Liu Ji
Encyclopedia
Liu Ji style name
Bowen and posthumous name
Wencheng (文成), was a military strategist, officer, statesman and poet of the late Yuan
and early Ming Dynasty
period of Chinese history
. He was born in Qingtian County
(present-day Wencheng County
, Zhejiang
). He was the main advisor to the Yuan Dynasty era rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398), who later became the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. (r. 1368-1398). Liu Ji is also known for his prophecies, as he has been described as the "Chinese Nostradamus
". With his contemporary general and scholar Jiao Yu
, he was one of the co-editors of the military treatise known as the Huolongjing
(the Fire Dragon Manual). His most famous military treatise is known as the Lessons of War.
in China, which had ruled since the conquest of the Southern Song Dynasty in 1279. Liu Ji dabbled in many fields of statecraft, philosophy
, scholarly works, and technology. His philosophical outlook was that of a skeptical naturalist, and he became interested in astronomy
, calendrical
science, magnetism
, and fengshui. He was known to be a friendly associate of the mathematician
and alchemist
Zhao Yuqin, and collaborated with his contemporary general and scholar Jiao Yu
to edit and compile the military-technology treatise of the Huolongjing
, which outlined the use of various gunpowder
weapons. He was very interested in the latter, and once said that "thunder is like fire shot from a cannon
".
, and spent much of his early career attempting to save the dynasty from collapse. Liu served the Yuan
as an official for 25 years, gaining a reputation for integrity and honesty, and became known as a distinguished scholar and strategist. In 1348, Liu was appointed to a military position and assigned to put down a southern rebellion against the dynasty. The leader of the rebellion attempted to save himself by offering Liu a bribe. When Liu refused, the rebel went to Beijing and succeeded in bribing his way into favour there.
Once the secessionist had bribed his way into the regime's favour, he was given a public office and a salary. Liu Ji's relationship with the Yuan deteriorated after this event. Liu attempted to resign twice, in 1349 and 1352. He was demoted in 1358, and finally left service to retire in his ancestral homeland. In 1366, when he was fifty-five, Liu was introduced to Zhu Yuanzhang, a former leader of a radical White Lotus Buddhist rebellion who was then the leader of a broad anti-Yuan rebellion.
from Yuan forces. Liu was also responsible for military ventures against opposing Chinese rebel groups, as well as coastal Japanese pirates. His forces owed much of their success to the use of the medieval Chinese firearm
known as the fire lance
. It was during this period that he wrote the books Extrordinary Strategies of a Hundred Battles (百戰奇略) and Eighteen Strategies and Affairs (時務十八策). Later in the rebellion Zhu only rarely relied on Liu to personally command his armies in the field, as he acquired other capable generals, including Xu Da
, Deng Yu
and Chang Yuchun
. Liu was most often consulted for his strategic advice during this period.
In 1368, after eight years of Liu Ji's service, Zhu Yuanzhang unified China. When Zhu founded the Ming Dynasty
, Liu was one of his most trusted advisors, but the relatiohship between Zhu and Liu eventually deteriorated in a manner similar to the way that Liu had become estranged from the Yuan government. In 1375, Liu rejected a man, Hu Weiyong
, for appointment to high office. Hu later obtained an audience with Zhu Yuanzhang and slandered Liu by telling Zhu that Liu was plotting to establish his own power. After convincing Zhu of Liu's treachery, Liu was ejected from office, and Hu Weiyong was promoted.
The precise cause of Liu Ji's death is considered uncertain by modern scholars. Some scholars believe that Liu was poisoned by emperor Zhu Yuanzhang himself, not because Liu failed his duty, but because the emperor was envious and even fearful of his knowledge and influence. Other sources have pointed out that the emperor did kill many people shortly after Liu lost his official position, but they are uncertain about whether Liu was part of this group.
(燒餅歌). The poem is written in cryptic verse and is difficult to understand. Some people believe that the Shaobing Song has predicted future events in China, including the 1449 Mongol invasion
, and the 1911 founding of the Republic of China
.
. The author Chong Tai also wrote a biography on him.
from 23 August 2006 to 12 March 2008, starring Taiwanese actor Huang Shaoqi (黃少祺) as Liu Bowen.
Chinese style name
A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect...
Bowen and posthumous name
Posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life...
Wencheng (文成), was a military strategist, officer, statesman and poet of the late Yuan
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
and early Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
period of Chinese history
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
. He was born in Qingtian County
Qingtian County
Qingtian County is a mountainous county in Zhejiang, China. It is under the administration of the city Lishui. The county capital is Hecheng, also known as Qingtian City.-See also:*Qingtian dialect...
(present-day Wencheng County
Wencheng County
Wencheng County ) is one of the six counties in the prefecture-level city of Wenzhou, Zhejiang. It is located in the southwest of Wenzhou, near Ruian city, Taishun County and Pingyang County.The city is built on the Feiyun Jiang river....
, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
). He was the main advisor to the Yuan Dynasty era rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398), who later became the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. (r. 1368-1398). Liu Ji is also known for his prophecies, as he has been described as the "Chinese Nostradamus
Nostradamus
Michel de Nostredame , usually Latinised to Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties , the first edition of which appeared in 1555...
". With his contemporary general and scholar Jiao Yu
Jiao Yu
Jiao Yu was a Chinese military officer loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang , the founder of the Ming Dynasty . He was entrusted by Emperor Hongwu as a leading artillery officer for the rebel army that overthrew the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, and established the Ming Dynasty...
, he was one of the co-editors of the military treatise known as the Huolongjing
Huolongjing
The Huolongjing is a 14th century military treatise that was compiled and edited by Jiao Yu and Liu Ji of the early Ming Dynasty in China...
(the Fire Dragon Manual). His most famous military treatise is known as the Lessons of War.
Career
Liu Ji served Zhu Yuanzhang in his rebellion against the Mongol-led Yuan DynastyYuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
in China, which had ruled since the conquest of the Southern Song Dynasty in 1279. Liu Ji dabbled in many fields of statecraft, philosophy
Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy is philosophy written in the Chinese tradition of thought. The majority of traditional Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States era, during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and...
, scholarly works, and technology. His philosophical outlook was that of a skeptical naturalist, and he became interested in astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, calendrical
Calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
science, magnetism
Magnetism
Magnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...
, and fengshui. He was known to be a friendly associate of the mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and alchemist
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
Zhao Yuqin, and collaborated with his contemporary general and scholar Jiao Yu
Jiao Yu
Jiao Yu was a Chinese military officer loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang , the founder of the Ming Dynasty . He was entrusted by Emperor Hongwu as a leading artillery officer for the rebel army that overthrew the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, and established the Ming Dynasty...
to edit and compile the military-technology treatise of the Huolongjing
Huolongjing
The Huolongjing is a 14th century military treatise that was compiled and edited by Jiao Yu and Liu Ji of the early Ming Dynasty in China...
, which outlined the use of various gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
weapons. He was very interested in the latter, and once said that "thunder is like fire shot from a cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
".
Early Service in the Yuan Dynasty
Liu Ji earned his Jinshi degree in the final years of the Mongol Yuan DynastyYuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, and spent much of his early career attempting to save the dynasty from collapse. Liu served the Yuan
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
as an official for 25 years, gaining a reputation for integrity and honesty, and became known as a distinguished scholar and strategist. In 1348, Liu was appointed to a military position and assigned to put down a southern rebellion against the dynasty. The leader of the rebellion attempted to save himself by offering Liu a bribe. When Liu refused, the rebel went to Beijing and succeeded in bribing his way into favour there.
Once the secessionist had bribed his way into the regime's favour, he was given a public office and a salary. Liu Ji's relationship with the Yuan deteriorated after this event. Liu attempted to resign twice, in 1349 and 1352. He was demoted in 1358, and finally left service to retire in his ancestral homeland. In 1366, when he was fifty-five, Liu was introduced to Zhu Yuanzhang, a former leader of a radical White Lotus Buddhist rebellion who was then the leader of a broad anti-Yuan rebellion.
Service to Zhu Yuanzhang
Liu Ji served not only in the administration of Zhu Yuanzhang, but also in many battles as a commanding officer on land and water, leading the early Ming naval forces. Zhu Yuanzhang placed Liu Ji in charge of the campaign to conquer all of ZhejiangZhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
from Yuan forces. Liu was also responsible for military ventures against opposing Chinese rebel groups, as well as coastal Japanese pirates. His forces owed much of their success to the use of the medieval Chinese firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
known as the fire lance
Fire lance
The fire lance or fire spear is one of the first gunpowder weapons in the world.- Description :The earliest fire lances were spear-like weapons combining a bamboo tube containing gunpowder and projectiles tied to a Chinese spear. Upon firing, the charge ejected a small projectile or poison dart...
. It was during this period that he wrote the books Extrordinary Strategies of a Hundred Battles (百戰奇略) and Eighteen Strategies and Affairs (時務十八策). Later in the rebellion Zhu only rarely relied on Liu to personally command his armies in the field, as he acquired other capable generals, including Xu Da
Xu Da
Xu Da was a Chinese military general who lived in the early Ming Dynasty and contributed to the founding of the dynasty. Apart from being a friend of the Hongwu Emperor, founding emperor of the dynasty, Xu was also the father of Empress Xu, who would marry the third ruler of the Ming, the Yongle...
, Deng Yu
Deng Yu
Deng Yu , courtesy name Zhonghua , was a Han Dynasty general and statesman who was a major contributor to Emperor Guangwu 's campaign to reestablish the Han Dynasty...
and Chang Yuchun
Chang Yuchun
Chang Yuchun , style name Boren and pseudonym Yanheng , was a Chinese Muslim military general. He was a follower of the Ming Dynasty's founder, Zhu Yuanzhang, and contributed greatly to the founding of the dynasty...
. Liu was most often consulted for his strategic advice during this period.
In 1368, after eight years of Liu Ji's service, Zhu Yuanzhang unified China. When Zhu founded the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, Liu was one of his most trusted advisors, but the relatiohship between Zhu and Liu eventually deteriorated in a manner similar to the way that Liu had become estranged from the Yuan government. In 1375, Liu rejected a man, Hu Weiyong
Hu Weiyong
Hu Weiyong was the last Chancellor of China Ming Dynasty from 1373 to 1380.-Biography:Hu Weiyong was born in HaoZhou, Anhui Province . In 1363 Hu contributed a large number of warship to Zhu Yuanzhang to use for battle with Chen Youliang...
, for appointment to high office. Hu later obtained an audience with Zhu Yuanzhang and slandered Liu by telling Zhu that Liu was plotting to establish his own power. After convincing Zhu of Liu's treachery, Liu was ejected from office, and Hu Weiyong was promoted.
Death
The shock and shame of being groundlessly dismissed from office destroyed Liu's health, and he quickly passed away. Within five years of Liu's death the man who had slandered Liu to achieve office was himself suspected of plotting against Zhu Yuanzhang. In the subsequent orgy of Zhu's paranoid efforts to root out conspiracy, 30-40,000 people were executed.The precise cause of Liu Ji's death is considered uncertain by modern scholars. Some scholars believe that Liu was poisoned by emperor Zhu Yuanzhang himself, not because Liu failed his duty, but because the emperor was envious and even fearful of his knowledge and influence. Other sources have pointed out that the emperor did kill many people shortly after Liu lost his official position, but they are uncertain about whether Liu was part of this group.
Prophecy
Liu Ji's most famous prophecy to Zhu Yuanzhang, written down in a lyrical style, is called the Shaobing SongShaobing song
The “Shaobing Song” or the “Pancake Poem” is a poem purported to be written by Liu Ji, also known by his courtesy name as Liu Bowen, during the Ming dynasty. He supposedly presented the poem to the Hongwu Emperor.-Prophecy:...
(燒餅歌). The poem is written in cryptic verse and is difficult to understand. Some people believe that the Shaobing Song has predicted future events in China, including the 1449 Mongol invasion
Tumu Crisis
The Tumu Crisis ; also called the Crisis of Tumubao or Battle of Tumu Fortress , was a frontier conflict between the Oirat Mongols and the Chinese Ming Dynasty which led to the capture of the Zhengtong Emperor on September 1, 1449 and the loss of an army of 500,000 men to a much smaller force....
, and the 1911 founding of the Republic of China
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...
.
Biographical works
Liu Ji's official biography is found in the 128th chapter of the Ming ShiHistory of Ming
The History of Ming is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the Twenty-Four Histories of China. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of Ming Dynasty from 1368 to 1644, which was written by a number of officials commissioned by the court of Qing Dynasty, with the lead...
. The author Chong Tai also wrote a biography on him.
In popular culture
Shenji Miaosuan Liu Bowen , a 404 episodes long television drama about Liu Bowen, was aired on Taiwan's TTVTaiwan Television
Taiwan Television Enterprise, Ltd. , commonly known as TTV is launched), is the first television broadcast station in Taiwan...
from 23 August 2006 to 12 March 2008, starring Taiwanese actor Huang Shaoqi (黃少祺) as Liu Bowen.