Background

Liu Piao was born in 190 B.C., in Shanxi province. She was the daughter of Liu Heng and Lady Dou. She also had two brothers.

Career

Liu Piao was granted the title Princess of Guantao when her father became emperor. Later she married Chen Wu, a grandson of Chen Ying, Marquis of Tangyi and gave birth to a daughter named Chen Jiao. During the reign of her brother, Liu Piao was free to come and go in the court. Her beloved daughter Chen Jiao, therefore, grew up in the rear palaces with her maternal cousin Liu Che (Emperor Wu, 156-87 B.C.E.; r. 140-87 B.C.E.). Liu Piao paid a great deal of attention to Liu Che, who was granted the title Prince of Jiaodong when he was four years old.

However, when another of the emperor’s sons, Liu Rong, was appointed an heir apparent Liu Piao approached his mother, Concubine Li (Xiao Jing Li Ji), proposing a marriage between their children. Concubine Li rejected her proposal, leading her to put the marriage proposal to Consort Wang, the mother of Liu Che, who accepted immediately on her son’s behalf. This incident saw a worsening of relations between Liu Piao and Concubine Li.

Liu Piao, therefore, spoke ill of Concubine Li in the presence of the emperor, while praising Liu Che, the son of Consort Wang. Emperor Jing began to dislike Concubine Li and, because he had always been fond of his son Liu Che, he considered removing Concubine Li’s son from the position as heir apparent and appointing Liu Che instead. Liu Piao was extremely satisfied with this outcome since her daughter was now to be consort to the heir apparent.

It is said that after the death of her husband Liu Piao had a relationship with a servant Dong Yan. However, there was a risk that Dong Yan would be punished because of having a secret liaison with Liu Piao, a princess of the imperial house. Liu Piao was frightened and apologized with lowered head for her crime of disgracing the imperial family by having illicit relations with a servant. Emperor Wu pardoned her and Dong Yan received the emperor’s favor. Dong Yan died at the age of thirty. Liu Piao, who had by then been appointed Grand Princess, died a few years after Dong Yan and was buried by his side in Baling.

Achievements

• Liu Piao was known in Chinese history as Grand Princess Guantao and a woman who manipulated Emperor in order to gain more power.

Connections

Liu Piao was the wife of Chen Wu. They had a daughter whom they named Chen Jiao.

Father:

Liu Heng

Liu Heng, also known as Emperor Wen, was the fifth emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China.

Mother:

Yifang Dou

Dou Yifang, also known as Empress Xiaowen, was an empress of the Chinese Han dynasty who greatly influenced the reigns of her husband Emperor Wen and her son Emperor Jing with her adherence to Taoist philosophy.

husband:

Chen Wu

Chen Wu was a grandson of Chen Ying, Marquis of Tangyi.

Daughter:

Jiao Chen

Chen Jiao, also known as Empress Chen, was an empress during Han Dynasty.

Brother:

Liu Qi

Liu Qi, also known as Emperor Jing, was the sixth emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty from 157 to 141 BC.

Brother:

Liu Wu

Liu Wu, also known as Prince Xiao, was a Han prince.

References

• Crisis and Conflict in Han China This volume illustrates the growth of two attitudes towards government in China during the first century B.C., the one progressive, realist and forward-looking, the other conservative, idealist and harking back to the past. It demonstrates the close relationship that existed between political decisions, intellectual policy and the choice of religious observances of state, whilst showing how personal ambitions and the intrigues of the palace were intimately involved with the interplay of these two basis attitudes.
  1974
• Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 B.C.E. - 618 C.E This new volume of the "Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women" spans more than 2,000 years from antiquity to the early seventh century. It recovers the stories of more than 200 women, nearly all of them unknown in the West.
  1998