Liu Ji (Tang Dynasty)
Encyclopedia
Liu Ji (died January 18, 646), courtesy name
Sidao (思道), was a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang
, who was particularly relied on by Emperor Taizong late in his reign. However, around the new year 646, Liu Ji was accused of planning to seize power after Emperor Taizong's death, and Emperor Taizong ordered him to commit suicide.
, Hubei
). It is not known when he was born. Late in Sui Dynasty
, when a descendant of the imperial house of Liang Dynasty
, Xiao Xi
, rose in 617 against the rule of Emperor Yang
near Jiangling, claiming to be rebuilding Liang Dynasty, Liu became his subject and served under him as the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government. In or before 621, Xiao sent Liu to the modern Guangdong
region to persuade cities to submit to Liang rule, and 50 some cities did so. However, before Liu could return to Jiangling, Jiangling came under the attack of the Tang Dynasty
general Li Xiaogong
, and Xiao was forced to surrender. Liu thus submitted to Tang rule with those 50 odd cities. Emperor Gaozu of Tang
made him the secretary general at Nankang Prefecture (南康州, roughly modern Zhaoqing
, Guangdong
).
. It was said that soon after he submitted the petition, he was made a deputy head of the executive bureau. In 639, he was made the deputy head of the examination bureau, and he was given the additional bestowment of Canzhi Zhengshi (參知政事), making him, while not titularly a chancellor, a de facto one.
It was said that Liu was blunt in his actions and words. During an imperial feast, when Emperor Taizong, playing with his officials, wrote some calligaphy
and held it out to give to an official, Liu bypassed everyone by climbing up onto the imperial seat and grabbing it from Emperor Taizong. When he was then accused of being disrespectful to the emperor, Emperor Taizong laughed it off and gave him the calligraphy.
In 642, when Emperor Taizong wanted to review the imperial historical records that the imperial historian Chu Suiliang
was responsible for keeping, Chu rebuffed Emperor Taizong, stating that it would be irregular for an emperor to look at how an imperial historian was writing about him. Emperor Taizong then made the comment, "Do you record the bad things I do as well?" Chu responded, "It is my responsibility, and I would not dare not to record them." Liu then stated, "Even if Chu Suiliang does not record them, everyone will." Emperor Taizong agreed with both of them.
In 643, when Emperor Taizong's son crown prince
Li Chengqian was discovered to plot to overthrow Emperor Taizong, Emperor Taizong deposed him. Initially, Emperor Taizong considered making his favorite son Li Tai the Prince of Wei crown prince instead—a suggestion that Liu and Cen Wenben
concurred in—but later, after deciding that Li Tai's scheming was responsible for Li Chengqian's downfall by making Li Chengqian insecure about his position, Emperor Taizong created another son, Li Zhi
the Prince of Jin crown prince instead. After Li Zhi became crown prince, Liu pointed out that the crown prince should be often near righteous individuals so that he could learn how to act from them. In response, Emperor Taizong made Liu, along with Cen and Chu, often visit Li Zhi to have conversations with him.
Emperor Taizong was said to favor rhetoric, and whenever officials made suggestions in his presence, he would often interrogate them at length as to the soundness of their suggestions. In 644, Liu Ji submitted a petition stating that doing so was intimidating to the imperial officials, not all of whom were strong with speech and would often be unable to respond. Emperor Taizong agreed, and from that point on he tried to be even milder in his expressions and words to try to comfort imperial officials stating their suggestions.
Later in 644, when Emperor Taizong, at an imperial gathering, stated to his key officials their strengths and weaknesses, he spoke, with regard to Liu:
Soon thereafter, he made Liu Shizhong (侍中), the head of the examination bureau—a post that was one for a chanellor.
. While on the way to the frontline, he put Li Zhi in charge at Ding Prefecture (定州, roughly modern Baoding
, Hebei
), responsible for the logistics behind the lines. Liu Ji, along with Gao Shilian
, Ma Zhou
, Zhang Xingcheng
, and Gao Jifu
, were left to assist the crown prince. Liu was in charge of exercising de facto authority over the ministries of civil service affairs, ceremonies, and census. Before Emperor Taizong departed Ding Prefecture, he stated to Liu, "I am going on an expeditio, leaving you to assist the Crown Prince. The safety of the state rests on you. I trust that you know what I want." Liu responded, "Your Imperial Majesty need not worry. If there were high level officials who committed crimes, I will immediately execute them." Emperor Taizong, shocked by his resopnse, stated, "You are carless and overly strong in your personality. You may bring disaster on yourself if you keep this up. Be careful."
Later that year, after the end of the Goguryeo campaign, Emperor Taizong returned to Ding Prefecture and was ill at that time. After Liu and Ma visited Emperor Taizong at his secondary palace and exited it, Chu Suiliang asked them what the emperor's condition was, and Liu, weeping, stated, "The emperor is extremely ill, and it makes me worried!" Chu then falsely reported to Emperor Taizong that Liu said, "There is nothing to worry about as far as the matters of state were concerned. We only need to assist the young emperor. By the precedents of Yi Yin and Huo Guang
, we execute the high level officials who were double-minded, and the state will be secure." Because of Liu's earlier comments, Emperor Taizong believed the accusation. Liu asked Ma to corroborate his innocence, and Ma did so, but Chu insisted that Liu did make the inappropriate comments. Emperor Taizong, believing Chu, ordered that Liu commit suicide, but pardoned his family. Before Liu committed suicide, around the new year 646, he requested a pen so that he could write a final statement for Emperor Taizong, but the officials having him under arrest did not dare to give him a pen, and so he died without a final statement. When Emperor Taizong found out about this, he punished those officials.
In 656, Emperor Taizong's death and succession by Li Zhi (as Emperor Gaozong) and after Chu himself fell from grace due to the machinations of Emperor Gaozong's wife Empress Wu
and her associates, Liu Ji's son Liu Hongye (劉弘業) submitted a petition, alleging that his father was forced to commit suicide due to Chu's false accusations. The chancellor Li Yifu
, a close associate of Empress Wu and a former subordinate of Liu Ji's whom Liu Ji favored, helped him with his case, and most officials, wanting to please Li Yifu, all stated that Liu died without fault. However, Le Yanwei
opposed revisiting the case, pointing out that Liu did still make inappropriate statements, and that revisiting the case would be an implicit rebuke of Emperor Taizong's actions. Emperor Gaozong agreed, and took no action on Liu Hongye's petition. It was not until 684, after Empress Wei had become empress dowager
and was in total control, that Liu Ji's honors were posthumously restored.
Chinese style name
A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect...
Sidao (思道), was a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Shìmín , was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649...
, who was particularly relied on by Emperor Taizong late in his reign. However, around the new year 646, Liu Ji was accused of planning to seize power after Emperor Taizong's death, and Emperor Taizong ordered him to commit suicide.
Background
Very little is known about Liu Ji's family background, other than his family was from Jiangling (江陵, in modern JingzhouJingzhou
Jingzhou is a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province, People's Republic of China. The city is located on the banks of the Yangtze River.Its population is 5,691,707 at the 2010 census whom 1,154,086 in the built up area made of 3 urban districts.-Geography:Jingzhou occupies an area of...
, Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
). It is not known when he was born. Late in Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
, when a descendant of the imperial house of Liang Dynasty
Liang Dynasty
The Liang Dynasty , also known as the Southern Liang Dynasty , was the third of the Southern dynasties in China and was followed by the Chen Dynasty...
, Xiao Xi
Xiao Xi
Xiao Xian was a descendant of the imperial house of the Chinese dynasty Liang Dynasty, who rose against the rule of Sui Dynasty toward the end of the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui...
, rose in 617 against the rule of Emperor Yang
Emperor Yang of Sui
Emperor Yang of Sui , personal name Yang Guang , alternative name Ying , nickname Amo , known as Emperor Ming during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong), was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, and the second emperor of China's Sui Dynasty.Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but...
near Jiangling, claiming to be rebuilding Liang Dynasty, Liu became his subject and served under him as the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government. In or before 621, Xiao sent Liu to the modern Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
region to persuade cities to submit to Liang rule, and 50 some cities did so. However, before Liu could return to Jiangling, Jiangling came under the attack of the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
general Li Xiaogong
Li Xiaogong
Li Xiaogong , formally Prince Yuan of Hejian , often referred to by his earlier title as Prince of Zhao Commandery , was an imperial prince and general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty...
, and Xiao was forced to surrender. Liu thus submitted to Tang rule with those 50 odd cities. Emperor Gaozu of Tang
Emperor Gaozu of Tang
Emperor Gāozǔ of Táng , born Lǐ Yuān , courtesy name Shūdé , was the founder of the Tang Dynasty of China, and the first emperor of this dynasty from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-day Shanxi, and was based in Taiyuan.In 615, Li Yuan was assigned...
made him the secretary general at Nankang Prefecture (南康州, roughly modern Zhaoqing
Zhaoqing
Zhaoqing is a prefecture-level city of Guangdong province in southern China.-Geography:Zhaoqing is located 110 km northwest of Guangzhou, in the west Pearl River Delta. It lies on the north shores of the Xijiang River, which is flows from west to east, and opposite of Gaoyao...
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
).
Service under Emperor Taizong
Liu Ji's activities for the next decade were not clear. In 633, it was said that he was promoted to be a mid-level official at the examination bureau of the government (門下省, Menxia Sheng) and created the Baron of Qingwan. In 641, he was made the deputy imperial censor, when he submitted a petition outlining what he saw as faults by the exeutive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng) in avoiding nepotismNepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
. It was said that soon after he submitted the petition, he was made a deputy head of the executive bureau. In 639, he was made the deputy head of the examination bureau, and he was given the additional bestowment of Canzhi Zhengshi (參知政事), making him, while not titularly a chancellor, a de facto one.
It was said that Liu was blunt in his actions and words. During an imperial feast, when Emperor Taizong, playing with his officials, wrote some calligaphy
East Asian calligraphy
East Asian calligraphy is a form of calligraphy widely practised and revered in the Sinosphere. This most often includes China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. The East Asian calligraphic tradition originated and developed from China. There is a general standardization of the various styles of...
and held it out to give to an official, Liu bypassed everyone by climbing up onto the imperial seat and grabbing it from Emperor Taizong. When he was then accused of being disrespectful to the emperor, Emperor Taizong laughed it off and gave him the calligraphy.
In 642, when Emperor Taizong wanted to review the imperial historical records that the imperial historian Chu Suiliang
Chu Suiliang
Chu Suiliang , courtesy name Dengshan , formally Duke of Henan , was a chancellor of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, during the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Taizong's son Emperor Gaozong...
was responsible for keeping, Chu rebuffed Emperor Taizong, stating that it would be irregular for an emperor to look at how an imperial historian was writing about him. Emperor Taizong then made the comment, "Do you record the bad things I do as well?" Chu responded, "It is my responsibility, and I would not dare not to record them." Liu then stated, "Even if Chu Suiliang does not record them, everyone will." Emperor Taizong agreed with both of them.
In 643, when Emperor Taizong's son crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
Li Chengqian was discovered to plot to overthrow Emperor Taizong, Emperor Taizong deposed him. Initially, Emperor Taizong considered making his favorite son Li Tai the Prince of Wei crown prince instead—a suggestion that Liu and Cen Wenben
Cen Wenben
Cen Wenben , courtesy name Jingren , formally Viscount Xian of Jiangling , was a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang. He was an assistant editor of the Book of Zhou, the official history of Northern Zhou.- Background :Cen Wenben was born in 595, during the reign of Emperor Wen...
concurred in—but later, after deciding that Li Tai's scheming was responsible for Li Chengqian's downfall by making Li Chengqian insecure about his position, Emperor Taizong created another son, Li Zhi
Emperor Gaozong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang , personal name Li Zhi , was the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683...
the Prince of Jin crown prince instead. After Li Zhi became crown prince, Liu pointed out that the crown prince should be often near righteous individuals so that he could learn how to act from them. In response, Emperor Taizong made Liu, along with Cen and Chu, often visit Li Zhi to have conversations with him.
Emperor Taizong was said to favor rhetoric, and whenever officials made suggestions in his presence, he would often interrogate them at length as to the soundness of their suggestions. In 644, Liu Ji submitted a petition stating that doing so was intimidating to the imperial officials, not all of whom were strong with speech and would often be unable to respond. Emperor Taizong agreed, and from that point on he tried to be even milder in his expressions and words to try to comfort imperial officials stating their suggestions.
Later in 644, when Emperor Taizong, at an imperial gathering, stated to his key officials their strengths and weaknesses, he spoke, with regard to Liu:
- Liu Ji is firm and faithful, and he benefits the administration in what he does. However, he overly emphasizes his promises and thus overly favors his relatives and friends.
Soon thereafter, he made Liu Shizhong (侍中), the head of the examination bureau—a post that was one for a chanellor.
Death
In 645, Emperor Taizong launched a campaign against GoguryeoGoguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
. While on the way to the frontline, he put Li Zhi in charge at Ding Prefecture (定州, roughly modern Baoding
Baoding
-Administrative divisions:Baoding prefecture-level city consists of 3 municipal districts, 4 county-level cities, 18 counties:-Demographics:The Baoding urban area has a population of around 1,006,000 . The population of the Baoding administrative area is 10,890,000. The considerable majority are...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
), responsible for the logistics behind the lines. Liu Ji, along with Gao Shilian
Gao Shilian
Gao Shilian , formal name Gao Jian but went by the courtesy name of Shilian, formally Duke Wenxian of Shen , was a chancellor of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty...
, Ma Zhou
Ma Zhou
Ma Zhou , courtesy name Binwang , was a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang. He was initially a commoner and a guest of the general Chang He , and after Chang submitted suggestions that Ma drafted, Emperor Taizong was impressed and retained Ma as an imperial official,...
, Zhang Xingcheng
Zhang Xingcheng
Zhang Xingcheng , courtesy name Deli , formally Duke Ding of Beiping , was a chancellor of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, during the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong.- Background :...
, and Gao Jifu
Gao Jifu
Gao Jifu , formal name Gao Feng but went by the courtesy name of Jifu, formally Duke Xian of Tiao , was a chancellor of the Chinese court in the Tang Dynasty, during the reigns of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong.- Background :Gao Jifu was born in 596...
, were left to assist the crown prince. Liu was in charge of exercising de facto authority over the ministries of civil service affairs, ceremonies, and census. Before Emperor Taizong departed Ding Prefecture, he stated to Liu, "I am going on an expeditio, leaving you to assist the Crown Prince. The safety of the state rests on you. I trust that you know what I want." Liu responded, "Your Imperial Majesty need not worry. If there were high level officials who committed crimes, I will immediately execute them." Emperor Taizong, shocked by his resopnse, stated, "You are carless and overly strong in your personality. You may bring disaster on yourself if you keep this up. Be careful."
Later that year, after the end of the Goguryeo campaign, Emperor Taizong returned to Ding Prefecture and was ill at that time. After Liu and Ma visited Emperor Taizong at his secondary palace and exited it, Chu Suiliang asked them what the emperor's condition was, and Liu, weeping, stated, "The emperor is extremely ill, and it makes me worried!" Chu then falsely reported to Emperor Taizong that Liu said, "There is nothing to worry about as far as the matters of state were concerned. We only need to assist the young emperor. By the precedents of Yi Yin and Huo Guang
Huo Guang
Huo Guang , courtesy name Zimeng was a Western Han statesman who was a rare example in Chinese history of a powerful official who deposed an emperor for the good of the state rather than to usurp the throne...
, we execute the high level officials who were double-minded, and the state will be secure." Because of Liu's earlier comments, Emperor Taizong believed the accusation. Liu asked Ma to corroborate his innocence, and Ma did so, but Chu insisted that Liu did make the inappropriate comments. Emperor Taizong, believing Chu, ordered that Liu commit suicide, but pardoned his family. Before Liu committed suicide, around the new year 646, he requested a pen so that he could write a final statement for Emperor Taizong, but the officials having him under arrest did not dare to give him a pen, and so he died without a final statement. When Emperor Taizong found out about this, he punished those officials.
In 656, Emperor Taizong's death and succession by Li Zhi (as Emperor Gaozong) and after Chu himself fell from grace due to the machinations of Emperor Gaozong's wife Empress Wu
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian , personal name Wu Zhao , often referred to as Tian Hou during the Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant...
and her associates, Liu Ji's son Liu Hongye (劉弘業) submitted a petition, alleging that his father was forced to commit suicide due to Chu's false accusations. The chancellor Li Yifu
Li Yifu
Li Yifu was a chancellor of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. He became particularly powerful because of his support for Emperor Gaozong's second wife Empress Wu when her ascension was opposed by then-chancellors, and he had a reputation for treachery...
, a close associate of Empress Wu and a former subordinate of Liu Ji's whom Liu Ji favored, helped him with his case, and most officials, wanting to please Li Yifu, all stated that Liu died without fault. However, Le Yanwei
Le Yanwei
Le Yanwei , courtesy name Degui , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozong.Le Yanwei was from the Tang capital Chang'an...
opposed revisiting the case, pointing out that Liu did still make inappropriate statements, and that revisiting the case would be an implicit rebuke of Emperor Taizong's actions. Emperor Gaozong agreed, and took no action on Liu Hongye's petition. It was not until 684, after Empress Wei had become empress dowager
Empress Dowager
Empress Dowager was the title given to the mother of a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese emperor.The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of Grand empress dowager. Numerous empress...
and was in total control, that Liu Ji's honors were posthumously restored.