Liu Xu

Liu Xu was born in 887, during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang. His family was from Zhuo Prefecture (涿州, in modern Baoding, Hebei). His grandfather Liu Cheng () and father Liu Yin () both served as officers at You Prefecture (幽州, in modern Beijing).) and younger brother Liu Hao () were known in their home territory. Sometime during the Tianyou era (904-907), there was a time when forces of the Khitan captured Zhuo, and Liu Xu was captured and taken to Xin Prefecture (新州, in modern Zhangjiakou, Hebei), but he escaped his Khitan captors. He later took up residence at Mount Daning (), living with Lü Mengqi () (later a Later Tang official as well) and Zhang Lin (), spending the time reciting and writing poems. — Liu requested to leave governmental service. Instead, Wang Du invited him to go to Yiwu's capital Zhongshan () with Wang Du. At that time, Liu Xu's older brother Liu Xuan also arrived from Zhuo, and Wang Du recommended both of them to his father Wang Chuzhi. Wang Chuzhi commissioned Liu Xu as his secretary in headquarter matters, and shortly after promoted to him to be the secretary in Wang Chuzhi's role as governor (觀察使, Guanchashi). About two years later, in 921, Wang Du seized control of the circuit from his father Wang Chuzhi in a coup. As one of Wang Du's close associates, He Shaowei (), had previous disputes with Liu Xuan, he made false accusations against Liu Xuan, and Wang Du killed Liu Xuan. Liu Xu fled the circuit, and took up residence at Cang Prefecture (滄州, in modern Cangzhou, Hebei), in Jin territory. The military governor of Henghai Circuit (橫海, headquartered at Cang Prefecture), Li Cunshen, invited him to serve as secretary. == During Later Tang ==

During Li Cunxu's reign After Li Cunshen's lord and adoptive brother Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin claimed the title of emperor (of a new Later Tang) in 923, he made Liu Xu a Taichang Boshi (), a scholar at the ministry of worship (太常寺, Taichang Si), and shortly after an imperial scholar (翰林學士, Hanlin Xueshi). He was also made Shanbu Yuanwailang (), a low-level official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Libu), and later promoted to be Bibu Langzhong (), a supervisory official at the ministry of justice (刑部, Xingbu). He later left governmental service for some time when his mother died, to observe a period of mourning. After the period was complete, he was made Kubu Langzhong (), a supervisory official at the ministry of defense (兵部, Bingbu), and also resumed his role as imperial scholar. After Li Siyuan became emperor, Liu Xu was made a Zhongshu Sheren (), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng); he later also assumed the posts of deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, Hubu Shilang) and scholar at Duanming Hall (). It was said that Li Siyuan respected him for his gracefulness and favored him for his mild disposition. he was also made the minister of justice (刑部尚書, Xingbu Shangshu). After Li Congke took the throne, he put Liu in charge of the three financial agencies (taxation, treasury, and salt and iron monopolies), after the official Wang Mei (), whom he initially put in charge of the three agencies, was found to inflate the amount of treasury reserves. He was also given the additional titles of minister of civil service affairs (吏部尚書, Libu Shangshu) and Menxia Shilang (門下侍郎, deputy head of the examination bureau (門下省, Menxia Sheng)). Shortly after, Feng Dao, one of whose children had married one of Liu's children, was sent out of the capital to serve as the military governor of Kuangguo Circuit (匡國, headquartered in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), leaving Liu and Li Yu serving as chancellors. Without Feng to moderate them, they quickly developed frequent arguments, as Liu was said to be critical and paying attention to details, while Li Yu was said to be strong-willed, particularly because when they discussed what changes might be necessary, Li Yu would satirize Liu and Feng's children's marital relationship by stating, "This was the doing of your wise marital relations. Is it not right to change it?" With them in frequent disputes, not much was being done at the office of the chancellors, causing much aggravation for Li Congke. Li Congke thus made Lu Wenji an additional chancellor. Meanwhile, after Liu took over the three financial agencies from Wang, he had his secretary Gao Yanshang () carefully go through the records to see how much money the treasury actually still had. He discovered that much of the purported treasury reserves were in fact uncollectible debts that the administrators kept on the books to use as excuses to harshly collect from the people. Liu reported this to Li Congke and advocated a two-pronged approach — that the government make all efforts to collect the collectible debts but forgive the uncollectible ones. Li Congke's chief of staff Han Zhaoyin concurred in this, and Li Congke issued an edict forgiving much of the debts that were accumulated from before Li Siyuan's Changxing era (930-933). The poor were very thankful, but the administrators at the three agencies resented Liu for this reform. When, shortly after, Liu and Li Yu were removed from their chancellor posts, with Liu being made You Pushe () and no longer in charge of the three agencies, the administrators were all celebrating, and none of them accompanied Liu on his journey back to his mansion, as was customary. == During Later Jin ==

During Shi Jingtang's reign In 936, Shi Jingtang rebelled against Li Congke at Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) and, with support from Khitan Empire's Emperor Taizong, overthrew Li Congke, ending Later Tang and starting his own Later Jin. However, for quite some time, his realm was not pacified, and in 937, when the major general Fan Yanguang rose against Shi at Tianxion Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei), the general Zhang Congbin () rose at Luoyang (which was no longer capital at that point — Kaifeng was) in support of Fan and killed Shi's sons Shi Chongxin () the military governor of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo, Henan) and Shi Chong'ai () the acting defender of Luoyang, whom Shi Jingtang left in charge of the region. After Zhang's rebellion was suppressed shortly after, Shi Jingtang made Liu Xu the defender of Luoyang and the acting mayor of Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the Luoyang region), and soon thereafter put him back in charge of the directorate of salt and iron monopolies. He was also put in charge of editing the imperial history and directing the three financial agencies. (However, Zhao Ying, who had served as chancellor during Shi Jingtang's reign, appeared to have begun the work with five other historians, including Zhang, in or shortly before 941.) Also in 945, when Shi Chonggui's close associates Feng Yu (the brother of Shi Chonggui's wife Empress Feng) and Li Yangtao () were repeatedly defaming the chancellor-chief of staff Sang Weihan, Shi considered removing Sang from his posts, but at the urging of Liu and fellow chancellor Li Song, did not do so, although he made Feng Yu a chief of staff as well to divide Sang's authorities. == After Later Jin's fall ==

In 946, after Shi Chonggui sent the generals Du Wei and Li Shouzhen to attack Liao, Liao's Emperor Taizong counterattacked, surrounding Du and Li and getting them to surrender to him. He then attacked south toward Kaifeng, which was left undefended. Shi surrendered, ending Later Jin. Emperor Taizong thereafter, in early 947, declared himself the emperor of China as well. For sometime, Liu and the other Later Jin chancellors remained chancellor, but Liu shortly after requested to resign based on an eye ailment. He was allowed to do so, and was given the title of Taibao. When Emperor Taizong withdrew from Kaifeng later that year, he took many of the high-level former Later Jin officials with him, but Liu was allowed to remain at Kaifeng due to his ailment. He died in the summer of 947. After the Later Jin general Liu Zhiyuan subsequently claimed the title of emperor of a new Later Han, he posthumously honored Liu. == Notes and references ==

• History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 89. • New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 55. • Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 278, 279, 281, 284, 286, 287. ==External links==