广陵王刘荆 / Liu Jing, Guangling King (Eastern Han)

Overview

广陵王刘荆 / Liu Jing, Guangling King is Mingdi’s royal brother in Hanji 738. His current wiki profile is bounded to the 66-67 CE case in which physiognomy talk, rebellion language, fear, witchcraft, and final suicide turn a protected imperial kinsman into a test of public law over family status.

Current Profile

Hanji 738 first presents Liu Jing as a royal kinsman testing a dangerous thought. He consults a physiognomist, asks whether he resembles the former emperor, notes that the former emperor took the throne at thirty, and asks whether he could raise troops to “do great things.” When the words reach the court, he becomes frightened enough to lock himself in prison.

Mingdi initially chooses containment rather than execution. He forbids Liu Jing from governing officials and people in his fief but still lets him receive fief income. That leniency does not end the case. Liu Jing then turns to shamans, sacrifice, and curse practice, prompting Fan Tiao and other reviewers to recommend death.

The case ends with Liu Jing’s suicide in 67 CE and removal of the fief. The page therefore treats him less as a fully developed rebel leader than as a royal-family boundary case: kinship can slow punishment, but open rebellion language and curse rituals eventually make family handling insufficient.

Key Characteristics

• Eastern Han royal kinsman and Guangling king whose case is bounded to Hanji 738.
• Tests rebellion possibility through physiognomy, age comparison, and “great things” language.
• Receives initial fraternal leniency from Mingdi through loss of governance authority rather than immediate death.
• Continues the danger through shamanic sacrifices and curse activity.
• Becomes the source case for royal kinship failing to override treason-law boundaries.

Evidence

• Rebellion-signal opening: Hanji 738 says Liu Jing asks whether he resembles the former emperor and whether he can raise troops to “do great things.”
• Initial containment: Hanji 738 says Mingdi bars him from managing fief officials and people while preserving fief income.
• Renewed offense: Hanji 738 records continued shamanic sacrifice and curse activity after the initial leniency.
• Final outcome: Hanji 738 says Liu Jing commits suicide in 67 CE and the fief is removed.

Qualifications

The source transcript uses 刘经 and 刘金 forms; this page normalizes the case to 刘荆 / Liu Jing because the Guangling king, Mingdi-brother, “mou great things,” witchcraft, suicide, and abolished-fief pattern match that received Eastern Han figure. The source does not provide a full biography before or after this case.

What Changed

• Created a disambiguated Eastern Han Guangling king page from Hanji 738.
• Preserved the case as a royal-kin treason boundary rather than a full rebellion chronology.

Relationships

• 汉明帝 - imperial brother whose initial leniency and later legal pressure define the case.
• 樊鯈 - reviewer who argues that Liu Jing’s kinship cannot erase treason liability.
• 宗室谋逆法度边界 - concept directly grounded by Liu Jing’s case.
• 谋反指控陷阱 - adjacent danger pattern because “great things” language can turn status and ambition into ruler-security evidence.
• 亲情名分边界 - related court-family boundary, though Liu Jing’s case concerns criminal suspicion rather than excess favor.