Liu Taigong (), personal name Liu Tuan (), was the father of

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

(Emperor Gaozu of Han).

Biography

Not much is recorded about Taigong historically. He was born and likely lived his early life in Feng town (豐邑) of Pei County, in present-day

Feng County, Jiangsu Feng County, or Fengxian (), is under the administration of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China. Being the northwesternmost and westernmost county-level division in the province, it borders the provinces of Shandong to the north and west, and Anhui t ...

. His personal name is not known. Some historical sources says his name is Liu Zhijia (Chinese:劉執嘉), although this name is likely chosen after Liu Bang became Emperor. He likely came from a humble, rural background. During the Han-Chu War, Liu Taigong was captured by Chu troops during the

Battle of Pengcheng The Battle of Pengcheng was fought in Pengcheng (present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China) in April 205 BC between the kingdoms of Western Chu and Han, led by Xiang Yu and Liu Bang respectively. The Han forces were unprepared and suffered heavy loss ...

. After Taigong's son Liu Bang became emperor, Liu Bang continued to visit his father once a week. However, upon hearing from an advisor that it was no longer appropriate for Taigong to "receive" his son, as Taigong was technically one of his subjects, Taigong began to greet his son in deprecatory fashion, honoring the latter's status as emperor. Upon learning the reason behind his father's actions, Liu Bang honored Taigong with the title

Taishang Huang In Chinese history, a Taishang Huang or Taishang Huangdi is an honorific and institution of a retired emperor. The former emperor had, at least in name, abdicated in favor of someone else. Although no longer the reigning sovereign, there are ins ...

on 4 July 201 BCE, a year after Liu Bang declared himself emperor in February 202 BCE. The title nominally elevated Liu's status in court protocol as to remain consistent with Confucian norms of

filial piety Filial piety is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, particularly within the context of Confucian ethics, Confucian, Chinese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhist ethics, Buddhist, and Daoism, Daoist ethics. ...

. Taigong died at a palace in the city of

Yueyang Yueyang, formerly known as Yuezhou or Yochow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake and the Yangtze river in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. Yueyang has an administrative ...

in June 197 BC. On 9 August 197 BC,''guimao'' day of the 7th month of the 10th year of Liu Bang's reign (including his tenure as King of Han), per vol.12 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' he was entombed in present-day

Lintong District Lintong District (), formerly Lintong County, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, Northwest China. The district was approved to establish from the former ''Lintong County'' () by th ...

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

Family

Consorts and issue

* Wang Hanshi (), also known as Liu Ao (, "Old woman Liu"), posthumously honored as Empress Zhaoling () ** Liu Bo, Prince Wu'ai (; b. 262 BC), first son ** Liu Xi, Prince Qing of Wu (; 260–193 BC), second son ** Empress Zhao'ai () **

, Emperor Gao (; 256–195 BC), third son * Retired Empress, of the Li clan (), formerly a concubine ** Liu Jiao, Prince Yuan of Chu (; d. 179 BC), fourth son

Ancestry

References

*''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'', volumes 9 to 12 *''

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 8 *''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

'', volume 36 {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Zhijia 3rd-century BC births 197 BC deaths Emperor Gaozu of Han