The only Chinese emperor to 'borrow' a man to give birth to a son to continue the family line

Among the 296 emperors of China, Emperor Ming of Song Liu Yu (439-472), the 11th emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty (420-479), was the only one who "borrowed" another person to give birth to a child. After killing his nephew Liu Ziye to usurp the throne, Liu Yu ascended the throne, chose hundreds of young women as concubines, sang and danced every night, and even held banquets to watch naked beauties dance and sing.

Perhaps because he had many concubines and indulged in excessive sexual pleasures, after having two daughters with his first wife, Tong Thi, he did not have any more children. Liu Yu often told his beloved concubine Tran Dieu Dang, "If you give birth to a son for me, I will make him crown prince." However, his wish to have a son remained unfulfilled.

At that time, in the court, there was Ly Dao Nhi, who was both Liu Yu's teacher and a man of both literature and martial arts, and had given birth to 10 sons. Liu Yu then devised a plan and sent Tran Dieu Dang to Ly Dao Nhi. After his beloved concubine became pregnant, Liu Yu brought her back to the palace, so that she could give birth to Liu Yu (463-477). Ly Dao Nhi was also secretly purged.

Chinese historical records of Liu Yu's son-borrowing act vary. According to the "Book of Song", Liu Yu initially liked Chen Yao Deng very much, but after a while he got bored. Chen Yao Deng could not meet the king, so he took the initiative to marry Li Dao'er and was approved by Liu Yu.

However, not meeting Tran Dieu Dang, the king missed her and welcomed her into the palace. Not long after, she gave birth to a son. Many people did not believe in the "Book of Song", thinking it was a myth. According to later history books of the Song Dynasty, in the "Comprehensive Mirror of Zizhi" by historian and prime minister Sima Guang (1019-1086), Liu Yu had planned ahead, intentionally giving Tran Dieu Dang to Ly Dao Nhi, then waiting for her to become pregnant before welcoming her back to the palace.

Liu Yu had a prince who still felt it was not enough. Because he had problems himself but could not borrow the seed of a high-ranking official, Liu Yu came up with an extremely cruel method. The king secretly sent people to investigate which of the princes' concubines were pregnant, then brought them to the palace to wait for the day of birth. If that person gave birth to a son, the king immediately ordered the mother to be killed, leaving the child behind, and giving it to his concubines to raise.

Just like that, King Liu Yu had a total of 12 sons, all of whom were not his biological children. Liu Yu established Liu Yu as crown prince in 466. In 472, Emperor Ming of Song died, Liu Yu ascended the throne but his cruel personality made him lose the hearts of the people, and he was eventually killed by someone else.

Lam Thong (Source: Sohu)

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