Liu Chuyu

Liu Chuyu (劉楚玉) (died 2 January 466^[2]), often known by her title Princess Shanyin (山陰公主), although her title at death was the greater title of Princess Kuaiji (會稽公主), was a princess of the Chinese Liu Song dynasty. She was a daughter of Emperor Xiaowu.^[3]

Liu Chuyu
18th century depiction of Liu Chuyu
Born	unknown[1]
Died	2 January 466
Spouse	He Ji
Father	Emperor Xiaowu of Song
Mother	Empress Wang Xianyuan

Life

Liu Chuyu was the oldest daughter^[4] among the six children of Emperor Xiaowu's wife Empress Wang Xianyuan, and her birth date is not known. During her father's reign, her father appointed her the Princess Shanyin and married her to He Ji (何戢), a son of his official He Yan (何偃); He Ji was also the father of He Jingying, who would later become an empress of the Southern Qi dynasty.

After her father's death in July 464, her full younger brother Liu Ziye became emperor (as Emperor Qianfei). She became one of the people who often attended him while he visited places outside the palace. On one occasion, she told him:

"While our genders are different, we are born of the same father. However, you have more than 10,000 women in your palaces, and I only have one husband, and this is unfair."^[5]

In response, Emperor Qianfei selected 30 young handsome men for her, calling them her mianshou (面首, literally meaning "prime faces"), for them to be her lovers. From this point on in Chinese history, mianshou became a term for women's male lovers, often referring to lovers of honored women. He also promoted her to the greater title of Princess Kuaiji.

However, Liu Chuyu was not content, and when she saw how Emperor Qianfei's mid-level official Chu Yuan was young and handsome, she requested Emperor Qianfei to give her Chu as a lover.^[6] Emperor Qianfei agreed. Chu was ordered to attend to her for more than 10 days, and she tempted him throughout that period. Ultimately, Chu refused to have sexual relations with her, and she released him.

In January 466, after Emperor Qianfei was assassinated by his attendant Shou Jizhi (壽寂之), his uncle Liu Yu the Prince of Xiangdong became emperor (as Emperor Ming). Even before he actually took the throne, however, he issued an edict in the name of Liu Chuyu's grandmother Grand Empress Dowager Lu Huinan, condemning her for her immorality and her other younger brother Liu Zishang (劉子尚) the Prince of Yuzhang of violence, and ordering them both to die by suicide.

References

1. While Lady Liu's birth year was not recorded, she was almost certainly born in or after 443, as that was the year her mother Wang Xianyuan married her father.
2. According to Emperor Ming's biography in Book of Song, Lady Liu and her brother Liu Zishang were ordered to commit suicide on the jiwei day of the 11th month of the 1st year of the Yongguang era. This corresponds to 2 Jan 466 in the Julian calendar. ([永光元年十一月]己未，司徒扬州刺史豫章王子尚、山阴公主并赐死。) Song Shu, vol.08
3. Lily Xiao Hong Lee, Clara Lau, A.D. Stefanowska: Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 B.C.E
4. Wang Xianyuan's biography in Book of Song listed Liu Chuyu behind Liu's two full brothers: Liu Ziye (Emperor Qianfei) and Liu Zishang. The birth order of Lady Liu and her two full brothers is not known. (生废帝、豫章王子尚、山阴公主楚玉、临淮康哀公主楚佩、皇女楚琇、康乐公主脩明。) Song Shu, vol.41. Since Liu Ziye was born about 6 years after his parents' wedding, it is likely that Liu Chuyu was born before Liu Ziye and thus was their parents' eldest child.
5. Robert Hans van Gulik: 中國古代房内考: A Preliminary Survey of Chinese Sex and Society from Ca ...
6. According to Chu Yuan's biography in Book of the Southern Qi, his wife was Princess Nanjun (南郡公主), daughter of Emperor Wen of Song, and Liu Chuyu's aunt. (渊少有世誉，复尚文帝女南郡献公主...) Nan Qi Shu, vol.23; "Xian" was the princess's posthumous name.