Born in Anhui, Liu was a native of Yidu County in Shandong. His father died when he was six, and he followed his mother to different provinces. He went to Taiwan in 1949 and studied in the Taiwan Normal University Art Faculty. After graduating in 1955, he taught in a high school. He founded the Fifth Moon Painting Society in 1956 to actively promote modern art. At that time, he was greatly influenced by the various styles of Cubism, Abstract- ism, and Surrealism in the West. 

In 1961, he had the chance to view many famous Chinese painting in history. As a result, he was im pressed and advocated the import ance of nationalisation instead of copying the West blindly. He had written continuously for reforms. In 1960, he taught in the Zhongyuan Polytechnics. In 1966, he won a scholarship given by the John D Rockefeller III Fund and studied in the US. He also became visiting lecturer in Wisconsin State University and Ihowa University.

 In 1971, he taught in the Chinese University of Hong Kong and set up the Hong Kong Modern Water and Ink Painting Society. From 1981 on- wards, he has visited China and held exhibitions in various cities, giving talks on modern art concepts and the creation of modern ink and wash paintings