Li Zongmin

Li Zongmin (李宗閔) (died 846? ), courtesy name Sunzhi (損之), was a Chinese politician of the Tang dynasty, serving twice as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Wenzong. He was considered one of the leading figures of the Niu-Li Factional Struggles — factional struggles between two factions at the Tang court that lasted decades — as a leader of the so-called Niu Faction, named after his colleague Niu Sengru.

Background It is not known when Li Zongmin was born. His great-great-grandfather was Li Yuanyi the Prince of Zheng, a son of Tang dynasty's founding emperor Emperor Gaozu. His great-grandfather was Li Jing , who inherited the Prince of Zheng title from Li Yuanyi. His grandfather Li Chayan was not listed with any offices while alive but was listed with a posthumous honor, while his father served as a supervisory official at the imperial government and as a prefectural prefect, and also carried the title of Duke of Chenliu. Li Zongmin's cousin Li Yijian served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xianzong. Li Zongmin himself passed the imperial examinations in the Jinshi class in 805, during the reign of Emperor Xianzong's grandfather Emperor Dezong, in the same year as eventual colleague and ally Niu Sengru.

During Emperor Xianzong's reign In 808, at special imperial examinations where Emperor Xianzong ordered that low-level officials submit honest opinions about the government, several of the examinees — Li Zongmin, Niu Sengru, and Huangfu Shi stated, without using any veiled language, the issues they saw with the governance at the time. The officials that Emperor Xianzong put in charge of the examinations, Yang Yuling and Wei Guanzhi ranked them high. However, the chancellor Li Jifu saw these as severe criticisms of himself, and, weeping, accused the reviewing officials, the imperial scholars Pei Ji and Wang Ya, of conflict of interest — as Huangfu was a nephew of Wang's. As a result of Li Jifu's accusations, Wang, Pei, Yang, and Wei were all demoted, and it was said that while no harm came to Li Zongmin, Niu, and Huangfu at that time, they were effectively stuck at the positions they previously served without promotion, — and it appeared that soon after the examination, Li Zongmin was made the sheriff of Luoyang County, one of the two counties making up the eastern capital Luoyang. that Li Zongmin began his service at the central government, as Jiancha Yushi , a low-level imperial censor, and he was thereafter promoted to be Lǐbu Yuanwailang , a low-level official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Lǐbu). After the end of the campaign, Li Zongmin was made Jiabu Langzhong , a supervisory official at the ministry of rites, and was also put in charge of drafting edicts. and was succeeded by his son Emperor Muzong, Li Zongmin was promoted to be Zhongshu Sheren , a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng). Meanwhile, at that time his father was also moved from being the ministry of imperial clan affairs to be the prefect of Hua Prefecture (華州, in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), and their simultaneous commissions were considered to be an honor. and, through Shen, the female palace scholar Song Ruoxian and the powerful eunuch Yang Chenghe the director of palace communications, Li Zongmin was made the deputy head of the legislative bureau (中書侍郎, Zhongshu Shilang) and chancellor de facto with the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi . Soon thereafter, Li Zongmin had Li Deyu, whom he viewed as a threat, sent out of the capital Chang'an to serve as the military governor of Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern Anyang, Henan). He also recommended Niu Sengru, who was then the military governor of Wuchang Circuit (武昌, headquartered in modern Wuhan, Hubei), and Niu was recalled to Chang'an to also serve as chancellor. It was said that the two of them worked together and began to eject Li Deyu's allies from the imperial government. In particular, because Li Deyu became resentful of Pei for having recommended Li Deyu, in late 830, because Pei had said that he was ill, Li Zongmin used the illness as reason to have Pei sent to Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangfan, Hubei to be its military governor. In 839, Li Zongmin was given an honorary title as a staff member of the Crown Prince Li Yong but had his officer in the eastern capital Luoyang. After imperial forces defeated Liu Zhen in 844, Li Deyu further accused Li Zongmin and Niu Sengru of having been complicit in Liu Zhen's rebellion — going as far as (after failing to uncover actual evidence of communications between Liu Congjian, Li Zongmin, and Niu) having Liu Zhen's secretary Zheng Qing state falsely that whenever Liu Congjian received letters from Li Zongmin or Niu, he would burn them after reading them — Emperor Wuzong, in anger, exiled both Niu and Li Zongmin — in Li Zongmin's case, demoted in multiple stages, first to be the prefect of Zhang Prefecture (漳州, in modern Zhangzhou, Fujian), then to be the secretary general of Zhang Prefecture, and then to be an exile without any officers at Feng Prefecture (封州, in modern Zhaoqing, Guangdong).

During Emperor Xuānzong's reign In 846, Emperor Wuzong died and was succeeded by his uncle Emperor Xuānzong. Emperor Xuānzong had long despised Li Deyu's hold on power, and soon thereafter Li Deyu was stripped of his chancellor position. Further, five chancellors whom Emperor Wuzong had exiled — Li Zongmin, Niu Sengru, Cui Gong, Yang Sifu, and Li Jue — were all soon ordered to be moved closer to the capital, with Li Zongmin ordered moved to Chen Prefecture (郴州, in modern Chenzhou, Hunan) to be the military advisor to its prefect, but it was said that Li Zongmin died before he could be moved.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 176. New Book of Tang, vol. 174. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 237, 241, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248.