# Liu Bao

Liu Bao (fl. 195–279) was a leader of the Five Divisions who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. His son, Liu Yuan, founded the Han-Zhao dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms period.

## Life

According to official history, Liu Bao was a member of the Luandi clan as the son of the Southern Xiongnu chanyu, Yufuluo. Yufuluo had been forced into exile in 188, after Southern Xiongnu rebels allied with the Xiuchuge people killed his father, Qiangqu. When Yufuluo died in 195, his younger brother Huchuquan inherited the position of chanyu in accordance with the lateral succession order and appointed Liu Bao as the Wise Prince of the Left (or Wise Prince of the Right).
In 216, Huchuquan travelled to Ye (present-day Handan, Hebei) to receive nominal titles from the Han dynasty imperial court and remained in city as an honoured prisoner. The Han chancellor, Cao Cao gathered the last vestiges of the Southern Xiongnu and reorganized them into the Five Divisions around Taiyuan Commandery in Bing province. The Five Divisions were placed under the supervision of Huchuquan's uncle, Qubei, and each of the Five Divisions had their own commander, with Liu Bao commanding the Left Division. They later became a vassal to the Cao Wei dynasty after they replaced the Han in 220.
During the Jiaping era (249–254), Liu Bao unified the Five Divisions and began mustering a great force. His activities caught the attention of the Wei general, Deng Ai, who urged the paramount ruler, Sima Shi to intervene. Sima Shi accepted his suggestions, but it would not be until the Xianxi era (264–266) when Liu Bao's followers were re-split into three and then four. Liu Bao was also forced to send his son, Liu Yuan to the imperial capital, Luoyang, as a hostage to prevent him from rebelling. Soon, the Liu Bao's followers were once again living as the Five Divisions.
The Zizhi Tongjian lists Liu Bao's death in 279. After his death, Emperor Wu of Jin appointed Liu Yuan to succeed him as Commander of the Left Division. Liu Yuan and the Five Divisions later went on to established the Han-Zhao dynasty in 304.

## Skepticism and theories on lineage

Some modern Chinese scholars like Tang Changru (唐长孺) and Chen Yong (陈勇) have cast doubt on the claim that Liu Bao was Yufuluo's son. Among the reasons that Tang pointed out was the long time span between when Liu Bao became Wise Prince of the Left in 195 (assuming he was 20) and his death, which Tang placed at around 274. They assert that Liu Bao was instead a member of the Xiuchuge or Chuge people that overthrew the Southern Xiongnu chanyu. In fact, Liu Yuan and his family members are referred to as Chuge in several passages of contemporary records. Their theory further suggests that Liu Yuan had fabricated his ties to the chanyu as a means of establishing his legitimacy with the founding of Han-Zhao. Other scholars such as Zhou Weizhou (周伟洲) remain certain that Liu Yuan descended from the Southern Xiongnu chanyus, with Zhou in particular providing his refutations to Tang's theory.
Liu Bao may have also been the Wise Prince of the Left who took the poet Cai Wenji as his concubine after Li Jue's coup in Chang'an in 195. The pair would go on to have two children. However, the powerful warlord Cao Cao arrived and paid a heavy ransom to Liu Bao, demanding that he release Cai Wenji, to which Liu Bao did without hesitation. However, it is highly uncertain if the Wise Prince of the Left was indeed Liu Bao, given that the records do not mention him by name, that he may have instead been the Wise Prince of the Right, and that there are doubts regarding his relationship to Yufuluo.