[1][2] His courtesy name was Yinxian (寅先), and his art name was Zhongyuan (盅园) and Buguosheng (补过生).
Liu was born in Ningxiang County, Hunan, in 1897, during the Qing Empire.
After college, he was assigned to the Qing government as an officer, and later became a professor at Shanxi University.
In 1921, he founded Han'guang Private Girls' School and served as its president.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he became a staff member at Hunan Research Institute of Culture and History.