Liu Bingzhong (; 1216–1274), or Liu Kan () was a

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

court adviser and architect. He was born in Ruizhou (Rui prefecture), during the Jin dynasty. In 1233, he entered the Jin's bureaucracy. He still was an officer after the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

conquered the Jin following the Mongol–Jin wars, but later he became a monk. However his teacher thought that his talent should not be buried, so he recommended Liu Bingzhong to

Kublai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...

, to become his adviser. During this period, he was extolled as the ''Five Talented in Xintai''. He was credited with occult powers which allowed him to foretell the future and so assist military operations. Liu had a paramount influence on Yuan era city designs, and he is known to have planned both the Yuan capital of Dadu and its summer capital

Xanadu Xanadu may refer to: * Shangdu, the ancient summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire in China * a metaphor for opulence or an idyllic place, based upon Coleridge's description of Shangdu in his poem ''Kubla Khan'' Other places * Xanadu (Titan), ...

(Shangdu). Liu Bingzhong and Yao Shu made a plan "to canvass all talented to give well-governorship suggestions". Many Confucianists, such as

Xu Heng Xu Heng () (1209–1281) was a Confucianist and educator of the Yuan Dynasty in China. Xu Heng was born in present-day Xinyang of Henan Province, which was then governed by the Jin dynasty. At the age of 16, he studied Confucian Classics and ...

, Wang Xun, Zhang Yi, were attracted to provide ruse to Kublai Khan, who later became the founder of the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

. After the Battle of Diaoyu Fortress,

Möngke Khan Möngke ( mn, ' / Мөнх '; ; 11 January 1209 – 11 August 1259) was the fourth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire, ruling from 1 July 1251, to 11 August 1259. He was the first Khagan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms ...

died and Kublai Khan succeeded his post. Liu Bingzhong suggested to name the new dynasty as "Da Yuan" (; "Great Yuan") with reference to ''

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zho ...

'', which was adopted by Kublai Khan in 1271. He also suggested Kublai Khan adopt Chinese law over that of Mongol law, and removed some Mongolian misgovernment. Kublai Khan recognized Jin's Central Capital as the capital of the Yuan, and renamed it to Dadu ("Great Capital"). Liu Bingzhong was the planner and the original architect of the Capital Construction of Dadu. Liu also designed and planned the layout of the Yuan's summer capital at

(Shangdu). Liu formulated the Time Service Calendar with

Guo Shoujing Guo Shoujing (, 1231–1316), courtesy name Ruosi (), was a Chinese astronomer, hydraulic engineer, mathematician, and politician of the Yuan dynasty. The later Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1591–1666) was so impressed with the preserved astron ...

. When he became the teacher of Zhenjin, who later became the Crown Prince (), he set up the Zishan College in Wuon Mountain to teach Confucianism and Natural Science. In 1274, he died in Nanbing Mountain Villa.

Literary Work

*''Spring Corpus'' 藏春集 (6 volumes); *''Spring Poetry Anthology'' 藏春词; *''Poetry Anthology'' 诗集 (22 volumes); *''Corpus'' 文集 (10 volumes); *''Pingsha Jade Ruler'' 平沙玉尺 (4 volumes); *''Jade Ruler and New Mirror'' 玉尺新镜 (2 volumes).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Bingzhong 1216 births 1274 deaths Yuan dynasty people People from Huludao

Literary Work

See also

References