Liu Zongyuan

Liu Zongyuan (773–819), courtesy name Zihou, was a native of Hedong (present-day Yuncheng, Shanxi) in the Tang Dynasty. A renowned writer, thinker and statesman, he is counted among the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song. Together with Han Yu he championed the Classical Prose Movement, and he achieved distinction in both prose and poetry. The library holds 17 of his works, spanning categories such as classical poetry, social sciences, classic works and literary appreciation, including the multi-volume Collected Works of Liu Zongyuan, an anthology of the Eight Great Prose Masters featuring Liu Zongyuan, and Twelve Tang Nao Ge Drum and Bugle Songs. His representative works, such as The Eight Records of Yongzhou, The Story of the Snake Catcher and River Snow, express feeling through landscape, critique social ills, or convey aspirations through objects, with concise language and profound meaning that have deeply influenced later prose and poetry. Public information on the details of his life is limited, so this introduction focuses on his literary achievements and the character of his works.