same year he went south, taking with him the works that he had transcribed. In 1700 he sojourned for a short time with a friend, Ju I-fêng 茹儀鳳 (T. 紫庭, 1650–1692), who was then officiating as sub-prefect of Hêng-chou, Hunan. While in Hunan he wrote a work, entitled 楚水圖記 Ch'u-shui t'u-chi, on the river systems of that region, and also made a map of the four great river systems of China, entitled in 四瀆入海圖 Ssŭ-tu ju hai t'u. At the request of Chang Lin (see under An Ch'i) who about the years 1685–95 was in charge of couriers in Shensi, he went to that province for a brief sojourn. While staying at Chên-chou, Hunan, in 1693 he made observations on the effect of the directions of the winds on the climate. Two years later he died in Kiangsu.
As a scholar Liu Hsien-t'ing was intensely practical and possessed a strong scientific bent. He paid attention to such matters as the changes of weather, agricultural implements, local dialects, etc. He wrote and talked much of the basic importance of agriculture, and insisted that the first duty of both scholars and soldiers is to be good husbandmen. In this insistance on practical activity, he strongly resembled his northern contemporaries, Yen Yüan and Li Kung [qq. v.]. Even such prominent and scholarly friends as Wan Ssŭ-t'ung and Ku Tsu-yü [qq. v.] were regarded by him as impractical, because in his opinion they devoted too much attention to researches into the past. He valued highly the 西陲今略 Hsi-ch'ui chin-lüeh, a work on the geography of the northwest, completed about 1688 by Liang Pin 梁份 (T. 質人, 1642?–1728?), and personally transcribed that work about 1700. Desirous of promoting irrigation in northwest China, he hoped to encourage study of the subject by producing a good annotated edition of the Classic of Waterways or Shui-ching chu (see under Ch'üan Tsu-wang), but this work was never completed. In the field of phonetics he wrote a work entitled 新韻譜 Hsin-yün p'u. He commented on the advantages of the Latin alphabet for the transcription of sounds, and recognized the importance of Sanskrit for the study of sound changes. An admirer of Hsü Kuang-ch'i [q. v.], he most likely was influenced, as Hsü was, by the scientific contributions which the Jesuits made.
Unfortunately most of the writings of Liu Hsien-t'ing were lost. His theories and comments are available only in miscellaneous notes compiled in 5 chüan by a pupil, Huang Hu 黃瑚 (T. 宗夏), under the title 廣陽雜記 Kuang-yang tsa-chi, and printed in the Chi-fu ts'ung-shu (see under Ts'ui Shu). Written as a result of extensive travel, wide reading, and keen observation, these notes shed an interesting light on various subjects. Two chüan of his poems, entitled Kuang-yang shih-chi (詩集) are extant only in manuscript form in the private library, Chia-yeh t'ang 嘉業堂, of the Liu family of Wu-hsing, Kiangsu. According to his epitaph, written by his friend Wang Yüan [q. v.], Liu Hsien-t'ing was blind in one eye and was partly disabled by a broken arm.
[1/489/19a; 3/414/31a; 吳江縣志 Wu-chiang hsien chih (1747) 36/41b; Draft nien-p'u by Wang Ch'in-yü 王勤堉 in 方志 Fang-chih, vol. 8, nos. 9 & 10, 11 & 12; Hsiang Ta 向達, 記劉繼莊 in Fang-chih, vol. 8, nos. 11 & 12; Yu Chih-chia 尉之嘉, "Life and Thought of Liu Hsien-t'ing, a Great Thinker of Two Centuries Ago" in Sun Yat-sen University Monthly on Literature and History (Chinese text) vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 15–21.]
LIU Jui-fên 劉瑞芬 (T. 芝田), 1827–1892, Apr. 6, official and diplomat, was a native of Kuei-ch'ih, Anhwei, who assisted in 1862 in the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion, first under Tsêng Kuo-fan [q. v.] and then under Li Hung-chang [q. v.]. During the latter's campaign to save Shanghai he had special charge of the importation of ammunition from Western countries. In 1876 he became salt controller of the Liang-huai region and in the following year intendant of the Su-Sung-Tsai Circuit, Kiangsu. Serving first as judicial commissioner (1882) and then as financial commissioner (1883) of Kiangsi, he was made acting governor of the same province in 1884. In the following year he was appointed minister to England and Russia, and arrived at his post in London early in 1886. Believing that Russia was about to exploit the gold mines at Mo-ho, Heilungkiang, he advised his government to undertake the work, and the suggestion was carried out (1886). In 1887 his portfolio was broadened to include France, Italy and Belgium. When difficulties between Tibet and India arose in 1888, Liu made efforts to resist British military occupation by peaceful negotiation. His term of service as a diplomat having terminated, he returned to China in 1889, and was appointed governor of Kwangtung. Three years later (1892) he died at his post. His collected works were printed in
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