Liu An facts for kids

Liu An (Chinese: 劉安, around 179–122 BC) was a Chinese prince during the Han dynasty. He ruled the Huainan Kingdom, a region south of the Huai River. He also advised his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han. Liu An is best known for helping to create the Huainanzi in 139 BC. This important book shared ideas from Taoism, Confucianism, and Legalism. Many people also believe he invented tofu.

Life as a Prince

Liu An was the grandson of Emperor Gaozu of Han, who started the Han Dynasty. When he was 16, his father passed away. Liu An then became the Prince of Huainan. This made him the ruler of the lands south of the Huai River.

Liu An had two sons. His younger son, Liu Qian, was born to his princess consort. This meant Liu Qian was set to become the next ruler of Huainan. His older son, Liu Buhai, was born to a different mother. Liu An seemed to prefer Liu Qian and did not treat Liu Buhai as his true son. Liu Qian also did not see Liu Buhai as his older brother.

There was a rule that said Liu Buhai could become a marquess if Liu An gave him a part of Huainan. But Liu An never did this. Liu Jian, Liu Buhai's son, felt very upset about this. He thought he and his father had no chance to become marquesses. Sadly, Liu An died in 122 BC.

Liu An's Writings

Liu An was known for being a very good writer. People said he could write a detailed piece of writing very quickly. He also often invited other smart people to his home. Eight of these scholars became famous as the Eight Immortals of Huainan.

The Huainanzi Book

Liu An worked with the Eight Immortals of Huainan and other scholars. Together, they published a big book in 139 BC called the Huainanzi. This name means "Book of the Master of Huainan." This book is seen as a key part of Taoist philosophy. It is as important as the works of Laozi and Zhuangzi.

The Huainanzi also gave important details about geography. It described the land of China. The book also talked about math and music. It even listed the first known Chinese 12-tone musical tuning.

The Chu Ci Poetry Collection

The Chu ci is one of the two main old Chinese poetry collections. It is also known as The Songs of the South. The most famous poem in this collection is the "Li Sao". Many believe Qu Yuan wrote it.

Liu An wrote an introduction for the "Li Sao" poem. He also wrote the first known comments about it. There is good reason to believe Liu An was the first person to put together and edit the original Chu ci collection. A poem called "Zhao yin shi" ("Summons for a Recluse") is thought to be written by him. Another poem, "Yuan You" ("Far-off Journey"), is very similar to the works of Liu An's group of writers.

The Legend of Tofu

There is a popular story that Liu An created soy milk for his old, sick mother. She wanted to eat soybeans but could not chew them. So, Liu An ground the soybeans into milk for her. This was supposedly her idea.

However, there is no old proof to support this story. A book from the Ming dynasty called Bencao Gangmu talks about how bean curd was made. But its author, Li Shizhen, does not mention Liu An as the inventor. Another Ming dynasty writer, Li Yi, also said Liu An invented tofu.

During the Song Dynasty in the 10th century, Zhu Xi wrote about the "Huainan method" for making bean curd. This was in his "Song of Bean Curd" poem. Some sources say that Liu An lived with many vegetarian monks. They believe the monks taught him how to make soy milk and bean curd. These monks used "alchemical" methods to make them, perhaps as a medicine. Since Liu An was a powerful noble, he could order these items to be made in large amounts. This helped spread them around, making him famous for soy milk and bean curd. Many people still believe Liu An invented both.

Other stories say that soy milk and bean curd were made even before the Han dynasty. These stories suggest they were made during the Warring States period. However, these books are quite new. The stories in them were passed down by word of mouth among bean curd makers, without written records.

Images for kids

• 

  A friendly robot for kids.

See also

In Spanish: Liu An para niños