生平

立為太子

劉子業於元嘉二十六年正月十七日（449年2月25日）出生，四年後就發生了太子劉劭弒宋文帝奪位的事件，因為孝武帝起兵討伐劉劭，劉子業被劉劭囚於侍中下省。同年，孝武帝即位，於翌年孝建元年（454年）立了子業為皇太子。不過，子業一直居於永福省，在大明二年（458年）才出居東宮。子業在東宮多有犯錯，而孝武帝亦寵愛殷淑儀以及和她生下的皇子劉子鸞，於是一度有了廢子業，立子鸞的想法，但時為侍中的袁顗稱讚子業好學，天天進步，終也保住了其太子之位。

誅殺大臣

大明八年閏五月廿三日（464年7月12日），孝武帝去世，同日子業以皇太子繼位，是為宋前廢帝。孝武帝死前指定了江夏王劉義恭、柳元景、顏師伯、沈慶之及王玄謨五人為顧命大臣，分掌朝事以及軍旅之事。不過，前廢帝即位後朝事其實仍繼續由孝武帝寵臣越騎校尉戴法興及中書通事舍人巢尚之掌握，義恭等雖錄尚書事仍只守空名。前廢帝即位後不久獲尊為皇太后的生母王憲嫄病重，遂派人召廢帝前來，但廢帝卻說：「病人房間裡有很多鬼，太可怕了，這怎麼能去呢？」竟拒絕探望母親，不久太后便過世。而前廢帝的命令和活動此時亦受戴法興所約束，意願常常被法興壓下，法興甚至多次對廢帝說：「你這樣的作為，想成為營陽王嗎？」這令廢帝很不滿，於是與痛恨戴法興的宦官華願兒勾結誣陷法興，終於永光元年八月初一（465年9月6日）賜死了戴法興。

前廢帝又為了削弱時任尚書僕射的顏師伯的權力，故意重設左右僕射，以王彧為右僕射，更加奪其兼丹陽尹之職，令師伯深感不安。而前廢帝日漸顯露的狂悖行徑亦令柳元景、劉義恭等人十分憂心，於是義恭與元景、師伯等人密謀廢帝而立義恭，但久未有決定，又嘗試尋求沈慶之支持，但慶之卻向廢帝告發。永光元年八月十三日（465年9月18日），廢帝親領禁軍宿衛去搜捕柳元景，就地將其殺害；又領兵到義恭府第殺害義恭，更下令肢解義恭，甚至將義恭眼晴挖出來浸在蜜糖中，稱之為「鬼目粽」。二人皆被夷滅三族，顏師伯、劉德願等亦被誅殺。

沈慶之因與義恭並不親厚，又與師伯有私憾，遂告發了圖謀，廢帝亦以沈慶之為太尉以褒賞他。袁顗當日在孝武帝面前保廢帝太子之位，廢帝本亦感其恩德，加上沈慶之亦念在袁顗提拔之恩，袁顗遂得以在義恭等人被殺後入為吏部尚書，與慶之、徐爰領選事。然而，很快袁顗就因不合廢帝心意而獲罪，白衣領職，袁顗在恐懼之下自求外任，終獲授雍州刺史，遠赴襄陽《宋書·袁顗傳》。而留在朝中的沈慶之盡心對廢帝的荒唐行為作出規勸，也令廢帝很不滿。廢帝後來將姑姑新蔡公主劉英媚納於後宮，向外謊稱她是謝貴嬪，宣稱公主已死並以一個婢女的屍體冒充，送到公主丈夫何邁那裏供治喪用。何邁本亦已受猜忌，早有廢立的準備，打算趁廢帝出遊時下手，但圖謀外洩，景和元年十一月，何邁又遭廢帝親自領兵誅殺。殺何邁前，廢帝深知沈慶之一定會來反對，於是命人封鎖清豁諸橋以阻止其前來，年已八十的慶之無法晉見後回府，廢帝及後派了與慶之有過節的沈攸之送藥賜死他。

逼害宗室

新安王劉子鸞一度危及廢帝太子之位，廢帝在誅除義恭等人後開始對其進行報復，景和元年九月十一日（465年10月16日），就下令賜死子鸞，同為殷淑儀所生的十二皇女以及劉子師都一同被賜死，並開挖殷淑儀的墓穴，又怪罪寫了《宋孝武宣貴妃誄》的謝莊，甚至想掘開父親陵墓景寧陵，只因太史勸阻而不成事，不過仍然用糞便弄污陵墓《南史·卷二》：「帝自以為昔在東宮，不為孝武所愛，及即位，將掘景寧陵，太史言於帝不利而止。乃縱糞於陵，肆罵孝武帝為『齇奴」。』」。另一方面，前廢帝亦忌憚一眾叔父威脅他的地位，其中九叔義陽王劉昶早在孝武一朝就有謀反的傳言，到廢帝在位年間就更盛，廢帝亦常對旁人稱他即位以來未試過戒嚴，有所不快。劉昶在義恭等人被殺後上表入朝，廢帝就向陪使者入都的劉昶典籤籧法生宣稱劉昶與義恭合謀反叛，入朝正好，但又斥責法生沒有通報劉昶謀反的訊息。法生聞言恐懼，於是立即逃到彭城告知劉昶，而廢帝就以此為由北討，於九月己酉親征彭城，並宣布內外戒嚴。劉昶試圖起兵抵抗但無人支持，只好逃到北魏《宋書·文九王·劉昶傳》：「昶輕訬褊急，不能祗事世祖，大明中常被嫌責，民間喧然，常雲昶當有異志。永光、景和中，此聲轉甚。廢帝既誅群公，彌縱狂悖，常語左右曰：『我即大位來，遂未嘗戒嚴，使人邑邑。』江夏王義恭誅後，昶表入朝，袥典籤籧法生銜使，帝謂法生曰：『義陽與太宰謀反，我正欲討之，今知求還，甚善。』又屢詰問法生：『義陽謀反，何故不啓？』法生懼禍，叛走還彭城。帝因此北討，親率眾過江。法生既至，昶即聚眾起兵。納內諸郡，並不受命，斬昶使。將佐文武，悉懷異心。昶知其不捷，乃夜與數十騎開門北奔索虜。」《宋書·前廢帝紀》：「九月己酉，車駕討征北將軍、徐州刺史義陽王昶，內外戒嚴。昶奔於索虜。」。

剩下諸叔，廢帝將他們囚於殿內毆打欺凌，其中他最忌憚較年長的十一叔湘東王劉彧、十二叔建安王劉休仁及十三叔山陽王劉休祐，因他們都很肥壯而命人用竹籠載著他們量度體重，最重的劉彧被稱為「豬王」，休仁及休祐分別獲得「殺王」及「賊王」之號，並時常命他們隨行左右。才能差劣的八叔東海王劉褘也被稱為「驢王」，只有年紀尚輕的桂陽王劉休範及巴陵王劉休若過得好點。廢帝曾經脫光劉彧，將他放到坑中，並將飯菜都倒在木槽中混合，讓坑中的劉彧像豬一樣到木槽進食，以作娛樂；又常想殺害三王，但因劉休仁用其計策取悅廢帝，廢帝將就一直沒有殺他們。不過，廢帝卻屢次逼姦宮中妃主，例如命身邊官員侍從當著休仁面前逼姦休仁生母楊太妃《宋書·文九王·劉休仁傳》：「時廢帝狂悖無道，誅害群公，忌憚諸父，並囚之殿內，毆捶凌曳，無復人理。休仁及太宗、山陽王休祐，形體並肥壯，帝乃以竹籠盛而稱之，以太宗尤肥，號為『豬王』，號休仁為『殺王』，休祐為『賊王』。以三王年長，尤所畏憚，故常錄以自近，不離左右。東海王禕凡劣，號為『驢王』，桂陽王休範、巴陵王休若年少，故並得從容。嘗以木槽盛飯，內諸雜食，攪令和合，掘地為坑穽，實之以泥水，裸太宗內坑中，和槽食置前，令太宗以口就槽中食，用之為歡笑。欲害太宗及休仁、休祐前後以十數，休仁多計數，每以笑調佞諛悅之，故得推遷。常於休仁前使左右淫逼休仁所生楊太妃，左右並不得已順命，以至右衞將軍劉道隆，道隆歡以奉旨，盡諸醜狀。」，又曾威逼南平王妃江氏就範，在她堅拒後殺掉她的三個兒子南平王劉敬猷、廬陽王劉敬先及南安縣侯劉敬淵。因著文帝及孝武帝在兄弟中皆排名第三，得入繼帝位，廢帝對三弟晉安王劉子勛亦很猜忌，而何邁的廢立圖謀都是以子勛取代廢帝。何邁失敗後，廢帝乘此指控子勛與何邁謀反，派了使者賜死子勛，以鄧琬為首的子勛屬官們最終決定起兵抗命，在十一月十九日於尋陽宣布戒嚴。

遇刺身死

前廢帝表現無道，蔡興宗更曾經向在軍中有威望的沈慶之及王玄謨明言起事推翻廢帝，又曾向掌禁軍的右衞將軍劉道隆暗示，但都遭對方拒絕。相反，前廢帝以美女財帛等東西賜給宗越、譚金、童太一及沈攸之等將領，讓他們甘心為前廢帝服務，為其爪牙。而湘東世子師阮佃夫見劉彧被囚於殿內，常面臨被殺危機，就與王道隆、李道兒、禁中將領柳光世等人以及淳于文祖、繆方盛等前廢帝身邊近臣密謀廢立。景和元年十一月二十九日，前廢帝打算出巡荊湘二州，並欲在出發前將劉彧等三王殺害《宋書·文九王·劉休仁傳》：「帝將南遊荊湘二州，明旦欲殺諸父便發。其夕，太宗克定禍難，殞帝於華林園」，阮佃夫在前廢帝早上出華林園時將圖謀密告主衣壽寂之、細鎧主姜產之等人，獲得響應，其中防守華林閤的隊主樊僧整也加入。當晚入夜後，廢帝在竹林堂前與巫師射鬼，壽寂之就領著姜產之等人衝進去行刺廢帝，廢帝見寂之衝過來就用箭射他，但沒有命中，於是逃跑，但被寂之追上，被殺，得年十七歲。

性格特徵

史載前廢帝幼而狷急，故任太子期間屢遭孝武帝指責，如孝武帝西巡時命廢帝參侍侯起居，就因為字跡差而被罵，甚至被孝武帝指他「素都懈怠，狷戾日甚，何以固乃爾邪！」廢帝即位後初亦受制於戴法興等人，但自法興等被殺後，就沒有人敢阻遏廢帝行事，很多大臣都被打，人心騷動。

廢帝雖然多有猜忌逼害宗室的舉動，但對於同胞所生的劉子尚及山陰公主劉楚玉卻相當親近，經常一同行動，子尚性情亦有如廢帝那樣。廢帝曾應公主的要求賜其面首三十，並命當時的美男子尚書吏部郎褚淵侍候公主十天。

不過廢帝年輕時都有好學一面，故也對古事有一定認識，所作的《世祖誄》及一些雜篇都不乏有文採的地方，又曾仿效曹操設立發丘中郎將及摸金校尉兩職。

逸事

• 廢帝在母親病重時不肯探望，母親死後卻在其夢中出現，並說：「汝不仁不孝，本無人君之相，子尚愚悖如此，亦非運祚所及。孝武險虐滅道，怨結人神，兒子雖多，並無天命；大命所歸，應還文帝之子。」

• 廢帝曾在華林園竹林堂命宮女們裸身追逐以供自己取樂，其中一名宮女不肯，廢帝就殺了她。不久，廢帝卻夢見後堂有一女子罵他，廢帝醒來後大怒，遂命人在宮中找出一個和夢中女子相貌相似的宮人，又將她殺死。就在當晚，這個宮人就在廢帝夢中出現，說已經將被枉殺的事告知上帝。後巫師宣稱竹林堂有鬼，才有廢帝前往射鬼，遭壽寂之刺殺的事。

家庭

家世

叔父

宋明帝劉彧

后妃

• 何妃 何令婉，後追諡獻皇后

• 路皇后，太皇太后路惠男之弟路道慶之女

• 劉英媚，劉子業之姑母

• 謝貴嬪

• 羊良娣

• 袁保林

子女

• 一子未命名，可能實為劉矇之子

Background

Liu Ziye was born in 449, when his father Liu Jun was still the Prince of Wuling under his grandfather Emperor Wen. His mother Princess Wang Xianyuan was Liu Jun's wife. While his father was rotated through several provincial governorships, Liu Ziye remained at the capital Jiankang, and was imprisoned by his uncle Liu Shao after Liu Shao assassinated Emperor Wen and assumed the throne himself in 453 and Liu Jun rose to oppose him. Liu Shao considered executing Liu Ziye but did not do so. After Liu Jun defeated and killed Liu Shao later that year and took the throne as Emperor Xiaowu, Liu Ziye was rescued out of captivity, and in 454 was created crown prince.

In 456, Emperor Xiaowu married He Lingwan (何令婉), the daughter of his official He Yu (何瑀), to Liu Ziye as crown princess. In 458, Emperor Xiaowu set up a household for Crown Prince Ziye, at a separate palace as was customary for crown princes. In 460, he gave a public reading of the Xiao Jing, and in 463 he assumed adult clothing. During his years as a crown prince, he was said to be constantly making mistakes and often drew rebukes from Emperor Xiaowu, causing him to be resentful to both Emperor Xiaowu and his younger brother Liu Ziluan the Prince of Xin'an, whom Emperor Xiaowu at times considered replacing Liu Ziye with. However, the official Yuan Yi (袁顗) praised him for his studiousness, and this stopped Emperor Xiaowu from the idea of replacing Liu Ziye with Liu Ziluan. In 461, Crown Princess He died.

In 464, Emperor Xiaowu died, and Liu Ziye took the throne as Emperor Qianfei. When the official Cai Xingzong (蔡興宗) offered the imperial seal to him, he took it with an arrogant and careless attitude, without any expression of sadness, and Cai commented to others that this was a bad sign for his reign. He honored his grandmother Empress Dowager Lu as grand empress dowager, and his mother Empress Wang as empress dowager. He also posthumously honored Crown Princess He as an empress.

Reign

Upon assuming the throne, apparently because of his resentment toward his father Emperor Xiaowu, the new emperor immediately ordered that all of Emperor Xiaowu's changes to the laws established during his grandfather Emperor Wen's reign be rescinded. Another sign of his resentment toward Emperor Xiaowu could be seen in that after he commissioned new imperial portraits for the ancestral temples, he went to look at them. Upon seeing the founder (his great-grandfather) Emperor Wu's portrait, he commented, "He was a great hero who captured several emperors." Upon seeing Emperor Wen's portrait, he commented, "He was also pretty good, but it was unfortunate he lost his head to his son." Upon seeing Emperor Xiaowu's portrait, he, displeased, made the comment, "He had such a big nose from overdrinking. Where was the nose?" and he ordered that the portrait be redrawn to exaggerate Emperor Xiaowu's nose.

Late in 464, Empress Dowager Wang grew extremely ill, and she summoned Emperor Qianfei to see her. He refused, stating that in sick people's rooms there would be ghosts, and he could not go. In anger, she told her servant girls: "Bring a sword and cut me open, to see how it is this animal came out of me!" She soon died.

In the imperial administration, his granduncle Liu Yigong the Prince of Jiangxia was the highest-ranked official, and other high-level officials included Yan Shibo (顔師伯) and Liu Yuanjing (柳元景). However, initially, actual power was held by Emperor Xiaowu's close associates Dai Faxing (戴法興) and Chao Shangzhi (巢尚之). Dai often curbed Emperor Qianfei's impulsive actions, warning him about the fate of his granduncle Emperor Shao, who was deposed and killed because of his incompetence. In fall 465, Emperor Qianfei ordered Dai to commit suicide and relieved Chao of his posts. These actions shocked the high-level officials, and Liu Yuanjing and Yan planned to depose Emperor Qianfei and support Liu Yigong as the replacement emperor. When Liu consulted with the general Shen Qingzhi (沈慶之), Shen, who had no prior friendship with Liu Yigong and was resentful of disrespect by Yan, informed on them. As a result, just 12 days after forcing Dai to commit suicide, Emperor Qianfei personally led the imperial guards to attack and kill Liu Yigong and his four sons. Liu Yuanjing and Yan, and their sons, were all killed as well. Emperor Qianfei cut off Liu Yigong's limbs, cut his abdomen open, and pulled out the entrails to be cut to pieces. He also gouged out Liu Yigong's eyes and put them in honey, calling them "pickled ghost eyes." From this point on, the people that Emperor Qianfei trusted included Yuan Yi, Xu Yuan (徐爰), Shen, his brother Liu Zishang the Prince of Yuzhang, and his sister Liu Chuyu the Princess Kuaiji. In an action that was considered highly immoral at the time, upon Princess Chuyu's pronouncement that it was unfair that Emperor Qianfei could have thousands of concubines but she could only have one husband, Emperor Qianfei selected 30 handsome young men and gave them to her to serve as her lovers. Emperor Qianfei also, still resentful of his brother Liu Ziluan, not only forced Liu Ziluan to commit suicide, but also killed Liu Ziluan's mother Consort Yin's other two children, Liu Zishi the Prince of Nanhai and a sister of theirs.

At this time, Emperor Qianfei also stated that he wanted to get a chance to declare a state of emergency. When his uncle Liu Chang the Prince of Yiyang and governor of Xu Province (徐州, modern northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui) requested permission to return to Jiankang, he falsely accused Liu Chang of planning a rebellion, and sent Shen Qingzhi to command troops against Liu Chang. In fear, Liu Chang initially tried to resist, but when he saw he could not, fled to Northern Wei.

Meanwhile, in winter 465, Emperor Qianfei continued his killing streak. He had been carrying on an incestuous relationship with his aunt Liu Yingmei the Princess Xincai, and, resolved to keep her as a concubine, killed a lady-in-waiting and delivered her body to Liu Yingmei's husband He Mai (何邁, who was also his brother-in-law), informing him that his wife had died. He Mai knew what the truth was, and, not able to bear this humiliation, considered deposing Emperor Qianfei and making his brother Liu Zixun the Prince of Jin'an emperor. The plot was leaked, and Emperor Qianfei personally attacked He and killed him. When Shen Qingzhi tried to urge Emperor Qianfei to change his ways in light of what happened with He Mai, Emperor Qianfei had him poisoned. Meanwhile, Emperor Qianfei created Grand Empress Dowager Lu's niece Lady Lu as empress.

Emperor Qianfei was very suspicious of his uncles—that they would rebel against him—so he gathered them in Jiankang and put them under house arrest in his palace. He often battered them and treated them as less than human. He, in particular, put Liu Yu the Prince of Xiangdong, Liu Xiuren the Prince of Jian'an, and Liu Xiuyou the Prince of Shanyang, all of whom were overweight, into cages and measured their weight as if weighing pigs. He referred to Liu Yu as the Prince of Pigs, Liu Xiuren as the Prince of Murderers, and Liu Xiuyou as the Prince of Thieves. Because another uncle, Liu Hui the Prince of Donghai, was considered obstinate and unintelligent, he referred to Liu Hui as the Prince of Donkeys. He often wanted to kill Liu Yu, Liu Xiuren, and Liu Xiuyiu, but each time Liu Xiuren flattered him and caused him to change his mind. In one particular incident, he tied Liu Yu up like how a pig would be tied up, and had him delivered to the kitchen, stating, "Today is pig-killing day." Liu Xiuren, however, stated, "This is not the pig-killing day." He angrily asked Liu Xiuren why that was the case, and Liu Xiuren stated, "After your son is born, then kill the pig and take out his entrails!" Emperor Qianfei liked Liu Xiuren's joke and did not kill Liu Yu.

Fearful that he would be assassinated, Emperor Qianfei entrusted the defense of the palace to a number of fierce warriors, including Zong Yue (宗越), Tan Jin (譚金), Tong Taiyi (童太一), and Shen Youzhi.

Emperor Qianfei also saw his brother Liu Zixun as a threat—particularly because he saw that Emperor Wen, Emperor Xiaowu, and Liu Zixun were all third sons of their fathers. He therefore used the He Mai plot as an excuse, sending his attendant Zhu Jingyun (朱景雲) to deliver poison to Liu Zixun to force him to commit suicide, but as Zhu approached Liu Zixun's defense post at Xunyang (尋陽, in modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi), he intentionally slowed down and leaked the news. Liu Zixun's assistant Deng Wan (鄧琬) then had an opportunity to declare a rebellion, although at this stage Deng was not yet declaring Liu Zixun an emperor.

At the same time, Emperor Qianfei continued his immoral behavior. He summoned the princesses to the palace and ordered them to lie down and allow his attendants to have sexual intercourse with them. When his aunt Princess Dowager Jiang of Nanping (the wife of his deceased uncle Liu Shuo) refused, he had her whipped and had her three sons, Liu Jingyou the Prince of Nanping, Liu Jingxian the Prince of Luling, and Liu Jingyuan the Marquess of Annan put to death. He also ordered his ladies in waiting to strip and chase each other naked. When one lady in waiting refused, he beheaded her. That night, he dreamed of a woman cursing him, "You are so violent and immoral that you will not live to see the wheat harvest next year." After he woke up, he found a lady in waiting whose appearance was similar to the woman he saw in the dream, and beheaded her. He then had another dream in which the executed lady in waiting cursed him. He therefore decided to hold a ghost-killing ceremony the next night.

At the ceremony, one of Emperor Qianfei's attendants, Shou Jizhi (壽寂之), who had often been rebuked by Emperor Qianfei, who had entered into a plot with a number of people to assassinate Emperor Qianfei, unleashed his conspirators and surrounded Emperor Qianfei. Emperor Qianfei tried to flee, but was unable to, and Shou killed him. He was buried with his deceased wife, Crown Princess He. Liu Yu took the throne as Emperor Ming.

Era names

• Yongguang (永光 yǒng guāng) 465

• Jinghe (景和 jǐng hé) 465

Family

Consorts:

• Empress Xian, of the He clan of Lujiang (獻皇后 廬江何氏; 445–461), first cousin once removed, personal name Lingwan (令婉)

• Empress, of the Lu clan (皇后 路氏), first cousin once removed

Ancestry