Liu Yilong, Emperor Wen of Song 宋文帝 劉義隆

Liu Yilong 劉義隆 (407–453), childhood name Che’er 車兒, Writer and Emperor Wen (r. 424–453) of the Liu-Song.

Liu Yilong’s natal place was Jingkou 京口 (modern Zhenjiang 鎮江, Jiangsu). He was the third son of Liu Yu 劉裕, Emperor Wu of the Song (r. 420– 422). Toward the end of the Eastern Jin period, he was appointed regional inspector of Xuzhou 徐州 (administrative seat Jingkou 京口, modern Zhenjiang), Jingzhou 荊州 (administrative seat Jiangling 江陵, modern Jingzhou, Hubei), and Sizhou 司州 (administrative seat Luoyang). After Liu Yu established the Song dynasty Liu Yilong was conferred the noble title Prince of Yidu 宜都 and was put in charge of the Beiqin 北秦 and Xiangzhou 湘州 regions. When Emperor Wu passed away in 423, his oldest son Liu Yifu 劉義符 (406–424), Emperor Shao (r. 423–424), ascended the throne. A year later, in 424, Emperor Shao was dethroned by the senior court officials Xu Xianzhi 徐羨之 (364–426), Fu Liang 傅亮 (374–426), and Xie Hui 謝晦 (390–426). They installed Liu Yifu’s younger brother, Liu Yilong, Emperor Wen (r. 424–453), on the throne. They dominated the court until 426 when Emperor Wen asserted his authority and had them removed from office and executed. Emperor Wen’s thirty-year reign is known as the “the golden age of Yuanjia” 元嘉之治. Although Emperor Wen was moderately successful in military engagements with the Northern Wei, he often was given to groundless suspicion and jealousy. The only person he trusted was his younger brother the Prince of Pengcheng, Liu Yikang 劉義康 (409–451), who assisted him with state affairs when he took the throne. However, when Liu Yikang’s power gradually grew, he also became the victim of his own success. Liu Yilong became increasingly suspicious of his younger brother. In 446, Liu Yikang was involved in the coup led by Fan Ye 范曄 (398–446). Liu Yilong had Liu Yikang demoted to commoner. In 451, Liu Yilong ordered Liu Yikang executed. This event was the prelude to fratricidal conflict for much of the Southern Dynasties. In 429, Emperor Wen designated his six-year-old eldest son Liu Shao 劉劭 (425–453) crown prince. In 452, Liu Shao attempted to use black magic against Liu Yilong. When Liu Yilong discovered the plot, he deposed Liu Shao. In a rage, Liu Shao had Liu Yilong killed on 16 March 453.

Liu Yilong was a gifted writer. He also excelled in clerical-style calligraphy. During his thirty-year reign he greatly promoted literature and scholarship. Pei Ziye 裴子野 (469–530) in his “General Introduction” to his Song lüe 宋略 (Summaries of Song history) mentions that at that time “All scholars honored and took delight in the classics, and immersed themselves in the rites and propriety.” One of his most important achievements in the cultural sphere was the establishment of the four academies devoted to the fields of Confucian learning, abstruse learning (xuanxue), literature, and history. Liu Yilong was also a prolific writer, and he actively promoted literature at the imperial court.

The monographs on bibliography of the Sui shu and the two Tang histories list Liu Yilong’s collected works in ten juan. This was lost in the Song. He has three extant poems including “Beifa shi” 北伐詩 (Poem on the northern expedition) that he composed in 446 when the Northern Wei army raided the southern plain area north of the Huai River. Yan Kejun has collected his prose writings that consist almost entirely of imperial edicts in three chapters of “Quan Song wen” of Quan Shanggu Sandai Qin Han Sanguo Liuchao wen.

Not Specified Taiping Chang David R. Knechtges

Citation

• 劉義隆 Liu Yilong, Brill’s Chinese Reference Shelf. Brill Online, 2017. http://chinesereferenceshelf.brillonline.com/ancient-literature/ent...