Liu Zongyuan (773~819) was a Chinese writer who lived in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty. He was traditionally classed as one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song.
柳宗元(773~819)，中国唐代作家，唐宋八大家之一。
Along with Han Yu, he was a founder of the Classical Prose Movement.
他居于长安，与韩愈一起发起了古文运动。
His civil service career was initially successful, but in 805 he fell from favour because of his association with a failed reformist movement. He was exiled first to Yongzhou (Hunan Province ), and then to Liuzhou (Guangxi Province).
柳宗元的官场生活起初非常成功，但是805年他因与一场不成功的改革派运动有关而失宠，首先被贬到永州(湖南境内)，之后又被贬到柳州(广西境内)。
However, this setback allowed his literary career to flourish: he produced poems, fables, reflective travelogues and essays sythesizing elements of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.
然而，官场上的挫折却使得柳宗元的文学事业繁荣了起来: 他创作了诗歌、寓言、游记以及融合了儒释道思想元素的散文。
Liu Zongyuan produced many examples of clear and charming prose and became reputed as one of the renowned “Eight Masters of Tang and Song.”
柳宗元写了许多清晰迷人的散文，成为著名的唐宋八大家之一。柳宗元最著名的游记是《永州八记》。
His best-known travel pieces are the Eight Records of Excursions in Yongzhou. Around 180 of his poems are extant.
现存柳诗约180首。
Some of his works celebrate his freedom from office, while others mourn his banishment.
尽管他的一些作品中对遭贬表示遗憾，但是他的一些作品也表明他很庆幸自己能够远离官场。
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