Le Yanwei (樂彥瑋) (died 676),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Degui (德珪), was an official of the Chinese

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, serving briefly as

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. Le Yanwei was from the Tang capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

. As of 656, he was serving as imperial attendant, when Liu Hongye (), the son of Liu Ji, a former chancellor who was accused of improprieties (comparing himself to historical regents

Yi Yin Yi Yin ( zh, c= 伊尹, born Yī Zhì ( 伊挚), also known as A Heng ( 阿衡)), was a Chinese politician who served as a minister of the early Shang dynasty and one of the honoured officials of the era. He helped Tang of Shang, the founder of ...

and

Huo Guang Huo Guang (; died 21 April 68 BC), courtesy name Zimeng (子孟), posthumous name Marquess Xuancheng of Bolu (博陸宣成侯), was a Chinese politician and imperial regent who served as the dominant state official of the Han dynasty#Western Ha ...

) and forced to commit suicide by Emperor Gaozong's father Emperor Taizong in 646, submitted a petition accusing the recently deposed chancellor

Chu Suiliang Chǔ Suìliáng (596–658), courtesy name Dengshan, formally the Duke of Henan, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, and politician who served as a chancellor during the reigns of the emperors Taizong and Gaozong in the Tang dynasty. He beca ...

of having falsely accused Liu Ji in 645. (Liu Hongye did so at the instigation of the chancellor

Li Yifu Li Yifu (; 614–666) was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician who served as a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, during the reign of the Emperor Gaozong. He became particularly powerful because of his support for Emperor Gaozong's second wife ...

, who was a political enemy of Chu and a former subordinate of Liu Ji.) Emperor Gaozong consulted his officials, and they, wanting to ingratiate themselves with Li Yifu, an ally to Emperor Gaozong's powerful wife Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), all were in favor of reversing the judgment on Liu Ji. Le, however, opposed this, stating: Emperor Gaozong agreed and suspended further discussion. Soon thereafter, one of Le's parents died, and he left governmental service. He was soon recalled to serve as the prefect of Tang Prefecture (唐州, roughly modern

Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing dynasty naval fleet bas ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

). As he went to see the emperor to thank for the commission, Emperor Gaozong remembered his willingness to stand up to Li Yifu, and kept him at the central government's examination bureau (東臺, ''Dong Tai'') as a mid-level official. Around new year 665, Le was serving as ''Xi Tai Shilang'' () -- the deputy head of the legislative bureau (西臺, ''Xi Tai'') -- as well as a staff member for Emperor Gaozong's

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Li Hong Li Hong ( zh, s=, c=李弘, t=) (652 – 25 May 675), formally Emperor Xiaojing (孝敬皇帝, literally, "the filial and respectful emperor") with the temple name of Yizong (義宗), was a crown prince (not emperor, despite his formal title) of ...

, when he was given the designation ''Tong Dong Xi Tai Sanpin'' (), making him a chancellor ''de facto''. However, about four months later, both he and his colleague Sun Chuyue were no longer chancellors. He was instead made imperial censor, succeeding

Liu Rengui Liu Rengui (劉仁軌) (602 – March 2, 685), courtesy name Zhengze (正則), formally Duke Wenxian of Lecheng (樂城文獻公), was a Chinese military general and politician during the Tang dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of E ...

. He was still imperial censor in 670 when the generals

Xue Rengui Rengui (; 614 – 24 March 683), formal name Xue Li (薛礼) but went by the courtesy name of Rengui, was a Chinese military general during the early Tang dynasty. He is one of the most well-known military generals of his time due to his humble ...

, Guo Daifeng (), and Ashina Daozhen () suffered a major loss to Tufan forces commanded by its general Gar Trinring Tsendro ("Lun Qinling" () in Chinese). Emperor Gaozong sent Le to the army to investigate, and he put Xue, Guo, and Ashina in chains and delivered them back to Chang'an, where Emperor Gaozong spared their lives but removed them from their posts. Le died in 676 and was buried with honor. His son

Le Sihui Le Sihui (樂思晦) (died 691) was an official during Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, briefly serving as chancellor. It is not known when Le Sihui was born. His father Le Yanwei served as chancellor during the reign of Wu Zetian's husband Emperor Gaozon ...

later also served as a chancellor, during the reign of Wu Zetian.

References

* ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

'', vol. 81. * ''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

'', vol. 99. * ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'', vol. 201. {{DEFAULTSORT:Le, Yanwei Chancellors under Emperor Gaozong of Tang 676 deaths Politicians from Xi'an Year of birth unknown