, similarly described his extraordinary strength, skill in riding and archery, and knowledge of music. In its appraisal, the work argued that Liu Yifu was easily influenced, followed his desires without restraint, and brought ruin upon himself rather than suffering mere misfortune.
• Fan Tai warned in his memorial that although Liu Yifu's initial delegation of government during mourning resembled the conduct of ancient worthy rulers, intimacy with petty men was not a strategy for the lasting peace of the state.

Tang and Song Periods

• The Book of Jin does not address Liu Yifu directly, but Tang historians compiling histories of the Northern and Southern Dynasties recorded his misconduct extensively. Early Tang historiography generally regarded his deposition as a consequence of his own behavior while also showing sympathy regarding his killing.
• Sima Guang's Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance gives a detailed account of Xu Xianzhi and the other regents' deposition of Liu Yifu, with an implied criticism of the act of deposing an emperor.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Wang Fuzhi, in Du Tongjian Lun, discussed Liu Yifu's deposition and argued that although the regents had reasons for removing him, killing the ruler was excessively cruel and helped establish a damaging precedent for powerful ministers deposing emperors in the Southern Dynasties.
• Zhao Yi, in Notes on the Twenty-Two Histories, discussed the phenomenon of deposed emperors in the Southern Dynasties and treated Liu Yifu as its first major case, linking later repetitions in part to the excessive power of regents.

Modern Period

• Cai Dongfan, in his historical fiction on the Northern and Southern Dynasties, portrayed Liu Yifu's ruin as the consequence of his own behavior.
• Lü Simian, in History of the Two Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, argued that Liu Yifu's deposition reflected a political struggle between imperial authority and elite power, with the emperor's misconduct serving only as the immediate trigger.
• Tian Yuqing, in discussing early Liu Song politics in Aristocratic Politics of the Eastern Jin, treated Liu Yifu's deposition as a marker of changing power relations between Liu Song emperors and high-ranking aristocratic officials.