[1][2] Finding the pain of his experiences during the war years to be too much, Liu moved away from the study of 20th century international relations, and focused his attention on the history of the Song dynasty.
[2] Liu wrote book-length biographies of intellectual figures of the Song dynasty like Ouyang Xiu and Wang Anshi, as well as articles examining the political history of the era.
[3] A synthesis of many of his ideas developed in previous articles, the book argues that political and intellectual changes occurred while the Song court struggled against the invading Jurchen in southern China that set the stage for the victory of the so-called Neo-Confucianism associated with Zhu Xi.
Gaozong employed eleven chief councillors during his reign, sometimes two at a time, until he settled on Qin Hui, who took control of the bureaucracy for sixteen years until his death.
[2] Reflecting this, a festschrift on Song history dedicated to Liu on his 70th birthday was edited by Kinugawa Tsuyoshi and featured articles in English, Japanese, and Chinese.