Liu was born into a poor peasant family in Gaoqing County, Shandong, on 5 December 1927.

[1][2] His mother died when he was a child, and he was raised by his maternal grandfather Liu Jipei (刘继佩).

[1][2] He became a member of the Youth Counter-Japanese National Salvation Association (青年抗日救国会) in 1943, and took part in an underground resistance movement in response to the ongoing occupation of China by the Empire of Japan.

[1][2] He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in November 1943, and enlisted in the Eighth Route Army in August 1945.

In November 1992, he was chosen as political commissar of the Nanjing Military Region, serving in the post until his retirement in December 1993.