生平

家世顯赫

劉封是羅侯寇氏之子（即枝江是其家族封地，國名羅侯），長沙劉氏外孫，算得上荊楚名家。左將軍劉備寄寓荊州時，因為沒有子嗣，收其為養子。

平定益州

漢獻帝建安十六年（211年），左將軍領荊州牧劉備受益州牧劉璋之邀入蜀，幫其消滅割據漢中的鎮民中郎將領漢寧太守張魯。劉備北駐葭萌，次年與劉璋反目，召諸葛亮、張飛等夾攻益州。劉封時年二十餘，「有武藝，氣力過人」，跟隨軍師中郎將諸葛亮、征虜將軍張飛入蜀，「所在戰克」，以功拜副軍中郎將。

攻取三郡

建安二十四年（219年），左將軍領荊州牧、益州牧劉備命宜都太守孟達北攻房陵，房陵太守蒯祺（諸葛亮姊夫）遇害，孟達繼續進攻上庸，劉備對孟達不太放心，于是命副軍中郎將劉封從漢水西下，節制孟達所部，上庸太守申耽、西城太守申儀投降，劉封以功拜副軍將軍。

拒援關羽

不久劉備自稱漢中王，前將軍假節鉞大都督荊州關羽發動北伐，圍困襄陽、樊城，多次命令劉封、孟達發兵相助，被劉封、孟達以上庸三郡投降不久局勢不穩為由拒絕。結果呂蒙偷襲荊州，關羽撤軍，所部潰散，在臨沮被孫權擒獲，獻首曹操。劉備因此對二人不滿。

劉封本與孟達不和，又因劉封搶走孟達的軍隊，孟達既害怕劉備將來算賬，亦不滿劉封的欺凌，率所部四千人投降魏國。魏文帝曹丕拜孟達為散騎常侍、建武將軍，封平陽亭侯，命其與征南將軍夏侯尚、右將軍徐晃進攻上庸三郡，並預將三郡合併為新城郡，以孟達領新城太守。

此時孟達寫信給劉封勸降，信中提到劉封與漢中王劉備的關係，實際上不過是路人而已，論親情並不是親生骨肉卻身居權勢之位，名義上不是君臣卻擔任很高的職位，出征則有獨自領兵征伐一方，居則有副軍之號，又說劉備已經立劉禪為太子，劉封地位堪憂，孟達引用古人的例子，認為申生如果聽從子輿的勸告，必定會像太伯一樣成就一番事業。衛伋如果能夠聽從他同父異母弟弟公子壽的勸告，就不會讓他父親衛宣公的罪過暴露，而被天下人譏諷嘲笑。像是齊國小白逃出國外避難，後來回國得到王位成就霸業。晉國的重耳翻牆逃走出國流亡，最終回國繼承了王位。信中還提魏文帝受禪讓登基，虛心待下，以仁德懷柔遠方，如果劉封能歸順，不但能和孟達平起平坐，還能受到三百戶的封賜，還能續封為羅侯。

劉封拒絕了孟達的勸誘。西城太守申儀背叛劉封，劉封戰敗退回成都，上庸太守申耽則隨即投降魏軍。

被賜自盡

劉封回到成都後，劉備斥責他欺凌孟達，又不發兵援救關羽，但並未打算治劉封死罪；然而劉備身旁的諸葛亮認為，將來劉禪繼位後難以駕馭為人剛毅勇猛著稱的劉封，因此建議劉備將其除掉，于是劉備將劉封賜死，命其自殺。劉封臨死之前嘆息「恨不用孟子度之言！」劉封自殺身亡後，劉備為之流涕。

古蹟

明《荊州方輿書》、清《東湖縣誌》、《宜昌府志》等史籍均有劉封在宜都築有禦敵城壘「劉封城」的記載，地在縣西北二十里南津關北岸山三游洞頂，更指出劉封曾與孟達同守宜都。三游洞風景區內有劉封城遺址，其範圍內也有漢磚等。唯《三國志》無載劉封曾任宜都太守，或為闕載。

家庭

子：劉林，官至牙門將，蜀漢滅亡後被遷徙到河東。

評價

• 孟達：「劉封、申耽，據金城千里而失之乎！」

• 陳壽：「劉封處嫌疑之地，而思防不足以自衛。彭羕、廖立以才拔進，李嚴以幹局達，魏延以勇略任，楊儀以當官顯，劉琰舊仕，並咸貴重。覽其舉措，跡其規矩，招禍取咎，無不自己也。」

• 毛宗崗：「劉封之拒孟達，與糜芳之從傅士仁則有異矣。然既然拒之于終，何不拒之于始；既能斬孟達之使而不降曹操，何以聽孟達之譖而不救關公乎？南郡之救樊城也難，糜芳不聽士仁則必死；上庸之援麥城也易，封不聽孟達則未必至于死。惜其見之不早耳。」

• 李贄：「劉封雖不出救，其罪正與糜芳同科，俱是情有可原者也。若傅士仁，孟達，則反國之賊也，罪不容誅矣。凡讀史者，定須原情定罪，方不冤枉了人也。」

影視形象

• 1994年電視劇《三國演義》：王振偉、趙振華

• 1996年電視劇《三國英雄傳之關公》：林敏祥

• 2004年電視劇《武聖關公》：李相博

• 2010年電視劇《三國》：張方宇

動漫遊戲

• 漫畫《火鳳燎原》（陳某）:於荊南奪城篇時登場，為司馬家刺客組織「殘兵」新一代成員奉司馬懿之命跟隨燎原火，後奉諸葛亮之命以「寇封」之名潛伏於武陵太守金旋門下，在戰場上協助劉備將金旋軍擊敗。及後被劉備收為義子，被王雙、郭淮等新一代殘兵視為叛徒。

Life

Liu Feng was a descendant of the Marquis of Luo, whose family name was Kou (寇). He was also related (but not directly) to the Liu family of Changsha (長沙; around present-day Changsha, Hunan), who descended from Liu Fa, one of Emperor Jing's sons. When Liu Bei seized control of four commanderies – Changsha, Lingling (零陵), Guiyang (桂陽), Wuling (武陵) – in southern Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) in 209, he adopted Liu Feng as his son because he had no suitable heir at the time. In 211, Liu Bei led an army from Jing Province to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing), ostensibly to help Yi Province's governor Liu Zhang counter a rival warlord Zhang Lu in Hanzhong Commandery. When war broke out between Liu Bei and Liu Zhang in the following year, Liu Feng, then in his early 20s and famous for his combat skills and great physical strength, led forces from Jing Province together with Liu Bei's other followers to assist his foster father in the Yi Province campaign. Liu Zhang surrendered to Liu Bei in 214, after which Yi Province came under Liu Bei's control. Liu Bei appointed Liu Feng as a Vice-General of the Household.

In 219, Liu Bei ordered his general Meng Da to lead an army from Zigui County to attack Fangling County (房陵縣; present-day Fang County, Hubei), which was defended by Kuai Qi (蒯祺). Meng Da defeated Kuai Qi in battle, conquered Fangling County, and then proceeded to attack Shangyong Commandery (上庸郡; around present-day Zhushan County, Hubei). Liu Bei was worried that Meng Da could not manage alone, so he sent Liu Feng to lead a force from Hanzhong Commandery and sail down the Mian River (沔水) to rendezvous with Meng Da at Shangyong. Shen Dan (申耽), the Administrator of Shangyong, surrendered to Meng Da and Liu Feng. For his achievement, Liu Feng was promoted to Vice-General. Later that year, when Liu Bei's general Guan Yu led an army from Jing Province to attack an enemy garrison at Fan (樊; or Fancheng, present-day Fancheng District, Xiangyang, Hubei), he repeatedly asked Meng Da and Liu Feng to lead reinforcements from Shangyong to support him but they refused, claiming that the situation in Shangyong was not stable yet. Eventually, Guan Yu not only failed to conquer Fan, but also lost his lord's territories in Jing Province in a stealth invasion by Liu Bei's ally Sun Quan, who had turned against Liu. Guan Yu was captured and executed by Sun Quan's forces. Liu Bei resented Liu Feng and Meng Da for not aiding Guan Yu. At the time, Liu Feng had a quarrel with Meng Da. Meng Da became afraid when he heard of Liu Bei's anger towards him and was also worried about his dispute with Liu Feng, so he brought along his followers and defected to the state of Cao Wei, which was established by Liu Bei's rival Cao Pi.

After defecting to Wei, Meng Da wrote a letter to Liu Feng, in which he attempted to persuade Liu Feng to join him by noting two important points: Liu Bei already had other sons at the time so he no longer regarded Liu Feng as highly as before; the Wei imperial court was willing to allow Liu Feng to inherit the Luo marquisate which belonged to his biological family. Liu Feng ignored Meng Da's advice and returned to his foster father. Liu Bei reproached his adoptive son for not helping Guan Yu and blamed him for Meng Da's defection. Liu Bei's chancellor, Zhuge Liang pointed out Liu Feng's martial prowess and expressed worries that Liu Feng might become a threat to them if he switched his allegiance to their enemies, hence he urged his lord to eliminate Liu Feng. Liu Bei eventually condemned Liu Feng to death but permitted him to take his own life. Before committing suicide, Liu Feng said, "I regret not listening to Meng Da!" Liu Bei shed tears after Liu Feng died.

Liu Feng's son, Liu Lin, was appointed as an Officer of the Standard and served in the state of Shu Han – founded by Liu Bei in 221 – in the Three Kingdoms period throughout the reign of Liu Bei's eldest son and successor, Liu Shan. In 264, after the fall of Shu, Liu Lin was ordered to move out of former Shu territory to Hedong Commandery.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms

In the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, Liu Feng was adopted after Liu Shan was born, which proved controversial because Liu Bei already had a biological son at the time who was far younger than Liu Feng. Guan Yu, in particular, voiced his opposition, citing the family feud between Liu Biao's sons. However, Liu Feng showed his worth in battle and proved to be a valuable asset to his foster father.

In 219, when Guan Yu was being surrounded by Sun Quan's forces in Maicheng (麥城), Liu Feng refused to provide reinforcements partly because Meng Da reminded Liu Feng of Guan Yu's disapproval. When the general Liao Hua told Liu Bei that Guan Yu died because Liu Feng and Meng Da did not send reinforcements, Liu Bei began to resent the two and even plotted their arrest. Meng Da became afraid and defected to the state of Cao Wei and sent Liu Feng a message, urging him to defect as well. In anger, Liu Feng executed the messenger and went to battle Meng Da, who was now aided by the Wei generals Xu Huang and Xiahou Shang. As Liu Feng was out of the city, the defender Shen Dan surrendered to Wei and shot arrows at Liu Feng's men. Defeated, Liu Feng returned to Chengdu with only slightly more than a hundred horsemen.

Liu Feng sought an interview with Liu Bei, but gained scant sympathy. In response to Liu Feng's petition, Liu Bei instructed the executioners to expel Liu Feng and put him to death. Liu Bei felt some regret later when he heard of Liu Feng's staunch rejection of Meng Da's enticement. This, adding to the recent death of Guan Yu, made Liu Bei grieve until he fell sick.