Liu Shaozi () was a nephew of

Liu Congxiao Liu Congxiao (; 906-962), formally the Prince of Jinjiang (), was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Min. After Min's fall, he initially submitted to Southern Tang (which had conquered Min), but eventually, taking ...

, a warlord late in the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

. Under some traditional accounts, he briefly controlled Qingyuan Circuit (headquartered in modern

Quanzhou Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

) after his uncle Liu Congxiao's death before being overthrown by the officers

Chen Hongjin Chen Hongjin () (914–985), courtesy name Jichuan (), formally Duke Zhongshun of Qi (), was a warlord late in the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, who controlled Qingyuan Circuit (headquartered in modern Quanzhou, Fujian). After a ...

and

Zhang Hansi Zhang Hansi (張漢思) was a military officer of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Min. After Min's fall, he served under Liu Congxiao, who controlled Qingyuan Circuit (headquartered in modern Quanzhou, Fujian), in nominal ...

. Liu Congxiao had controlled Qingyuan as its military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

'') ever since then late 940s. As he was sonless, he adopted both Liu Shaozi and Liu Shaozi's older brother Liu Shaoji () as his sons. (Both Liu Shaoji and Liu Shaozi were biological sons of Liu Congxiao's older brother Liu Congyuan ()'' History of Song'', vol. 483. Liu Congxiao apparently died in 962, while being vassals of both

Southern Tang Southern Tang () was a state in Southern China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which proclaimed itself to be the successor of the former Tang dynasty. The capital was located at Nanjing in present-day Jiangsu Province ...

and

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

. Under the account given in the ''

Xu Zizhi Tongjian ''Xu Zizhi Tongjian'' (續資治通鑑; "Continuation to ''Zizhi Tongjian''") was a book chronicling Chinese history of the Song dynasty between 960 and 1279 and the Yuan dynasty between 1279 and 1370. Credited to Bi Yuan (畢沅; 1730–1797), a ...

'' (also adopted in the ''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and before the reunification of China ...

''), after Liu Congxiao's death, as Liu Shaoji was then on a tributary mission sent by Liu Congxiao to the Southern Tang court, Liu Shaozi took over as acting military governor. However, not long after, Chen seized him and falsely accused him of planning to submit to

Wuyue Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in t ...

, and then delivered him to Southern Tang and supported Zhang as the new acting military governor.''

'', vol. 2. Under the account in the '' History of Song'', the coup happened before Liu Congxiao's death, and therefore (implicitly) Liu Shaozi never controlled the circuit—but under Chen's biography, it gave the same account as the ''Xu Zizhi Tongjian'' (i.e., the coup was during Liu Shaozi's rule). What Liu Shaozi's fate was after being delivered to Southern Tang was not recorded in history.

Notes and references

* '' History of Song'', vol. 483. * ''

''
vol. 93
* ''

'', vol. 2. , - style="text-align: center; {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Shaozi 10th-century births Hokkien people Politicians from Quanzhou Generals from Fujian Southern Tang politicians Southern Tang generals Song dynasty politicians from Fujian Song dynasty generals Year of death unknown