刘康 / Liu Kang, Dingtao King (Western Han)

Overview

刘康 / Liu Kang, Dingtao King, enters the wiki through Hanji 551 as 汉成帝’s brother and the father of the Dingtao king 刘欣 / 后来的汉哀帝. The episode uses him to explain why Chengdi may have favored Liu Xin over 中山王刘兴: Liu Kang had been close to Chengdi, his death is described as suspicious in the host’s interpretation, and Liu Xin as nephew is ritually easier to adopt as son than a brother of Chengdi would be.

Current Profile

The current evidence is narrow. Hanji 551 does not provide a full biography of Liu Kang; it uses him as succession background. The host says Chengdi and Liu Kang had a good relationship and suggests that Chengdi’s earlier wish to use Liu Kang as a counterweight to Wang-family outer relatives may have ended with Liu Kang’s unclear death. That makes Liu Xin’s candidacy emotionally and politically legible: Chengdi can prefer his dead brother’s son while also avoiding the ritual awkwardness of making a brother into a son.

Key Characteristics

• Western Han Dingtao king and father of Liu Xin, later Han Aidi.
• Brother of Han Chengdi whose remembered closeness helps explain Chengdi’s affection for Liu Xin.
• Source-scoped possible counterweight to Wang-family power before his death.
• Succession-background figure rather than a full biographical subject in the current wiki.

Evidence

• Father-son link: Hanji 551 identifies Liu Xin as Liu Kang’s son and Chengdi’s nephew.
• Chengdi affection: Hanji 551 says Chengdi’s affection for Liu Kang helps explain preference for Liu Xin.
• Suspicious-death interpretation: Hanji 551 presents Liu Kang’s death and Wang-family connection as interpretive background rather than settled proof.

Qualifications

This page is intentionally narrow. Hanji 551 does not provide Liu Kang’s full life, title chronology, death record, mother, household, or exact political role. The claim that Chengdi felt guilt or used Liu Kang against the Wang side remains the episode’s interpretation.

What Changed

• Created a source-bounded page for Liu Kang so the Dingtao-line succession preference has a named father-and-brother node.

Relationships

• 汉成帝 - brother whose heir preference is partly explained through Liu Kang.
• 汉哀帝 - son whose Dingtao-line candidacy benefits from Chengdi’s affection for Liu Kang.
• 中山王刘兴 - brother-line alternative whom Chengdi does not choose.
• 王根 - Wang-family powerholder in the broader succession environment discussed by the source.