Liu An

Liu An
Traditional Chinese劉安
Simplified Chinese刘安
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLiú Ān
IPA[ljǒʊ án]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationLàuh Ōn
JyutpingLau4 On1
IPA[lɐw˩ ɔn˥]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJLâu An
Middle Chinese
Middle ChineseLjuw 'An
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)*mə-ru ʔˤan (or ʔˤar)
Liu An
King of Huainan
Reign164 BC-122 BC
PredecessorLiu He
Born179 BC
Died122 BC (aged 57)
IssuePrince Liu Buhai
Prince Liu Qian
Princess Liu Ling
FatherLiu Chang, Prince Li of Huainan
MotherLady Yong
OccupationCartographer, monarch, philosopher

Liú Ān (Chinese: 劉安, c. 179–122 BC) was a Chinese cartographer, monarch, and philosopher. A Han dynasty Chinese prince, ruling the Huainan Kingdom, and an advisor to his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han (武帝). He is best known for editing the (139 BC) Huainanzi compendium of Daoist, Confucianist, and Legalist teachings and is credited for inventing tofu. Early texts represent Liu An in three ways: the "author-editor of a respected philosophical symposium", the "bumbling rebel who took his life to avoid arrest", and the successful Daoist adept who transformed into a xian and "rose into the air to escape prosecution for trumped-up charges of treason and flew to eternal life."[1]

  1. ^ Wallacker, p. 36.