In the Northern Dynasties, Liu was a famous scholar-bureaucrat, and he was also called "Hedong Three Surnames" with Xue and Pei. Liu Zongyuan once proudly said: "The division of Liu nationality is higher in the north. It is filled with stones, and the world is heavy. " Liu Zongyuan's eighth to sixth ancestors were court officials, and the fifth ancestor was the secretariat of Sizhou. After entering the Tang Dynasty, the Liu family had a close relationship with the Li royal family. During the reign alone, 23 members of the Liu family lived in Guanshu at the same time. However, during the Yonghui period, the Liu family was repeatedly persecuted by Wu Zetian. By the time Liu Zongyuan was born, his family had declined, and Liu Zongyuan's great-grandfather and grandfather were only small officials like county magistrates. His father, Jin Ryu, worked as a doctor in the last years of Tianbao in Xuanzong, and continued to be an official after the Anshi Rebellion. His rank has been very low. Liu Zongyuan's mother, Lu, was born in the famous Lu family, but her family has declined. She has two daughters and one son, and Liu Zongyuan is the youngest. His two daughters, Cui Shi in Shandong and Shi Pei in Hedong, are both declining old aristocrats.

Liu Zongyuan said with emotion that by his generation, Liu had "studied for nothing since May and June". The Anshi Rebellion caused another great impact on the Liu family. During the war, Jin Ryu sent his mother to the King of Wu for refuge, and she and her family fled to Wudi. In the south, it was once hard to make a living, and sometimes there was no salary. Liu Zongyuan's mother often starves herself to feed her children.

Liu Zongyuan's family background has made him yearn for the "virtue" and "success" of his ancestors. He often narrates the status and glory of his ancestors in a proud tone, showing his strong desire to revive My Clan and his pursuit of fame.

one's early years

When Liu Zongyuan was born, the "Anshi Rebellion" had just been put down for 20 years. Although the short-lived peace existed for 20 years, the Tang Dynasty had already passed its peaceful and prosperous times and gradually declined. Various social contradictions in the Tang Dynasty developed rapidly, and various social abuses after the middle Tang Dynasty, such as the separatist regime in the buffer region, the eunuch's exclusive power, and the clique's struggle for power, were taking shape.

Liu Zongyuan's family is a family with strong cultural atmosphere. At the age of four, his father went south, and his mother Lushi led him to live in Jingxi Manor. Lushi is a Buddhist, intelligent, virtuous, knowledgeable and has a certain cultural accomplishment. She taught young Liu Zongyuan to recite fourteen ancient poems. It was his mother's enlightenment education that made Liu Zongyuan interested in knowledge. Lushi is diligent in housekeeping and educating his children. When he fled to the south in his early years, he would rather starve himself than feed his relatives. Later, Liu Zongyuan offended the relegated official, and his mother followed her son to the South Emperor in her later years without complaint. She is a typical wife and mother, who embodies many virtues of ancient women in China. Liu Zongyuan was influenced by his mother's good personality since childhood.

In the first year of Zhenyuan (785), Jin Ryu went to Jiangxi as an official. After that, Liu Zongyuan went on a business trip with his father and traveled all over the vast area from Changsha in the south to Jiujiang in the north. This experience brought Liu Zongyuan into direct contact with the society and increased his knowledge. From then on, he began to participate in social activities and make friends, and was valued as a gifted scholar and teenager [Note: Liu Yuxi's preface to Mr. Hedong] "Zi Hou had a strange name for a teenager since Zhenyuan." See the appendix of Liu Zongyuan's Collection. Soon, he returned to Chang 'an.

Liu Zongyuan spent his childhood in Chang 'an. I have heard and felt about the corruption and incompetence of the imperial court and the social crisis and turmoil. When he was nine years old, that is, the second year of Jianzhong in Tang Dezong (78 1), another large-scale separatist war-Jianzhong Rebellion broke out after Anshi Rebellion. The direct cause of the war was that Li died in Chengde Town, and his son Li, with the support of two other towns in Hebei Province and Liang Chongyi, the envoy of Shannan East Road, made a follow-up attack in an attempt to establish a hereditary tradition in the buffer region. Tang Dezong, who was newly succeeded to the throne, disagreed, so the four towns united against the imperial court. Four years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu Zongyuan came to his father's office in Xiakou (now Wuchang, Hubei) to escape the war. However, as Xiakou is a military stronghold, it has become the target of fierce competition between rebels and government troops in Li Xilie. Liu Zongyuan, who was only 12 years old, also experienced the separatist war in the buffer region at this time.

Besides his mother, his father Jin Ryu's personality, knowledge and articles have a more direct influence on Liu Zongyuan. Serina Liu is proficient in Confucian classics. "The group of poems, the politics of books, the straightness, square and macro of the Book of Changes, and the punishment and persuasion in the Spring and Autumn Period are planted inside and written outside, hanging for a while." We can see that he believes in traditional Confucianism, but he is not a pedantic Confucian scholar. He has worked in the county for a long time, and he has some knowledge of the real social situation, and has developed a positive attitude towards life and integrity. He is also good at poetry and prose, and once sang with the famous poet Li Yi at that time. Li Yi admires him very much. Father and mother gave Liu Zongyuan the dual influence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, which laid the foundation for his later thought of "the integration of Confucianism and Buddhism".

be an official

In the spring of the ninth year of Zhenyuan (793), 20-year-old Liu Zongyuan was admitted to Jinshi, and at the same time, his good friend Liu Yuxi was also admitted to Jinshi. In the twelfth year of Zhenyuan (796), Liu Zongyuan was appointed as the secretary of the provincial school, which was regarded as stepping into the officialdom. This year, he married Yang Ping's daughter in Chang 'an. Two years later, he learned a lot of words and changed it to the orthography of Jixian Temple Academy, which allowed him to read widely and broaden his horizons. At the same time, he began to contact courtiers and bureaucrats, understand the situation of officialdom, care about and participate in politics. In the first year of Jixian Temple Academy, he wrote "Love Monument in Yangcheng, Ye Si, Guo Yi" and praised Dr. Yangcheng who had the courage to stick to his own opinions on major political affairs. In the second year, I wrote "Debate and Invasion", which showed my strong desire to persist in unity and oppose separatism.

In the seventeenth year of Zhenyuan (80 1), Liu Zongyuan was transferred to Lantian Wei, and two years later, he was transferred back to Chang 'an, where he served as the army supervisor in Li Xing. At that time, he was 3 1 year old and was an official with Han Yu. Although his rank is very low, his authority is no less than that of Shi Yu. Since then, he has made more friends with the upper echelons of officialdom, gained a deeper understanding of the dark corruption of politics, and gradually sprouted a desire for reform.

Wang He and Wang Lai's Yong Zhen innovation failed only for half a year, but it was a progressive movement that shook the whole country. The measures taken dealt a blow to the autocratic eunuchs and separatist forces in the buffer region at that time, benefiting the country and the people and conforming to the historical development. Liu Zongyuan and his good friend Liu Yuxi are the core figures of this innovation. They are called "Two Kings Liu Liu". Young Liu Zongyuan had a sharp struggle with eunuchs, aristocratic families and old bureaucrats on the political stage. His innovation and spirit of struggle are very valuable.

Yongzhou

With the downfall of Shunzong, Xian Zong came to power, and the innovation failed, the reformists such as "Two Kings Liu Liu" were immediately demoted. In August, Xianzong ascended the throne, and in September, Liu Zongyuan was demoted as the secretariat of Shaozhou (now Shaoyang City, Hunan Province) and Sima of Yongzhou (now Lingling City, Hunan Province). This time, seven people were demoted to Sima at the same time, so history called this incident "two kings and eight Sima events."

Yongzhou is located at the junction of Hunan and Guangdong. It was lonely at that time. It was a terrible place with few people. Liu Zongyuan went to Yongzhou with his 67-year-old mother, cousin Liu Zongzhi and cousin Lu Zun. After they arrived in Yongzhou, they didn't even have a place to live. Later, with the help of a monk, they boarded in longxing temple. Because of the hard life, his mother Lushi died before he arrived in Yongzhou for half a year.

After Liu Zongyuan was demoted, his political opponents still refused to let him go. Gossip and personal attacks turned him into a "strange man", and after several years, he kept cursing. This shows the extent to which conservatives dislike him. In Yongzhou, cruel political persecution and hard living environment made Liu Zongyuan sad, angry, depressed and miserable. Coupled with several ruthless fires, his health was seriously damaged, even to the point where his knees trembled when he walked, but he was paralyzed as soon as he sat down. Liu Zongyuan's political ideal was not shaken by all kinds of persecution and hardships he suffered in his relegation career. In his letter, he clearly stated: "Although everything is excluded, it is nothing more than this."

The fall of Yongzhou 10 year was a major turning point in Liu Zongyuan's life. When he was in Beijing, he directly engaged in innovative activities. After arriving in Yongzhou, his struggle turned to the ideological and cultural field. Ten years in Yongzhou is a decade in which he continued to struggle. He has extensively studied some important issues in philosophy, politics, history and literature since ancient times, and has written articles and books. Most of his masterpieces, such as Feudalism, Unofficial Dialect, Heaven Pair and Six Contradictions, were completed in Yongzhou.

Liuzhou

In the first month of the 10th year of Yuanhe (8 15), Liu Zongyuan and Liu Yuxi were recalled to Beijing. But it has not been reused. Due to hatred of Wu and others, he went to Chang 'an in February and announced his demotion in March. Liu Zongyuan was demoted as the secretariat of Liuzhou (now Liuzhou, Guangxi), and Liu Yuxi was the secretariat of Bozhou. Although it was promoted from Sima to the secretariat, the demoted place was far more secluded and difficult than before. Liu Zongyuan thought Bozhou was more difficult than Liuzhou, and Liu Yuxi had an 80-year-old mother to take care of, so he wrote to the court several times and asked for an exchange with Liu Yuxi. Later, because someone helped, Liu Yuxi changed to Lianzhou and Liu Zongyuan went to Liuzhou.

Liuzhou is farther from the capital Chang 'an than Yongzhou, and it is even more backward and desolate. Most of the residents are ethnic minorities, living in extreme poverty, and their customs and habits are quite different from those of the Central Plains. When Liu Zongyuan first came here, he didn't understand the language and everything was uncomfortable, but he was still determined to use the limited strength of the Secretariat to continue to carry out reforms in this place and do something good for the local people.

In Liuzhou, Liu Zongyuan was determined to abolish the cruel habit of "taking money from men and women as ransom from time to time, and if the child is like this, he will not be a handmaiden", and formulated a set of measures to release the handmaid, stipulating that the slave can calculate his salary by time, restore his personal freedom after paying off his debts, and go home to reunite with his relatives. This move was welcomed by the poor and was later extended to counties outside Liuzhou. In view of the local people's superstitious and backward customs, Liu Zongyuan prohibited Jianghu witch doctors from defrauding people. Organize the development of cultural and educational undertakings, set up schools and popularize medicine, so that Liuzhou, which has never dared to drill wells, has successively drilled several wells and solved the drinking water problem. There are many wasteland in Liuzhou, and Liu Zongyuan organized idle labor to reclaim it. Only one reclaimed wasteland in Dayun Temple has planted 30,000 bamboo poles and hundreds of beds of vegetables. He also attaches importance to tree planting and participates in tree planting activities in person.

In four years, Liu Zongyuan carried out some reforms within the scope of his authority, which benefited one party and actually carried out the reform of the king in some areas. The long-term relegation career, the hardships of life and the mental torture have made Liu Zongyuan's health worse and worse, and he is really old before he is old. His good friend Wu Wuling ran to the door of Pei Du, the ruling minister, many times, trying to save him from Liuzhou to Beijing. Pei Du and Liu Zongyuan are from Hedong. In the fourteenth year of Yuanhe, Xian Zong was pardoned for his honorific title. After Pei Du interceded, Xianzong agreed to remove Liu Zongyuan. However, it is too late. Before the imperial edict arrived in Liuzhou, Liu Zongyuan died with a cavity of grief and indignation at the age of 47. Before his death, Liu Zongyuan wrote to his good friend Liu Yuxi and left the manuscript to him. Later, Liu Yuxi compiled the Collection of Liu Zongyuan.

The picture on the right shows Liu Hou Temple in Liuzhou, Guangxi.

Consistent wood

Liu Zongyuan died in Liuzhou in the 14th year of Tang Yuanhe (AD 8 19). The following year, the coffin was transported back to Yuan Qifeng, Wannian County, Jingzhao (now Xi, Shaanxi Province). "Liuzhou County Records" records: "Zongyuan was originally ruled by Guzhou. Although it was restored, it still closed the land." This soil is now Liu Zongyuan's clothes tomb. The original tomb of Mao was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. The tombstone is entitled "Tomb of Liu Zongyuan in Tang Gaozong" and has a couplet "Wen Neng can live a long life and benefit the people". This tomb was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution. 1974 restoration, Guo Moruo wrote an inscription: "Tomb of Liu Zongyuan in Tang Dynasty". (As shown on the right, it is located in Liu Hou Temple, Liuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region)

For Liu Zongyuan's life story, please refer to Han Yu's Epitaph of Liu Zihou, Biographies of Old and New Tang Books, and Biography of Mr. Liu in Wen 'anli (containing 500 biographies of Liu Zhuji, excluding Crescent Hall Series). Modern works, Shi Liu Zongyuan Chronicle (Journal of Wuhan University,No. 1 issue, 1957, published by Hubei People's Publishing House), and the first draft of Liu Zongyuan Chronicle of Chinese Department of Shanxi Normal University (No.3, 1974) can be used for reference. Regarding Liu Zongyuan's research works, Zhang's Liu is a great discussion about Liu Zongyuan's works based on detailed materials, but it emphasizes Liu's theory of restraining the DPRK.