Biography

Liu Changqing was born around either 710 or 725. He came from the city of Xuancheng. His ancestral hometown was Hejian. Most of his youth was spent in the city of Luoyang. Liu obtained his Jinshi title around 750s. In 780, he became the governor of Suizhou in Henan province. Because of his term in Suizhou, Liu was often called Liu Suizhou by his contemporaries.

He died around 786.

Poetry

Liu's poems did not receive much praise during his lifetime although he was one of the representative poets during the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang. However, he was gradually acknowledged by later generations. Liu was especially skillful on the writing of poems with 5 characters.

An example of his poetry can be seen below:

生平

年輕時在嵩山讀書，唐玄宗開元進士，曾任監察御史，常因性情剛烈而冒犯他人，至德三年（乾元元年，758年）正月，攝海鹽令。因事由蘇州長洲尉貶為潘州南巴（今廣東電白縣）尉，唐代宗時任轉運使判官，知淮西、鄂岳轉運留後，大曆年間，又因得罪了鄂岳觀察使吳仲孺，被誣為貪贓，貶為睦州（今浙江淳安）司馬。終官隨州（今湖北隨縣）刺史，世稱「劉隨州」。貞元元年，淮西節度使李希烈割據隨州稱王，時局動盪，劉長卿離開隨州，晚年流寓江州，曾入淮南節度使幕。約卒於貞元六年。

劉長卿擅長五言近體詩，其詩大多抒發政治失意的感情，內容多寫荒村水鄉、幽寒孤寂之境，如「城池百戰後，耆舊幾家殘」（《穆陵關北逢人歸漁陽》），「鳥雀空城在，榛蕪舊路遷」（《送河南元判官赴河南勾當苗稅充百官俸祿》），並反映社會離亂及政治失意之感，如「地遠明君棄，天高酷吏欺」（《初貶南巴至鄱陽題李嘉祐江亭》）。風格溫雅流暢，冠絕於當世，自稱為「五言長城」。著隨州集、外集。《全唐詩話》有記載：長卿以詩馳聲上元、寶應間。皇甫湜云：「詩未有劉長卿一句，已呼阮籍為老兵矣；筆語未有駱賓王一字，已罵宋玉為罪人矣。」盧文弨評價劉長卿為杜甫之後的「巨擘」，而且「眾體皆工，不獨五言為長城」。劉長卿主要活動於吳越地區，高仲武評其詩「大抵十首以上，語意稍同，于落句尤甚，思銳才窄也」，實為大曆詩人的代表。《全唐詩》編錄其詩為5卷。《唐詩三百首》收錄劉長卿詩11首。

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