Liu Ying (prince)

This article is about the Han prince in the Eastern Han dynasty. For the emperors of the Western Han dynasty, whose names bear the same transliteration but not the same character, see Emperor Hui of Han and Ruzi Ying.
In this Chinese name, the family name is Liu.

Liu Ying (simplified Chinese: 刘英; traditional Chinese: 劉英; pinyin: Liú Yīng) (died 3 June 71[1]) was a Chinese prince. He was a son of Emperor Guangwu of Han, and half-brother of Emperor Ming of Han. After becoming Prince of Chu, he was a known supporter of many religions. In particular, his sponsorship of Buddhism in 65 CE is the first documented case of Buddhist practices in China.[2]

Born to Lady Xu (Chinese: 許氏), a junior consort of Emperor Guangwu with the rank of meiren,[3] Liu Ying was given the rank of duke on 22 May 39 CE,[4] and prince (wáng) in the second half of 41 CE.[5] The next year, he received Chu as his hereditary fiefdom, with his capital at Pengcheng (modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu). The young Liu Ying seems to have been close to his half-brother Liu Zhuang, the future Emperor Ming. He is also said to have travelled widely and gained an interest in Huang-Lao Daoism (Chinese: 黃老) and Buddhism (Chinese: 浮屠, literally "Buddha"). After Liu Ying became a prince, he actively supported both religions in the hope of finding a drug of longevity or immortality.

Because of these activities, Liu Ying was suspected of treasonous intrigue and the subject of an imperial edict from Emperor Ming. The edict, which survives in the Book of the Later Han shows that at the time the Buddha was associated in the opinion of the Chinese imperial court with Daoism. He was treated like a god to whom sacrifices and fasting took place. Buddhism was described as "humane" and generally accepted by the elite. Citing Liu Ying's support of Daoism and Buddhism, Henri Maspero noted, "It is a very curious fact that, throughout the whole Han dynasty, Taoism and Buddhism were constantly confused and appeared as a single religion."[6]

Five years later, in c.December 70, Liu Ying's activities were again denounced by high officials and he was accused of plotting against the throne,[7] a crime punishable by death. Among his supposed crimes was the most heinous of those in Han law: usurping the prerogatives of the emperor, and great impropriety and immorality in his conduct toward the throne (Chinese: 大逆不道). Nevertheless, Emperor Ming refused to execute Liu Ying, instead demoting him to the rank of a commoner and exiling him to Danyang in the lower Yangtze. Liu Ying committed suicide upon reaching his destination the next year. He was buried with the honours of a full marquess (Chinese: 侯).

As part of the purges following Liu Ying's downfall, thousands of his supposed adherents were arrested and implicated each other under torture. Nevertheless, the Buddhist community at Pengcheng survived. More than a century later, it was still thriving under the patronage of Ze Rong, a native of Danyang. A number of Liu Ying's followers may also have followed him to the lower Yangtze and established Buddhist communities there also.

  1. ^ ([永平十四]夏四月丁巳，钜鹿太守南阳邢穆为司徒。前楚王英自杀。) Houhanshu, vol.02
  2. ^ "Life of Laozi". taoism.org. Archived from the original on 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2008-04-17. See also Zürcher 1972, p. 26.
  3. ^ (许美人生楚王英) Houhanshu, vol.42
  4. ^ ([建武十五年夏四月]丁巳，使大司空融告庙，封皇子辅为右翊公，英为楚公，....) Houhanshu, vol.1 part 2
  5. ^ Emperor Guangwu's biography in Book of the Later Han indicate that Liu Ying was still a duke when he joined his father and brothers in a hunt on the yi'mao day of the 4th month of the 17th year of the Jian'wu era, and the entourage only returned to the palace on the yimao day of the 5th month (8 July 41 CE in the Julian calendar) ([建武十七年]夏四月乙卯，南巡狩，皇太子及右翊公辅、楚公英、....五月乙卯，车驾还宫。) Houhanshu, vol.1 part 2. There is no yi'mao day in the 4th month of that year, but there is a ji'mao (己卯) day, which corresponds to 2 Jun 41 CE in the Julian calendar. Thus, Liu Ying must have received his princedom in the second half of 41 CE.
  6. ^ Henri Maspero, 1981, Taoism and Chinese Religion, tr. by Frank A. Kierman Jr., University of Massachusetts Press, p. 405.
  7. ^ ([永平十三年]十一月，楚王英谋反，废，国除，迁于泾县，所连及死徙者数千人.) Houhanshu, vol.02. The month corresponds to 22 Dec 70 to 19 Jan 71.