E Liu (1857–1909)

Liu E (Liu O) 1857-1909

Best known for his novel Lao Can Youji (The Travels of Lao Can, 1906), a popular and important work of the late Qing era. Liu was a poet, musician, medical practitioner and entrepreneur, as well as a novelist. He was also the earliest serious collector of oracle-bone inscriptions. He was a native of Jiangsu province and the son of a minor official, but himself decided against a career in the civil service and became involved in various enterprises, many with foreign interests. He was exiled to Xinjiang in 1908, on trumped up charges, and died the following year.