Liu Yu was a warlord and politician during the late Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 period of Chinese history

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

.

During the campaign against Dong Zhuo

Campaign against Dong Zhuo

The Campaign against Dong Zhuo was a punitive expedition initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against Dong Zhuo, Chancellor of State, in 190 during the late Han Dynasty of Chinese history...

, the Guandong coalition asked Liu Yu to declare himself emperor

Emperor of China

The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...

, since he was a member of the extended family of the Han Dynasty emperors, but Liu Yu refused. He was later killed by the warlord Gongsun Zan

Gongsun Zan

Gongsun Zan , style name Bogui , a native of Liaoxi , was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history.-Biography:...

 under false accusations that he was plotting to seize the throne.

Family

• Ancestor: Liu Jiang (劉彊), Prince Gong of Donghai, deposed crown prince of Emperor Guangwu
  Emperor Guangwu of Han
  Emperor Guangwu , born Liu Xiu, was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty, restorer of the dynasty in AD 25 and thus founder of the Later Han or Eastern Han...
  
  

• Grandfather: Liu Jia (劉嘉), served as Minister of the Household

• Father: Liu Shu (劉舒), served as Administrator of Danyang

• Son: Liu He (劉和), served as Palace Attendant (侍中). He was captured and held hostage by Yuan Shu
  Yuan Shu
  Yuan Shu was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the imperial court in 189. He was said to be a younger cousin of the warlord Yuan Shao, but was actually Yuan Shao's younger half-brother...
  
   but later escaped to join Yuan Shao
  Yuan Shao
  Yuan Shao was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil war that occurred towards the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era...
  
  . He sought revenge with his father's former subordinates against Gongsun Zan
  Gongsun Zan
  Gongsun Zan , style name Bogui , a native of Liaoxi , was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history.-Biography:...
  
   after Gongsun killed his father.

Appointments and titles held

• Prefect of Boling (博平令)
• Inspector of You Province (幽州刺史)
• Chancellor of Ganling (甘陵相)
• Minister of the Imperial Clan (宗正)
• Grand Marshal (大司馬)
• Marquis of Xiangben (襄賁侯)
• Grand Tutor (太傅)

In fiction

In Luo Guanzhong

Luo Guanzhong

Luo Ben , better known by his style name Luo Guanzhong , was a Chinese writer of the early Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was also known as Huhai Sanren...

's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...

, during the time of the Yellow Turban Rebellion

Yellow Turban Rebellion

The Yellow Turban Rebellion, also translated as Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt that broke out in 184 AD in China during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty...

, Liu Yu was the governor of You Province in northeastern China; his call for volunteers to fight the rebellion in his province was the event which led to Liu Bei

Liu Bei

Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...

, Guan Yu

Guan Yu

Guan Yu was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, of which Liu Bei was the...

 and Zhang Fei taking the Oath of the Peach Garden

Oath of the Peach Garden

The Oath of the Peach Garden was a fictional event in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In this event, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei took an oath of fraternity in a ceremony amid peach blossom trees, and became sworn brothers from then on. Their goal in taking the...

 and forming their first army. This account, however, was inaccurate, as Liu Yu was actually not commissioned as the governor of You Province until 188, several years after the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

See also

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms