Li Zhirou (李知柔) (died 900), formally the Prince of Xue (薛王), was an official of the Chinese dynasty

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

, serving briefly 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 ...

in 895 during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong, to whom he was a distant relative.

Background

It is not known when Li Zhirou was born. He was descended from Emperor Ruizong through Emperor Ruizong's son Li Ye (李業) the Prince of Xue (who was posthumously honored, by his older brother Emperor Xuanzong, Crown Prince Huixuan). Li Zhirou was descended through the line of Li Ye's descendants that inherited the title of Prince of Xue, including Li Zhirou's great-grandfather Li Quan (李琄), grandfather Li Sui (李邃), and father Li Mi (李宓). After Li Zhirou inherited the title of Prince of Xue, he served as the minister of imperial clan affairs (宗正卿, ''Zongzheng Qing''). He later served as the mayor of

Jingzhao Jingzhao ( zh, 京兆) was a historical region centered on the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an. Han dynasty In early Han dynasty, the governor of the capital Chang'an and its vicinities was known as ''You Neishi'' (), and the region was also ...

(京兆, i.e., the region of the Tang imperial 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 ...

). While he was the mayor of Jingzhao, he sifted the long-unusable Zhengguo Canal and Bai Canal (白渠) such that they could be used for irrigation again, and was thus much praised by the people of Jingzhao, who wanted to build a monument to commemorate his contributions; he declined. He was later put in charge of the directorates of finances and of the salt and iron monopolies.''New Book of Tang'', vol. 81.Li Zhirou's biography also indicated that he was made a chancellor at this point, but that is incongruent with the other records of his career.

As chancellor

In 895, there was an occasion when then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong fled Chang'an into the

Qinling Mountains The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow ...

, fearing that the nearby warlords

Li Maozhen Li Maozhen (; 856 – May 17, 924), born Song Wentong (), courtesy name Zhengchen (), formally Prince Zhongjing of Qin (), was the only ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Qi (901–924). He had become a powerful w ...

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 Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern

Baoji () is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a population of 3,321,853 accordin ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ning ...

) and Wang Xingyu the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metr ...

) would seize him. Most of the imperial officials were initially unable to follow him, but Li Zhirou caught up to him. Emperor Zhaozong thus put Li Zhirou in charge of the office of chancellors, effectively making him a

, albeit not with the usual designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事). He also put Li Zhirou in charge of comforting the civilians who followed him. Shortly thereafter, after the chancellors

Cui Zhaowei Cui Zhaowei (崔昭緯) (d. 896), courtesy name Yunyao (蘊曜), was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong. According to traditional histories, he was disloyal to Emperor Zhaozong and ...

Xu Yanruo Xu Yanruo (徐彥若) (died 901), courtesy name Yuzhi (俞之), formally the Duke of Qi (齊公), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong. Background and early career It ...

, and

Wang Tuan Wang Tuan (王摶) (died July 12, 900''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 262.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Zhaoyi (昭逸), formally the Duke of Lu (魯公), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving a ...

arrived, Emperor Zhaozong sent Li Zhirou and the acting director of palace communications, Liu Guangyu (劉光裕), to return to Chang'an to gather up imperial guards to defend the palace. Subsequently, Emperor Zhaozong commissioned Li Zhirou as the military governor of Qinghai Circuit (清海, headquartered in modern

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

), carrying the ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' title as an honorary title, but still let him temporarily act as the mayor of Jingzhao, the director of finances, and the director of salt and iron monopolies, with directions that he should report to Qinghai after the emperor returned to Chang'an. As Emperor Zhaozong was able to return to Chang'an later in the year, with Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu defeated by

Li Keyong Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...

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 ...

), presumably Li Zhirou then embarked on his journey to Qinghai.''

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 dynas ...

'', vol. 260.

As ''Jiedushi'' of Qinghai Circuit

As Li Zhirou headed for Qinghai, he went through Wu'an Circuit (武安, headquartered in modern

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, and th ...

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 ...

) in 896. Instead of preparing to welcome him, however, the Qinghai officers Lu Ju (盧琚) and Tan Hongqi (譚弘玘) instead prepared to resist him and took up defensive positions, with Tan defending Duan Prefecture (端州, in modern

Zhaoqing Zhaoqing (), alternately romanized as Shiuhing, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,113,594, with 1,553,109 living in the built-up (or metro) area made of Duanzhou, Dinghu ...

). Tan tried to enter an alliance with Liu Yin the prefect of Feng Prefecture (封州, in modern Zhaoqing as well) to defend against Li, and promised to give his daughter to Liu in marriage. Liu pretended to agree, but instead, under the guise that he was going to go to Duan Prefecture to marry Tan's daughter, ambushed Tan and killed him. He then attacked Qinghai's capital Guang Prefecture (廣州) and killed Lu, and then welcomed Li to Guang Prefecture to take command. Li commissioned Liu as the commander of the Qinghai army. In 900, then-leading chancellor

Cui Yin Cui Yin (崔胤) (854''New Book of Tang'', vol. 223, part 2.-February 1, 904'' Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 264.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Chuixiu (垂休), nickname Zilang (緇郎), formally the Duke of Wei (� ...

was showing dislike for fellow chancellor

for having greater seniority, and Xu, detecting this, resigned the chancellorship and asked to succeed Li at Qinghai (as Li was one of the few military governors remaining who was still obeying imperial orders). Emperor Zhaozong thus commissioned Xu as Qinghai's military governor. Before Xu could reach Qinghai, however, Li died, while still serving at Qinghai.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 262.

Notes and references

* '' New Book of Tang'', vol. 81. * ''

'', vols.

260 __NOTOC__ Year 260 ( CCLX) was a leap 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 Saecularis and Donatus (or, less frequently, year 1013 ''Ab ...

, 262. {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Zhirou 9th-century births 900 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Tang dynasty imperial princes Tang dynasty jiedushi of Lingnan Circuit Mayors of Xi'an