James T. C. Liu

Liu Zichen (December 19, 1919 – September 30, 1993), better known as James T. C. Liu, was a Chinese historian and a leading scholar of Song dynasty history. He held academic posts at Stanford University (1960–1965) and Princeton University (from 1965). He was considered "one of the world's pre-eminent specialists" on the Song Dynasty, with a special interest in Ouyang Xiu.

Early life

Having grown up in Shanghai, China he went to Beijing to study first at Tsinghua, and then at Yenching University, where he came under the influence of the sinologist William Hung. He was twice arrested by the forces of the Japanese military occupation, and was tortured during his second interrogation. After the Second Sino-Japanese War he focused on international relations, and served as historical consultant at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Thereafter he went to study in the United States, obtaining his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was involved in the establishment of Pittsburgh's East Asian Program. A synthesis of many of his ideas developed in previous articles, the book argues that political and intellectual changes occurred while the Song court struggled against the invading Jurchen in southern China that set the stage for the victory of the so-called Neo-Confucianism associated with Zhu Xi. Liu focused on the rule of Emperor Gaozong, the founder of the Southern Song. Gaozong employed eleven chief councillors during his reign, sometimes two at a time, until he settled on Qin Hui, who took control of the bureaucracy for sixteen years until his death. This set the stage for continuing autocratic rule and the subsequent alienation of the literati that lead to the rise of Zhu Xi and his followers, whose thought became an orthodoxy.

Liu served as a bridge between scholars from China, Japan, and the West, and was described by his collaborator Peter Golas as the "foremost champion of international scholarly cooperation" in the field of Song studies.

Death After suffering from cancer for many years, Liu died at his home in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

Selected works Reform in Sung China: Wang An-shih (1021-1086) and His New Policies (1959) Ou-yang Hsiu: An Eleventh-Century Neo-Confucianist (1967) Political Institutions in Traditional China: Major Issues (1974) China Turning Inward: Intellectual-Political Changes in the Early Twelfth Century (1988)