Li Jifu () (758 – November 18, 814),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Hongxian (), formally Duke Zhongyi of Zhao (), was a Chinese cartographer, historian, and politician during the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, serving as a

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

during the reign of

Emperor Xianzong Emperor Xianzong of Tang (4 March to 1 April 778''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 14. – 14 February 820; r. 805 – 820), personal name Li Chun, né Li Chun (), was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Emperor Shunzon ...

Background

Li Jifu was born in 758, during the reign of Emperor Suzong.''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

'', vol. 148. His family claimed ancestry from

Li Mu Li Mu (; died 229 BC), personal name Zuo (繓), courtesy name Mu (牧), was a Chinese military general of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period. He was named by Chinese historians as one of the four greatest generals of the late Wa ...

, a prominent general of the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

state Zhao, and traced its ancestry through a line of officials of

Qin Dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

Jin Dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

, and

Sui Dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

. His grandfather Li Zai () was not recorded to have carried any official titles, but his father Li Qiyun () was a prominent official during the reign of Emperor Suzong's son Emperor Daizong and served as chief imperial censor, carrying the title of Duke of Zanhuang.''New Book of Tang'', vol. 146. Li Jifu himself was said to be studious in his youth and capable in writing.

During Emperor Dezong's reign

In 784, during the reign of Emperor Daizong's son Emperor Dezong, when Li Jifu was 26, Li Jifu became a ''Taichang Boshi'' (), a consultant at the ministry of worship (太常寺, ''Taichang Si''), and became known for his knowledge, especially the past Tang tradition, and was often praised for it. In 786, when Emperor Dezong's wife Empress Wang died, the regulation on the proper rituals were missing – as there had not been an empress who was mourned since the times of Emperor Suzong's father Emperor Xuanzong. Li Jifu planned the mourning ceremonies for Empress Wang, and was much praised by Emperor Dezong. Later, in addition to his ''Taichang Boshi'' title, Li Jifu was also made ''Tuntian Yuanwailang'' (), a low-level official at the ministry of public works (工部, ''Gongbu''); he later became ''Jiabu Yuanwailang'' (), a low-level official at the ministry of rite (禮部, ''Lǐbu''). He was respected and treated well by the

s Li Mi and

Dou Can Dou Can or Dou Shen (; 734–793), courtesy name Shizhong (時中), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong. He was known for being a capable judge before becoming chancellor, but w ...

, but after

Lu Zhi Lu Zhi or Lu Chih may refer to: *Empress Lü (呂雉), first empress of the Han dynasty *Lu Zhi (Han dynasty) (盧植), minister of the Eastern Han dynasty **Lu Zhi (卢志), great-grandson of the Eastern Han minister and confidant/strategist of Si ...

became chancellor, he suspected Li Jifu of engaging in partisanship and had him demoted to serve as the secretary general of Ming Prefecture (明州, in modern

Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

); later, after a general pardon had been issued, Li Jifu was promoted to be the prefect of Zhong Prefecture (忠州, in modern

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

). When Lu was himself exiled, it was said that Lu's rival chancellors wanted to harm him, and then intentionally had him demoted to be the secretary general of Zhong Prefecture – i.e., to serve as Li Jifu's subordinate. Lu's family and friends were concerned deeply, but Li Jifu showed respect to Lu as if Lu were still a chancellor and caused him no harm. The two eventually became friends. Li Jifu served as Zhong Prefecture for six years without further movement, and was later removed on account of illness. He later served as the prefect of either Liu Prefecture (柳州, in modern

Liuzhou Liuzhou (; , IPA Pronunciation:) is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 3,758,700 in 2010, including 1,436,599 in the built-up area made of 4 urban ...

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

) or Chen Prefecture (郴州, in modern

Chenzhou Chenzhou () is a prefecture-level city located in the south of Hunan province, China, bordering the provinces of Jiangxi to the east and Guangdong to the south. Its administrative area covers , 9.2% of the provincial area, and its total populatio ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

), before serving as the prefect of Rao Prefecture (饒州, in modern

Shangrao Shangrao () is a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in the northeast of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. The city borders the province of Anhui to the north, the province of Zhejiang to the east, and the province of Fujian to t ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

). Previously, after four successive prefects had died, the fort that served as headquarters of Rao Prefectures had been abandoned as there were rumors that it was cursed. When Li Jifu arrived, he removed the thorns that had grown up around the fort and moved in with no ill consequences, and the people were comforted.

During Emperor Xianzong's reign

Prior to chancellorships

After Emperor Dezong's grandson

became emperor in 805, Li Jifu was recalled to serve as ''Kaogong Langzhong'' (), a supervisorial official at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, Lìbu, note different tone than the ministry of rites) and put in charge of drafting edicts. Shortly after he arrived at the capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

, he was made ''Hanlin Xueshi'' (), an imperial scholar, and soon was further made ''Zhongshu Sheren'' (), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''). During that time, he made several suggestions that caused him to gain further approval by Emperor Xianzong: * Early in Emperor Xianzong's reign, a long-time minor official at the legislative bureau, Hua Huan (), who was a close associate to the

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

general Liu Guangqi (), had much power due to his association with Liu, and Li suggested Hua's removal – which Emperor Xianzong carried out in 806.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 237. * When the Li Qi the military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

'') of Zhenhai Circuit (鎮海, headquartered in modern

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and b ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

) requested to also be the director of the salt and iron monopoly, Li Jifu pointed out that Li Qi was ambitious and rebellious and that giving him the economic benefits of running the monopolies would further strengthen him in case of a rebellion, and thus opposed the request. Emperor Xianzong agreed with Li Jifu. * When the warlord Liu Pi, who controlled Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

), resisted Emperor Xianzong's rule, Li Jifu advised military action against Liu Pi, and further suggested diverting Liu's attention by directing southern troops through the

Three Gorges The Three Gorges () are three adjacent gorges along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, in the hinterland of the People's Republic of China. With a subtropical monsoon climate, they are known for their scenery. The "Three Gorges Scenic A ...

while the main forces under

Gao Chongwen Gao Chongwen (; 746–809), formally Prince Weiwu of Nanping (), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician during the Tang Dynasty, most well known for his defeat of the warlord Liu Pi (official), Liu Pi. Background Gao Chongwen was ...

were heading over the mountains. * When, even before the campaign ultimately succeeded, another general who fought Liu Pi along with Gao, Yan Li (), requested that a senior official be put in charge of Xichuan, Li Jifu pointed out that such a move would damage Gao's morale, and under Li Jifu's suggestion, Emperor Xianzong eventually made Gao the military governor of Xichuan while carving out six prefectures from Xichuan, transferring them to its neighbor Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern

Mianyang Mianyang (; formerly known as Mienchow) is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Located in north-central Sichuan covering an area of consisting of Jiangyou, a county-level city, five counties, and thre ...

), and making Yan the military governor of Dongchuan. * When Tufan sought a formal treaty of friendship, Li Jifu pointed out that at the time Tang was allied with

Nanzhao Nanzhao (, also spelled Nanchao, ) was a dynastic kingdom that flourished in what is now southern China and northern Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries. It was centered on present-day Yunnan in China. History Origins Nanzha ...

against Tufan – and that such a treaty would cause Nanzhao to suspect Tang's good faith and damage the relationship with Nanzhao. When Tufan further offered to return a number of towns that it had captured from Tang previously, Li Jifu pointed out that at that time, Tang had insufficient troops to defend them. Emperor Xianzong thus declined Tufan's proposal.

First chancellorship

In 807, when

Du Huangchang Du Huangchang (杜黃裳) (738 or 739Du Huangchang's biographies in the ''Old Book of Tang'' and ''New Book of Tang'' disagree as to his age at death — the ''Old Book of Tang'' gave his age at death as 70, while the ''New Book of Tang'' gave it as ...

was removed from his chancellor position, Li Jifu was made ''Zhongshu Shilang'' (), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, and made ''de facto'' chancellor with the title ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (), along with

Wu Yuanheng Wu Yuanheng (; 758 – July 13, 815), courtesy name Bocang (伯蒼), formally Duke Zhongmin of Linhuai (臨淮忠湣公), was a Chinese military general, poet, and politician during the Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Em ...

. It was said that he was greatly touched and stated to his subordinate Pei Ji: Pei wrote out a list of over 30 people, and within a month, Li Jifu had them put into appropriate positions. It was believed at the time that Li Jifu was a good judge of character. As he believed that the military governors at the time had too much power over their domains, he advocated granting the prefects under them greater power. However, it was also said that Li Jifu, around that time, falsely accused fellow chancellor Zheng Yin of leaking secrets to the warlord Lu Congshi (), the military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern

Changzhi Changzhi () is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the northeast and east, respectively. Historically, the city was one of the 36 administrative areas (see Administrat ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

), and that Emperor Xianzong did not act against Zheng only after the accusation was shown to be unreasonable by the imperial scholar Li Jiang. Late in 807, Li Jifu submitted a 10-volume work titled the ''Records of ''Yuanhe'' Imperial Accounts'' (''Yuanhe'' () being Emperor Xianzong's

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...

) that contained detail accounts of the state of the various circuits of the empire, including the population and revenues. In 808, at a special

imperial examinations The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

where Emperor Xianzong ordered that low-level officials submit honest opinions about the government, several of the examinees – Niu Sengru,

Li Zongmin Li Zongmin (李宗閔) (died 846?''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 248.), courtesy name Sunzhi (損之), was a Chinese politician of the Tang Dynasty, serving twice as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Wenzong. He was considered one of the leading fi ...

, and Huangfu Shi () stated, without using any veiled language, the issues they saw with the governance at the time. The officials that Emperor Xianzong put in charge of the examinations, Yang Yuling () and

Wei Guanzhi Wei Guanzhi (韋貫之) (760 – November 13, 821), né Wei Chun (韋純), courtesy name Guanzhi (貫之) or Zhengli (正理), was a Chinese politician and writer. He served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xianzong. Background Wei Ch ...

ranked them high. However, Li Jifu saw these as severe criticisms of himself, and, weeping, accused the reviewing officials, the imperial scholars Pei Ji and

Wang Ya Wang Ya (; died December 17, 835), courtesy name Guangjin (), formally Duke of Dai (), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Xianzong and Emperor Xianzong's grandson Emperor Wenzong. Du ...

, of conflict of interest – as Huangfu was a nephew of Wang's. As a result of Li Jifu's accusations, Wang, Pei, Yang, and Wei were all demoted, and it was said that while no harm came to Niu, Li Zongmin, and Huangfu at that time, they were effectively stuck at the positions they previously served without promotion. As a result, they all sought positions as staff members of military governors. (However, Li Jifu's biographies in the ''

'' and ''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

'' viewed this event as part of the conspiracy by the senior official Pei Jun () to harm Li Jifu and to have Pei Jun made chancellor.) Soon thereafter, there was another incident in which Li Jifu and the official Dou Qun () came into conflict. Li Jifu had previously recommended the officials Yang Shi'e () and Lü Wen (), and because Dou was also friendly with Yang and Lü, he recommended them as well, without first informing Li Jifu. Li Jifu became displeased and refused to act on Dou's recommendations, thus drawing Dou's resentment. When Dou later found out that one Chen Keming () – whom Dou believed to be a sorcerer but who could have been a physician – was visiting Li Jifu's household because Li Jifu was ill – he submitted an accusation to Emperor Xianzong that Li Jifu was associating with sorcerers. When Emperor Xianzong investigated and found no proof of Li Jifu's guilt, Dou and his associates were exiled, but Li Jifu felt insecure and offered to resign, recommending Pei Ji to succeed him. Emperor Xianzong agreed, and, in late 808, made Pei Ji chancellor and made Li Jifu the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

), and granted him various medical ingredients from the imperial pharmacy.

Between the chancellorships

While Li Jifu was at Huainan, it was said that he built Pingjin Dam () and two ponds named Furen () and Guben (), for irrigation purposes. When the Yangtze-Huai region suffered a great drought, particularly hurting Li Jifu's neighboring circuits Zhexi (浙西, headquartered in modern Zhenjiang) and Zhedong (浙東, headquartered in modern

Shaoxing Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitants. ...

), the central government agencies in charge did not act, and it was only after an extensive report by Li Jifu that Emperor Xianzong ordered disaster relief. It was also said that Li Jifu often sent suggestions about important matters of state to Emperor Xianzong. In late 810, Pei Ji was removed from his chancellor position on account of illness, and in spring 811, Li Jifu was recalled to again serve as ''Zhongshu Shilang'' and chancellor.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 238. He was also given the additional titles of ''Jinzi Guanglu Daifu'' (), ''Shang Zhuguo'' (), and imperial scholar of Jixian Palace. He was also put in charge of editing the imperial history and created the Duke of Zhao.

Second chancellorship

It was said that the people of the time looked forward to Li Jifu's return to chancellorship with great expectations. However, it was also said that soon after his return to chancellorship, fellow chancellor Li Fan was removed, and Pei Ji was further demoted, due to his machinations. Further, it was also said that he began to try to hide his acts from Emperor Xianzong. However, he was credited with advocating a major streamlining of government that saved expenses. In 811, also at Li Jifu's recommendation – as Li Jifu pointed out that the imperial princes, due to various restrictions, were having difficulty finding appropriate husbands for their daughters and getting the marriages approved – Emperor Xianzong created many princes' daughters ladies and ordered the government agencies to find appropriate gentlemen for them to marry. However, by this point, Emperor Xianzong had heard that Li Jifu was using his office for personal vengeance, and so decided to make Li Jiang a chancellor as well to create a power balance. Thereafter, Li Jifu and Li Jiang often had disputes, causing a rift between the two. In 812, when the chancellors met with Emperor Xianzong, Li Jifu made a comment that the realm was becoming peaceful and that Emperor Xianzong should seek out some pleasure – when Li Jiang commented that there was still much warfare and natural disasters to deal with and it was no time to seek pleasure. Emperor Xianzong approved of Li Jiang's remarks. Li Jifu further became distressed when Emperor Xianzong criticized another chancellor,

Yu Di Yu Di (; died 818), courtesy name Yunyuan (允元), formally initially Duke Li of Yan () and later Duke Si of Yan (), was a Chinese diplomat, military general, politician, and warlord during the Tang dynasty. He was a powerful warlord at the end ...

, for proposing harsh punishments – as Li Jifu had just himself proposed the same kind of harsher punishments. On another occasion, however, when Emperor Xianzong met the chancellors, he commented to Li Jifu that he had just read in the imperial archives about the faithfulness of Li Jifu's father Li Qiyun and was impressed – causing Li Jifu to be touched, and he wept and thanked Emperor Xianzong. Later in 812, when the warlord

Tian Ji'an Tian Ji'an (781 or 782– September 21, 812), courtesy name Kui and formally the Prince of Yanmen, was a general of the Tang Dynasty, who, as military governor (''Jiedushi''), ruled Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei) ...

, the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

), died, Li Jifu advocated preparing for a campaign to retake Weibo by force, but Li Jiang advocated another strategy – simply refusing to commission Tian Ji'an's son

Tian Huaijian Tian Huaijian () (b. 802) was a general of the History of China, Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who, in his childhood, briefly served as the ruler of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei), which had been held by his family for ...

as his successor and waiting for someone else to rise against Tian Huaijian from within Weibo itself. Emperor Xianzong agreed with Li Jiang, and eventually, when Tian Ji'an's relative Tian Xing rose against Tian Huaijian, Emperor Xianzong commissioned Tian Xing as the new military governor as per Li Jiang's argument, overruling Li Jifu's argument that Tian Xing needed to be observed first; Weibo then began to follow imperial orders.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 239. In 813, when

Huigu The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; otk, 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Toquz Oγuz budun, Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic empire that e ...

forces approached Tang borders and announced that they were going through Tang territory to attack Tufan, the border people were alarmed, believing that Huigu might be intending to attack them instead. Li Jifu advocated not becoming overly alarmed, but simply repairing 11 border posts to watch them. In 814, he further advocated the reestablishment of You Prefecture (宥州, in modern

Yulin, Shaanxi Yulin () is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi to the east, and Ningxia to the west. It has an administrative area of and as of the 2020 Chinese census had a po ...

), a special prefecture to settle the surrendered non-

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

tribes. Emperor Xianzong approved his proposals. In 814, when the warlord

Wu Shaoyang Wu Shaoyang () (died September 29, 814) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, who, after seizing control of Zhangyi Circuit (彰義/彰义, headquartered in modern Zhumadian, Henan) in 809, governed it in a ''de ...

the military governor of Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern

Zhumadian Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of An ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

), died, Li Jifu advocated preparing for military action to retake Zhangyi by force, rather than allowing Wu Shaoyang's son

Wu Yuanji Wu Yuanji (吳元濟) (783''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 145. or 793''New Book of Tang'', vol. 214. – December 12, 817 Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

, Zhangyi was surrounded by circuits loyal to the imperial government. By Li JIfu's recommendation, the headquarters of Zhangyi's neighbor Heyang Circuit (河陽, then-headquartered in modern

Jiaozuo Jiaozuo ( ; postal: Tsiaotso) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Henan province, China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the south, Xinxiang to the east, Jiyuan to the ...

), which was under imperial control and which was stationed in order to protect the eastern capital Luoyang from Weibo, was moved to Ru Prefecture (汝州, in modern

Pingdingshan Pingdingshan (), also known as Eagle City ( zh, s=鹰城, p=Yīngchéng, t=鷹城), is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province, China. It had 4,904,701 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,756,333 lived in the built-up (or metro) are ...

), to prepare for action against Zhangyi. When Wu Shaoyang's subordinate Yang Yuanqing met Li Jifu, Li Jifu persuaded him to report to the imperial government the strengths and weaknesses of the Zhangyi forces, for the imperial government to further prepare for the campaign. While still preparing for the campaign, Li Jifu died. Initially, the officials in charge of awarding

posthumous names A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments o ...

proposed ''Jingxian'' (敬憲, "alert and knowledgeable"). One of the junior officials, Zhang Zhongfang () objected, arguing that that was too flattering. Emperor Xianzong was displeased and exiled Zhang, but subsequently changed Li Jifu's posthumous name to ''Zhongyi'' ("faithful and benevolent"). His sons Li Dexiu () and

Li Deyu Li Deyu (; 787 – January 26, 850Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 174.), courtesy name Wenrao (), formally the Duke of Wei (), was a Chinese poet, politician, and writer during the Tang Dynasty, serv ...

both later served in the imperial government, with Li Deyu becoming a prominent chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Xianzong's grandsons Emperor Wenzong and Emperor Wuzong.

Written works

Li Jifu wrote commentaries on the ''

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zho ...

''. He also compiled a number of historical events from the

Eastern Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, Cao Wei, Jin,

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

, and Sui, commenting on their successes and failures and the reasons, into a 30-volume work known as the ''Summaries of the Six Dynasties'' (). In addition to his ''Records of Yuanhe Imperial Accounts'', he also wrote a 54-volume work on the geographical features and histories of the various circuits, including maps, titling the work the ''Yuanhe Maps of the Commanderies and Principalities'' ().The ''Old Book of Tang'' specifies 54 volumes, but an alternate name is '

Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties The ''Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties'' () compiled by Li Jifu during the Yuanhe reign of the Tang Dynasty is one of the earliest and most complete gazetteers of China.Li, Jifu, and He, Cijun: Page 1. The gazetteer was compose ...

' (元和郡縣圖志) which is listed as being 40 volumes plus a 2 volume table of contents. He further wrote a one-volume summary of imperial offices' responsibilities entitled the ''Key Points on Selecting Officials for the Hundred Offices'' (). He submitted these works to the emperor, but the works were also commonly known at the time.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 148. * ''

'', vol. 146. * ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', vols.

236 __NOTOC__ Year 236 ( CCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verus and Africanus (or, less frequently, year 989 ''Ab ...

237 Year 237 ( CCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Perpetuus and Felix (or, less frequently, year 990 '' Ab urbe con ...

238 __NOTOC__ Year 238 ( CCXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pius and Pontianus (or, less frequently, year 991 ''Ab ...

239 __NOTOC__ Year 239 ( CCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gordianus and Aviola (or, less frequently, year 992 ''A ...

. * ''Yuanhe Maps of the Counties'' (), Li, Jifu, and He, Cijun (). 1983. Zhongguo gu dai di li zong zhi cong kan (). Beijing: Zhong hua shu ju (). {{DEFAULTSORT:Li Jifu 758 births 814 deaths 8th-century Chinese historians 8th-century geographers 9th-century Chinese historians 9th-century geographers Chancellors under Emperor Xianzong of Tang Chinese cartographers Medieval Chinese geographers Tang dynasty historians Tang dynasty jiedushi of Huainan Circuit Tang dynasty politicians