King of Liang - King of Liang (Henan and Shanxi, Zhou and Han Dynasties)

King of Liang (Henan and Shanxi, Zhou and Han Dynasties)

Liang is the eastern part of the old Wei kingdom and roughly means modern-day Henan province plus a small portion of Shanxi province. King of Liang or Prince of Liang (Chinese: 梁王; pinyin: Liáng Wáng) was for a long time synonymous with the King of Wei or Prince of Wei during the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. Indeed, the name came about when Prince Ying, also known as King Hui of Wei (魏罃, 魏惠王) was forced to relocate his capital to Liang (or Daliang, meaning Liang major, modern day Kaifeng city in Henan) after suffering several defeats.

Later, King (or Prince) of Liang was a noble title during the Han Dynasty. It was created by the Han king Liu Bang, later Emperor Gao of Han, in 202 BC for the able general Peng Yue. Peng was arrested in 197 BC on false charges of treason and executed. The title of Prince of Liang was later conferred upon several people, the earliest being Liu Hui, a son of Liu Bang. As Liang is a rich and important patch of territory, the Princes were invariably men of power and status, and many met with untimely deaths because they either covet the imperial throne or were suspected of such ambitions. One such is Prince Liu Wu (劉武), the younger brother to Liu Qi, Emperor Jing of Han. The territory was eventually subdivided and the title mostly became extinct.

Read more about this topic:  King Of Liang

Famous quotes containing the words king and/or han:

    To be a king and wear a crown is more glorious to them that see it than it is pleasure to them that bear it.
    Elizabeth I (1533–1603)

    We all desiren, if it mighte be,
    To han husbandes hardy, wise, and free,
    And secret, and no niggard, ne no fool,
    Ne him that is aghast of every tool,
    Ne none avaunter, by that God above!
    Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)