Liu was born into a poor peasant family in Yangtang Township,
Yongxing County,
Hunan, on 15 May 1942. In 1961, he was accepted to Beijing Medical College (now
Peking University), where he majored in the Department of Pharmacy (now School of Pharmaceutical Sciences). After university in 1965, Liu became pharmacology team leader of the Beijing Pharmaceutical Industry Research Institute, and served until December 1969, when he was transferred as the similar position to Hunan Pharmaceutical Industry Research Institute. In March 1982, he worked successively at
Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry, and Tianjin Institute of Materia Medica. On 25 July 2024, Liu died in
Beijing, at the age of 82. == Honours and awards ==