楚王刘延寿 / Liu Yanshou, Chu King (Western Han)

Overview

楚王刘延寿 / Liu Yanshou, Chu King enters the wiki through Hanji 417 as a Western Han royal kinsman who plots rebellion under 汉宣帝. The episode presents him as a more distant royal branch actor who sees his own imperial claim as weak and therefore tries to recruit 广陵王刘须, a closer imperial relative, as the likely claimant.

Current Profile

The source makes Liu Yanshou’s plan a succession-engineering plot rather than a confident personal bid. He knows his own royal line is too distant from the imperial center to make him a persuasive emperor, so he looks for someone with stronger blood proximity and chooses Liu Xu, a son of 汉武帝. He builds connection through marriage ties and sends Zhao Heqi to carry a message urging Liu Xu to watch the struggle for the realm and not fall behind others.

The plan fails through poor secrecy. Zhao Heqi’s father Zhao Changnian reports the matter to the court. When the court asks about the case in the eleventh month, Liu Yanshou kills himself. Xuan’s different handling of Liu Xu, who receives gold and gifts rather than immediate punishment in this episode, makes Liu Yanshou the punished center of the exposed plot while Liu Xu becomes the containment problem.

Key Characteristics

• Western Han Chu king and royal kinsman whose lineage is framed as too distant for a direct imperial claim.
• Succession conspirator who tries to borrow Liu Xu’s closer descent from Han Wudi.
• Political operator who uses marriage connection and private messaging to approach a possible claimant.
• Poorly protected plotter whose plan is exposed through the messenger’s family.
• Defeated royal offender who kills himself when the court investigates.

Evidence

Lineage and plan:

• Hanji 417 says Liu Yanshou recognizes that his own bloodline gives him little chance to become emperor.
• Hanji 417 says he selects Liu Xu because Liu Xu is Han Wudi’s fourth son and closer to the imperial line.
• Hanji 417 says Liu Yanshou uses marriage connection and a message carried by Zhao Heqi to draw Liu Xu into the plan.

Exposure and death:

• Hanji 417 says Zhao Heqi’s father Zhao Changnian secretly reports the plan to the court.
• Hanji 417 says Liu Yanshou kills himself when the court asks about the matter in the eleventh month.

Qualifications

This page preserves the episode’s compact account and does not reconstruct Liu Yanshou’s full genealogy, fief administration, marriage network, the exact wording of the message, or the court’s formal investigative record. The claim that his imperial prospects were weak is the source’s framing of his strategic calculation.

What Changed

• Created Liu Yanshou as the Chu-king conspirator in Hanji 417’s royal-kin treason branch.

Relationships

• 广陵王刘须 - closer royal relative whom Liu Yanshou tries to recruit as claimant.
• 汉宣帝 - ruler whose court exposes the plot and then separately reassures Liu Xu.
• 汉武帝 - Liu Xu’s father and the source of Liu Xu’s stronger succession proximity.
• 宗室谋逆法度边界 - related concept because the case tests punishment, containment, and family-status discretion.
• 西汉 - dynastic setting for royal fiefs and succession danger.