Background

Liu Yuan was an orphan and a descendant of Emperor Gaozu founder of the Western Han dynasty, and a sister of Emperor Guangwu. There is no exact information about the date and the place of her birth.

Career

In 22, Liu Yuan’s brothers - Liu Yan and Liu Xiu - took part in a rebellion in Yuan District. This was by no means a well-organized rebellion of precision troops. After taking Tutangzi Village, Liu Xiu killed the district defender of Huyang, then traveled to Jiyang, where he and Liu Yuan’s husband Deng Chen joined forces. In the ensuing battle of Little Chang’an Liu Xiu was defeated.

On his way back Liu Xiu managed to save his sister Liu Boji. He also met Liu Yuan and her daughters. He tried to persuade her to join him and Liu Boji, but Liu Yuan refused. She said that he should save his life and she won't leave her daughters alone. With the enemy drawing ever closer, Liu Xiu had no choice but to ride away and leave her. Liu Yuan and her daughters were killed soon after.

Achievements

• Liu Yuan was known in Chinese folklore as an example of perception and decisive action. She was a woman who knew that the life of a future emperor is more important than her own life. She was also remembered for her devotion to her daughters, refusing to leave them in the face of certain death.

Personality

Liu Yuan was a woman of great courage, devotion, and determination.

Connections

Liu Yuan was the wife of Deng Chen. She bore him a son and three daughters.

Brother:

Liu Yan

Liu Yan was a general of one of the major uprisings against the Xin Dynasty and its emperor, Wang Mang.

Brother:

Liu Xiu

Liu Xiu was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty, a restorer of the dynasty in AD 25 and thus the founder of the Later Han or Eastern Han.

Brother:

Liu Zhong

Sister:

Liu Boji

husband:

Deng Chen

Son:

Deng Fan

References

• 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