Liu Zixun (; 456 – 19 September 466),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Xiaode (孝德), was an imperial prince and

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term may often be used to either refer to a descendant of a deposed monarchy or a claim that is not legitimat ...

to the throne of the Chinese

Liu Song Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern dynasties (南朝宋) in historiography, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern dynasti ...

dynasty, who received claims of allegiance from most provinces of the state during the year 466 after his staff made a claim to the throne on his behalf, rivaling that of his uncle Emperor Ming, following the assassination of his half-brother Emperor Qianfei in January 466. The inability of his troops to defeat the outnumbered troops of Emperor Ming, however, eventually led to the collapse of his regime, and Emperor Ming's general

Shen Youzhi Shen Youzhi (沈攸之) (died 9 March 478), courtesy name Zhongda (仲達), was a general during the Chinese Liu Song dynasty, who, in the final moments of the dynasty, made a final failed attempt to prevent Xiao Daocheng from seizing the throne. ...

captured and executed him at the age of 10.

Background

Liu Zixun was born in 456, as Emperor Xiaowu's third son. His mother Consort Chen carried the rank ''Shuyuan'' (), the fifth rank for imperial consorts. In 460, at age four, Emperor Xiaowu created him the Prince of Jin'an, and starting in 463, he started to be rotated as a provincial governor, with staff members in actual charge of the administration of the provinces. He was said to be unfavored by Emperor Xiaowu because he had an eye illness.(眼患风，为世祖所不爱。) ''Song Shu'', vol.80 In 464, Emperor Xiaowu died and was succeeded by Liu Zixun's violent and impulsive older brother

Liu Ziye Former Deposed Emperor of Liu Song or Emperor Qianfei ((劉)宋前廢帝; 25 February 449 – 1 January 466), 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 t ...

(as Emperor Qianfei). Emperor Qianfei, apprehensive of actual or potential threats to his authority, soon slaughtered a number of high level officials as well as his main former rival as his father's heir, his brother Liu Ziluan () the Prince of Xin'an. He then saw that both his grandfather Emperor Wen and his father Emperor Xiaowu were third-born sons, and he became alarmed at that fact, and he became even more alarmed when his uncle and brother-in-law He Mai () made a failed attempt to overthrow him and put Liu Zixun on the throne. In 465, he sent poison with his attendant Zhu Jingyun () to Liu Zixun's post at Jiang Province (江州, modern

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

and

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

), to force Liu Zixun to commit suicide. However, as Zhu approached the capital of Jiang Province, Xunyang (尋陽, in modern

Jiujiang Jiujiang, formerly transliterated Kiukiang and Kew-Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level ...

), he intentionally slowed down, and upon hearing this, Liu Zixun's staff, led by his chief of staff Deng Wan (), declared a rebellion in Liu Zixun's name and sought support from other provinces. Quickly, his brother Liu Zisui () the Prince of Anlu, then the governor of Ying Province (郢州, modern eastern

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

), declared for him. 10 days later, around the new year 466, however, Emperor Qianfei was assassinated by his attendants, and the officials supported his uncle Liu Yu the Prince of Xiangdong as emperor (as Emperor Ming).

Failed claim to the throne

Emperor Ming initially tried to reward Liu Zixun for his effort to resist Emperor Qianfei by giving him honors, and most members of Liu Zixun's staff wanted to accept Emperor Ming's offer. However, the ambitious Deng Wan, believing in the same coincidence that Emperor Qianfei did regarding Liu Zixun's third-born status, rejected Emperor Ming's promotion order and prepared to resist Emperor Ming, in association with Yuan Yi () the governor of Yong Province (雍州, modern northwestern

and southwestern

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

) and Liu Zisui's chief of staff Xun Bianzhi (). They accused Emperor Ming of being an usurper and having unduly killed, in addition to Emperor Qianfei, their brother Liu Zishang () the Prince of Yuzhang. Jing Province (荊州, modern central and western

) and

Kuaiji Commandery Kuaiji Commandery ( Chinese: t , s , p ''Kuàijī Jùn''), formerly romanized as K'uai-chi Commandery, was a former commandery of China in the area of Hangzhou Bay. When first established, its capital was at Wu (present-d ...

(the southern shore of

Hangzhou Bay Hangzhou Bay is a funnel-shaped inlet of the East China Sea on the middle eastern coast of Mainland China, bordered by the province of Zhejiang to the west and south, and the municipality of Shanghai to north. The bay extends westwards to its ...

), governed by Liu Zixun's brothers Liu Zixu () the Prince of Linhai and Liu Zifang () the Prince of Xunyang, also quickly rose in support. In spring 466, Deng Wan, claiming to have received a secret edict from Liu Zixun's grandmother Empress Dowager Lu Huinan, declared Liu Zixun emperor. Upon the declaration, nearly the entire empire declared for Liu Zixun, with Emperor Ming only in control of the region immediately around the capital

Jiankang Jiankang (), or Jianye (), as it was originally called, was the capital city of the Eastern Wu (229–265 and 266–280 CE), the Jin dynasty (265–420), Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) and the Southern Dynasties (420–552), including the Ch ...

. However, Liu Zixun's generals proceeded slowly, believing that Jiankang would collapse on its own due to the lack of food supply. Emperor Ming's general Wu Xi () was quickly able to advance east and capture Liu Zifang, taking the commanderies around

Kuaiji Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou to the southeast, Jinhua to ...

that had declared for Liu Zixun and securing a food supply. The troops of Liu Zixun and Emperor Ming stalemated for months in the

Chaohu Chaohu () is a county-level city of Anhui Province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei. Situated on the northeast and southeast shores of Lake Chao, from which the city was named, Chaohu is under the adm ...

region, until Emperor Ming's general Zhang Xingshi () built a defense post at Qianxi (錢溪, in modern

Chizhou Chizhou () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Anhui province, China. It borders Anqing to the northwest, Tongling and Wuhu to the northeast, Xuancheng to the east, Huangshan to the southeast, and the province of Jiangxi to the southwest ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

), upstream from Liu Zixun's main troops commanded by Yuan Yi and Liu Hu (), cutting off their food supplies. As Liu Hu then tried to capture Qianxi to reopen food routes, he was defeated by Zhang and

, and Liu Hu and Yuan then fled, with their troops collapsing. Liu Hu fled back to Xunyang, but then left under guise that he was going to set up perimeter defenses while instead fleeing. Xunyang was left without a defense, and Deng Wan contemplated killing Liu Zixun to save himself, but instead was killed by another staff member Zhang Yue (). Shen then arrived and executed Liu Zixun, ending his rival claim, as well as his mother Consort Chen (presumably honored as empress dowager).

Family relations

* Father: Emperor Xiaowu of Song * Mother: Consort Chen, with the rank ''Shuyuan'' (). Presumably honored as empress dowager; executed along with Zixun

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Zixun Liu Song emperors 456 births 466 deaths Executed people from Jiangsu People executed by a Northern and Southern dynasties state People executed by Liu Song Politicians from Nanjing