淮南太子刘迁 / Liu Qian (Western Han)

Overview

淮南太子刘迁 / Liu Qian is the son and crown prince of 淮南王刘安 whose current profile begins with favored household status and conflict with the marginalized 刘不亥 branch, then moves through threatened arrest, failed Huainan mobilization, a proposal to assume responsibility for his father, 伍被’s late confession, and execution after Liu An’s death.

Current Profile

Hanji 302-1 supplies a household prehistory. It says Liu An and the queen favor Liu Qian while Liu Qian fails to treat elder non-heir son Liu Buhai as an elder brother. Liu Buhai’s son then discusses removing his crown-prince uncle; after the plan leaks, Liu Qian allegedly has the nephew seized and tortured. The episode establishes hostility and coercive response, but its final segment appears to give the nephew the same name as Liu Qian, so the nephew remains unnamed here.

Hanji 302-2 gives that household breach a procedural consequence. A letter attributed to Liu Jian reaches the emperor, and the Henan investigation is said to uncover Liu Qian and his associates’ rebellion activity. The note does not independently specify Liu Qian’s acts, but it links internal denunciation to the formal case that later makes him the arrest target in Hanji 303-1.

Hanji 303-1 places Liu Qian at the later crisis point. After the court learns of his intent and sends officers to Huainan to arrest him, father and son reportedly plan to summon and kill the kingdom’s senior officials before rising. Almost no one answers. Liu Qian then judges that the usable officials have already been removed, offers to go to court and take responsibility for Liu An, and attempts suicide but survives within the excerpt.

The adjacent sources supply disclosure and outcome rather than a fuller biography. Hanji 304-1 says 雷被 had earlier reported Liu An and Liu Qian and that Liu Qian’s vulnerability to arrest made Wu Bei fear losing the value of first disclosure. Hanji 303-2 places Liu Qian and the queen in the post-confession arrest sweep and says they are killed with the alleged co-conspirators after Liu An’s suicide.

Key Characteristics

• Crown prince and favored son of Liu An, contrasted with the marginalized elder-brother branch of Liu Buhai.
• Uncle reported to have answered a leaked removal plan by arresting and torturing his nephew.
• Alleged co-subject of Lei Bei’s early denunciation.
• Alleged conspirator exposed through a household denunciation and formal Henan investigation, then directly targeted by the court mission that forces the project into crisis.
• Participant in a proposed roundup of senior kingdom officials that fails for lack of attendance.
• Heir who reportedly offers to assume responsibility for his father and attempts suicide.
• Arrested heir whose possible testimony changes Wu Bei’s incentive to confess and who is later reported killed with the queen and alleged co-conspirators.

Evidence

Crisis and failed mobilization:

• Hanji 302-1 supplies the earlier household hierarchy, nephew’s resentment, leaked plot, and coercive response.
• Hanji 302-2 says a letter reaches the court and the resulting investigation identifies Liu Qian and his associates’ alleged plot.
• Hanji 303-1 says the arrest mission targets Liu Qian, father and son discuss killing summoned officials, the summons fails, and Liu Qian responds with a self-sacrificial proposal and unsuccessful suicide attempt.

Denunciation and disclosure pressure:

• Hanji 304-1 places Liu Qian in Lei Bei’s report and says his arrest exposure prompts Wu Bei to disclose before another insider can implicate him.

Final punishment:

• Hanji 303-2 places Liu Qian in the immediate post-confession sweep and reports his later execution with the queen and alleged co-conspirators.

Qualifications

The current sources do not reconstruct Liu Qian’s life, his specific acts before the arrest mission, independent evidence, or exact legal disposition. Hanji 302-1’s household hierarchy, motives, leaked plot, and torture claim remain episode-attributed, and its duplicated “刘谦” makes the nephew’s identity unsafe to normalize. Hanji 302-2 reports that investigation uncovered Liu Qian and his associates’ plot but does not provide the letter, testimony, or acts needed to adjudicate the allegation independently; its “刘建” remains source-scoped and is not merged with the Jiangdu king. Hanji 303-1’s dialogue, official-attendance sequence, offer to take responsibility, and suicide attempt likewise remain source-scoped.

What Changed

• Added the missing procedural bridge from internal denunciation to the investigation that identifies Liu Qian as an alleged conspirator.
• Preserved the gap between the source’s allegation and any independently reconstructed acts or legal evidence.

Relationships

• 淮南王刘安 - father whose failed mobilization and exposure define Liu Qian’s crisis role.
• 刘不亥 - elder non-heir brother whose marginalization generates conflict in the next generation.
• 伍被 - adviser whose confession allegedly accelerates when Liu Qian becomes vulnerable to arrest.
• 雷被 - insider said to have denounced father and son earlier.
• 谋而不断式时机丧失 - failure pattern visible when arrest overtakes unresolved plans.
• 倒戈宽免的时机依赖 - concept for the declining bargaining value of disclosure after the case becomes easier to expose.