The Rebellion Case of Liu Ying, Prince of Chu

In 70 AD during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Ying, the Prince of Chu and a known patron of both Buddhism and Huang-Lao practices, was accused by the commoner Yan Guang of crafting seditious prophecies and plotting rebellion. Emperor Ming launched a rigorous investigation, which rapidly expanded through torture and coerced confessions. Liu Ying was stripped of his royal title and exiled to Danyang, where he committed suicide the following year. The case spiraled into a massive purge, implicating thousands of individuals including high-ranking nobles, officials, and monks, many of whom were tortured to death or executed. Investigators like Han Lang later courageously questioned the validity of the forced confessions, leading to a partial reassessment.

Liu Ying was deposed and exiled; he committed suicide in exile. Thousands of alleged co-conspirators were imprisoned, tortured, and executed. A later review by Empress Dowager Ma and officials like Yuan An led to the release of some wrongfully imprisoned individuals.

Whether Liu Ying genuinely plotted armed rebellion or was framed due to his heterodox religious beliefs and political vulnerability. The controversy also focused on the legitimacy of confessions obtained under severe torture and the mass expansion of guilt by association.

The case initiated a precedent for large-scale purges against imperial family members and suppressed the early development of Buddhist communities. It created an atmosphere of terror within the Eastern Han nobility, severely weakened the power of vassal kingdoms, and contributed to the literary inquisition that later ensnared the historian Ban Gu.