In contrast, each year hundreds of overseas students go to Mt Qingcheng during their vacations to learn from him.
Liu adheres to the ancient rules of Qingcheng kungfu that decree that "rare and difficult kungfu techniques should not be taught to too many students".
All interested students are put through strict tests of physical strength and ethical conduct that may last several years, Liu says.
Only a few make it as disciples and must pledge to pass on the legacy of Qingcheng kungfu.
However, Liu also believes the changing times have made it necessary for Qingcheng masters to keep a high profile.
In 2002, Liu made it into the Guinness World Records by extinguishing six burning candles from a meter away, using a Qingcheng kungfu skill called Pi Kong Quan.
Now, Liu can extinguish 12 burning candles within seconds, from 1.6 m away, through rapid movements of his fist.
"This is no acrobatic stunt," Liu says seriously. A learned practitioner can deal his enemy at least six deadly blows within a second by mastering this skill, he explains.
"Learning kungfu does not mean one has to become violent," Liu says.
"To be a true kungfu master, one needs to command much more than just lethal combat skills."
All his students, ranging in age from 6 to 81, must learn the Tao Te Ching, the most important Taoist scripture, and also the history of Qingcheng kungfu and the Taoist traditions of Mt Qingcheng.
Qingcheng kungfu from southwest Sichuan province has been shrouded in mystery for centuries.
Once known locally as the "greenwood-hero style," it was practiced in the mountains of Sichuan by outlaws during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Historical records show that Qingcheng kungfu has been ranked among the top five martial arts branches, along with the Shaolin, Emei, Wudang and Kunlun sects, since the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).
This rich, neijia (internal) kungfu style boasts of at least 10 sub-branches and over 100 sets of combat skills and has developed for centuries in isolation.
It is often deemed a "water-element style" martial art which "uses soft to beat hard, small to fight big, weak to win over strong, short to defeat long".
Qingcheng kungfu practitioners were quite active in the late Qing Dynasty until the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). In the 1930s, author Li Shoumin wrote many novels about the Qingcheng masters.
But Hong Kong writer Louis Cha gave this kungfu genre a negative image in his novels. When Cha's The Legendary Swordsman was adapted into a popular TV drama series in 2000, it caused an uproar among Qingcheng kungfu practitioners.
But Liu Suibin, chief master of the Qingcheng sect, staged a grand welcome ceremony for Cha in 2004. He and 32 disciples showed off the Big Dipper Sword Battle Formation at the entrance to Mt Qingcheng.
Moved by Liu's sincerity and warmth, Cha apologized for overlooking the historical facts.
"We have since then become good friends," says Liu, who is an advisor to the China Wuxia Literature Studies Society.
By Zhu Linyong ( China Daily)
