After Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty, he enfeoffed many vassal states, and the general Zhang Ao was granted the title King of Zhao.
During a tour of the Zhao Kingdom, Liu Bang was attended by a beautiful woman sent by the King of Zhao. After several nights in the emperor's company, she became pregnant.
Later, King Zhao Zhang Ao was implicated in a plot to assassinate Liu Bang and was thrown into prison. The Zhao beauty was also locked up along with Zhang Ao's entire household.
Meanwhile, the beauty from Zhao was nearing childbirth. She repeatedly sent messengers to plead with Liu Bang, hoping he would release her from prison, but Liu Bang, overwhelmed with state affairs, paid her situation no mind. Soon after, she gave birth to a son. Believing Liu Bang would never set her free, she took her own life in despair.
The newborn was quickly brought to Liu Bang. Though he felt some regret, it was too late to undo, so he named the child Liu Chang and entrusted him to Empress Lu Zhi for raising. Liu Chang grew up clever and lively, bearing a strong resemblance to Liu Bang, which endeared him greatly to both the emperor and the empress. At just three years old, Liu Bang appointed him the Prince of Huainan.
After Liu Bang's death, his son Liu Heng ascended the throne, known historically as Emperor Wen of Han. By then, Liu Chang had already taken up his post in Huainan, and emboldened by the fact that his half-brother was emperor, he acted with reckless abandon, doing whatever he pleased. In his own fiefdom, he arrogated imperial regalia and protocols; when he came to the capital to pay homage, he refused to observe the proper rites between ruler and subject, addressing Emperor Wen directly as "Big Brother," and sometimes, when they went hunting together, he insisted on sharing the imperial carriage with the emperor.
The Prince of Huainan's reckless actions infuriated Emperor Wen of Han. Despite repeated warnings from the throne, the prince showed no remorse. Finally, the emperor reached his limit and ordered General Bo Zhao to write a letter demanding the prince submit a formal apology. But Liu Chang, far from repenting, only escalated his defiance and began plotting rebellion.
Emperor Wen of Han, however, had long been aware of Liu Chang's conspiracy and summoned him to the capital before he could raise an army, arresting him. By law, plotting rebellion was a capital offense, but Emperor Wen could not bear to harm his own brother. He issued an edict sparing Liu Chang's life, demoting him to commoner status and ordering him transported to Shu Commandery within a set time. Overcome with regret and resentment, Liu Chang went on a hunger strike and died on the road.
After Liu Chang's death, a folk song circulated: "A foot of cloth can still be sewn, a peck of grain can still be pounded, yet two brothers cannot tolerate each other." This was a sharp satire of the fratricide among the highest ruling class.
Later, the idiom "A Peck of Grain, a Foot of Cloth" came to describe discord between brothers.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Biography of the Prince of Huainan"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "斗粟尺布" came to describe how discord between brothers.