Li Wei (; died November 20, 879

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...

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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 ...

'', vol. 253.),

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 ...

Maoxiu (), was an official of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

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 Xizong.

Background and early career

It is not known when Li Wei was born. He was from the Guzang Branch of the Li clan of Longxi, which, like the

's imperial clan, claimed ancestry from

Li Gao Li Gao or Li Hao (; 351–417), courtesy name Xuansheng (), nickname Changsheng (), formally Prince Wuzhao of (Western) Liang (), was the founding duke of the Han Chinese state Western Liang. (While he claimed only the title of duke during his ...

, the founder of the

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by ...

period state Western Liang''

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 ...

'', vol. 72.—with the Tang imperial clan descended from Li Gao's second son Li Xin (Western Liang's second duke) and Li Wei's ancestors descended from Li Gao's eighth son Li Fan () and Li Fan's son, the prominent

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 ...

general Li Bao (). Subsequent male-line ancestors of Li Wei's served as officials of Northern Wei, the

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 ...

, and Tang. Li Wei's grandfather Li Shanggong () served as the director of the archival bureau (秘書監, ''Mishu Jian''), while his father Li Jingsu () served on the staff of a

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

. Li Wei himself passed the

imperial examination 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 ...

s in the ''Jinshi'' class late in Emperor Wenzong's ''Kaifeng'' era (836–840) and was made an assistant to 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 Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern

Xiangfan Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

). At some point thereafter, he apparently served as an assistant to the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

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 ...

). Late in the ''Huichang'' era (841–847) of Emperor Wenzong's brother and successor Emperor Wuzong, he passed a special imperial examination for those who made good rulings and was thereafter made an imperial censor with the title ''Jiancha Yushi'' (). He thereafter served as director of imperial palace affairs (殿中監, ''Dianzhong Jian''). In 853, by which time Emperor Wuzong's uncle Emperor Xuānzong was emperor, Li Wei became in charge of the affairs of the Office of Censors. Thereafter, he became in charge of drafting imperial edicts and was made ''Zhongshu Sheren'' (), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng'').''

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. 178.

During Emperor Yizong's reign

In 864, during the reign of Emperor Xuānzong's son Emperor Yizong, Li Wei was put in charge of the imperial examinations for that year at the ministry of rites (禮部, ''Libu''). In 865, he was made the deputy minister of rites (禮部侍郎, ''Libu Shilang''), and he was subsequently made ''Shangshu You Cheng'' (), one of the secretaries general of the executive bureau (尚書省, ''Shangshu Sheng''). As he considered Emperor Yizong overly devout in

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

—with the emperor often holding grand feasts for large groups of

Buddhist monks A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist c ...

in the palace—he submitted a lengthy petition asking the emperor to curb his ways. Emperor Yizong praised him for the advice, but did not follow it. Li Wei later served as the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the region of 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 ...

), and then the minister of worship (太常卿, ''Taichang Qing''). Yet later, he served as the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

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 ...

), then 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 ...

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 ...

). When his term as the military governor of Huainan was over, the people petitioned to have him remain as military governor, and Emperor Yizong agreed to a one-year extension.''New Book of Tang'', vol. 181.

During Emperor Xizong's reign

At some point, Li Wei was recalled to Chang'an, and in 875, by which time he was chief imperial censor (御史大夫, ''Yushi Daifu''), he was made ''Zhongshu Shilang'' (), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, and given the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (), making him a

''de facto''.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 252. Little is known about Li Wei's acts as a chancellor. In 878, he was removed from his chancellor position and made the defender of the eastern capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

. In 879, after Cui Jikang () the military governor of Hedong was killed in a mutiny, and Cui's successor Li Kan () was not well liked by the soldiers, the imperial government decided that, because Li Wei had previously treated the people of Hedong well when he served there, to make him military governor. He arrived there late in 879 but died just three days after arrival.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 178. * ''

'', vol. 181. * ''

'', vols. 252, 253. {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Wei 9th-century births 879 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Xizong of Tang Mayors of Xi'an Tang dynasty jiedushi of Xuanwu Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Huainan Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Hedong Circuit