生平

早期

新莽天凤四年（17年），赤眉、绿林起义爆发，赤眉军途径式县时，刘盆子及其兄刘恭、刘茂被其掳略至军中。更始帝刘玄立，赤眉军亦随绿林军奉更始帝为帝，刘盆子之兄刘恭进入长安后，因为其了解一点《尚书》的内容，更始帝再次封他为式侯，并且担任侍中。而刘盆子及其兄刘茂则留在赤眉军中放牛。

傀儡时期

更始初年，樊崇等听说汉朝复辟，于是向更始帝投降，率二十馀人来到洛阳。然而更始帝安抚不力，赤眉军发生骚动。樊崇等逃回赤眉军中，分其军为两部，开始进攻更始帝。更始二年冬，赤眉军已攻至弘农郡。

虽然连胜更始帝部队，但是赤眉军内部非常悲观。由于赤眉军多为信奉巫术的齐人，故求军中巫师来通灵占卜前途如何，巫师说神示称他们人心涣散、败相已出，并指称汉初的城阳景王刘章发怒认为：「我家的子弟应该当县官（天子），怎么当盗贼呢？」当时有许多人嘲笑巫师是神棍，但那些人随即生了重病。刘章是西汉中期至汉末为齐地人士广泛信仰之境主神，直至东汉末曹操除淫祀，其信仰才稍稍断绝。于是赤眉军于营中寻刘章后裔，得七十馀人，唯刘茂、刘盆子兄弟及前西安侯刘孝与刘章的嫡系血缘最近，当时刘盆子还有一个兄长刘恭仍在更始帝朝廷中。后赤眉军采用抽签方式（象徵由刘章来选择）选出皇帝。刘茂与刘孝抽到空白的签。刘盆子抽到写著「上将军」的签，被立为帝，年号建世，刘盆子虽立为帝，实为傀儡，仍与其他牧童游玩。

赤眉军诸将以樊崇最尊，但樊崇不识字、也不会算术，文化程度太低。徐宣曾为县吏，学过《易经》，被诸将推举为相国，接下来诸将自行授印封官，以樊崇为御史大夫，逄安为左大司马，谢禄为右大司马，杨音以下为列卿。赤眉军进至高陵，与更始叛将张卬等联合，攻下长安。不久更始帝向赤眉军投降。在这之前的六月，汉光武帝刘秀已于河北称帝，改更始三年为建武元年。

刘盆子住在长乐宫，诸将日日争功，高歌欢呼；喝醉时拔剑击柱，不能和谐。三辅郡县输入京师物资，辄为兵士剽掠。腊月，宫中举行宴会，结果席间大乱，席上酒肉被冲进来的军士哄抢而光。多人互斗受伤。卫尉诸葛释闻讯后，率军前来维持秩序，格杀百馀人后方才镇压下去。刘盆子对此十分惶恐，不敢独居。时掖庭仍有宫女数百千人，自更始败亡后皆闭门不出，在宫内掘食草根、池鱼，许多人因此饿死。后宫女们见刘盆子，对其言饥，刘盆子怜之，每人赐米数斗。刘盆子离去之后，宫女们纷纷饿死。

时刘盆子之兄式侯刘恭亦在朝中，见赤眉内乱，知其必不长久，为求自保，密教刘盆子密封玺绶，学习辞让之礼，但赤眉诸将拒绝刘盆子退位。赤眉军缺少粮食，于是在长安周边大肆劫掠。刘秀大将邓禹攻赤眉，亦被赤眉军击败。后赤眉军与延岑大战，死者万人。延岑战败，其部将李宝投降。后李宝为内应，延岑再次挑战，与赤眉军大战，李宝趁机拔去赤眉军旗帜，赤眉军以为已败，于是逃亡，死者十馀万。时三辅地区发生饥荒，赤眉军无物可掠，于是带兵东归。

归顺东汉

赤眉军东归，刘秀遣兵于其必经之地将其包围，赤眉军士众涣散，已无战斗力，只好向刘秀投降。刘秀同情刘盆子，给予其赏赐甚厚。公元29年之后，刘秀任命刘盆子为刘秀叔父赵王刘良的郎中。后来刘盆子因病双目失明，刘秀又下令用荥阳的官田租税来奉养刘盆子终身。

陵墓

刘盆子墓在河北省深泽县西北留村，1970年前，古垄尚存，现墓迹已废。

影视形象

• 2000年电视剧《光武帝刘秀》：丁阳饰刘盆子。

评价

范晔所著的《后汉书》中评价道：

刘盆子世系

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延伸阅读

Family background

Liu Penzi was a descendant of the Western Han prince Liu Zhang, Prince Jing of Chengyang, from whose principality many Chimei men came. The people of the principality had long worshipped Prince Jing as a god. Penzi's grandfather Liu Xian (刘宪) was created the Marquess of Shi by Emperor Yuan, and Penzi's father Liu Meng (刘萌) inherited the march after Marquess Xian's death. When Wang Mang usurped the Han throne and established the Xin dynasty in 8, the march was abolished.

Penzi was the youngest of three brothers. His older brothers were Liu Gong (刘恭) and Liu Mao (刘茂). As Chimei forces rose late during the Xin dynasty, the Liu brothers were forced into the Chimei to be child soldiers. Later, when the Chimei general Fan Chong (樊崇) temporarily submitted to Gengshi Emperor's authority after Gengshi Emperor overthrew Wang Mang, Liu Gong accompanied Fan to the capital, Luoyang, and was created the Marquess of Shi to inherit his father's title. He did not accompany Fan when Fan later fled from Luoyang back to the Chimei stronghold of Puyang (濮阳, in modern Puyang, Henan), but remained a follower of Gengshi Emperor. Mao and Penzi remained in the Chimei forces and were made cattlemen.

Being made emperor

As Chimei forces were on their way to overthrow the temporary Han emperor Gengshi Emperor in 25, they became convinced that they should find a descendant of Prince Zhang and make him emperor to inherit the Han throne. They found some 70 descendants of Liu Zhang, but only three were from the main line—the brothers Mao and Penzi, and another Liu Xiao (刘孝), the former Marquess of Xi'an. After drawing lots, Penzi was declared emperor. The 14-year-old Penzi was greatly scared when he saw all of the generals bow down to him, and he tried to destroy the lot he drew by chewing it in his mouth, but it was in vain; he was selected. Even after his selection, however, he had no power and remained a cattleman until the Chimei forces defeated Gengshi Emperor and entered the capital Chang'an later that year.

As emperor

The Chimei generals were as inept at ruling as they were capable in the battlefield. Initially, the people of the Guanzhong (关中, modern central Shaanxi) region submitted and offered tributes, but were surprised when the Chimei soldiers continuously robbed them on the way to Chang'an. The locals soon resumed maintaining and defending their outposts.

In 26, Liu Gong, seeing the dangers of the situation for his brother the emperor, decided to make one attempt to either put the situation under control or disengage his brother from the mess. At the New Year's Day imperial gathering, Liu Gong first spoke and asked that Emperor Penzi be allowed to yield the throne, and Emperor Penzi jumped off the throne, took the imperial seal off himself, and spoke while crying:

:"Now there is an emperor, but everyone continues to act as robbers. The people hate us and do not trust us. This is because you chose the wrong Son of Heaven. Please return my body to me. But if you want to kill me to divert blame, then I must die."

Fan and the other leaders were ashamed, and they left their seats and bowed down to Emperor Penzi, apologizing for their failures. They physically forced Emperor Penzi back onto the throne and put the imperial seal back onto him. For weeks after the incident, the generals restrained their soldiers from unlawful acts, and the people praised Emperor Penzi as a merciful and brilliant emperor. However, after some time elapsed, the lawlessness returned. Soon, the food supplies were completely depleted, and the Chimei forces burned many Chang'an palaces and other buildings and pillaged the city, then marched west into the modern eastern Gansu region.

Soon, the Chimei were repelled by the local warlord Wei Xiao (隗嚣) and forced to retreat east. After battles of attrition against Liu Xiu (Emperor Guangwu)'s forces, they were completely drained, and they surrendered to him in spring 27. Emperor Penzi yielded his title, and Emperor Guangwu, aware that he did not have any actual powers, spared him.

Post-surrender and death

Emperor Guangwu made Penzi an assistant to his uncle Liu Liang (刘良), the Prince of Zhao. Later, Liu Penzi suffered an illness that blinded him, and Liu Xiu gave him a large swath of farmland, allowing him to survive on the rent from the farms for the rest of his life.

He died after 27 AD, but the exact date of his death is currently unknown.