Liu Xu

Liu Xu (887–946), courtesy name Yaoyuan, was a native of Guiyi in Zhuozhou (present-day area of Xiongxian and Rongcheng, Hebei) during the Five Dynasties. He served the Later Tang and Later Jin dynasties, rising to such posts as Vice Minister of the Secretariat, Minister of Personnel, Minister of Works, and Joint Manager of Affairs, and was twice commissioned to supervise the compilation of dynastic history. In the second year of the Kaiyun era, he presided over the completion of the 200-volume Book of Tang, later known as the Old Book of Tang, one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Three works are included in the library: Brief Biographies of Princess Taiping and Shangguan Zhaorong, Brief Biography of Li Chunfeng, and Brief Biography of Geshu Han, all falling under general biography. These pieces focus on Tang figures, are concise in style, and attend to historical fact, making them extensions of his historical compilation work. Liu Xu's main contribution lies in preserving Tang historical sources and providing later generations with a systematic textual basis for understanding Tang figures and institutions.