Liu Rong ( Chinese: ) (died April 148 BC) was the eldest son of Emperor Jing of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

. His mother was Lady Li (栗姬). He was made

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of the empire under the formal title Crown Prince Li () on 16 May 153 BC, but demoted less than three years later to Prince of Linjiang, on 17 January 150 BCE. He had the dubious honor of becoming the first deposed crown prince in Chinese imperial history. It was recorded that the reason for his demotion was the ill-will between his mother and Princess Liu Piao, Emperor Jing's older sister. Liu Piao had attempted to matchmake her daughter

Chen Jiao Empress Chen of Wu (孝武陳皇后) was empress#China, empress of the Han dynasty and the first wife of Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che). She was also known as Chen Jiao () or as her milk name Chen A'Jiao (陈阿娇). She was born to Chen Wu (Wester ...

with Liu Rong, but was rebuffed by Lady Li; Lady Li herself was displeased with the princess for her frequently recommending beautiful women to Emperor Jing. Incensed, Liu Piao then turned her attention towards Wang Zhi (then a concubine with the rank of ''meiren''); eventually, Chen Jiao was married to Wang Zhi's son Liu Che, the later

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi ...

. Liu Piao then began frequently defaming Lady Li in front of Emperor Jing, while promoting Wang Zhi at the same time. Emperor Jing himself grew displeased with Lady Li after a particular incident: while being seriously ill, Emperor Jing had asked Lady Li to look after the other concubines and their sons after his death. Lady Li not only refused to do so, but was also immensely rude to Emperor Jing in the process. After his recovery, Emperor Jing began to reconsider the positions of Lady Li and Liu Rong. Knowing the precarious situation Lady Li was in, Wang Zhi then encouraged an official to formally propose to Emperor Jing that since Liu Rong was now crown prince, Lady Li should be made empress. This move infuriated Emperor Jing, who had the official put to death, and demoted Liu Rong to Prince of Linjiang. He was imprisoned in 148 BC for trespassing on the grounds of the temple of Emperor Wen (his grandfather) while building walls for his own palace. He was ultimately forced to commit suicide by the official Zhi Du (). His grandmother, the Dowager Empress Dou, later had Zhi Du executed for a minor offense.

References

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Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'', volume 49, volume 59 Prince of Linjiang 148 BC deaths Suicides in the Han dynasty Chinese crown princes who never acceded {{China-royal-stub