常山宪王刘舜 / Liu Shun, King of Changshan (Western Han)

Overview

常山宪王刘舜 / Liu Shun is presented as 汉景帝’s favored youngest son, the long-reigning Western Han King of Changshan, and the father whose divided household produces a succession crisis after his death.

Current Profile

Hanji 342-1 gives Liu Shun a deliberately ambivalent profile. It says he was arrogant, idle, sexually disorderly, and repeatedly in violation of rules, yet paternal favor repeatedly secured forgiveness. That protection distinguishes his long reign from the early deaths, killing, or deposition used to characterize other holders of the Changshan title.

His relative fortune ends at the level of posthumous memory. The episode identifies 高庄汉墓 as his burial and describes it as looted and burned so heavily that stone structures collapsed. This turns Liu Shun into both the exception to and final exhibit in the source’s “cursed title” narrative.

The later household account explains his son’s removal through the order Liu Shun leaves behind. He favors several consorts while 王后脩 and crown prince 刘勃 allegedly neglect him during his final illness. He also excludes his elder son 刘棁 from affection and property. After Liu Shun dies, that unequal household order becomes denunciation, investigation, deposition, and abolition of the Changshan kingship.

Key Characteristics

• Identified as Han Jingdi’s youngest and especially favored son.
• Enfeoffed as King of Changshan and holds the title for thirty-two years.
• Described by the episode as indulgent, idle, sexually disorderly, and repeatedly in breach of prohibitions.
• Repeatedly forgiven because of paternal affection.
• Leaves a divided household in which Queen Xiu and Liu Bo hold succession advantage while Liu Zhuo is excluded.
• Succeeded by Liu Bo, whose mourning case and obstruction lead to deposition.
• Proposed as the occupant of the robbed and burned Gaozhuang tomb.

Evidence

Family position and conduct:

• Hanji 342-1 identifies Liu Shun as Han Jingdi’s favored youngest son and attributes repeated pardon to that relationship.

Reign and succession:

• Hanji 342-1 gives Liu Shun a thirty-two-year reign and says his son Liu Bo succeeds him but is quickly deposed.
• Hanji 342-2 explains the removal through sickbed neglect, mourning misconduct, and obstruction of investigation.

Household division:

• Hanji 342-2 says Liu Shun’s distribution of favor and property marginalizes Liu Zhuo and helps create the grievance that later reaches the Han envoy.

Posthumous archaeological identification:

• Hanji 342-1 reports that archaeologists identify the burned Gaozhuang royal tomb with Liu Shun.

Qualifications

This is a source-bounded profile, not a complete biography. The episodes do not provide Liu Shun’s full dates, administration, court role, kingdom governance, precise offenses, or burial argument. Hanji 342-2 gives allegations from an interested household conflict rather than an independent record of every private interaction. Its transcript form “刘顺” is normalized to the received name 刘舜, while the stable page key is preserved.

What Changed

• Added the divided-household and succession mechanism behind Liu Bo’s deposition.
• Corrected the display form from transcript “刘顺” to received-text 刘舜 while preserving page identity.

Relationships

• 汉景帝 / Emperor Jing of Han - father whose favor is presented as the basis for repeated pardon.
• 西汉常山国 / Changshan Kingdom (Western Han) - kingdom and title Liu Shun holds for thirty-two years.
• 常山王刘勃 / Liu Bo, King of Changshan (Western Han) - heir whose brief reign ends the Changshan kingship.
• 刘棁 / Liu Zhuo (Western Han Changshan) - excluded elder son whose accusation exposes the household conflict.
• 王后脩 / Queen Xiu of Changshan (Western Han) - queen whose strained position and conduct enter the later case.
• 高庄汉墓 / Gaozhuang Han Tomb - robbed and burned tomb attributed to Liu Shun by the episode.
• 封号诅咒叙事 / Cursed Title Narrative - frame in which Liu Shun is a living exception but a posthumous confirmation.