He was an associate of warlord Zhu Quanzhong, the military governor (jiedushi) of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan).
However, eventually, Zhu became impatient of the pace that Liu and his other associates Jiang Xuanhui (蔣玄暉) and Zhang Tingfan (張廷範) were taking in that process and became suspicious that they had turned against him.
His family claimed ancestry from the ruling house of the Spring and Autumn period state Lu — specifically, from the nobleman Liu Xiahui.
He was considered an expert on the history of the Han dynasty and particularly impressed the imperial official Yan Rao (顏蕘).
The imperial officials, impressed with his writing style, often asked him to draft petitions for them, causing him to gain the nickname of "Liu the File Folder" (柳篋子).
[5] In spring 904, at the demand of the powerful warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit, whose troops then controlled Chang'an, the leading chancellor Cui Yin was put to death.
[3] He was therefore viewed lowly by his chancellor colleagues Pei Shu, Dugu Sun, and Cui Yuan, all of whom were senior officials.
He was there made Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, the acting director of taxation (Pan Hubu, 判戶部), and created the Baron of Hedong.
[1] At that time, Zhu was preparing to seize the throne himself, and there happened to be astrological signs that appeared to call for a slaughter.
At their instigation, Zhu had Pei, Dugu, Cui, and some 30 other prominent Tang officials gathered at Baima Station (白馬驛, in modern Anyang, Henan) and ordered them to commit suicide.
[1] Meanwhile, Liu Can, along with Jiang Xuanhui and Zhang Tingfan, were meeting daily, preparing for plans to transition from Tang to Zhu Quanzhong's new dynasty.