Liu Wu, Prince of Liang
Liu Wu, posthumous name Prince Xiao of Liang, was an imperial prince of the Western Han dynasty of China. He was a son of Emperor Wen and Empress Xiaowen, and a younger brother of Emperor Jing. He played a prominent role in the suppression of the Rebellion of the Seven States. He was also responsible for the assassination of the minister Yuan Ang.
Life
Liu Wu was initially created prince of Dai in 178 BC. In 176 BC, he became prince of Huaiyang instead and his brother Liu Can replaced him as prince of Dai. In 168 BC, this was changed again to Liang.Rebellion of the Seven Princes
After Emperor Jing ordered the execution of Chao Cuo at the urging of Yuan Ang, Liu Wu was besieged at his capital Suiyang by the armies of Wu and Chu during the Rebellion of the Seven States. His mother the empress dowager Xiaowen urged the emperor to send the imperial army to relieve him. General Zhou Yafu succeeded in counselling against a direct assault: instead, his force took advantage of disorder among the rebels to establish a strong camp at Xiayi athwart their line of supply and communication along the Si River. Ignoring Liu Wu's pleas for help and imperial orders to advance to the city, he occupied his time strengthening his defenses and sending Han Tuidang's cavalry raiders to disrupt what little overland supply the rebels could manage from Chu. Having wearied their armies assaulting Suiyang, the rebel princes were forced to fall back for supplies and their assaults on Xiayi were defeated with such prepared ease that Zhou initially refused to be woken from bed. This was effectively the end of the rebellion: the Prince of Chu took his own life and Liu Pi was killed by Yue natives as he fled. Luan Bu followed this by defeating the other rebel princes, who chose either death or execution. The successful strategy earned Zhou Yafu the wrath of the Prince of Liang and his mother, however. They eventually succeeded in poisoning the emperor against him: he was imprisoned on minor issues involving his son's dispute with a supplier and, in the end, chose to fast to death in prison.Patron of the arts
For his support during the rebellion, his brother Emperor Jing gave him many honors and privileges. His private gardens rivaled the emperor's and the prince expanded his number of retainers, bringing in Yang Sheng, Gongsun Gui, and Zou Yang. He became a famous patron, particularly of fu poets such as Sima Xiangru. One particularly influential piece was the "Memorial from Prison to the Prince of Liang", whereby Zou Yang successfully pleaded his case against the slander of other courtiers and freed himself from a death sentence not by addressing the charges against him but by multiplying historical examples of the disaster of gossip and libel.Fall from grace
When the emperor demoted his eldest son Liu Rong from heir apparent to prince of Linjiang in 150 BC, the empress dowager took the occasion of an imperial feast to demand that Emperor Jing name Liu Wu as his crown prince in preference to his other sons. He immediately agreed, only to be talked out of it by his advisors. Yuan Ang in particular counseled strongly against breaking the laws of succession, as the act would set a highly destabilizing precedent. Acting in support of their patron, Gongsun Gui and Yang Sheng conspired to have the elderly minister stabbed to death outside the walls of the imperial suburb of Anling. They were responsible for nine related murders as well. Upon the emperor's discovering their involvement, Liu Wu ordered them to commit suicide and presented their bodies to the emperor, but he never regained his brother's favor and was only seldom received at court. Instead, following custom, Liu Che, the prince of Jiaodong, was promoted to crown prince and his mother Lady Wang to empress. Afraid for her younger son's life, the empress dowager refused to eat until he was cleared of any charges. The official charged with the investigation reported back to Emperor Jing that, in his view, Liu Wu had been involved and that "sparing the Prince of Liang would break the law of Han"; nonetheless, "killing him would deeply distress the empress dowager and upset the emperor even more". He counseled the emperor to drop the issue. In discussion with the empresses, he blamed the murders solely upon the two courtiers and explained they had already been lawfully punished.File:Mural painting of four animals in clouds.jpg|thumb|350px|The mural of the Four Gods at the Henan Provincial Museum.