Liu E (writer)
Liu E, courtesy name Tieyun, was a Chinese writer, archaeologist and politician of the late Qing Dynasty.
Government and politics
Liu was a native of Dantu. In the government, he worked with flood control, famine relief, and railroads. He became disillusioned with official ideas of reform and became a proponent of private economic development modeled after western systems. During the Boxer Uprising he speculated in government rice, distributing it to the poor. He was cashiered for these efforts, but shrewd investments had left him wealthy enough to follow his pioneering archaeological studies and to write fiction.Literature
Liu's best known work is The Travels of Lao Can, which the critic C.T. Hsia calls the "most beloved of all the novels" in the last decade of the Qing.Liu E's novels borrowed allusions and images from classical Chinese literature and used extensive symbolism. Therefore, his works appealed to readers who had a classical education and were considered sophisticated.