Writers › Writer / Poet
Liu Xiaochuo
Liang-dynasty writer paired with He Xun as the 'He-Liu' poets, who rose to director of the Palace Library.
In a study at night, a desk holds a brush pot, a porcelain vase with a plum branch, a lit red lantern, a folded fan and an unrolled blank scroll, with no one seated there, while through a round window the moon rises over a lake with a sailboat.
Also known as Born Liu Ran · Secretary Liu
Liu Xiaochuo, born Liu Ran and known by his courtesy name, came from Pengcheng (modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) and was born in 481. He served as editor in the Palace Library, then as palace library assistant and imperial reader, was dismissed after an impeachment, and was recalled in the Datong era to serve as counsellor to the Prince of Xiangdong, grand master of the crown prince's stables and head of the Personnel Bureau. He died in 539 as director of the Palace Library. Many of his poems are preserved in the Yutai Xinyong; his collected works are lost, and a Ming editor assembled Liu Mishu Ji.
Life and times
Dates 481 CE–539 CE