Liu Dun
Liu Dun (fl. 190s – 220s), courtesy name Ziren, was an official serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China.
Liu Dun | |
|---|---|
| 劉惇 | |
| Monarch | Sun Quan |
| Personal details | |
| Occupation | Official |
| Courtesy name | Ziren (子仁) |
Life
Liu Dun's ancestral home was Pingyuan (平原). During the chaos of the end of the Han dynasty, he fled to Luling (廬陵) where he was invited to the service of Sun Fu, cousin and general under Sun Quan. Liu Dun took a great interest in astrology and divination, and was renowned for his foresight, purportedly predicting floods, droughts and uprisings in the southern regions. Sun Fu was impressed by Liu Dun's predictions and appointed him as his Military Advisor (軍師 junshi), while among the army itself he became popularly known by the nickname Shenming (神明 "Divine Brilliance").
Liu Dun later served under Sun Quan directly. An anecdote from the Records of the Three Kingdoms describes a conversation between Liu Dun and Sun Quan in Yuzhang during the Jian'an era (196-220), in which Liu Dun apparently predicted the assassination of Sun Quan's younger brother Sun Yi, the Administrator of Danyang, by Bian Hong (邊鴻) in 203 based on astrological observations.
Liu Dun was also the author of a now-lost tome in a hundred volumes, which was praised by the scholar Diao Xuan (刁玄). However, Liu Dun was also noted for being secretive of his arts and declining to share it with others, resulting in his work becoming increasingly difficult for subsequent generations to understand.
References
- Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi). Scroll 63.
- Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu). Scroll 63.