Liu Ju

Liu Ju (; early 128 – 30 September 91 BC), formally known as Crown Prince Wei (衛太子) and posthumously as Crown Prince Li (戾太子, literally "the Unrepentant Crown Prince", "Li" being an unflattering name) was a Western Han Dynasty crown prince. He was the eldest son and the heir apparent to his father, Emperor Wu of Han, until his death at age 38 (by East Asian reckoning) during the political turmoil that occurred during 91 BC. Liu Ju led an uprising against his father's army and died as a consequence of the rebellion. Emperor Wu sent soldiers to hunt Liu Ju down, so Liu Ju committed suicide by hanging himself. Liu Ju's two sons and the family hosting them all died when government soldiers broke into their house and killed everyone. Family background and birth Liu Ju's mother, Wei Zifu, was Emperor Wu's second wife. Emperor Wu's first wife was Empress Chen Jiao (who was also his older cousin). She was infertile and had a jealous personality. Moreover, when she was found employing witchcraft to curse Emperor Wu's other concubines (aimed at Wei Zifu in particular), she was officially deposed in August 130 BC, leaving open the position of empress. Wei Zifu had become Emperor Wu's new favourite consort since 138 BC and had by then already given him three daughters. In 128 BC, she gave birth to Liu Ju, Emperor Wu's first son, and was created empress as a result in April that year. It was recorded that Emperor Wu, who was already 29 years old when his first son was born, was overjoyed and ordered poets to write paeans celebrating the arrival of the "grand prince", hinting Liu Ju would become his imperial heir by default. Prince Ju was later formally created crown prince in June 122 BC, at the age of 6.