Li Fengji

Li Fengji (; 758 – February 27, 835 ), courtesy name Xuzhou (虛舟), formally Duke Cheng of Zheng (鄭成公) or Duke Cheng of Liang (涼成公), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Xianzong, Emperor Xianzong's son Emperor Muzong, and grandson Emperor Jingzong. He was portrayed by traditional accounts as full of machinations against his political opponents.

Background Li Fengji was born in 758, during the reign of Emperor Suzong. His family was part of the Li clan of Longxi—which was descended from Li Gao the founder of the Western Liang state during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, as the Tang dynasty imperial clan was but considered distant enough from the imperial lineage that he was not considered part of the imperial clan. After Li Gao, Li Fengji's family traced its ancestry to a line of officials of Jin dynasty (266–420), Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui dynasty, and Tang, although Li Fengji's grandfather Li Yan (李顏) and father Li Guiqi (李歸期) were both listed without offices.

As Li Yan was chronically ill and Li Fengji tended to him, Li Fengji studied the medical books of the time and became knowledgeable in medicine. After Li Fengji passed the imperial examinations, the general Fan Xichao (范希朝) invited him to serve as a scribe on his staff when Fan served as the military governor (jiedushi) of Zhenwu Circuit (振武, headquartered in modern Hohhot, Inner Mongolia). Fan subsequently recommended Li Fengji to then-reigning Emperor Dezong (Emperor Suzong's grandson), and Li Fengji was made a Zuo Shiyi (左拾遺), a low-level consultant at the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng).

During Emperor Xianzong's reign In 808, by which time Emperor Dezong's grandson Emperor Xianzong was emperor, Li Fengji served as the deputy to Duan Pingzhong (段平仲) on a diplomatic mission to Nanzhao. After Li Fengji returned from the mission in 809, he was made Cibu Langzhong (祠部郎中), a supervisorial official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Libu), and later Yousi Langzhong (右司郎中), a supervisorial official under the secretaries general of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng). In 811, he was made an imperial attendant (給事中, Jishizhong). In 812, he was made an attendant scholar to the studies of the crown prince Li Heng and other imperial princes, along with Li Ju (李巨). In 814, he was made Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng). In 816, he was put in charge of the imperial examinations for that year. Later that year, he was made Menxia Shilang (門下侍郎), the deputy head of the examination bureau, and de facto chancellor with the title Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事); he was also given the honorary title of Chaoyi Daifu (朝議大夫). According to the Old Book of Tang, Li Fengji was treacherous and used his machination to harm others.

During Emperor Muzong's reign After Emperor Xianzong died in 820 and was succeeded by Li Heng (as Emperor Muzong), Li Fengji was moved to be the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangfan, Hubei) as well as the prefect of its capital Xiang Prefecture (襄州). As he had previously attended to Emperor Muzong's studies, he sent messengers to plead with Emperor Muzong's close associates, requesting to be recalled. In 822, he was recalled serving as minister of defense (兵部尚書, Bingbu Shangshu). At that time, Pei and Yuan Zhen were serving as chancellors, despite Pei's having previously severely criticized Yuan. It was said that Li Fengji believed that Pei and Yuan would turn against each other, and therefore had it reported that Yuan had conspired with the official Yu Fang (于方) to assassinate Pei. After Yu was arrested and interrogated, no positive evidence of such a conspiracy was found, but both Pei and Yuan were removed from their chancellor positions, and Li Fengji was again made Menxia Shilang and chancellor.

Later in the year, when mutineer soldiers at Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan) expelled the military governor Li Yuan (李愿) and supported the officer Li Jie (李㝏), Li Fengji advocated sending a replacement for Li Yuan and, if Li Jie did not accept the replacement, then attacking Xuanwu, pointing out that while the imperial government had been forced to allow certain circuits north of the Yellow River to decide on their own military governors, allowing Xuanwu to do so would cause the gradual erosion of the imperial control over the Yangtze River-Huai River region, while Du Yuanying and Zhang Pingshu (張平叔) advocated commissioning Li Jie to avoid a war. Emperor Muzong initially could not decide, but soon thereafter, when the prefects of three of Xuanwu's prefectures, Song (宋州, in modern Shangqiu, Henan), Bo (亳州, in modern Bozhou, Anhui), and Ying (潁州, in modern Fuyang, Anhui), requested that a new military governor be sent, Emperor Muzong came to believe that Li Fengji was correct. Li Fengji thus suggested summoning Li Jie to serve as an imperial guard general, while transferring Han Chong (韓充) the military governor of Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern Anyang, Henan), whose brother Han Hong had served as Xuanwu's military governor for a long period, to Xuanwu. Li Jie resisted the orders but was soon killed by his own subordinate Li Zhi (李質), who surrendered the circuit to Han Chong. (The Song dynasty historian Sima Guang, the author of the Zizhi Tongjian, believed that it was because of this resentment that Li Deyu later had his associate Li Yirang (李夷讓), write defamatory remarks about Li Fengji and Li Fengji's associates in the imperial chronicles, which were then adopted into the Old Book of Tang. )

It was said because Li Fengji disliked Pei, Li Fengji's associates, including Zhang Youxin (張又新), frequently attacked Pei, such that also in 823, Pei was sent out of the capital to serve as the military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道). Customarily, when former chancellors were sent out to a circuit to serve as a military governor, he would be given an honorary chancellor title to carry, but because of Li Fengji's dislike of Pei, Pei was not given such a title. In summer 824, per Li Fengji's recommendations, Li Cheng was also made chancellor, along with Dou Yizhi. and Kaifu Yitong Sansi (開府儀同三司). In 834, by which time Li Zhongyan (whose name had been changed to Li Xun by that point) was in power, Li Fengji was recalled to Chang'an to serve as Zuo Pushe (左僕射), one of the heads of the executive bureau, as well as acting Situ (司徒, one of the Three Excellencies). However, as he was old and ill at the time, he was never able to meet the emperor, and he retired as Situ. He died in 835 and was given posthumous honors.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 167. New Book of Tang, vol. 174. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 239, 240, 242, 243, 245