Starting from Zhu Wen's establishment of the Later Liang, Chinese history entered the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Five Dynasties refer to the five successive central plain regimes: Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou, while the Ten Kingdoms is a general term for over a dozen separatist regimes, including Former Shu, Later Shu, Wu, Southern Tang, Wuyue, Min, Chu, Southern Han, Southern Ping (Jingnan), and Northern Han.
In 907 AD, Qian Liu established the Wuyue Kingdom, one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, with its capital at Hangzhou. At its peak, although the Wuyue Kingdom was not vast in territory, it still spanned 13 prefectures, encompassing the entirety of present-day Zhejiang Province, the southwestern part of Jiangsu Province, and the northeastern part of Fujian Province.
Qian Liu was born in Lin'an, Hangzhou, and his father was merely an ordinary farmer. Unlike many ancient emperors whose births were often accompanied by so-called auspicious signs, when Qian Liu was born, an army and horse-drawn carriages happened to pass by outside his home. His father considered this a highly ominous omen and nearly threw the infant Qian Liu into a well because of it, but fortunately, someone stopped him in time.
Qian Liu, who narrowly escaped death, once traded illegal salt in his youth and later joined the Tang government's loyalist army, serving under the military governor Dong Chang, steadily earning promotions. During battles against rebellious military governors like Liu Honghong, Qian Liu gradually seized control of the Liangzhe region. Subsequently, he was appointed prefect of Hangzhou and, a few years later, promoted to military governor of Zhenhai, dominating the Liangzhe area. In 895 AD, Dong Chang rebelled against the Tang and declared himself emperor, prompting Qian Liu to launch a campaign against him. A year later, Qian Liu defeated Dong Chang, and Dong Chang's former territory of Yuezhou naturally fell into Qian Liu's hands. After this campaign, the Tang government appointed Qian Liu as military governor of both Zhenhai and Zhendong, and in 902 AD, he was enfeoffed as the King of Yue, then two years later, as the King of Wu. In 907 AD, Zhu Wen established the Later Liang dynasty and conferred upon Qian Liu the title of King of Wuyue.
Compared to the other separatist regimes among the Ten Kingdoms, the situation in Wuyue was relatively stable. During his reign, Qian Liu implemented a series of reform measures to boost agricultural production. He undertook major water conservancy projects, managed river channels, and extensively built dikes, including the stone embankment on the Qiantang River, which he organized the construction of, earning him the respectful title "Dragon King of the Sea" from the people of Wuyue. Additionally, he continuously expanded the polder fields around Lake Tai to increase grain output. Wuyue's handicraft industry was highly developed, with papermaking, textiles, and ceramics renowned both domestically and internationally, among which the fine secret-color celadon was particularly famous. Building on this foundation, Qian Liu vigorously developed Wuyue's foreign trade, conducting commercial exchanges via sea routes with the Central Plains, Khitan, Japan, and the Arab Empire. During his reign, he developed Mingzhou (present-day Ningbo, Zhejiang) into a major trading port for Wuyue and transformed Hangzhou into the political, economic, and cultural center of the kingdom.
Qian Liu was a highly vigilant person, which was inseparable from the chaotic social environment he lived in and closely related to his father's teachings. After becoming a military governor, Qian Liu lived a very luxurious life, residing in comfortable mansions on ordinary days, traveling by carriage or horse when going out, and accompanied by a large entourage. His father strongly disapproved of Qian Liu's behavior and issued him a warning. Qian Liu was able to recognize his mistakes and correct them, and from then on, no matter what he did, he strived to be cautious.
His pillow was called the "Alert Pillow," a cylindrical piece of wood. When sleeping on such a pillow, as one fell into a deep slumber, the head would naturally slide off the wood, effectively preventing sound sleep. Moreover, to avoid delaying important matters, soldiers were stationed outside Qian Liu's door all night. If anything happened, the guards would immediately notify Qian Liu. One night, Qian Liu saw a guard sleeping on duty and threw a few copper pellets at the wall. The guard, hearing the sound, woke up instantly. From then on, no guard dared to doze off while on duty.
Qian Liu once went out of the city in plain clothes and returned late at night. By then, the city gates had already been closed, and Qian Liu had no choice but to shout outside, demanding the gatekeeper on duty to open the gate for him. That gatekeeper, unaware that he was Qian Liu, refused his request, citing that it was too late. Moreover, the gatekeeper added that even if the King of Wuyue himself came to call, the gates could not be opened at such an hour. Qian Liu had to enter the city through another gate instead. After this incident, the gatekeeper was praised and rewarded by Qian Liu for his diligent and responsible work.
Qian Liu kept a plate filled with powder in his bedroom. At night, if any ideas came to him, he would write them down in the powder to prevent forgetting, and then put them into practice when dawn came.
During Qian Liu's reign, the Wuyue region enjoyed stability, economic prosperity, and a peaceful life for its people. Unfortunately, Qian Liu did not maintain his cautious approach to the end. After securing his rule, he began large-scale construction of lavish palaces, consuming vast amounts of manpower and resources, and indulged in an extravagant lifestyle. His son, Qian Yuanguan, followed suit after succeeding him. The heavy taxes and corvée labor became unbearable for the people, plunging them into increasing poverty and hardship. Thus, this King of Wuyue had both merits and faults, and historians have long held mixed opinions about him.