Liu Xiangdao (劉祥道) (596–666),
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 ...
Tongshou (同壽), formally Duke Xuan of Guangping (廣平宣公), was a Chinese politicians of the medieval
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 ...
who served briefly as
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 Gaozong.
Background
Liu Xiangdao's family was from what would become Wei Prefecture (魏州, part of 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 ...
), and claimed ancestry from Liu Pengzu (劉彭祖), a son of
Emperor Jing of Han
Emperor Jing of Han (Liu Qi (劉啟); 188 BC – 9 March 141 BC) was the sixth emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty from 157 to 141 BC. His reign saw the limiting of the power of the feudal kings/princes which resulted in the Rebellion of the Sev ...
. His father Liu Linfu (劉林甫) served as a mid-level official in the administrations of Tang's founder
Emperor Gaozu and
Emperor Taizong, and carried the title of Baron of Leping. Liu Linfu died in 629, and Liu Xiangdao inherited the title.
During Emperor Gaozong's reign
The historical records give little information on the early parts of Liu Xiangdao's career. Early in the reign of Emperor Taizong's son and successor Emperor Gaozong, Liu Xiangdao served successively as assistant to the head of the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''), assistant imperial censor, and assistant minister of civil service affairs, all mid-level posts in the imperial administration. In 657, he was made assistant to the head of the examination bureau (門下省, ''Menxia Sheng''), but continued to be responsible for civil service affairs. As he saw faults in the civil service selection process, he submitted a petition to Emperor Gaozong to request changes, and in the excerpts quoted by the ''
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 ...
'', he raised six points—that the civil selection process was selecting too many people who were not virtuous; that the people chosen were simply too numerous; that there was insufficient attention paid to selecting diligent students of
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
; that awards should be given to people who recommended new talent; that the officials should be given longer office terms so that they would have time to carry out their plans; and that as it currently student, the prominent clans' members were declining important secretarial posts, which they viewed to be below their social station, when such posts were actually quite important in efficient imperial government. Emperor Gaozong apparently initially took no action on this petition, but when the chancellor
Du Zhenglun Du Zhenglun () (died 658?) was a Chinese politician of the History of China, Chinese dynasties Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, serving as chancellor of Tang Dynasty, chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang.
During Sui Dynasty
It is n ...
expressed similar sentiments in 658, he had Du and Liu draft proposals for revising the civil service system, but there were many oppositions to their suggestions from established officials, and the recommendations were not acted upon. Later that year, on account of Liu's participation in revising the regulations on imperial ceremonies, his title was upgraded to Marquess of Yangcheng.
In 659, Liu was made the minister of justice. It was said that whenever he dealt with serious cases, he carefully deliberated with a heavy heart, and whenever he submitted recommendations of execution to the emperor, he would fast on that day. In 661, he took the additional post of prefect of Pu Prefecture (蒲州, roughly modern
Yuncheng
Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...
,
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 ...
). In 663, that prefectural post was changed to that of secretary general of the capital prefecture Yong Prefecture (雍州, roughly modern
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
), a very important post as the prefect of the capital prefecture was traditionally a post given to one of the most honored imperial princes, and therefore secretary general was actually the official in charge of the capital. Also that year, he was in charge of the corruption investigation against the powerful chancellor
Li Yifu
Li Yifu (; 614–666) was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician who served as a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, during the reign of the Emperor Gaozong. He became particularly powerful because of his support for the Emperor Gaozong's second ...
. In 664, he was made ''You Xiang'' (右相), the head of the legislative bureau—a post considered one for a chancellor. Around the new year 665, when fellow chancellor
Shangguan Yi
Shangguan Yi (; 608 – 4 January 665), courtesy name Youshao (), formally Duke of Chu (), was a Chinese poet and politician. He was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozon ...
failed in his bid to persuade Emperor Gaozong to depose his second wife
Empress Wu
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
(later known as Wu Zetian), Empress Wu had her ally
Xu Jingzong
Xu Jingzong (592 – September 20, 672), courtesy name Yanzu, posthumously known as Duke Gong of Gaoyang, was a Chinese cartographer, historian, and politician who served as a chancellor in the Tang dynasty. Allied with Emperor Gaozong's power ...
falsely accuse Shangguan of treason and had Shangguan executed. As Liu and Shangguan were friends, he was removed from his chancellor post and made the minister of rites.
[This version of Liu's removal was given in the '']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 ...
'', which the ''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 ...
'' adopted as well. See ''New Book of Tang'', vol. 160 and ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 201. However, the ''Old Book of Tang'' merely indicated that he had believed that he had grown old and should not be a chancellor any more, and that Emperor Gaozong accepted his resignation in light of that. See ''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 81.
In 665, when Emperor Gaozong was preparing to make sacrifices to heaven and earth at
Mount Tai
Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the '' Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...
, the officials in charge generally opined that, based on regulations written during the
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 ...
, the two officials who should sacrifice after Emperor Gaozong were the ministers of ceremonies (太常卿, ''Taichang Qing'') and palace supplies (光祿卿, ''Guanglu Qing'') — two titles that carried far more prestige and importance in Han Dynasty than they did in the Tang Dynasty. Liu rebutted their recommendations, pointing out the absurdity of adopting Han regulations that were written for a different structure of government. Emperor Gaozong agreed, and instead, he had his uncle Li Yuanli (李元禮) the Prince of Xu sacrifice after himself, and had Liu sacrifice after Li Yuanli. After the completion of the ceremony (which was held in 666), Emperor Gaozong created Liu the Duke of Guangping. Later that year, Liu requested that he be allowed to retire, and Emperor Gaozong allowed him to retire and bestowed on him the honorific title of ''Zijin Guanglu Daifu'' (紫金光祿大夫). He died later that year, and his son
Liu Qixian (who later changed his name to Liu Jingxian to observe
naming taboo
A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly r ...
as to Emperor Gaozong's
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 Xian) inherited his title.
Notes and references
* ''
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.
81.
* ''
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.
vol. 106.
* ''
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.
200
__NOTOC__
Year 200 ( CC) was a leap 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 Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 '' Ab ur ...
,
201
Year 201 ( CCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fabianus and Arrius (or, less frequently, year 954 '' Ab urbe condi ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Xiangdao
596 births
666 deaths
Chancellors under Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Tang dynasty politicians from Hebei