Liu Chih-chi

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Liu Chih-chi (lyōō jûr-jē), 661–721, Chinese T'ang dynasty historian. Drawing on experience gained while working on histories of the preceding dynasties, he wrote the first important Chinese work on historiography, the Understanding of History (Shih-t'ung). In a series of essays Liu discusses the origin, development, and relative merits of various forms of historical writing.