Lu Han () was a Chinese 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 Dezong.

Background

Very little is known about Lu Han's background, and his date of birth is not known, as, contrary to the case with most other Tang chancellors, there was no biography of him in either 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 ...

'' or 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 ...

''. He was from the "second house of northern ancestry" (北祖第二房) of the prominent

Lu clan of Fanyang The Lu clan of Fanyang (范陽盧氏) was a Chinese political clan active from the late Eastern Han dynasty to the early Song dynasty. They descended from a noble clan in Qi, a ducal state under the Zhou dynasty. Their family name, Lu 盧, was der ...

, although Lu Han's male line ancestors for several generations prior to his grandfather Lu Lübing (盧履冰), during

, had not served as governmental officials. Lu Lübing served as a low-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''), while Lu Han's father Lu Zhengji (盧正己) served as a minister of justice.

As chancellor

In 784, while Emperor Dezong was at Fengtian (奉天, 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 metrop ...

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 ...

) because 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 ...

was occupied by the rebel

Zhu Ci Zhu Ci (; 742–784) was a Chinese military general, monarch, and rebel during the Tang dynasty. He initially served as military governor (''Jiedushi'') of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing), but later became a general ...

's state of Han, Lu Han, who was then deputy minister of civil service affairs (吏部侍郎, ''Libu Shilang''), was made the deputy minister of defense (兵部侍郎, ''Bingbu Shilang'') and given the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事), making him a

''de facto''.''

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. 229. Few of his acts were recorded in history. In 784, when fellow chancellor

Xiao Fu Xiao Fu (; 732 – June 23, 788), courtesy name Lüchu (履初), was a Chinese politician during the Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, Emperor Dezong. Background Xi ...

suggested that Chen Shaoyou (陳少遊) 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 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 ...

) be replaced with

Wei Gao Wei Gao (韋皋) (745 – September 13, 805), courtesy name Chengwu (城武), formally Prince Zhongwu of Nankang (南康忠武王), was a general of the Tang dynasty of China. He was a long-time (from 785 to 805) military governor (''Jiedushi'') o ...

, Emperor Dezong ordered Xiao to only discuss the matter with another chancellor,

Liu Congyi Liu Congyi (劉從一) (742 – November 4, 785) was a Chinese historian and politician during Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong. Background Liu Congyi was born in 742, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzon ...

, excluding Lu and

Li Mian Li Mian (; 717 – September 14, 788), courtesy name Xuanqing (玄卿), formally Duke Zhenjian of Qian (汧貞簡公), was a Chinese judge, military general, musician, poet, and politician during the Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor of Tang D ...

from the discussion, and Xiao's refusal to do so eventually led to Xiao's resignation.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 231. Around the new year 785, Lu was given the additional title as overseer of Taiwei Palace (太微宮).''New Book of Tang''
vol. 62
. In spring 785, Lu and Liu were recorded as not having dared to oppose the promotion of former chancellor Lu Qi, whom the popular sentiment had blamed for the rebellions of Zhu and

Li Huaiguang Li Huaiguang (; 729 – September 19, 785) was a leading general of Mohe extraction of Tang China. He was credited with saving Emperor Dezong in the face of an attack by the rebel Zhu Ci in 783 but, dissatisfied with the lack of trust that Empero ...

. In 786, Lu Han was removed from his chancellor post and made an advisor to Emperor Dezong'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 Song. That was the last historical record regarding Lu in history, and it is not known when he died.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vols.

229 __NOTOC__ Year 229 ( CCXXIX) 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 Severus and Cassius (or, less frequently, year 982 '' ...

231 Year 231 ( CCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Claudius and Sallustus (or, less frequently, year 984 '' Ab urbe ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lu Han (Tang Dynasty) 8th-century births Year of death unknown Chancellors under Emperor Dezong of Tang Lu clan of Fanyang