On this page
Overview Names Identity Roles Life and dates Origins and identity Career and standing Places and affiliations Events and relationships Assessments and attributes References in the histories
Overview The translated histories identify Liu Jia as a general, royal family member, and ruler. This record brings together 32 passages from 6 chapters across 3 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.
Names Type English Chinese Pinyin
Personal
Liu Jia
劉賈
Liú Jiǎ
Personal
Title
General
將軍
Jiangjun
Given
Jia
賈
Jia
Given
Jia
賈
Jiǎ
Title
King of Jing
荊王
Jing Wang
Title
King of Jing
荊王
Jīng Wáng
Surname
Liu
劉
Liu
Surname
Liu
劉
Liú
Personal name
Liu Jia
劉賈
Liu Jia
Personal
Liu Jia
劉賈
Liu Jia
Personal name
Liu Jia
劉賈
Liú Jiǎ
Identity
Historicity Historical
Identification Named
Sex Male Roles General Royal Family Member Ruler Life and dates Death Attested activity Source Date: Text: 六年Western Year: BC 201
Source Date: Text: 十一年Western Year: BC 196
Source Date: Text: 漢五年Western Year: BC 202
Source Date: Text: 漢六年春Western Year: BC 201
Source Date: Text: 漢初Western Interval: Start: AD 202End: AD 196
Source Date: Text: 漢四年Western Year: BC 203
Source Date: Text: 漢王元年Western Year: BC 206
Source Date: Text: 高祖十一年秋Western Year: BC 196
Career and standing Label: general / 將軍Action: heldStart Date: Source Date: Text: 漢王元年Western Year: BC 206
General / 將軍
Title: King of Jing / 荊王Action: appointedStart Date: Source Date: Text: 漢六年春Western Year: BC 201
Title: King of Jing over fifty-two cities east of the Huai / 王淮東五十二城Action: appointed
Title: King of Jing / 荊王Action: held
King of Jing, east of the Huai / 荊王，王淮東
Text: 立劉賈為荊王
King of Jing / 荊王
Places and affiliations Polity: Han / 漢Relation: served
Polity: Jing / 荊Relation: ruled
Place: Fuling / 富陵Relation: fled-to
Events and relationships Kind: military ·
Role: commander ·
Action: attacked ·
Other Person Id: Gong Wei (共尉) ·
Date Context: Source Date: Text: 漢五年Western Year: BC 202Kind: militaryRole: commanderAction: besiegedPlace: Shouchun / 壽春Date Context: Source Date: Text: 漢五年Western Year: BC 202
Kind: military ·
Role: commander ·
Action: defeated-and-killed-by ·
Other Person Id: Ying Bu (英布) ·
Date Context: Source Date: Text: 高祖十一年秋Western Year: BC 196Kind: military ·
Role: commander ·
Action: held-with ·
Other Person Id: Peng Yue (彭) ·
Date Context: Source Date: Text: 漢四年Western Year: BC 203Kind: military ·
Role: commander ·
Action: pacified-frontier-and-attacked ·
Other Person Id: Xiang Yu (項羽) ·
Date Context: Source Date: Text: 漢王元年Western Year: BC 206Kind: militaryRole: commanderAction: raided-Chu-storesPlace: Baima Ford / Chu territory / 白馬津Date Context: Source Date: Text: 漢四年Western Year: BC 203
Kind: military ·
Role: commander ·
Action: seized-Jiujiang-with ·
Other Person Id: Zhou Yin (周殷) ·
Date Context: Source Date: Text: 漢五年Western Year: BC 202Assessments and attributes Assessment: made king by strategy despite distant kinship to anchor Jiang-Huai ·
Provenance: Mode: historian-judgmentSpeaker Person Id: Sima Qian (太史公) References in the histories Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.
Book of Han, Chapter 1 Volume 1: Annals of Emperor Gaozu 1 · 1 passage
Book of Han, Chapter 2 Volume 1: Annals of Emperor Gaozu 2 · 6 passages
十一月，劉賈入楚地，圍壽春。
In the eleventh month, Liu Jia entered Chu territory and surrounded Shouchun.
殷畔楚，以舒屠六，舉九江兵迎黥布，並行屠城父，隨劉賈皆會。
Zhou Yin rebelled against Chu, used troops from Shu to sack Liu, raised the forces of Jiujiang to welcome Qing Bu, and together they sacked Chengfu. They followed Liu Jia, and all the forces converged.
遣盧綰、劉賈擊虜尉。
He sent Lu Wan and Liu Jia to attack and capture Wei.
將軍劉賈數有 大功，及擇寬惠脩絜者，王齊、荊地。」
General Liu Jia has repeatedly had great merit. Choose one who is lenient, benevolent, and pure to be king of Qi and Jing territories."
春正月丙午，韓王信等奏請以故東陽郡、鄣郡、吳郡五十三縣立劉賈為荊王，以碭郡、薛郡、郯郡三十六縣立弟文信君交為 楚王。
In the first month, spring, on the bingwu day, King Xin of Han and others petitioned to establish Liu Jia as King of Jing with the former Dongyang, Zhang, and Wu commanderies, fifty-three counties in all, and to establish the emperor's younger brother Jiao, Lord Wenxin, as King of Chu with Dang, Xue, and Tan commanderies, thirty-six counties in all.
布果如薛公言，東擊殺荊 王劉賈，劫其兵，度淮擊楚，楚王交走入薛。
Ying Bu indeed did as Xue Gong had said: he attacked eastward and killed Liu Jia, King of Jing, seized his troops, and crossed the Huai to attack Chu. Jiao, King of Chu, fled into Xue.
Book of Han, Chapter 44 Volume 35: Princes of Jing, Yan and Wu · 11 passages
漢王敗成皋，北度河，得張耳、韓信軍，軍脩武，深溝高壘，使賈將二萬人，騎數百，擊楚，度白馬津入楚地，燒其積聚，以破其業，無以給項王軍食。
After his defeat at Chenggao, the King of Han withdrew north across the river and joined the forces of Zhang Er and Han Xin. They made camp at Xiuwu behind deep moats and high walls. He dispatched Liu Jia with twenty thousand foot soldiers and several hundred cavalry to hit Chu from the flank. Liu Jia crossed the Baima Ford into Chu lands and torched their depots, shattering their logistics so that King Xiang’s troops went hungry.
已而楚兵擊之，賈輒避不肯與戰，而與彭越相保。
When Chu forces moved against him, Liu Jia consistently declined combat and kept his army under Peng Yue’s protection.
荊王劉賈，高帝從父兄也，不知其初起時。
Liu Jia, king of Jing, was Gaozu's patrilateral cousin; nothing is known of his earliest career.
漢元年，還定三秦，賈為將軍，定塞地，從東擊項籍。
In the first year of Han, after the pacification of the Three Qins, Liu Jia served as a general, secured Sai territory, and marched east against Xiang Yu.
漢王追項籍至固陵，使賈南度淮圍壽春。
Pursuing Xiang Yu as far as Guling, the King of Han ordered Liu Jia south across the Huai to invest Shouchun.
周殷反楚，佐賈舉九江，迎英布兵，皆會垓下，誅項籍。
Zhou Yin rebelled against Chu, helped Liu Jia secure Jiujiang, joined with Ying Bu’s army, and the allied hosts met at Gaixia to destroy Xiang Yu.
漢王因使賈將九江兵，與太尉盧綰西南擊臨江王共尉，尉死，以臨江為南郡。
The King of Han then put Liu Jia in command of the Jiujiang forces. With Grand Commandant Lu Wan he struck southwest at Gong Wei, king of Linjiang. Gong Wei fell, and his domain was converted into Nan Commandery.
賈既有功，而高祖子弱，昆弟少，又不賢，欲王同姓以填天下，乃下詔曰：「將軍劉賈有功，及擇子弟可以為王者。」
Liu Jia had earned great merit, yet Gaozu’s sons were young, his brothers few, and none of them fit to hold the frontier. Gaozu meant to plant Liu kinsmen as kings to steady the empire, and proclaimed: “General Liu Jia has distinguished himself; choose from among the younger generation of the house one worthy to receive a kingdom.”
群臣皆曰：「立劉賈為荊王，王淮東。」
The ministers replied in one voice: “Make Liu Jia king of Jing with his seat east of the Huai.”
賈與戰，弗勝，走富陵，為布軍所殺。
Liu Jia engaged him but could not prevail. He retreated to Fuling, where Qing Bu’s troops cut him down.
荊王劉賈為布所殺，無後。
Liu Jia, king of Jing, had fallen to Qing Bu and had no successor.
Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 51 Houses of Jing and Yan · 11 passages
荊王劉賈者，諸劉，不知其何屬初起時。
Liu Jia, the King of Jing, was a member of the Liu clan, though no one knows which branch he belonged to at the time of the initial uprising.
漢王元年，還定三秦，劉賈為將軍，定塞地，從東擊項籍。
In the first year of the King of Han, after the Three Qin territories had been subdued, Liu Jia served as a general, pacifying the frontier regions before marching east to attack Xiang Ji.
漢四年，漢王之敗成皋，北渡河，得張耳、韓信軍，軍修武，深溝高壘，使劉賈將二萬人，騎數百，渡白馬津入楚地，燒其積聚，以破其業，無以給項王軍食。
In the fourth year of Han, after the King of Han suffered defeat at Chenggao and crossed the Yellow River northward, he joined forces with the armies of Zhang Er and Han Xin. He encamped at Xiuwu behind deep trenches and high ramparts, then dispatched Liu Jia with twenty thousand infantry and several hundred cavalry to cross at Baima Ford into Chu territory. There they burned the enemy's grain stores, devastating their supply lines so that Xiang Yu's army could no longer be fed.
已而楚兵擊劉賈，賈輒壁不肯與戰，而與彭越相保。
Before long, Chu forces struck at Liu Jia, but he fortified his position and refused to engage, instead joining with Peng Yue to hold firm.
漢五年，漢王追項籍至固陵，使劉賈南渡淮圍壽春。
In the fifth year of Han, the King of Han pursued Xiang Ji to Guling and ordered Liu Jia to cross the Huai River southward to lay siege to Shouchun.
周殷反楚，佐劉賈舉九江，迎武王黥布兵，皆會垓下，共擊項籍。
Zhou Yin turned against Chu and helped Liu Jia seize the Jiujiang region. They then welcomed the forces of King Wu, Ying Bu, and all their armies converged at Gaixia to strike against Xiang Ji.
漢王因使劉賈將九江兵，與太尉盧綰西南擊臨江王共尉。
The King of Han then directed Liu Jia to lead the Jiujiang troops and, together with Grand Commandant Lu Wan, march southwest to attack Gong Wei, the King of Linjiang.
當是時也，高祖子幼，昆弟少，又不賢，欲王同姓以鎮天下，乃詔曰：「將軍劉賈有功，及擇子弟可以為王者。」
At that time, Emperor Gaozu's sons were still young, and his brothers were few and lacked distinction. Wishing to install kings who shared his surname to anchor the realm, he issued an edict: 'General Liu Jia has rendered great service. Let worthy members of the clan be selected and made kings.'
群臣皆曰：「立劉賈為荊王，王淮東五十二城；
All the ministers said: 'Let Liu Jia be established as King of Jing, to rule over fifty-two cities east of the Huai;
荊王賈與戰，不勝，走富陵，為布軍所殺。
King Jia of Jing fought against him but could not prevail. He fled to Fuling, where he was slain by Ying Bu's forces.
太史公曰：荊王王也，由漢初定，天下未集，故劉賈雖屬疏，然以策為王，填江淮之閒。
The Grand Historian remarks: The King of Jing owed his throne to the early days of the Han dynasty, when the realm had not yet been consolidated. Although Liu Jia was only distantly related to the imperial line, he was nonetheless made king as a matter of strategy, to anchor the region between the Yangtze and the Huai.
Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 91 Biography of Qing Bu · 2 passages
Book of Sui, Chapter 43 Volume 43 Biographies 8: He Jian Wanghong, Yang Chugang, Yang Zichong, Guang De, Wang Xiong · 1 passage