Background

Liu Yin was born in 874, during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang. His father, whose name was variously referred to as Liu Qian or Liu Zhiqian, was a low-level officer at Guang Prefecture (广州), the capital of Qinghai (then known as Lingnan East Circuit (岭南东道)). His mother Lady Wei was a niece to Lingnan East's then-military governor Wei Zhou (韦宙). Liu Qian eventually came to control Feng Prefecture (封州, in modern Zhaoqing, Guangdong) as its prefect. Liu Yin was his oldest son, and he had two younger ones, Liu Tai (刘台), also born of Lady Wei, and Liu Yan, born of his concubine Lady Duan. (Lady Wei had killed Lady Duan out of a jealous rage after finding out about Lady Duan, whom Liu Qian had kept in a house away from their mansion. When Liu Qian subsequently buried Lady Duan, at her burial location was a stone tablet that bore the characters of Yin, Tai, and Yan, and he used those characters to name his three sons.)

As prefect of Feng Prefecture

In 894, Liu Qian died, and Liu Yin was observing a period of mourning when it was said that a group of about 100 soldiers and civilians were planning a disturbance. Liu Yin slaughtered them. Thereafter, then-military governor of Lingnan East, Liu Chonggui (刘崇龟), made him a Lingnan East officer and gave him one of the titles that Liu Qian held, the defender of Heshui Base (贺水镇, in modern Nanning, Guangxi). Shortly after, Liu Chonggui commissioned him the prefect of Feng Prefecture.

In 896, a new military governor of the circuit (which had been renamed Qinghai by that point), Li Zhirou the Prince of Xue, commissioned by then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong (Emperor Xizong's brother and successor), was reporting to Qinghai. Instead of preparing to welcome him, however, the Qinghai officers Lu Ju (卢琚) and Tan Hongqi (谭弘玘) instead prepared to resist him and took up defensive positions, with Tan defending Duan Prefecture (端州, in modern Zhaoqing). Tan tried to enter an alliance with Liu Yin to defend against Li, and promised to give his daughter to Liu in marriage. Liu pretended to agree, but instead, under the guise that he was going to go to Duan Prefecture to marry Tan's daughter, ambushed Tan and killed him. He then attacked Guang Prefecture and killed Lu, and then welcomed Li to Guang Prefecture to take command. Li commissioned Liu as the commander of the Qinghai army (行军司马, Xingjun Sima).

As Qinghai officer

In 898, Zeng Gun (曾衮) the prefect of Shao Prefecture (邵州, in modern Shaoguan, Guangdong) attacked Guang Prefecture, and was joined by the Guang Prefecture officer Wang Gui (王瓌, who commanded a fleet). Liu Yin defeated them, and when the Shao Prefecture officer Liu Tong (刘潼) subsequently attacked Zhen (浈州) and Han (浛州) (both in modern Qingyuan, Guangdong), Liu defeated and killed him.

In 900, Emperor Zhaozong commissioned the chancellor Xu Yanruo to replace Li Zhirou as military governor of Qinghai, but before Xu could get to Qinghai, Li died. When Xu arrived at Qinghai, he made Liu his deputy military governor and entrusted the affairs of the circuit to Liu. When Xu himself died in 901, he left a will recommending Liu as the acting military governor. Emperor Zhaozong subsequently commissioned Cui Yuan, but when Cui reached Jiangling, he heard that Qinghai was overrun by bandits and also feared that Liu would not yield authority to him, and therefore requested recall to the imperial government; Emperor Zhaozong agreed and did so, but did not name Liu military governor at that time.

In 902, Lu Guangchou the prefect of Qian Prefecture (虔州, in modern Ganzhou, Jiangxi) attacked Qinghai Circuit and captured Shao Prefecture and put Chao Prefecture (潮州, in modern Chaozhou, Guangdong) under siege, Liu defeated him and tried to recapture Shao. Liu Yan advised him not to, pointing out that Lu's army was still strong, but Liu Yin did not listen to him and attacked Shao anyway. At that time, the water level on the river was high, and Liu Yin was not able to get food supplies to the army on time. A counterattack by Lu and his officer Tan Quanbo defeated him and forced his withdrawal, allowing Lu to retain Shao.

In 904, by which time the powerful warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan) was in effective control of the imperial government, having assassinated Emperor Zhaozong and replaced him with his son Emperor Ai, Liu Yin bribed Zhu and requested to be commissioned military governor. Zhu agreed, and Liu was subsequently given the military governorship.

As military governor

In 905, Emperor Ai bestowed the honorary chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中书门下平章事) on Liu Yin.

In 907, Zhu Quanzhong forced Emperor Ai to yield the throne to him, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang as its Emperor Taizu. He gave Liu Yin the greater honorary chancellor title of Shizhong (侍中) and created him the Prince of Dapeng.

In 908, Ma Yin the Prince of Chu to the north of Qinghai, sent his officer Lü Shizhou (吕师周) to attack Qinghai, capturing six prefectures (Zhao (昭州, in modern Guilin, Guangxi), He (贺州, in modern Hezhou, Guangxi), Wu (梧州, in modern Wuzhou, Guangxi), Meng (蒙州, in modern Wuzhou), Gong (龚州, in modern Guigang, Guangxi), and Fu (富州, in modern Hezhou)) from Qinghai.

Also in 908, Later Liang's Emperor Taizu sent the officials Zhao Guangyi (赵光裔) and Li Yinheng (李殷衡) as emissaries to Liu to commission him as the military governor of both Qinghai and Jinghai (静海, headquartered in modern Hanoi, Vietnam) Circuits. Liu accepted the commissions but then detained Zhao and Li and did not permit them to return to the Later Liang court.

In 909, Emperor Taizu created Liu the Prince of Nanping.

In or sometime before 910, Liu Yin had sent Liu Yan to attack Ningyuan Circuit (宁远, headquartered in modern Yulin, Guangxi), which consisted of its capital Rong Prefecture (容州) and Gao Prefecture (高州, in modern Maoming, Guangdong) and which was then governed by Pang Juzhao (庞巨昭), but Liu Yan was defeated by Pang. Still, believing that he could not prevail over Liu Yin, Pang surrendered Ningyuan to Chu in 910. Ma stationed his general Yao Yanzhang at Rong Prefecture. Later in the year, Emperor Taizu created Liu Yin the Prince of Nanhai.

In 911, Liu Yin fell ill. He submitted a recommendation that Liu Yan succeed him, and then died. Subsequently, Liu Yan took over the circuit.

Personal information

• Father

　• Liu Zhiqian or Liu Qian, posthumously honored Emperor Shengwu with the temple name of Daizu

• Mother

　• Lady Wei, posthumously honored Empress Wu

• Wife?/Concubine?

　• Lady Yan, mother of Princess Qingyuan

• Children

　• Princess Zengcheng (增城公主), wife of Changhe's emperor Zheng Min (郑旻)

　• Liu Hua, the Princess Qingyuan (清远公主 刘华), married Min's emperor Wang Yanjun

　• At least one son

生平

原籍河南上蔡，祖父刘安仁迁居福建，以经商为生。其父刘谦从军，为牙将，和当时的南海军节度使韦宙的侄女韦氏结婚，生下刘隐、刘台兄弟。因邀击黄巢有功，882年任封州刺史。

894年，刘谦死，刘隐继位。唐昭宗乾宁三年（896年），刘隐出兵奇袭肇庆、广州，成为两广地区最大的割据势力，被封为静海、清海节度使。他重用岭南士人，为后来独立建国打下了基础。徐彦若在901年逝世后，军中推刘隐为留后。天佑二年（905年），拜节度使。

后梁开平元年（907年），加检校太尉、兼侍中。二年（908年），兼静海军节度使、安南都护。三年（909年），加检校太师、兼中书令，封南平王。乾化元年（911年），刘隐重贿朱温，被封南海王，同年病逝于南海（今广州），諡号襄。虽然有子（《旧五代史》载「诸道节度使钱鏐、张宗奭、马殷、王审知、刘隐各赐一子六品正员官」），但政权由庶弟刘龑继承。刘隐之子事迹不详。

917年，刘龑称帝，国号楚次年则改为汉，史称南汉。追尊刘隐为襄帝，庙号烈宗，葬于德陵。刘隐的女儿增城公主嫁给大长和皇帝郑仁旻，和正妻严夫人所生清远公主刘德秀嫁给闽太子王延钧。

身世争议

藤田丰八在1935年认为他是大食（阿拉伯帝国）商人后裔，从西亚到福建泉州，谎称河南上蔡籍，而唐宋蕃客中刘姓多为伊斯兰的穆斯林。

藤田氏此说遭桑原隲藏质疑。桑原认为，关于宋元佑间广州蕃坊娶宗女的刘姓人为阿拉伯人的说法，不能用以证明南汉刘氏是阿拉伯人的后裔，相反，宋元佑间广州蕃客的刘姓，可能是南汉所赐。陈寅恪在1939年撰文《刘复愚遗文中年月及其不祀祖问题》考证，「家世无九品之官，四海无强大之亲，父子俱以儒学进仕至中书舍人礼部尚书，而不祭祀先祖，及籍贯纷歧，而俱贾胡（注：通商的胡人）侨寄之地三端，推证之如此。」，然而据现代考证，指出刘隐家族是来自淮北地区的汉族人，否定了藤田丰八与陈寅恪的主张。