⬅️ 唐诗 Tang Poems
Liu Zongyuan (柳宗元，773-819 AD) was a poet, writer and philosopher of Tang Dynasty. He came among the top three in the prestigious Jinshi (进士) examination at age of 20, which brought him the instant fame. After he passed the civil service examination, Liu Zongyuan started his political career from a low level position.
When Emperor Shunzong (顺宗) succeeded to the throne in 805 AD, he favored a reformist named Wang Shuwen (王叔文). Since Liu Zongyuan shared the similar ideas with Wang, he became one of the inner circles of Wang Shuwen. They implemented some policies in efforts to improve the imperial government, including to strip power from eunuchs and local military governs and restore it to the emperor. They also abolished a practice called Gongshi (宫市, palace market). Gongshi gave the eunuchs permission to go to the open market to forcibly purchase goods from merchants at very low prices, or sometimes without paying at all. It was robbery in its nature and was deemed the worst policy at that time. Wang Shuwen and Liu Zongyuan also pardoned taxes owed by common people and banned the notorious Five Workshops (五坊).Five Workshops were places to raise five kinds of animals for the emperor. For a long time eunuchs working there engaged in bully, extortion and coercion.
Emperor Shunzong's reign was rather short due to his health condition. In just eight months, he was forced by eunuchs and military governors to pass the throne to his crown prince, the later Emperor Xianzong (宪宗). The reform lasted only 180 days. Wang Shuwen and all his reformists associates were exiled to remote regions of the empire. Eventually Wang was ordered to commit suicide. Liu Zongyuan was exiled to Yongzhou, Hunan （永州，湖南） first and then to Liuzhou, Guangxi (柳州，广西).
Liu Zongyuan spent the rest of his life in exile. He never had the chance to go back to Chang'an. However, his writing flourished during his exile. All of his 140 poems extant were composed in this period. He also produced hundreds of fables, travelogues and essays with subjects covering political ideas, philosophy, social satire and the depiction of nature. He was classed as one of the "Eight Great Prose Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties".
Liu Zongyuan spent his last five years as the governor in Liuzhou, Guangxi (柳州，广西), a quite remote place located in the southwest of China. The exile did not kill his enthusiasm for social reform. There was a tradition in Liuzhou that men and women could be used as the collateral for a loan. If the loan was at default, the men or women would become slaves to the creditors. Once Liu Zongyuan took the office, he ordered to abolish the practice and announced various schemes for the repayment of the debts, including to covert the working hours of men and women as the collateral to money and to deduct it from debts owed. And he used his own money to redeem the debt slaves for the poor families. Liu Zongyuan taught local people how to drill wells so they can have clean water. He also opened schools and encouraged children to get education.
In 819 AD, the Emperor Xianzong pardoned Liu Zongyuan and recalled him back to Chang'an. Before the edict arrived, Liu Zongyuan died at age 47. People in Liuzhou built a memorial temple to honor him after his death. The temple still stands there today.
