[1]Name, dates, and identityLiu Yu was born in 1463, has no confirmed year of death in the evidence, and was a Ming official associated with astronomy and geography.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The record names Liu Yu, places him in the Ming, and classifies him under astronomy and geography.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographical entries give 1463 as his birth year, do not supply a definite death year, and describe him as an astronomer of the Ming period.
WikidataLiu Yu (Q30943976)The item gives his English name as Liu Yu and describes him as a Ming dynasty politician.
[2]Style name, sobriquet, birth order, and native placeLiu Yu was styled Xianli, used the sobriquet Zhizhai, was sixth in birth order, and was from Wan'an in Jiangxi.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The name records give his birth-order designation as six, his style name as Xianli, his sobriquet as Zhizhai, and Wan'an as both native place and registered home.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographical entries call him Xianli and Zhizhai and identify him as a native of Wan'an in Jiangxi.
WikidataLiu Yu (Q30943976)The Chinese alias list includes Xianli and Zhizhai.
[3]Family backgroundLiu Yu's great-grandfather was Liu Junying, his grandfather Liu Guangheng lived from 1395 to 1458, his father was Liu Qiao, and his mother and stepmother belonged to the Ouyang and Kong clans respectively.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The kinship entries identify the great-grandfather Liu Junying, grandfather Liu Guangheng with dates 1395–1458, and father Liu Qiao.
[4]Family backgroundThe kinship entries identify Ouyang as Liu Yu's mother and Kong as his stepmother.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The kinship entries identify Ouyang as the mother and Kong as the stepmother.
[5]SiblingsThe kinship entries list five elder brothers and five younger brothers, with the named and unnamed brothers distinguished in the text.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The kinship entries list five elder brothers, three recorded only as Liu Mou and two as Liu En and Liu Zao, and five younger brothers, one recorded as Liu Mou and four as Liu Ting, Liu Kui, Liu Bi, and Liu Huang.
[6]Marriage and childrenLiu Yu's wife was Xiao; the kinship entries name a son as Liu Que and another son as Liu Que with a different Chinese character.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The kinship entries name Xiao as his wife, Liu Que (劉愨) as a son, and Liu Que (劉慤) as a second son.
[7]Civil examinationsLiu Yu was a shengyuan ranked 62nd in the Jiangxi provincial examination; in the bingchen examination of Hongzhi 9 (1496), he ranked 25th in the metropolitan examination and was 140th in the third degree of the jinshi list.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The examination account gives the Jiangxi provincial examination rank as 62.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The examination entries identify him as a shengyuan and give the rank as 62.
[8]Civil examinationsIn the bingchen examination of Hongzhi 9 (1496), Liu Yu ranked 25th in the metropolitan examination and received the 140th place in the third degree of the jinshi list.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The examination account gives Hongzhi 9 as 1496, identifies the bingchen examination, and gives the metropolitan rank 25 and the third-degree jinshi rank 140.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The examination entries give the third-degree jinshi rank as the 140th place and the associated examination rank as 25.
[9]Early officesAfter passing the jinshi examination, Liu Yu became magistrate of Huixian in Henan, an investigating censor, an itinerant censor, and an education commissioner.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographies describe his appointment as magistrate of Huixian and his promotion to censor.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The office entries list the Hongzhi 9 appointment as magistrate of Huixian, as well as censor, itinerant censor, and education commissioner posts.
[10]Zhengde-era appointmentsLiu Yu was imprisoned and removed from the registers for opposing and impeaching Liu Jin, restored after Liu Jin's execution, and then served as a Henan assistant surveillance commissioner, a Fujian vice commissioner, and Left Shaoqing of the Court of Judicial Review.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographies state that opposition to or impeachment of Liu Jin led to imprisonment, removal from the registers, and return home.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The status entry classifies him as an official removed from the registers.
[11]Zhengde-era appointmentsAfter Liu Jin was executed, Liu Yu was restored and served from 1511 as a Henan assistant surveillance commissioner, from 1514 as a Fujian vice commissioner, and from 1517 as Left Shaoqing of the Court of Judicial Review.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographies state that he was restored after Liu Jin's execution and then held the Henan, Fujian, and Court of Judicial Review appointments.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The office entries date the Henan assistant commissioner to 1511, the Fujian vice commissioner to 1514, and the Left Shaoqing appointment to 1517.
[12]Nanjing and Yunyang officesFrom 1519 to 1520 Liu Yu held the Nanjing Left and Right Assistant Censor posts and supervised river defence, then served as pacification commissioner for Yunyang, again oversaw river defence, and took charge of the Court of Judicial Review.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographies describe his Nanjing Left Assistant Censor appointment, supervision of river defence, and later Yunyang and Court of Judicial Review duties.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The office entries list the 1519 Nanjing Left Assistant Censor appointment, the 1520 Nanjing Right Assistant Censor appointment, and the 1520 Yunyang pacification post.
[13]Nanjing and Yunyang officesLiu Yu served in the Yunyang pacification administration, again supervised river defence, and took charge of the Court of Judicial Review.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographical account records the changes to Yunyang pacification, river-defence supervision, and management of the Court of Judicial Review.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The office entries identify the Yunyang pacification post and a Court of Judicial Review appointment.
[14]Suppression of Zhu Chenhao's rebellionWhen Zhu Chenhao rebelled and attacked Anqing, Liu Yu led troops to its relief; for his role in suppressing the rebellion, he was promoted to the Right Vice Censor-in-chief in 1521 and later held the corresponding Left post.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographies state that Liu Yu relieved Anqing during Zhu Chenhao's rebellion and was promoted for the suppression of the rebellion.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The office entries place the Right Vice Censor-in-chief appointment in 1521 during Zhengde and record the later Left Vice Censor-in-chief post.
[15]Jiajing offices and the Great Rites ControversyIn Jiajing 3 (1524), Liu Yu became Vice Minister of Justice on the Right and then on the Left, and he joined the remonstrance at the Left Shun Gate during the Great Rites Controversy.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographies give the 1524 promotions to the Right and Left Vice Ministers of Justice and his participation in the Left Shun Gate remonstrance.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The office entries date the Right and Left Vice Ministers of Justice appointments to 1524.
[16]Dismissal, death, and posthumous honoursIn 1527 Liu Yu was implicated in the Li Fuda case, removed from the registers, placed on inactive status, and died at home; in early Longqing he was posthumously granted the rank of Minister of Justice, with the posthumous title given as Duanyi in one form and Duanmin in another.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographies state that he was removed in Jiajing 6 after the Li Fuda case and died at home.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The status and office entries identify him as removed from the registers and date the end of his Left Vice Minister of Justice appointment to 1527.
[17]Dismissal, death, and posthumous honoursIn early Longqing Liu Yu was posthumously granted the rank of Minister of Justice, while his posthumous title appears as Duanyi in one form and Duanmin in another.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographies record the early Longqing posthumous grant of Minister of Justice and offer both Duanyi and Duanmin as posthumous titles.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The office and alternative-name entries record the Longqing Minister of Justice grant and the posthumous title Duanyi.
WikidataLiu Yu (Q30943976)The alias and posthumous-name fields give Duanyi; they do not include the Duanmin variant.
[18]Intellectual rangeLiu Yu had a broad command of the classical canon and investigated astronomy, geography, military strategy, military regulations, ritual institutions, and law in depth.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biography describes his broad learning and his detailed study of astronomy, geography, military affairs, military discipline, ritual institutions, and law.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The status entries identify astronomy and geography as fields associated with him.
[19]Poetry and public conductLiu Yu's poetry was described as graceful and refined, with a restrained quality, while his public career was marked by integrity and moral courage.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The poetic assessment praises the refinement of his poetry and describes his public career as marked by integrity and principled conduct.
[20]WorksWorks attributed to Liu Yu include the twenty-volume 《執齋集》, the one-volume 《執齋易圖說》, 《疏稿文集》, and the one-volume 《已瘧編》.
Souyun劉玉 (43020)The biographical entries list 《執齋集》 and one of them specifies a length of twenty volumes.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The works entries list 《執齋易圖說》 in one volume, 《執齋集》 in twenty volumes, 《疏稿文集》, and 《已瘧編》 in one volume, with the last explicitly assigned the author role.
[21]Literary associationsLiu Yu wrote epitaphs for Li Mengyang and Meng Feng and a biographical account of Liu Ting.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The association entries record epitaphs for Li Mengyang and Meng Feng and a biographical account for Liu Ting.
[22]Literary associationsCai Qing wrote to Liu Yu, while Lin Jun presented him with poetry and prose.
CBDBLiu Yu (67710)The association entries record a letter from Cai Qing and a gift of poetry and prose from Lin Jun.
CBDB
