[5][6] Liu's older sister was involved in an arts-and-literature propaganda team; as a result, he grew up surrounded by musical instruments.
[6] Upon failing the cutoff for the gaokao by ten points, Liu realized that music was the only way he could make a living, and threw himself into practicing guitar up to fifteen hours a day.
[10] The group released one album, Past Rock n' Roll (Chinese: 过去的摇滚; pinyin: Guòqù De Yáogǔn) in 1989, which sold a few hundred copies.
White Angel disbanded later that year when Liu Junli left to play bass in Cui Jian's band.
[10] Liu briefly played in a group called Shixiao (Chinese: 时效乐队; pinyin: Shíxìao Yuèduì), a band set up to advertise a local travel agency of the same name.
[9][12] This meeting would prove pivotal; after the Tiananmen Square protests forced founding Tang Dynasty guitarist Kaiser Kuo to flee China, Ding Wu invited Liu to replace him.
In 1992, Spin magazine labeled Liu "hands-down the best guitarist in China"[15] – an assessment often repeated by Chinese rock fans and journalists.
[13] Liu's "lightning-fast"[16] guitar work was central to the band's sound, which combined Western metal and progressive rock with overt influences from Chinese literary, martial, and musical traditions.
[8] While Tang Dynasty were writing their second album, he stopped playing guitar for about six months, leading his bandmates to think Liu had lost his mind.
[13] Liu subsequently developed personal and artistic conflicts with Ding Wu, who asked him to leave Tang Dynasty in August 1996.
[5] His first solo album, 1997's Walking in the Fog (Chinese: 雾中行集; pinyin: Wù Zhōng Xíng Jí), featured appearances from several of his students.
[20] On 16 January 2009, Liu announced his second departure from Tang Dynasty due to "personal reasons" and "in cooperation with the idea of music with the band.
[23] Liu composed the soundtrack for the 2012 drama film Beijing Flickers (Chinese: 有种; pinyin: Yǒu Zhǒng), directed by Zhang Yuan.
[6] Liu's early influences include Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Michael Angelo Batio, Yngwie Malmsteen, Queensrÿche, and King Crimson.
[5][18] As time went on, Liu's playing became increasingly influenced by Chinese folk styles, which can be heard in both Tang Dynasty's music and his own solo compositions.