Liu Shao 劉劭

Liu Shao, courtesy name Kongcai, was a man of Handan County in Guangping Commandery. During the Jian'an era he became an Accounts Clerk and went to Xu. When the Grand Astrologer reported that there would be a solar eclipse on New Year's Day, Liu Shao was at the residence of the Prefect of the Masters of Writing Xun Yu, and of the several dozen people present, some said the court assembly should be cancelled and others that it should be postponed. Records, Wei 21 §63

Liu Shao said that even Zi Shen and Pi Zao, the fine astrologers of old, had misjudged the timing of Heaven, and that the Book of Rites counts an eclipse as one of the four cases in which feudal lords who have come to see the Son of Heaven cannot complete the rite; that the sages had not had court rites cancelled in advance because of portents was because the calamity might pass away or the calculations might be wrong. Xun Yu approved of his words. An order was issued for the court assembly to be held as usual, and the sun was not eclipsed. Records, Wei 21 §63–64

The Imperial Counselor Xi Lü summoned him, but as Xi Lü happened to be dismissed, Liu Shao was appointed Retainer of the Crown Prince and then transferred to Gentleman of the Palace Library. During the Huangchu era he became Gentleman of the Masters of Writing and Gentleman Cavalier Attendant, and by imperial command he gathered the Five Classics and other books, arranged them by category and compiled the Huanglan (Imperial Digest). Records, Wei 21 §65

When Emperor Ming (Cao Rui) took the throne, Liu Shao went out to be Administrator of Chenliu, where he earnestly promoted moral instruction and the people praised him. Summoned and appointed Chief Commandant of Cavalry, he worked with the Gentlemen Consultants Yu Yi and Xun Shen and others to set the statutes, producing the New Code in 18 chapters and writing a Brief Treatise on the Code. The Biography of Lu Yu records that before Lu Yu became Palace Attendant in the 2nd year of Qinglong (234), the Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary Liu Shao had received an imperial order to settle the laws but had not yet finished. Records, Wei 21 §65Records, Wei 22 §97

After he was transferred to Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary, when word came that Gongsun Yuan had accepted the title of King of Yan from Sun Quan, the court deliberators wanted to detain Gongsun Yuan's Accounts Clerk and send troops to punish him. Liu Shao argued that when Yuan Shang and his brother had earlier taken refuge with Gongsun Yuan's father Gongsun Kang, Gongsun Kang had beheaded them and sent their heads, which showed the loyalty of Gongsun Yuan's forebears; that the truth of the report could not yet be known; and that in ancient times, when distant lands did not submit, rulers only cultivated virtue and did not campaign against them; so they should show leniency and open a way for Gongsun Yuan to reform himself. Later Gongsun Yuan did indeed behead Sun Quan's envoys Zhang Mi and others and send their heads. Records, Wei 21 §66–67

Liu Shao had once written a Rhapsody on the Zhao Capital, and Emperor Ming, admiring it, ordered him to write rhapsodies on the capitals of Xu and Luo. At that time the court was raising armies abroad and building palaces at home, so both rhapsodies Liu Shao wrote were veiled admonitions. Records, Wei 21 §67

During the Qinglong era Wu besieged Hefei. As the officials and soldiers in the east were all away on rotating leave, Man Chong, General Who Conquers the East, memorialized asking for troops of the central army and proposing to recall the soldiers on leave before attacking. Liu Shao argued that since the enemy had just arrived and their spirit was keen, Man Chong's request to wait for troops was not mistaken, and proposed sending 5,000 infantry and 3,000 picked cavalry ahead of the main army, advancing with loud proclamations. His plan was that when the cavalry reached Hefei they should spread many banners and drums and display their strength below the city walls, and by moving out behind the enemy show that they meant to cut off the enemy's line of retreat and supply routes, so that the enemy would take fright and flee and be broken without a battle. The emperor followed his advice, and by the time the army reached Hefei the enemy had indeed withdrawn. Records, Wei 21 §68–69

At that time an imperial edict sought worthy men far and wide, and the Gentleman Cavalier Attendant Xiahou Hui recommended Liu Shao. Xiahou Hui said that the Attendant Liu Shao was deeply loyal and earnest in thought, so that men of genuine character admired his gentleness, goodness and rectitude, men of learning praised the detail and precision of his calendrical calculations, and men of letters prized his treatises and compositions. He then said that such a man should assist in confidential affairs and offer counsel within the curtained tent. Records, Wei 21 §70–71

During the Jingchu era Liu Shao was commanded to devise the evaluation of capital officials. Arguing that the evaluation of the hundred officials was the great framework of royal government, yet past dynasties had neglected it so that the able and the incapable were mixed together and obscured one another, he wrote and submitted the Evaluation of Capital Officials in 72 articles and a Brief Explanation in one chapter. When this evaluation law was sent down to the Three Offices, Fu Gu refuted Liu Shao's argument, saying that the institutions of former ages had been largely lost; and when Liu Shao's Treatise on Evaluation was shown to the hundred officials, Cui Lin argued that the law of evaluation depended on the men who carried it out. Records, Wei 21 §72 · 82Records, Wei 24 §14

Liu Shao also held that rites should be established and music composed to change customs, and wrote the Treatise on Music in 14 chapters, but before he could submit it Emperor Ming died, and it was never put into effect. During the Zhengshi era he lectured holding the classics and was granted the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. His writings, such as the Treatise on Law and the Treatise on Personalities (Renwu zhi), numbered over a hundred chapters. After his death he was posthumously named Superintendent of the Imperial Household, and his son Liu Lin succeeded him. Records, Wei 21 §73

In his assessment, Chen Shou said that Liu Shao read widely in learning and books, and his refinement and substance were in full harmony. Records, Wei 21 §99