Background
Liu Yu was born in 463, when his father Liu Yu (different character) was the Prince of Xiangdong under his uncle Emperor Xiaowu. He was the oldest son of the Prince of Xiangdong, and his mother was the concubine Chen Miaodeng. (The Prince of Xiangdong had earlier disfavored Lady Chen and given her to his attendant Li Dao'er (李道兒) and then taken her back, and therefore there was constant rumor that his son's biological father was actually Li, not he.) His courtesy name of Huizhen came from the I Ching, which the Prince of Xiangdong used extensively for divination.
After the Prince of Xiangdong became emperor (as Emperor Ming) after the assassination of his nephew Emperor Qianfei (Emperor Xiaowu's son) in 465, he created Liu Yu crown prince in 466 (although the name "Yu" was not actually settled on until 467). As the Crown Prince grew, he was known as an overly active child who liked carrying out dangerous tasks, such as climbing flag poles, and he had severe mood swings and was so impulsive that his attendants could not stop him from taking violent actions. Emperor Ming often had his mother Consort Chen beat him as punishment. In 470, Emperor Ming set up a separate household for the Crown Prince, as per tradition for crown princes.
In 472, Emperor Ming died, and Crown Prince Yu took the throne as Emperor Houfei at the age of nine. He honored Emperor Ming's wife Empress Wang Zhenfeng as empress dowager and his mother Consort Chen as "Consort Dowager."
Read more about this topic: Emperor Houfei Of Liu Song
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