Lu Guangqi (盧光啟) (died March 6, 903''

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. 264.

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...

br>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter
),

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 ...

Zizhong (子忠), was an official of the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

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 briefly served 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 ...

from 901 to 902, while Emperor Zhaozong was under the physical control of the warlord

Li Maozhen Li Maozhen (; 856 – May 17, 924), born Song Wentong (), courtesy name Zhengchen (), formally Prince Zhongjing of Qin (), was the only ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Qi (901–924). He had become a powerful ...

the military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (, Old Turkic: Tarduş) or jiedu, was a regional military governor in China; the title was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissi ...

'') of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern

Baoji Baoji ( zh, s= , t= , p=Bǎojī; ) is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a ...

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 ...

) and Li's

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

allies, led by

Han Quanhui Han Quanhui (韓全誨) (died February 6, 903''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 263.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter) was a eunuch late in the Chinese Tang dynasty. The struggles by the eunuchs, led by him, against the chancellor Cui Yin ...

. After Li Maozhen was forced to surrender Emperor Zhaozong to another warlord,

Zhu Quanzhong Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...

the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

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 ...

), Lu was forced to commit suicide.

Background and early career

It is not known when Lu Guangqi is born, and it is not known where he, or even his family, was from.''

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. 182. All that is known about his family, which was not connected to the families of other

chancellors named Lu, are that his grandfather was named Lu Zhi (盧質), his father was named Lu Zhou (盧晝), and that he had at least one older brother named Lu Guangji (盧光濟); none of the three was listed with any official titles.''New Book of Tang'', vol. 73
Lu Guangqi passed the

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

s in the ''Jinshi'' (進士) class at some point and was favored by the chancellor

Zhang Jun Zhang may refer to: Chinese culture, etc. * Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname ** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname * Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu * Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan * ''Zha ...

. He went through a series of promotions, eventually reaching the post of deputy minister of defense (兵部侍郎, ''Bingbu Shilang'').

As chancellor

In late 901, the powerful

s, led by

, fearing that then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong and the leading chancellor

Cui Yin Cui Yin (崔胤) (854''New Book of Tang'', :zh:s:新唐書/卷223下, vol. 223, part 2. – February 1, 904''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷264, vol. 264.Academia Sinica]Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Chuixiu (垂休), ...

were about to massacre them, seized Emperor Zhaozong and took him to Fengxiang Circuit, ruled by Han's ally

. All of the chancellors, led by Cui, remained at the imperial 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 ...

to await the arrival of Cui's ally

, but some imperial officials followed Emperor Zhaozong to Fengxiang. While Emperor Zhaozong was still en route to Fengxiang, he (or the eunuchs, in his name) put Lu Guangqi in charge of the office of the chancellors, thus making him, in effect, a chancellor, albeit without the usual chancellor designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事). After Emperor Zhaozong's arrival in Fengxiang, Lu was given the more formalized chancellor designation ''Canzhi Jiwu'' (參知機務), but still not ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi''; he was also made a ''You Jianyi Daifu'' (右諫議大夫), a high-level advisor at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng'').''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 262. In 902, while Emperor Zhaozong was still at Fengxiang, Lu was removed from his chancellor position and made a senior advisor to the

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 ...

.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 263.

Death

In 903, with Fengxiang under siege by Zhu Quanzhong, Li Maozhen was forced to slaughter the eunuchs and sue for peace by agreeing to surrender the emperor to Zhu. Lu accompanied Emperor Zhaozong back to Chang'an, and after arrival in Chang'an, was, at Cui Yin's instigation, forced to commit suicide, along with another chancellor commissioned at Fengxiang,

Su Jian Su Jian (蘇檢) (died March 6, 903''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 264.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Shengyong (聖用),''New Book of Tang'', vol. 7/ref> was an official of the History of China, Chinese Tang dynast ...

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 182. * ''

'', vols.

262 __NOTOC__ Year 262 ( CCLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Faustianus (or, less frequently, year 1015 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomina ...

263 __NOTOC__ Year 263 (Roman numerals, CCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus and Dexter (or, less frequently, year 1016 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

264 __NOTOC__ Year 264 (Roman numerals, CCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Saturninus (or, less frequently, year 1017 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, Guangqi 9th-century births 903 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Zhaozong of Tang People executed by the Tang dynasty Forced suicides of Chinese people 10th-century executions Lu clan of Fanyang