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Exploring Liu Zongyuan's Life, Great AchievementsByXie Lin December 24, 2023
Liuhou Memorial Temple is a well-known historical and cultural site in Liuzhou, a city in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The memorial temple was built by the locals in ancient times to commemorate Liu Zongyuan (773-819), a well-known politician, thinker and literary master during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The memorial temple is a calling card of Liuzhou. Liu is one of the greats in the annals of Chinese culture. Why? He was a leading proponent of the Classical Prose Movement, a literary reform movement during the Tang and Song (960-1279) dynasties. The movement advocated a clarify and precision — rather than richly ornamented — literary style. He and Han Yü, a poet, essayist and initiator of the movement, strove to liberate writers from the formal style of parallel prose, which had been in vogue for nearly 1,000 years. Liu was praised by his literati peers, and he was regarded by later scholars as one of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties."
During that time, Liu turned his attention to literature. He wrote numerous letters, poems, fables, essays and travel notes. His literary career flourished. Throughout the centuries, his poems and essays have remained popular.
In 815, Liu was forced to relocate to Liuzhou, where he served as the city's governor. He organized the locals to renovate the city's Confucian Temple, and he strived to develop the local education system. He established schools, and he encouraged local children to learn how to read and write. He organized the locals to dig the city's first well, to eradicate their bad habit of drinking river water. He also organized the locals to open up the wasteland, plant trees, and grow crops and vegetables, to help them escape both poverty and hunger. Liu died in Liuzhou in 819.
Liu's contributions to Liuzhou will shine forever. He set a great example for officials during ancient times. Countless officials and literati visited the temple during the Tang and following dynasties. During their visits, many wrote poems or articles to pay their respects.
Now, the temple is a base for children and teenagers to learn traditional Chinese culture, and a place for experts and scholars to study Liu's works. All of the temple's docents are women. The docents not only provide guide services, they also organize educational activities, especially aimed at teenagers, to promote Liu's stories, Chinese history and traditional Chinese culture. The team of docents was named an outstanding collective by Liuzhou Women's Federation in 2015.
Photos Supplied by Liuzhou Museum, Guangxi and Liuzhou Women's Federations (Women of China English Monthly November 2023 issue) 32.3KPlease understand that womenofchina.cn,a non-profit, information-communication website, cannot reach every writer before using articles and images. For copyright issues, please contact us by emailing: [email protected]. The articles published and opinions expressed on this website represent the opinions of writers and are not necessarily shared by womenofchina.cn. CommentsMagazinesProjects
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