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Liu Bingzhong

Founding chancellor of the Yuan Dynasty who designed the imperial capitals (Daidu and Shangdu) and shaped the provincial administrative system.

Also known as Zi Zhonghui · Cong Shuji · Grand Guardian Liu Bingzhong

Liu Bingzhong (1216 CE–1274 CE) was Kublai Khan's foremost advisor. He coined the dynastic title 'Da Yuan', planned the spatial layout of Beijing (Daidu), and structured the provincial (Xingsheng) governing apparatus.

Life and times

  1. 1216 CEBornSongYuan
  2. 1260Creation of the Provincial SystemTook partage 44Establishing the Branch Secretariat (Xingsheng), creating the lasting territorial template for Chinese provinces.
  3. 1271Establishment of DaduTook partage 55Kublai built Dadu northeast of the former Jin capital, using axial palaces and a gridded plan for the Yuan imperial center.
    1. Liu Bingzhong Builds Kaiping Prefecturec. 1256age 40In 1256 Kublai commissioned Liu Bingzhong to design and build Kaiping Prefecture; the project was completed around 1259 and later became Yuan Shangdu.
    2. Kublai Proclaims the Great Yuan1260age 44Kublai Khan proclaimed the Great Yuan Dynasty in 1271 CE, constructing the planned imperial capital of Khanbaliq (Beijing).
  4. 1274 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Poetry3
    1. Collected Works of CangchunYuanLiu Bingzhong's collection, quiet verse by the monk turned planner of Khubilai's capitals
    2. Collected Works of Cangchun: Juan 4 (Seven-character Quatrains)Yuan
    3. Collected Works of Cangchun: Easing My Mind; Setting Out at Dawn (Two Quatrains)Yuan
  2. Literature · Drama1
    1. Withered Lotus LeavesYuanLiu Bingzhong's early Yuan sanqu on withered lotus, mourning the Song among Hangzhou's hills

Connections

  1. Teachers and students1
    1. Guo ShoujingStudent · 1231 CE–1316 CE
  2. Rulers and officials1
    1. Kublai KhanSovereign · 1215 CE–1294 CE