Liu Fenglu 劉逢祿

Liu Fenglu 劉逢祿 (1776-1829), courtesy name Shenshou 申受, from Wujin 進人, Jiangsu, was a Confucian scholar and philosopher of the mid-Qing period 清 (1644-1911). He was a representative of the Changzhou School (Changzhou xuepai 常州學派). In 1799, he obtained the jinshi degree and was appointed mentor in the Hanlin Academy (Hanlinyuan shushi 翰林院庶士). His highest office was secretary in the Ministry of Rites (libu zhushi 禮部主事). His mother was a daughter of the scholar Zhuang Cunyu 莊存與 (1719-1788).

Liu Fenglu studied the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu 春秋) by drawing on the New Text (jinwen 今文) interpretations of Han-period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE) scholars Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒 (179-104 BCE) and He Xiu 何休 (129-182), opposing the Old Text (guwen 古文) interpretations of scholars like Xu Shen 許慎 (c. 58-c. 147) and Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127-200). He emphasized that the key to interpreting the classics lay in uncovering their "subtle words and profound meanings" (wei yan da yi 微言大義). He believed that the transformations of Heaven and Earth, driven by the interplay of Yin and Yang, ultimately supported the legitimacy of rulership (jun dao 君道), which he identified as the essence of "Great Unity" (da yitong 大一統). Liu also argued that during the chaotic Spring and Autumn period 春秋 (770-5th cent. BCE), when the royal house of the Zhou 周 (11th cent.-221 BCE) had declined and the realm was in disarray, Confucius compiled the Spring and Autumn Annals to restore the crumbling ritual and musical order. Although Confucius was a sage, he did not hold political power, so he used the name of the Duke of Lu (Zhou Gong 周公) as a pretence to advance his own political ideals.

For this reason, Liu placed great importance on elucidating the Gongyang School's (Gongyang xuepai 公羊學派) theory of change centered on the "Three Epochs" (sanshi 三世). He restructured and clarified the historical continuity (tongxu 統緒) of Gongyang scholarship, asserting that among the three commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals, only the Gongyang Commentary truly transmitted Confucius' intent. He praised Dong Zhongshu for clarifying and applying Gongyang teachings, and credited He Xiu for reviving lost doctrines and correcting errors. Liu stressed that Gongyang learning must be unified through the concept of elucidating the Three Epochs and linking the Three Unities, or else the interpretation would be inconsistent, "smooth on one side, blocked on the other; supported on the left, but collapsing on the right" (ci tong er bi ai, zuo zhi er you chu 此通而彼礙，左支而右絀). These ideas inspired and encouraged later thinkers like Gong Zizhen 龔自珍 (1792-1841) and Wei Yuan 魏源 (1794-1857) to radically reinterpret and reconstruct the theory of the Three Epochs radically.

Liu Fenglu also made every effort to repudiate the Zuo Tradition (Zuozhuan 左傳). He argued that the original title "Zuo's Spring and Autumn" (Zuoshi chunqiu 左氏春秋) was akin to book titles like the Yanzi chunqiu 晏子春秋 or Lüshi chunqiu 呂氏春秋, that is, a historical chronicle, and not a commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals. In Liu's view, toward the end of the Former Han period, Liu Xin 劉歆 (d. 23 CE), in an effort to curry favour with the usurper Wang Mang 王莽 (r. 8-23 CE), falsified the content of the Spring and Autumn Annals by imitating the Gongyang Commentary, and rebranded the Zuoshi chunqiu as Chunqiu Zuoshi zhuan 春秋左氏傳, thus elevating it to the status of a canonical classic. Liu strongly refuted what he saw as Liu Xin's forgery and drew a strict distinction between the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Zuo Tradition, denying the latter any legitimacy as a Classic. This critical stance later served as a model for reformers like Kang Youwei 康有爲 (1858-1927).

In his study of the "Book of Changes" (Yijing 易經), Liu revered the New Text school of Master Yu 虞氏. In his scholarship on the "Book of Documents" (Shangshu 尚書), he corrected what he saw as the errors of Ma Rong 馬融 and Zheng Xuan. In his study of the "Book of Songs" (Shijing 詩經), he particularly valued the interpretations of the Qi 齊, Lu 魯, and Han 韓 traditions. Following Zhuang Cunyu, Liu Fenglu was the next major scholar to undertake a comprehensive study of New Text classical learning, and it was with him that the genuine revival of New Text scholarship during the Qing period truly began.

The most important writings of Liu Fenglu are Gongyang Heshi shili 公羊何氏釋例, Gongyang Heshi jiegu jian 公羊何氏解詁箋, Shen He nan Zheng 申何難鄭, Chunqiu lun 春秋論, Zuoshhi chunqiu kaozheng 左氏春秋考證, Yi Yushi biandong biao 易虞氏變動表, Liuyao fahui pangtong biao 六爻發揮旁通表, Guaxiang yinyang dayi 卦象陰陽大義, Yushi Yiyan bu 虞氏易言補, Shangshu jinguwen jijie 尚書今古文集解, Shuxu shuwen 書序述聞, Shisheng yan 詩聲衍 and Lunyu shu He 論語述何.