Lu Yi

Lu Yi (陸扆) (847 – July 5, 905 ), né Lu Yundi (陸允迪), courtesy name Xiangwen (祥文), formally the Duke of Wu Commandery (吳郡公), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, who served as chancellor twice during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong.

Background Lu Yi was born in 847, during the reign of Emperor Xuānzong; he was originally named Lu Yundi, and it is not known when his name was changed to Lu Yi. His family was originally from the former Wu Commandery (around modern Suzhou, Jiangsu) but had, by Lu Yi's time, relocated to Shan Prefecture (陝州, in modern Sanmenxia, Henan).

Early career Lu Yi passed the imperial examinations in the Jinshi class in 886, during the reign of Emperor Xuānzong's grandson Emperor Xizong, and later in the year was part of Emperor Xuānzong's procession to Xingyuan (興元, in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi) Later that year, the chancellor Wei Zhaodu, who also served as the director of the salt and iron monopolies, made Lu a surveyor under him. In 887, another chancellor, Kong Wei, made Lu a copyeditor (校書郎, Xiaoshu Lang) for the imperial histories. Soon thereafter, Lu's mother died, and he left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her. Traditionally, an officials from one of the three bureaus i.e., the executive, the legislative, and the examination (門下省, Menxia Sheng) were elevated to chancellorship, he would give an amount of money to the officials under him to thank them for their service under him, but that tradition did not include the office of the imperial scholars (翰林院, Hanlin Yuan). Lu, in a break with that tradition, gave money to the officials at the office of the imperial scholars to thank them, and they felt honored. however, as Lu's elevation to the chancellorship came after Li Maozhen's attack, that appears to be unlikely.)

Between chancellorships In summer 897, Lu Yi was recalled to serve as the minister of public works (工部尚書, Gongbu Shangshu). In fall 897, he was made the minister of defense (兵部尚書, Bingbu Shangshu), and soon thereafter he subsequently accompanied Emperor Zhaozong on the emperor's return to Chang'an.

Second chancellorship In 899, Lu Yi was again made chancellor, replacing Cui Yin.

Subsequently, Han and Zhang, fearing that Emperor Zhaozong and Cui were going to slaughter the eunuchs, kidnapped Emperor Zhaozong and took him to Fengxiang. Zhu, at Cui's request, put Fengxiang's capital Fengxiang Municipality under siege. Lu's actions during the Fengxiang siege were not recorded in history. However, after Zhu returned Emperor Zhaozong to Chang'an, Emperor Zhaozong issued an edict to the circuits — but specifically left Fengxiang out of the edict's distribution list. Lu argued that singling Fengxiang out showed a lack of magnanimity. Cui, in anger, suggested to Emperor Zhaozong that Lu be demoted, and Lu thereafter was made the teacher of Emperor Zhaozong's son Li Yan the Prince of Yi, but with his office at Luoyang. He was also reduced in his honorary title of Tejin down to Zhengyi Daifu .

After second chancellorship In 904, after Zhu Quanzhong killed Cui Yin and forced Emperor Zhaozong to move the capital to Luoyang, Lu Yi was made the minister of civil service affairs (吏部尚書, Libu Shangshu) and restored to the rank of Tejin, but was not again chancellor. He accompanied Emperor Zhaozong on the journey to Luoyang. Later in the year, Zhu had Emperor Zhaozong assassinated and replaced with his son Emperor Ai. In 905, Zhu, at the advice of his close associates Liu Can and Li Zhen, began demoting and killing Tang aristocrats en masse, and Lu was first demoted to be the census officer at Pu Prefecture (濮州, in modern Heze, Shandong), and then ordered to commit suicide at Baima Station (白馬驛, in modern Anyang, Henan), with fellow former chancellors Pei Shu, Dugu Sun, Cui Yuan, Wang Pu, as well as the officials Zhao Chong and Wang Zan . At Li Zhen's request (as Li Zhen, who was unable to pass the imperial examinations, resented these traditional aristocrats for claiming to be free from taint), Zhu had their bodies thrown into the Yellow River (as Li Zhen put it, to taint them).

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 179. New Book of Tang, vol. 183. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 260, 261, 262, 264, 265.