Liu Xizai


Liu Xizai was a Chinese literati of the Qing Dynasty. He was regarded as the Hegel of the East.

Name variations

Liu is the family name, or surname. His given name is Xizai. His courtesy name was Bójiǎn. He may also be known by the pseudonym, Róngzhāi or Wùyázǐ.

Life

The book, The Record of Xing Hua remains the primary source of bibliographical material on Liu Xizai. More sources include internal evidence from articles by or about Liu Xizai, and other sources.
In 1813, Liu Xizai was born in Xinghua, Jiangsu. When he was ten years old, his father died. Several years later, his mother also died. The young Xizai read extensively and engaged in studying. He made friends with Wō Rén and many other intelligent peers. In 1864, he served as a teacher in Guozijian and made great contributions. He finished his autobiography when he was very old. In 1881, he died at the age of 69.

Works

Most of his works focus on criticizing literature. They are considered important to the development of Chinese culture.

Brief introduction of his major books

Liu Xizai has had a great influence in China for his correct and outstanding appreciation of quantities of literature books or poem written by many famous people such as Du Fu, Wang Wei, Liu Yuxi and so on. He provided people with different perspectives to comment on traditional Chinese culture.