Liu E

Liu E (; also spelled Liu O; 18 October 1857 – 23 August 1909), courtesy name Tieyun (), was a Chinese writer, archaeologist and politician of the late Qing Dynasty.
Government and politics.
Liu was a native of Dantu (modern day Zhenjiang). In the government he worked with flood control, famine relief, and railroads. He became disillusioned with official ideas of reform and became a proponent of private economic development modeled after western systems. During the Boxer Uprising he speculated in government rice, distributing it to the poor. He was cashiered for these efforts, but shrewd investments had left him wealthy enough to follow his pioneering archaeological studies and to write fiction.
Literature.
The language in Liu E's novels borrowed illusions and images from classical Chinese literature and Liu E used symbolism in his novels. Therefore, his works appealed to readers who had a classical education and were considered sophisticated in their society.
One of Liu's best known works is "The Travels of Lao Can".
Oracle bone archeology and scholarship.
In 1903 Liu published the first collection of 1,058 oracle bone rubbings entitled "Tieyun Zanggui" (鐵雲藏龜, Tie Yun's [i.e., Liu E] Repository of Turtles) that helped launch the study of oracle bone inscriptions as a distinct branch of Chinese epigraphy.
Exile and death.
Liu was framed for malfeasance related to his work during the Boxer Rebellion and was exiled in 1908, dying within the next year in Dihua of the Xinjiang Province (today known as Ürümqi).