Li Delin
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Li Delin (李德林),
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 ...
Gongfu (公輔), formally either Duke Wen of Anping (安平文公) (according to the ''
Book of Sui The ''Book of Sui'' (''Suí Shū'') is the official history of the Sui dynasty. It ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written by Yan Shigu, Kong Yingda, and Zhangsun Wuji, with Wei Zheng as the lead author. ...
'') or Viscount Wen of Cheng'an (成安文子) (according to 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 ...
''), 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 va ...
Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...
,
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 dynasties. He was a prolific writer whose writing ability was greatly praised by his contemporaries and the emperors that he served under. He began the compilation of the ''
Book of Northern Qi The ''Book of Northern Qi'' (Chinese: 北齊書, pinyin Běi Qí Shū), was the official history of the Chinese dynasty Northern Qi. It was written by the Tang Dynasty historian Li Baiyao (李百藥) and was completed in 636. It is listed among ...
'', a work that he was never able to complete, but his son
Li Baiyao Li Baiyao () (564–647), courtesy name Zhonggui (重規), formally Viscount Kang of Anping (安平康子), was a Chinese historian and an official during the Chinese dynasties Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty. He was honored for his literary abiliti ...
later completed the work.


Background

The exact year of Li Delin's birth is not known, but in all likelihood, he was born during the 530s, perhaps 531, around the time when
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 ...
was divided into
Eastern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Eastern Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty. One of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period, the Eastern Wei ...
and
Western Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the weste ...
. His grandfather Li Shou (李壽) was a minor provincial official, but his father Li Jingzu (李敬族) was more prominent, serving as both an official and a general during the reign of
Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei ((東)魏孝靜帝) (524 – 21 January 552), personal name Yuan Shanjian (元善見), was the only emperor of the Eastern Wei – a branch successor state to Northern Wei. In 534 Emperor Xiaowu had fled the capita ...
. Li Delin was said to be highly intelligent from his childhood, and even before he turned 10 he was able to quickly memorize and recite the lengthy poem ''Shudu Fu'' (蜀都賦) by
Zuo Si Zuo Si (; 250–305), courtesy name Taichong (), was a Chinese writer and poet who lived in the Western Jin dynasty. Biography Zuo was born to an aristocratic family of Confucian scholars in Linzi. His mother died young. His father, Zuo Yong, ...
(左思), impressing the high-level official Gao Longzhi (高隆之). By age 14, his writing ability already impressed the historian and official
Wei Shou Wei Shou () (506–572), courtesy name Boqi (伯起), was a Chinese author born in Quyang County in Julu Commandery (today Xingtai, Hebei).(魏收,字伯起,小字佛助,巨鹿下曲阳人也.) ''Bei Qi Shu'', vol.37 He wrote the ''Book of We ...
. When he was 15, Li Jingzu died, and Li Delin took his father's casket back to his ancestral commandery Boling (博陵, roughly modern
Hengshui Hengshui () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shandong to the southeast. At the 2010 census its population was 4,340,373 inhabitants whom 522,147 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') are ...
,
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 ...
) for burial. Because his mother Lady Zhao was often ill, he declined offers of governmental posts and remained at Boling to care for his mother, until his mother eventually grew better in her physical condition.


During Northern Qi

Sometime before 557, Gao Jie (高湝) the Prince of Rencheng, the governor of Ding Province (定州, roughly modern
Baoding Baoding (), formerly known as Baozhou and Qingyuan, is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2010 census, Baoding City had 11,194,382 inhabitants out of which 2,176,857 lived in the b ...
,
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 brother to Emperor Wenxuan of the newly established
Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...
(Eastern Wei's successor state), impressed with Li Delin's talent, invited Li to his mansion and treated him as a friend, not as a subordinate. In 557, Gao Jie, believing that Li's talent should be employed by the imperial administration, recommended him. The prime minister
Yang Yin Yang Yin (楊愔) (511–560), courtesy name Zhunyan (遵彦), nickname Qinwang (秦王), was a high-level official of the Chinese dynasty Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a ...
made Li a low-level official, but in a post where Li felt that his talent was not being used properly, so eventually Li resigned (with the excuse that he was ill) and returned to Boling. He turned to imperial government after Emperor Wenxuan's death in 559, and gradually rose in prominence during the succeeding reigns of Emperor Wenxuan's son Emperor Fei and Emperor Wenxuan's brothers Emperor Xiaozhao and Emperor Wucheng. In 573, when Emperor Wucheng's son and successor
Gao Wei Gao Wei (高緯) (29 May 556 – November 577According to volume 10 of ''History of the Northern Dynasties'', Gao Wei was killed in the 10th month of the 6th year of the ''Jiande'' era of Yuwen Yong's reign. This corresponds to 28 Oct to 25 Nov ...
, who had a love for literature, established Wenlin Hall (文林館) to retain officials with literary talent, he made Li and Yan Zitui (顏子推) co-directors. Meanwhile, Li was responsible for drafting imperial edicts, and his literary abilities became well-known.


During Northern Zhou

In 577, Northern Qi was conquered by rival
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 ...
(Western Wei's successor state).
Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou ((北)周武帝) (543 – 21 June 578), personal name Yuwen Yong (宇文邕), Xianbei name Miluotu (禰羅突), was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Northern Zhou dynasty of China. As was the case of the reigns of his broth ...
, who had previously already been impressed by the edicts that Li Delin drafted for Northern Qi's emperors, made the comment, "I have long heard of Li Delin, and when I read the edicts that he wrote for Qi, I believed him to be a heavenly man. I did not know then that one day I can have him draft my own documents." Li thereafter served in Northern Zhou's imperial government, although not of high rank. During the time of the reign of Emperor Wu's grandson Emperor Jing (579–581), while Emperor Wu's son Emperor Xuan still retained imperial powers as
retired emperor Retired Emperor, Grand Emperor, or Emperor Emeritus is a title occasionally used by the monarchical regimes in the Sinosphere for former emperors who had (at least in name) abdicated voluntarily to another member of the same clan, usually their s ...
, Li was created the Baron of Cheng'an. In 580, Emperor Xuan died, and his father-in-law Yang Jian seized power as
regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
. He invited Li to serve as his assistant, and Li pledged loyalty to him. It was at Li's suggestion that Yang immediately made his intentions to eventually take the throne known by assuming particularly elevated titles while serving as regent. When the general
Yuchi Jiong Yuchi Jiong (尉遲迥) (died 11 September 580''gengwu'' day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the ''Daxiang'' era, per Emperor Jing's biography in ''Book of Zhou''), courtesy name Bojuluo (薄居羅), was a general of the Xianbei-led Western We ...
rose against Yang at Yecheng, the former Northern Qi capital, Yang particularly entrusted strategic issues with Li, allowing Li to make much of the military decisions during the campaign, which eventually saw Yang defeating Yuchi to affirm his hold on power.


During Sui Dynasty

In spring 581, Yang Jian had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him, ending Northern Zhou and establishing 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 ...
as Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen reorganized his government into five main branches, and he made Li Delin be the deputy head of the legislative branch ''Neishi Sheng'' (內史省), under the official Yu Qingze (虞慶則). Yu subsequently recommended to Emperor Wen that the members of Northern Zhou's imperial Yuwen clan be massacred—a suggestion that the other chief advisors to Emperor Wen,
Gao Jiong Gāo Jiǒng () (died August 27, 607), courtesy name Zhaoxuan (昭玄), alternative name Min (敏))) known during the Northern Zhou period by the Xianbei name Dugu Jiong (独孤颎/獨孤熲), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Ch ...
and Yang Hui (楊惠) disagreed with but did not dare to openly oppose. Only Li openly opposed it, but Emperor Wen responded, "You are only a scholar, and you have no qualifications in this matter." Emperor Wen subsequently did slaughter members of the Yuwen clan, and after this incident, he never again promoted Li—and it did not help that Li, who was proud of his own abilities, generally had poor relations with other high-level officials. Li's title, however, was upgraded from baron to viscount. Li had a particularly adversarial relationship with Su Wei, over Su's constant desire to revise the laws that Li drafted along with Yu Yi (于翼) and Gao in 581 and Li's opposition to Su's proposal to create the office of township mayors with authorities over 500 households, on the grounds that it would be difficult to find enough men capable of governing 500 household units. In this conflict, Su, supported by Gao, was largely able to have his opinions adopted by Emperor Wen, over Li's. In winter 587, when Emperor Wen visited Tong Province (同州, roughly
Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of Shan ...
,
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 ...
), Li initially did not follow him on account of illness. However, Emperor Wen had him summoned from 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 ...
to plan together the invasion of rival Chen Dynasty, making the promise to Li, "On the day that Chen is conquered, I will use seven kinds of jewels to decorate you, so that no one east of 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 ...
would be more honored than you would be." When Emperor Wen subsequently launched the invasion in 588, he often had Gao, who was the chief strategist for the campaign, consult Li on strategies. Once Chen was conquered in 589, Emperor Wen initially issued an edict awarding Li a large cache of silk and creating him a duke, but Gao, arguing that doing so would make field generals angry (and because he was jealous of Li's abilities), persuaded Emperor Wen to withdraw the edict. By 590, Emperor Wen and Su's conflicts with Li had come to the foreground, over several matters. First, when Yuchi Jiong was defeated, at Li's request, Emperor Wen awarded an inn owned by the former Northern Qi official
Gao Anagong Gao Anagong (高阿那肱) (died November 18, 580Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 174.) was a Xianbei official of the Chinese Northern Qi dynasty. He was a close associate of the emperor Gao Wei, and lat ...
, who had joined Yuchi's effort, as his reward. Emperor Wen later found out that Gao had himself forcibly seized the land on which the inn sat from the farmers, and Su took the opportunity to accuse Li of being complicit in Gao's seizure. Second, when Yu, after realizing the problems created by township mayors, suggested that the mayoral posts be abolished, Li, while initially opposing the proposal, opposed its abolition, reasoning that laws should not be changed so quickly using language that caused Emperor Wen to believe that Li was comparing him to
Wang Mang Wang Mang () (c. 45 – 6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun (), was the founder and the only Emperor of China, emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later ...
. Third, Li had previously falsely stated his father Li Jingzu to have been a far higher-ranked official (fourth rank, second class) than actually was the case (ninth rank, first class), in order to obtain posthumous honors for Li Jingzu. Emperor Wen, citing these issues, removed Li from his post and made him the governor of Hu Province (湖州, roughly modern
Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhounese: ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provinc ...
,
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 ...
). Li was later moved to Huai Province (懷州, roughly 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 ...
,
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 ...
) and died as its governor, at age 60, probably in 591. Emperor Wen, apparently remembering his contributions, buried him with honor. His son
Li Baiyao Li Baiyao () (564–647), courtesy name Zhonggui (重規), formally Viscount Kang of Anping (安平康子), was a Chinese historian and an official during the Chinese dynasties Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty. He was honored for his literary abiliti ...
later served as an official for Sui and its successor state
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 ...
, and completed Northern Qi's history, the ''
Book of Northern Qi The ''Book of Northern Qi'' (Chinese: 北齊書, pinyin Běi Qí Shū), was the official history of the Chinese dynasty Northern Qi. It was written by the Tang Dynasty historian Li Baiyao (李百藥) and was completed in 636. It is listed among ...
'', which Li Delin began but did not complete.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Delin Northern Zhou politicians Sui dynasty politicians Sui dynasty historians 6th-century Chinese historians 530s births 590s deaths Northern Qi politicians 6th-century Chinese writers