Liu Shouguang

Liu Shouguang (劉守光) (died February 12, 914) was a warlord early in the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period who controlled Lulong (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) and Yichang (義昌, headquartered in modern Cangzhou, Hebei) Circuits, after seizing control from his father Liu Rengong and defeating his brother Liu Shouwen. He claimed the title of Emperor of Yan in 911, but was subsequently defeated and executed by Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin, who absorbed Yan into his Jin state.

Background

It is not known when Liu Shouguang was born. He was a son of Liu Rengong, who became military governor (Jiedushi) of Lulong Circuit in 895 after Liu Rengong's then-liege Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) conquered Lulong Circuit in 894. Liu Rengong eventually broke away from Li and became an independent warlord in 897. It is not known when Liu Shouguang's birth was in relations to these events, either, but it is known that another son of Liu Rengong's, Liu Shouwen, was older than he was, while another son, Liu Shouqi (劉守奇), was younger. In or around 903, Liu Rengong made him the prefect of Ping Prefecture (平州, in modern Qinhuangdao, Hebei). On an occasion, when the Khitan chieftain Yelü Abaoji sent his brother-in-law Shulü Abo (述律阿缽) to attack Ping, Liu Shouguang pretended to be suing for peace with the Khitan and held a feast for Shulü and the other key Khitan officers; during the feast, he had the soldiers that he had hidden around the feast site seize the Khitan officers and took them back into the city, forcing the Khitan to ransom them.

Shouguang

Shouguang (Chinese: 寿光) is a county-level city located in Weifang Prefecture-level city, Shandong Province, China. It is a relatively large city with 1,139,454 people residing within the municipality and its surrounding towns and villages, even though the built-up (or metro) area is much smaller.

The city is located approximately thirty minutes east of Zibo, thirty to forty minutes west of downtown Weifang, three hours west of Qingdao and one and a half an hour east of Jinan. From Shouguang, and driving at legal highway speeds, one could reach Beijing in approximately seven hours.

Shouguang is flourishing and boasts a modern downtown area and a new six lane highway leading from the Jiqing Expressway (Jinan to Qingdao) into the heart of the city. The local government is currently focused on developing the city's service, industry and technology sectors as well as maintaining Shouguang's reputation as China's "Home of Vegetables" (蔬菜之乡 pinyin: shucai zhixiang).

The city hosts a vegetable fair every year around May 1, and artists use fruits, nuts, vegetables, flowers and potted plants to create numerous sculptures and murals. The artwork is displayed at the city's convention center and ten large plant exhibition halls. CPC General secretary, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited the city as well as the adjacent village of San Yuan Zhu in 2005 and praised the farmers for the development of their new cultivation techniques. The visit and the efforts of the village head and farmers were featured on national news programs. San Yuan Wang has since erected a large sign displaying Hu and other visiting dignitaries just inside its main village gate in order to celebrate the event.