济北王刘勃 / Liu Bo, King of Jibei (Western Han)

Overview

济北王刘勃 / Liu Bo is a Western Han prince, son of 淮南王刘长, who rules Hengshan during the Rebellion of the Seven States and is moved to Jibei after remaining loyal to the court.

Current Profile

Hanji 238 presents Liu Bo as the loyal contrast to his brother 刘安. When Wu’s envoy reaches Hengshan, Liu Bo reportedly secures the city rather than joining the rebellion. He later appears at Chang’an, receives 汉景帝’s praise, and is transferred from the low, humid southern Hengshan territory to Jibei. The episode records his death two years later without developing a broader reign profile.

Key Characteristics

• Son of Liu Chang and brother of Liu An and 刘赐.
• King of Hengshan during the Rebellion of the Seven States.
• Rejects Wu’s appeal and keeps his fortified city aligned with the Han court.
• Appears at Chang’an after the rebellion and is praised for loyalty.
• Reassigned as king of Jibei in a reward framed partly through regional climate and geography.
• Dies in 152 BCE in the episode’s chronology.

Evidence

Wartime loyalty:

• Hanji 238 says Liu Bo holds Hengshan and shows no divided loyalty when Wu seeks support.

Reward and reassignment:

• Hanji 238 says Jingdi praises Liu Bo and transfers him to Jibei before reporting his death in 152 BCE.

Qualifications

The current profile rests on one compact popular-history summary rather than a full reign study or primary-text collation. The episode does not reconstruct Liu Bo’s administration, the precise military measures at Hengshan, the legal form of his reassignment, or the cause of death. This page is deliberately disambiguated from 常山王刘勃 and 昌邑王刘髆.

What Changed

• Created a disambiguated profile for the Hengshan king who became king of Jibei.
• Established wartime loyalty and territorial reassignment as the current bounded profile.

Relationships

• 淮南王刘长 - father and source of Liu Bo’s Huainan royal branch.
• 淮南王刘安 - brother whose intended participation in the same rebellion is blocked internally.
• 衡山王刘赐 - brother who later receives Liu Bo’s former Hengshan title.
• 汉景帝 - emperor who praises and reassigns Liu Bo after the rebellion.
• 常山王刘勃 - distinct later prince sharing the same normalized personal name.
• 昌邑王刘髆 - distinct prince whose name has a different Chinese character despite similar romanization.