Emperor Jing (r. 157-141 BCE) and the
concubine Lady Cheng had three sons named Liu Yu, Liu Fei and Liu Duan.
All three brothers were quickly appointed as kings after their father’s
ascendance to the throne. Liu Yu and Liu Fei were given kingdoms in 155
BCE and Liu Duan followed close behind with his appointment as the King
of Jiaoxi in 154 BCE. Lady Cheng’s sons were generally well behaved when
it came to respecting the authority of the emperors—they never rebelled
and they had largely tranquil reigns. Liu Yu and Liu Fei both died
after twenty-five or twenty-six years of rule, which had been tame and
peacefully absent of drama. Liu Duan, however, who lived to rule twice
as long as his brothers, quickly became the oddball of the family.
Liu Duan set up his regime in Jiaoxi
like any other king. He hired an entourage of ministers and attendants
to help govern his kingdom, and he also took in several concubines who
would hopefully provide him with an heir to the kingdom. Yet, Liu Duan
and his ministers quickly began to feud. The main point of dissent,
according to Han historian Sima Qian (c. 145-90 BCE), was the
relationship between the king and his concubines—or lack thereof.
Apparently, Liu Duan was strictly homosexual and used every trick in the
book to avoid time with his palace women. His favorite ploy was to
plead illness, a tactic that allowed him to escape his concubines for
months at a time.
Continue reading about the interesting life of King Liu Duan, HERE.
