Liu Bi (Prince of Wu)

Liu Bi (刘濞) was a nephew of Emperor Gaozu and was enfeoffed as Prince of Wu after suppressing a rebellion. His domain centered on the Suzhou region (then Wu County under Kuaiji Commandery). He pursued aggressive economic development: mining copper in the hills to mint coins and boiling seawater to produce salt, effectively controlling two key monopolies. By reducing taxes and “resting with the people,” he attracted population and investment, making his principality immensely rich and populous. This prosperity also fueled his political ambition; he later led the “Rebellion of the Seven States” (七国之乱) against the central government. Although the rebellion failed and the principality was abolished, the economic foundation Liu Bi laid—Suzhou as the commercial and productive core of the lower Yangtze—endured and shaped the region for centuries. He is remembered as the figure who first made Suzhou the “economic heart of Jiangnan.”