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Liu Xiang (77–6BCE), born Liu Gengsheng and bearing the
courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theo ...
Zizheng, was a Chinese astronomer, historian, poet, politician, librarian, and writer of the
Western Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...
. Among his polymathic scholarly specialties were history, literary bibliography, and astronomy. He is particularly well known for his bibliographic work in cataloging and editing the extensive imperial library.


Life

Liu Gengsheng was born in
Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
. Being a distant relative of
Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Empe ...
, the founder of the Han dynasty, he was thus a member of the ruling dynastic clan (the
Liu family House of Liu was the ruling house of the Han dynasty (206 BC–9 AD, 25–220 AD). House of Liu may also refer to: *The ruling house of (592 BC–?) *The ruling house of Shu Han (221–263) *The ruling house of Former Zhao (304–329) *The ruling ...
). Liu Xiang's father ranked as a
marquess A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman ...
. Liu Xiang's son, Liu Xin, would continue the scholarly tradition of his father and his relative
Liu An Liú Ān (, c. 179–122 BC) was a Han dynasty Chinese prince, ruling the Huainan Kingdom, and an advisor to his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han (武帝). He is best known for editing the (139 BC) '' Huainanzi'' compendium of Daoist, Confucianist, a ...
(the Prince of Huainan). By the beginning of Han Yuandi's reign, Liu Xiang was a member of a group of Confucian officials, including Xiao Wangzhi, who wished to limit the power of the emperor's female family members relatives' clans, the Shi and the Xu. He ended up on the losing side of a power struggle between the powerful eunuch's Hong Gong and Shi Xian. Briefly imprisoned, Liu Xiang was terminated from his official position, and he received no new appointments to the office for the next fifteen years. The succession of Emperor Cheng to the imperial throne was accompanied by a realignment of power among the various factions involved in government, and Liu Xiang was able to revive his official prospects. In 26 BCE, at the command of the emperor, Liu Xiang spent much of the rest of the 20-odd years of his life engaged in the massive bibliographic work of organizing the imperial library. This work was assisted by his son, Liu Xin, who finally completed the task after his father's death.


Works

Liu compiled the first catalogue of the imperial library, the ''Abstracts'' ''Bielu''), and is the first known editor of the ''
Classic of Mountains and Seas The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shan Hai Jing'', formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed sin ...
'' (''Shanhaijing''), which was finished by his son. Liu also edited collections of stories and biographies, including the ''
Strategies of the Warring States The ''Zhan Guo Ce'', ( W-G: Chan-kuo T'se) also known in English as the ''Strategies of the Warring States'' or ''Annals of the Warring States'', is an ancient Chinese text that contains anecdotes of political manipulation and warfare during the ...
'' (''Zhanguoce''), the ''New Prefaces'' (, ''Xinxu''), the '' Garden of Stories'' (, ''Shuoyuan''), and the '' Biographies of Exemplary Women'' (''Lienüzhuan''). He has long erroneously been credited with compiling the '' Biographies of the Immortals'' (''Liexian Zhuan''), a collection of Taoist hagiographies and hymns.. Liu Xiang was also a poet. He is credited with the " Nine Laments" (''"Jiu Tan"'') that appears in the '' Songs of Chu''.Hawkes, 280


See also

*
Confucian classics Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...
*
Guodian Chu Slips The Guodian Chu Slips () were unearthed in 1993 in Tomb no. 1 of the Guodian tombs in Jingmen, Hubei Province and dated to the latter half of the Warring States period. The tomb is located in the Jishan District's tomb complex, near the Jingmen ...
*
Liu An Liú Ān (, c. 179–122 BC) was a Han dynasty Chinese prince, ruling the Huainan Kingdom, and an advisor to his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han (武帝). He is best known for editing the (139 BC) '' Huainanzi'' compendium of Daoist, Confucianist, a ...
* Science and technology of the Han Dynasty *
Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years be ...
*
Sima Tan Sima Tan (; 165–110  BCE) was a Chinese astrologer and historian during the Western Han dynasty. His work ''Records of the Grand Historian'' was completed by his son Sima Qian, who is considered the founder of Chinese historiography. Ed ...


Notes


References

* Fei, Zhengang
"Liu Xiang"
''
Encyclopedia of China The ''Encyclopedia of China'' () is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began in 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, begin ...
'' (Philosophy Edition), 1st ed. * Hawkes, David, translator and introduction (2011 985. Qu Yuan ''et al.'', ''The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets''. London: Penguin Books. * Loewe, Michael. (1986). "The Former Han Dynasty," in ''The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220, 103–222''. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Xiang 6 BC deaths 1st-century BC Chinese historians 1st-century BC Chinese philosophers Ancient Chinese astronomers Chinese librarians Chinese Confucianists Han dynasty historians Han dynasty poets Han dynasty politicians from Jiangsu Han dynasty science writers Historians from Jiangsu Politicians from Xuzhou Scientists from Xuzhou Writers from Xuzhou