18 Facts About Liu Yuxi

Liu Yuxi was a Chinese essayist, philosopher, and poet active during the Tang dynasty.

The putative 'seventh generation' family head, Liu Liang, was an official of the Northern Wei, who followed the Emperor Xiaowen when he established the capital at Luoyang in 494.

That same year, Liu Yuxi went on to pass the higher examination.

In 800, Liu Yuxi became a secretary to the important scholar-official Du You who had been made the military governor of Xusihao Circuit, in charge of suppressing an insurrection in Xuzhou, enabling Liu Yuxi to see army life at first hand.

Liu Yuxi was transferred to be a registrar in Weinan, Shaanxi.

Liu Yuxi was sent to Lianzhou in Guangdong to be the local governor, then redirected, in a further demotion, to Langzhou in Hunan.

Liu Yuxi Zongyuan was sent to Yongzhou, another city in the same province.

In 821, Liu Yuxi was again transferred to Kuizhou, then transferred to another post at Hezhou.

In 826, Liu Yuxi was again recalled, this time to Luoyang, ending the long period of his banishment from the court.

In 830, Pei Du resigned as chancellor, and Liu Yuxi was again given a provincial post, this time as governor in Suzhou, where his work on flood control was particularly appreciated.

Liu Yuxi died in the autumn of 842 at the age of 71.

Liu Yuxi was given the posthumous rank of 'Minister of Revenue'.

Liu Yuxi excelled in the shorter, more complex forms of Chinese poetry.

Liu Yuxi was a close friend and colleague of three great contemporary poets: Liu Zongyuan, Han Yu and Bai Juyi.

Bai was born in the same year as Liu Yuxi and referred to "Liu and Po, those two mad old men" in at least one poem dedicated to Liu.

Two of Liu Yuxi's poems were included in one of the first collections of English translations of Chinese literature: Herbert Giles's 1898 Chinese Poetry in English Verse:.

Li Yuxi was involved in a philosophical debate with his fellow literati, the poets Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan, concerning the duality of heaven and earth.

Han Yu, as a Confucian, regarded Heaven as paramount, whereas Liu Yuxi Zongyuan regarded them as separate spheres.