Li Yuansu

Li Yuansu

Li Yuansu (李元素) (d. October 26, 696 [ [http://www.sinica.edu.tw/ftms-bin/kiwi1/luso.sh?lstype=2&dyna=%AD%F0&king=%AAZ%A6Z&reign=%B8U%B7%B3%B3q%A4%D1&yy=1&ycanzi=&mm=11&dd=25&dcanzi= 兩千年中西曆轉換 ] ] ) was an official of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving twice as chancellor.

Li Yuansu was the younger brother of Li Jingxuan, who served as chancellor during the reign of Wu Zetian's husband Emperor Gaozong of Tang. It was said that he, like Li Jingxuan, showed abilities as an official. He was, at one point, the magistrate of Wude County (武德, in modern JIaozuo, Henan), when his superior, Li Wenjian (李文暕) the prefect of Huai Prefecture (roughly modern Jiaozuo) was set to collect gold and silver from the people to make barrels to offer to the emperor, and the people resented it. Other subordinates of Li Wenjian did not dare to speak about it, but Li Yuansu opposed it vehemently. Li Wenjian stopped collecting gold and silver from the people and, as he believed that Li Yuansu needed financial support, paid Li Yuansu out of his own pocket.

As of 692, during Wu Zetian's reign, Li Yuansu was acting deputy minister of treasury (地官侍郎, "Diguan Shilang"), when she promoted him to be "Wenchang You Cheng" (文昌右丞), one of the secretaries general of the executive bureau of government (文昌臺, "Wenchang Tai") and gave him the designation "Tong Fengge Luantai Pingzhangshi" (同鳳閣鸞臺平章事), making him a chancellor "de facto". Just slightly more than a month later, however, he, along with other chancellors Li Youdao, Wang Xuan, Yuan Zhihong, and Cui Shenji, and other officials Kong Siyuan (孔思元), and Ren Linghui (任令輝), were falsely accused of crimes by Wu Zetian's secret police official Wang Hongyi. They were relieved from their posts and exiled to the Lingnan region.

By 694, however, Li Yuansu had been recalled from exile and was serving as "Wenchang You Cheng" again, when he was made "Fengge Shilang" (鳳閣侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, and again given the "de facto" chancellor designation of "Tong Fengge Luantai Pingzhangshi".

In late 696, there was a a treasonous plot by the officials Liu Sili (劉思禮), Qilian Yao (綦連耀), and Wang Ju (王勮) -- as the conspirators believed that Qilian was fated to be emperor one day. The official Ji Xu heard of the plot and relayed it to the secret police official Lai Junchen, who in turn reported it to Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian had Wu Yizong (武懿宗) the Prince of Henan (the grandson of her uncle Wu Shiyi (武士逸)) investigate, and Wu Yizong, promising Liu that he would be spared, had him implicate as many officials as he could, and Liu implicated some 36 officials, including Li Yuansu, fellow chancellor Sun Yuanheng, and other officials Shi Baozhong (石抱忠), Liu Qi (劉奇), Zhou Bo (周譒), and Wang Ju's brothers Wang Mian (王勔) and Wang Zhu (王助). All 36 households were slaughtered on the same day, and some 1,000 related persons were exiled. Not until Wu Zetian was overthrown in 705 were Li Yuansu's honors posthumously restored.

Notes and references

* "Book of Tang", vol. 81. [http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/tan10.htm]
* "New Book of Tang", vol. 106. [http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/ntan15.htm]
* "Zizhi Tongjian", vols. 205, 206.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Zhang Yuansu — Zhang Jiegu (Zhang Yuansu) The method of appropriately using herbs in accordance with the symptom and sign presentation of the patient entails determining substances with the correct qi, taste, yin and yang, and thick and thin properties as well… …   Wikipedia

  • Xiao Ji — Ji (蕭紀) (508 553), courtesy name Shixun (世詢), known by his princely title of Prince of Wuling (武陵王), name derogatorily and posthumously changed to Taotie Ji (饕餮紀), was an imperial prince and pretender to the throne of the Chinese dynasty Liang… …   Wikipedia

  • Belinda Chang — Chinese title=Pen name t=章緣cite news|work=Book Tide|title=旅美台裔作家张惠媛:写小说是玩味人生的一种方式 (U.S. based Taiwan author Belinda Chang: Writing is a way of enjoying life)|date=2000 06 25|url=http://www.booktide.com/news/20000625/200006250095.html|accessdate=20… …   Wikipedia

  • Wu Zetian — This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wu. Wu Zetian Empress Regnant of the Zhou Dynasty Empress of Zhou Dynasty …   Wikipedia

  • Yuan Chonghuan — Yuán Chónghuàn (袁崇煥; style name: Yuánsù 元素 and Zìrú 自如; 6 June 1584 – 22 September 1630) was a famed patriot and military commander of the Ming Dynasty who battled the Manchus in Liaoning. He was known to have excelled in artillery warfare and… …   Wikipedia

  • Yuchi Jiong — (尉遲迥) (d. 580), courtesy name Bojuluo (薄居羅), was a general of the Chinese/Xianbei states Western Wei and Northern Zhou. He first came to prominence while his uncle Yuwen Tai served as the paramount general of Western Wei, and subsequently served… …   Wikipedia

  • Chancellor of the Tang Dynasty — The chancellor of the Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 宰相; pinyin: zǎixiàng) was an office that was semi formally designated for a number of high level officials at one time during the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. Contents …   Wikipedia

  • Li Jingxuan — (李敬玄) (615 682), formally Duke Wenxian of Zhao (趙文憲公), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. He was famed for his knack of organizing the civil service system efficiently,… …   Wikipedia

  • Saint (manhua) — Infobox manhua name = Saint imagesize = 250 caption = Promotional image from Saint , courtesy Burapat Comics zh hanzi = romanized = Dàshèng wáng genre = Fantasy = y author = Khoo Fuk Lung illustrator = publisher = flagicon|Hong Kong Jade Dynasty… …   Wikipedia

  • Wang Hongyi — (王弘義) (d. 694) was a secret police official during the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian s Zhou Dynasty.It is not known when Wang Hongyi was born, but it is known that he was from Hengshui. He was known as a hoodlum in his youth, and on… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”