Liu Zongyuan (773 - 819), born in Xiexian of Hedong (present Yuncheng of Shanxi Province), was a litterateur and philosopher in the Tang Dynasty.

Liu Zongyuan was born in an official family. He showed his talent and aimed high when he was young. In 793 he became a successful candidate in the imperial civil service examination, and assumed a position in the imperial court. An opponent of the eunuch and separatist forces, he was demoted as defender-in-chief of Yongzhou after the failure of his reform. Later he became the governor of Liuzhou, hence the name Liu Liuzhou.

Liu Zongyuan and Han Yu were the initiators of the Ancient Prose Movement of the Tang Dynasty, advocating the learning of prose in Pre-Qin Period and the Han Dynasty. He was acclaimed for "his prose rising from the declining state of the past eight generations." Liu Zongyuan wrote as many as 600-odd articles in all his life, his achievement in prose being greater than that in poetry. His prose features forceful arguments, incisive style, poignant irony and rich combativeness while his travel notes are descriptions of scenery and objects, most of which are used to express his emotions and feelings. Liu Zongyuan's works were kept and compiled by Liu Yuxi of the Tang Dynasty into a literary collection - the Anthology of Liu Hedong.