For those who are interested in Liu Yan, the History Encyclopedia editor has brought relevant articles for your reference.
During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, there were abundant talents and numerous prodigies emerged. The Biography of Tang Talented Scholars “records that many prodigies in the Tang Dynasty became famous at a young age. Wang Bo was able to write articles at the age of six, Luo Binwang and Li He were able to compose poetry and essays on the spot at the age of seven, and Wang Wei was nine years old when he knew the subject matter, worked in cursive script, and understood music and rhythm.
As for the poet Li Bai, at the age of ten, he not only wrote poetry and essays, but also had a good understanding of the Five Classics. The ones mentioned earlier are not Fang Zhongyong. It has been proven that they were all exceptionally talented and world-renowned when they grew up.
In fact, compared to Liu Yan, the above-mentioned characters are just well-known. When it comes to the 300 year history of the Tang Dynasty, Liu Yan is undoubtedly the world’s number one prodigy.
In the “Three Character Classic”, it is said that “Liu Yan of the Tang Dynasty, at the age of seven, was selected as a child prodigy and used the correct character. Although he was young, he served himself. He learned from a young age and worked hard to achieve success, which is also true of Liu Yan.
Liu Yan, also known as Shi’an, was a famous economist of the Tang Dynasty who went through four dynasties: Emperor Xuanzong, Emperor Suzong, Emperor Daizong, and Emperor Dezong. The Old Book of Tang records that Liu Yan was known as a child prodigy at the age of seven and entered the court as an official at the age of eight, with the position of “Secretary of the Provincial Crown Prince”.
According to Tang Yulin and Miscellaneous Records of Ming Emperor, when Liu Yan was eight years old, he was just in time for Emperor Xuanzong’s enthronement in Mount Taishan. Many literary officials rushed to write articles praising the emperor’s great achievements. Liu Yan’s people were ambitious, took up their pen, and wrote an article called “East Seal Book”. Tang Xuanzong read the article and highly praised it.
Most of the articles written by Wen Chen are clich é s. The emperor has long been tired of reading them. Xiao Liu Tong Shoe’s articles have refreshed the emperor’s mind. When he immediately ordered Xiao Liu to recite them, Xiao Liu Tong Shoe’s voice was clear and clean: “My emperor, the hero, enfeoffed Dongyue and proclaimed success to the God of Wu Tian, bringing blessings to the people, the ceremony of the Kaiyuan era, benevolence to the world, the expectations of human feelings, and the hearts of people
Tang Xuanzong sighed greatly – Xiao Liu Tong’s shoes are only eight years old. You adults, listen carefully, whether you lose face or not, it’s really embarrassing and slow to lose face! The courtiers felt ashamed one by one.
Prime Minister Zhang suspected that it was an adult ghostwriting, so he immediately tested Xiao Liu Tong’s ability to respond. Zhang Shuo proposed to use “square, round, dynamic, and static” as the form of prose. Lao Zhang came first and said, “The square is like a chess game, the circle is like a chess piece, the movement is like a chess player, and the stillness is like a chess piece
Xiaoliu pondered for a moment and answered loudly, “Fang is like a righteous person, round is like a clever person, agile is like a talented person, and calm is like a proud person.” As expected, he spoke fluently and answered fluently. The Manchu Dynasty praised the civil and military arts endlessly, greatly impressed.
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty was delighted and immediately issued an order to appoint Liu Yan as the official character of the Crown Prince of the Secretariat Province, responsible for correcting spelling errors for the Crown Prince, equivalent to the level of an associate researcher. He was known as “Guorui” at that time.
Liu Yan’s talent was not short-lived. During the reign of Emperor Suzong of Tang, the economy was in a recession and the finances were in difficulty. Liu Yan fully demonstrated his ability to manage finances.
He developed production, opened up sources and reduced costs, stabilized grain prices and transportation, reformed salt policies, and helped the Tang Dynasty overcome its difficulties.
Unfortunately, in his later years, Liu Yan made great achievements and violated taboos. He also offended some ministers because of his honesty and integrity. During the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, he was falsely accused by his colleague Yang Yanjin, and the emperor ordered him to commit suicide. His family was exiled.
After Liu Yan’s death, his home was raided, leaving him with only two carts of books, rice, wheat, and stones. He was so honest and upright, which is regrettable. The Tang Dynasty could not tolerate an honest and upright official, and it seems reasonable for him to step towards destruction.
