Li Yu

Li Yu (李愚) (died October 24, 935? ), courtesy name Zihui (子晦), known in his youth as Li Yanping (李晏平), was a Chinese essayist, historian, and politician of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period states Later Liang and Later Tang, serving as a chancellor during Later Tang.

During Tang dynasty It is not known when Li Yu was born. His family claimed ancestry from the prominent Li clan of Zhao Commandery —specifically, from the western branch of the Zhao Commandery Lis, and had been scholars for generations prior to him. His father Li Zhanye had submitted himself for imperial examinations in the Jinshi class but was unable to pass them. When disturbances swept the territory of the Tang dynasty, then, he took refuge in Wudi (無棣, in modern Binzhou, Shandong) and settled there, teaching his children and grandchildren with the Classic of Poetry and Book of Documents. Li Yu was apparently born in Wudi, as he was said to be from there.

Li Yu was said to be solemn and careful beyond his years even when he was a child, and after he grew up, he became studious in both the Confucian classics and history. As he admired the Spring and Autumn period statesman Yan Ying, he initially named himself Li Yanping His writing was in a style that emphasized integrity, taking on attributes of the writings of Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan. He came to emphasize, for himself, proper conduct and careful speech. He subsequently left his service under Lu when his mother died, to observe a mourning period, and took this as an opportunity to leave the region to try to head to the capital Chang'an, apparently with the intent of sitting for imperial examinations. However, as the Tang court was then under severe turmoil, the imperial examinations were cancelled for several years, and he ended up as a traveler in the region between Hezhong Municipality (河中, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) and Hua Prefecture (華州, in modern Weinan, Shaanxi).

At a later time—by which time Emperor Zhaozong had been restored, but then was forcibly seized eunuchs led by Han Quanhui and Zhang Yanhong to the territory of their ally Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), precipitating an attack by Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan) on the region—Li Yu, in order to flee this turmoil, went to take up residence at the eastern capital Luoyang. At that time, Li Yangu the grandson of the statesman Li Deyu was living at his grandfather's old mansion, and Li Yu took refuge with him. Li Yu's own family members personally cut wood in order to support the household, and they did not depend on others for support. The year that the official Xue Tinggui was in charge of the imperial examinations, Li Yu sat for the examinations and passed in the Jinshi class, as well as a special examination for grand speech. He was made a military advisor at Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the Luoyang region), and thereafter took up residence at a country mansion on the Luo River. Li Yu, in fear of this trend, fled north of the Yellow River and became a traveler in the region, along with his clansman Li Yanguang . Later, his son Zhu Zhen was emperor, and Zhu Zhen favored scholars. By that point, Li Yanguang was serving as a teacher inside the palace, and he often spoke to the emperor of Li Yu's virtues and knowledge. Li Yu was also successively given posts as Shangbu Yuanwailang and then Sixun Yuanwailang . During this time that Li Yu served under the chief of staff, an imperial examinee, Zhang Li , came to depend on him. Then-military governor of Xuanhua sent Li Yu, with a petition submitting to Later Tang rule, to Luoyang. The Later Tang officials, who had previously heard about Li Yu from Zhang Li, welcomed him. Shortly after, he was made Zhuke Langzhong , a supervisory official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Libu). Several months later, he was made an imperial scholar (翰林學士, Hanlin Xueshi). Li Yu volunteered for duty on this campaign, eventually resulting in Li Cunxu's death in a mutiny at Luoyang itself in 926. Li Jiji tried to take his army and return to Luoyang to take over imperial government, but with his own soldiers deserting him, committed suicide. Li Cunxu's adoptive brother Li Siyuan, who had previously rebelled against Li Cunxu himself, arrived at Luoyang and declared himself emperor.

Ren Huan became a chancellor in Li Siyuan's new administration. He was also later given the additional title of grand scholar at Jixian Hall .

In 934, then-chiefs of staff to Li Conghou, Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun, came to suspect Li Conghou's brother-in-law Shi Jingtang the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) and did not want Shi to remain long at Hedong and also wanted to recall their ally, the powerful eunuch Meng Hanqiong, who was then serving as the acting military governor of Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei), to the imperial government. They thus issued a series of orders transferring Fan Yanguang the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei) to Tianxiong, Shi from Hedong to Chengde, and Li Conghou's adoptive brother Li Congke the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi) to Hedong. However, Li Congke thought that these transfers were targeting him, and therefore rebelled. He prevailed over the imperial forces sent against him and headed toward Luoyang. Li Conghou fled Luoyang. Li Yu and his chancellor colleagues Feng Dao and Liu Xu were set to greet the arriving Li Congke. Feng asked their subordinate Lu Dao , then serving as Zhongshu Sheren, to draft a petition to Li Congke asking him to take the throne. Lu pointed out that it was disloyal to, upon Li Conghou's flight, immediately ask someone else to take the throne. When Feng insisted, Li Yu sided with Lu, stating, "The Sheren'''s words were quite correct. Our faults are greater than the number of hairs on our heads." Feng thus did not press the point at that time (although eventually all of the officials, presumably including Li Yu, did petition Li Congke to take the throne, and Li Congke, after initially rebuking them, did so after Li Siyuan's wife Empress Dowager Cao issued an edict deposing Li Conghou and making Li Congke emperor). Li Conghou was eventually forced to commit suicide.

Shortly after Li Congke took the throne, Feng was removed from his chancellor post, leaving Li Yu and Liu as chancellors. However, they quickly were embroiled in conflicts with each other, as, as chancellors, they were both said to be insistent on their opinions and unwilling to compromise, particularly because Li Yu often made fun of Feng's actions and then used to make fun of Liu (as one of Feng's children married one of Liu's children, and they were closely aligned). Li Congke was much apprehensive of his chancellors' conflicts with each other, as they were causing the imperial administration to grind to a halt. He thus named Lu Wenji and Yao Yi as chancellors, and then removed both Li Yu and Liu from their chancellor posts, leaving both of them as Pushe (僕射, heads of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng))—highly honored positions lacking substantial powers by this point. The fall of the following year (935), Li Yu became seriously ill and requested retirement, but Li Congke declined his offer to retire. He died shortly after, while still serving as Pushe.

Notes and references

History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 67. New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 54. Zizhi Tongjian'', vols. 262, 269, 273, 277, 278, 279.