Liu Xiangdao (劉祥道) (596–666),
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 ...
Tongshou (同壽), formally Duke Xuan of Guangping (廣平宣公), was a Chinese politician of the medieval
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 ...
who served 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.
Background
Liu Xiangdao's family was from what would become Wei Prefecture (魏州, part of modern
Handan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...
,
Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
), and claimed ancestry from Liu Pengzu (劉彭祖), a son of
Emperor Jing of Han
Emperor Jing of Han (188 BC – 9 March 141 BC), born Liu Qi, was the sixth Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 157 to 141 BC. His reign saw the limiting of the power of the feudal kings and princes which resulted in the Rebellion ...
. His father Liu Linfu (劉林甫) served as a mid-level official in the administrations of Tang's founder
Emperor Gaozu and
Emperor Taizong, and carried the title of Baron of Leping. Liu Linfu died in 629, and Liu Xiangdao inherited the title.
During Emperor Gaozong's reign
The historical records give little information on the early parts of Liu Xiangdao's career. Early in the reign of Emperor Taizong's son and successor Emperor Gaozong, Liu Xiangdao served successively as assistant to the head of the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''), assistant imperial censor, and assistant minister of civil service affairs, all mid-level posts in the imperial administration. In 657, he was made assistant to the head of the examination bureau (門下省, ''Menxia Sheng''), but continued to be responsible for civil service affairs. As he saw faults in the civil service selection process, he submitted a petition to Emperor Gaozong to request changes, and in the excerpts quoted by the ''
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 ...
'', he raised six points—that the civil selection process was selecting too many people who were not virtuous; that the people chosen were simply too numerous; that there was insufficient attention paid to selecting diligent students of
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
; that awards should be given to people who recommended new talent; that the officials should be given longer office terms so that they would have time to carry out their plans; and that as it currently student, the prominent clans' members were declining important secretarial posts, which they viewed to be below their social station, when such posts were actually quite important in efficient imperial government. Emperor Gaozong apparently initially took no action on this petition, but when the chancellor
Du Zhenglun expressed similar sentiments in 658, he had Du and Liu draft proposals for revising the civil service system, but there were many oppositions to their suggestions from established officials, and the recommendations were not acted upon. Later that year, on account of Liu's participation in revising the regulations on imperial ceremonies, his title was upgraded to Marquess of Yangcheng.
In 659, Liu was made the minister of justice. It was said that whenever he dealt with serious cases, he carefully deliberated with a heavy heart, and whenever he submitted recommendations of execution to the emperor, he would fast on that day. In 661, he took the additional post of prefect of Pu Prefecture (蒲州, roughly modern
Yuncheng
Yuncheng () is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and ...
,
Shanxi
Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...
). In 663, that prefectural post was changed to that of secretary general of the capital prefecture Yong Prefecture (雍州, roughly modern
Xi'an
Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
), a very important post as the prefect of the capital prefecture was traditionally a post given to one of the most honored imperial princes, and therefore secretary general was actually the official in charge of the capital. Also that year, he was in charge of the corruption investigation against the powerful 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 ...
. In 664, he was made ''You Xiang'' (右相), the head of the legislative bureau—a post considered one for a chancellor. Around the new year 665, when fellow chancellor
Shangguan Yi failed in his bid to persuade Emperor Gaozong to depose his second wife
Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), Empress Wu had her ally
Xu Jingzong
Xu Jingzong (592 – September 20, 672), courtesy name Yanzu, posthumously known as Duke Gong of Gaoyang, was a Chinese cartographer, historian, and politician who served as a chancellor in the Tang dynasty. Allied with Emperor Gaozong's power ...
falsely accuse Shangguan of treason and had Shangguan executed. As Liu and Shangguan were friends, he was removed from his chancellor post and made the minister of rites.
[This version of Liu's removal was given in the '']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 ...
'', which the ''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 ...
'' adopted as well. See ''New Book of Tang'', vol. 160 and ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 201. However, the ''Old Book of Tang'' merely indicated that he had believed that he had grown old and should not be a chancellor any more, and that Emperor Gaozong accepted his resignation in light of that. See ''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 81.
In 665, when Emperor Gaozong was preparing to make sacrifices to heaven and earth at
Mount Tai
Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...
, the officials in charge generally opined that, based on regulations written during the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
, the two officials who should sacrifice after Emperor Gaozong were the ministers of ceremonies (太常卿, ''Taichang Qing'') and palace supplies (光祿卿, ''Guanglu Qing'')—two titles that carried far more prestige and importance in the Han dynasty than they did in the Tang dynasty. Liu rebutted their recommendations, pointing out the absurdity of adopting Han regulations that were written for a different structure of government. Emperor Gaozong agreed, and instead, he had his uncle Li Yuanli (李元禮) the Prince of Xu sacrifice after himself, and had Liu sacrifice after Li Yuanli. After the completion of the ceremony (which was held in 666), Emperor Gaozong created Liu the Duke of Guangping. Later that year, Liu requested that he be allowed to retire, and Emperor Gaozong allowed him to retire and bestowed on him the honorific title of ''Zijin Guanglu Daifu'' (紫金光祿大夫). He died later that year, and his son
Liu Qixian (who later changed his name to Liu Jingxian to observe
naming taboo
A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly ...
as to 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 Xian) inherited his title.
Notes and 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.
vol. 106.
* ''
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 ...
'', vols.
200,
201.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Xiangdao
596 births
666 deaths
Chancellors under Emperor Gaozong of Tang