Li Linfu

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Li Linfu belonged to the Xunwang branch of the Tang imperial clan. He was a great-great-grandson of Li Yi, Prince of Xun and sixth son of the dynastic ancestor Li Hu, a great-grandson of Li Shuliang, Prince Su of Changping, a grandson of Li Xiaobin, Duke of Huayang and chief secretary of Yuanzhou, and a son of Li Sihui, an administrative officer in Yangzhou. Early in his career he served as a junior officer of the Qianniu Guard. He was skilled in music and was strongly favored by his maternal uncle Jiang Jiao. During the Kaiyuan era he became Secretariat Receptionist to the Crown Prince. The senior minister Yuan Qianyao was connected by marriage with Jiang Jiao. Yuan's son Yuan Jie sought for Li the post of Director in the Bureau of Gatekeepers, a relatively high fifth-rank office, but Yuan Qianyao laughed and questioned whether Genu, Li's childhood name, possessed the talent and reputation appropriate for such a post. Li therefore received only the position of Crown Prince Remonstrator and later rose to Director of the Directorate of Education.

The source portrays Li as outwardly yielding but highly skilled in political maneuvering. He maintained close relationships with palace eunuchs and consorts and therefore knew Emperor Xuanzong's movements and preferences, allowing his court responses to accord closely with imperial wishes. At the time, Consort Wu was the most favored woman in the palace, and Xuanzong especially loved her son Li Mao, Prince of Shou, while becoming less close to Crown Prince Li Ying. Through eunuchs, Li Linfu approached Consort Wu and indicated that he would do everything possible to protect Li Mao. She was grateful and secretly assisted him.

Rise to the Grand Councilorship

In 726, with the recommendation of Yuwen Rong, Li became Censor-in-Chief and later served as Vice Minister of Justice and Vice Minister of Personnel. In 733, the Grand Councilor Pei Guangting died. Pei's wife, a daughter of Wu Sansi, was said in the source to have had a private relationship with Li Linfu, while the eunuch Gao Lishi had once belonged to Wu Sansi's household. After Pei's death, Lady Wu asked Gao Lishi to recommend Li as Grand Councilor, but Gao did not dare do so. Emperor Xuanzong instead appointed Han Xiu as a Grand Councilor after a recommendation by Xiao Song. Gao leaked the appointment to Lady Wu, allowing Li Linfu to inform Han Xiu in advance. After becoming Grand Councilor, Han fell into conflict with Xiao Song but remained grateful to Li and recommended him as chief-minister material. With additional covert support from Consort Wu, Li became Vice Director of the Chancellery.

In 735 Li was appointed Minister of Rites, Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin, and Silver-Green Guanglu Grand Master, entering the Grand Councilorship alongside Pei Yaoqing and Zhang Jiuling. He later also served as Minister of Revenue and Minister of War.

Monopoly of Power

In 736 Emperor Xuanzong wished to grant an additional fief to Niu Xianke, military governor of Shuofang, and to have him concurrently hold a ministerial post. Zhang Jiuling strongly opposed the move on grounds of Niu's limited learning, angering the emperor. Li privately argued that if a man had practical ability there was no need for extensive book learning and that the emperor was entitled to employ whomever he wished. Xuanzong later dismissed Zhang Jiuling and Pei Yaoqing on accusations of factionalism and appointed Li Linfu and Niu Xianke as Grand Councilors. Li received the offices of Director of the Secretariat, Grand Academician of the Jixian Hall, and editor of state history.

In 737, following Li's advice, Emperor Xuanzong demoted Crown Prince Li Ying, Li Yao, Prince of E, and Li Ju, Prince of Guang, to commoner status and soon ordered all three to die, a decision widely regarded at the time as unjust. In the seventh lunar month, Xu Qiao, vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review, submitted a report saying that the atmosphere of killing in prisons had once been so intense that birds would not perch there, whereas only fifty-eight death sentences had now been decided in a year and magpies were nesting over the prison. Officials submitted congratulations and praised the situation as evidence of good public order. Xuanzong credited the Grand Councilors and enfeoffed Li as Duke of Jin.

In 738 Li concurrently held the Longyou and Hexi military governorships. Consort Wu had died and the position of crown prince was vacant. Li repeatedly urged Xuanzong to appoint Li Mao, Prince of Shou, but Xuanzong favored Li Yu, Prince of Zhong, regarding him as older, humane, filial, respectful, and diligent in study. Gao Lishi also supported Li Yu. In the sixth lunar month Li Yu was made crown prince and later changed his name to Li Heng. In 739 Li Linfu concurrently became Minister of Personnel and, together with Niu Xianke, directed civil and military appointments.

In 742 Xuanzong changed many official titles. Li became Right Grand Councilor while concurrently serving as Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and received the rank Guanglu Grand Master, although he lost his concurrent military governorships. In 747 he received the rank Kaifu Yitong Sansi and a tax allotment of three hundred households. Xuanzong favored him greatly: when unusual foods or delicacies from distant regions reached the palace, eunuchs were sent to deliver gifts to Li's residence so frequently that the roads were crowded. Li brought the compliant Chen Xilie into the Grand Councilorship. Li himself handled government from his home, where officials gathered awaiting summons. Chen sat in the Hall of State Affairs but received few visitors, seldom dared offer independent opinions, and merely signed documents.

Attacks on the Crown Prince and His Final Years

Because Li Linfu had played no role in Li Heng's appointment as crown prince, the source says he feared future danger and sought to undermine the Eastern Palace through major political prosecutions. His first target was Wei Jian, brother of the crown prince's wife. Li had helped Wei into an important position but ordered Censor-in-Chief Yang Shenjin to watch secretly for faults. Huangfu Weiming, military governor of Longyou, came to court after a victory and, seeing Li Linfu's dominance, suggested that Xuanzong dismiss him. Li therefore hated Huangfu. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in 746, Crown Prince Li Heng went out for recreation and happened to encounter Wei Jian, who in turn secretly met Huangfu Weiming. Yang Shenjin reported the matter, accusing Wei, as an imperial relative, of improperly associating with a frontier commander. Li then charged that Wei and Huangfu were conspiring to enthrone the crown prince. Xuanzong became furious, demoted both men, and forced Li Heng to divorce Crown Princess Wei. Chief minister Li Shizhi, frightened by the case, resigned and was made Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent.

In the eleventh lunar month of that year Li launched another prosecution directed against the crown prince. Du Youlin, father of Lady Du, a favored woman of the Eastern Palace, had a poor relationship with his son-in-law Liu Ji. Liu falsely accused Du of making unauthorized claims about prophetic texts, forming a faction with the Eastern Palace, and attacking the emperor. Li ordered Wang Hong and Yang Guozhong to conduct the investigation. Du Youlin and Liu Ji were both beaten to death, and Lady Du was reduced to commoner status. Many provincial officials were also implicated. Li Yong, governor of Beihai, and Pei Dunfu, governor of Zichuan, were beaten to death; Wei Jian and Huangfu Weiming were ordered to die. Censor Luo Xishi traveled through the provinces carrying out large-scale executions and demotions from Qingzhou south to Lingnan. Former Grand Councilor Li Shizhi, then demoted to Yichun, committed suicide by poison out of fear, while his son Li Sha was beaten to death in Henan Prefecture on Li Linfu's orders. Wang Ju, a meritorious participant in the Xiantian Coup who had been demoted to Jianghua, first attempted suicide by poison and then hanged himself.

Wang Zhongsi had been raised in the palace from childhood and was close to Crown Prince Li Heng. He later commanded four major frontier military governorships—Hexi, Longyou, Hedong, and Shuofang—and was powerful on the frontier. Li feared that Wang might return to court as Grand Councilor and threaten his position. In 747, after General Dong Yanguang failed in an attack on Shibao City and accused Wang of obstructing military plans, Xuanzong became displeased. Li used the opportunity to have Wei Lin, an assistant prefect of Jiyang, falsely accuse Wang of wishing to use troops to support the crown prince. Xuanzong said he did not believe the charge, but nevertheless stripped Wang of military command, recalled him to court, and demoted him to governor of Hanyang. Although Li repeatedly used political prosecutions in an effort to separate Xuanzong from the crown prince, Li Heng remained cautious and filial and was protected by Zhang Ji and Gao Lishi, so Li's efforts did not ultimately remove him.

Li Linfu died of illness in the eleventh lunar month of the eleventh Tianbao year, corresponding to January 3, 753. He was posthumously awarded the offices of Grand Commandant and Grand Commander of Yangzhou. After his death, Yang Guozhong and An Lushan cooperated in accusing him of conspiring with the non-Han general Abusi to rebel. Xuanzong believed the accusation, posthumously stripped Li of his titles, confiscated his property, and exiled his descendants to Lingnan.

Major Activities

Political Activities

During Li Linfu's years as Grand Councilor, the source credits him with addressing the growing problem of redundant offices that had developed since the reign of Emperor Gaozong. He compiled the Changxing Zhi to reform local finances, established an Ever-Normal Granary in the capital to relieve Chang'an's chronic grain shortages, and participated in compiling the Six Statutes of the Tang. The Old Book of Tang praised his administrative caution and organization, stating that he was excessively careful in affairs, ordered numerous matters methodically, strengthened administrative regulations, and made appointments inside and outside the capital follow stable standards.

Excluding Rivals

To secure his chief-ministerial position, Li excluded capable officials and blocked channels of remonstrance. He helped alienate Zhang Jiuling from Xuanzong and brought about Zhang's demotion to chief secretary of Jingzhou. He also manipulated the examination system, producing the episode summarized by the phrase “no worthy talent left in the countryside.” In 747 Xuanzong summoned anyone in the realm with a special skill to the capital for examination. Li controlled the process, and no candidate was passed. He then reported to the emperor that no worthy talent remained undiscovered outside government service. Du Fu, Yuan Jie, and others failed in this examination.

Reliance on Non-Han Generals

During the Kaiyuan era, figures such as Zhang Jiazhen, Wang Jun, Zhang Yue, Xiao Song, and Du Xian had entered the central government as Grand Councilors after serving as military governors. Li sought to close this route from frontier command to the Grand Councilorship. He reportedly argued that literati commanders feared arrows and stones and that men of humble origin and non-Han commanders were preferable because the latter were courageous in battle and the former lacked strong political factions. Gao Xianzhi and Geshu Han therefore became prominent commanders. The source argues that Li used their limited literary qualifications to keep them from entering the Grand Councilorship, thereby protecting his own power, but that the same policy indirectly created conditions in which An Lushan could expand his power and helped set the stage for the An Lushan Rebellion.

Travels and Cultural Associations

Although a Grand Councilor, Li was also skilled in painting and was a friend of Wang Wei in the visual arts. Zhang Yanyuan's Record of Famous Painters through the Ages states that Li Linfu was “also skilled in painting.” He associated with Han Chaozong and Xi Yu and exchanged poems with Zhang Jiuling, Wang Wei, Sun Ti, and Lu Xun. Wang Wei called him a “master craftsman” in a poem, and Sun Ti referred to him as a “worthy Grand Councilor.”

Personal Relations

Family

• Great-grandfather: Li Shuliang, Prince Su of Changping
• Grandfather: Li Xiaobin, Duke of Huayang and chief secretary of Yuanzhou
• Father: Li Sihui, administrative officer in Yangzhou
• Maternal uncle: Jiang Jiao, Duke of Chu
• Sons: Li Xiu, Li E, Li Yu, Li Zu, Li Yan, and others, twenty-five in total, holding various offices
• Daughters: twenty-five; one, Li Tengkong, became a Daoist nun with the religious name Nüzhen

Teachers and Associates

• Yuwen Rong: recommended Li Linfu as Censor-in-Chief
• Han Xiu: grateful that Li gave him advance notice of his appointment and later recommended him as Grand Councilor
• Wang Wei: poetic and artistic associate, who called Li a “master craftsman”
• Sun Ti: exchanged poems with Li and called him a “worthy Grand Councilor”
• Xi Yu: associate
• Yuan Xian: Li Linfu's secretary, who also associated with Wang Wei

Ruler and Ministers

• Emperor Xuanzong of Tang: Li Linfu's ruler, who strongly favored and trusted him
• Consort Wu: received Li's promises to protect her son Li Mao and secretly supported him
• Gao Lishi: eunuch associated with the household of Wu Sansi, who once leaked news of a chief-ministerial appointment
• Chen Xilie: brought into the Grand Councilorship by Li; portrayed as compliant and deferential
• Niu Xianke: Grand Councilor alongside Li, known for caution

Conflicts

• Zhang Jiuling: prominent Kaiyuan Grand Councilor; political opponent whom Li helped remove
• Pei Yaoqing: dismissed together with Zhang Jiuling
• Crown Prince Li Ying, Li Yao, Prince of E, and Li Ju, Prince of Guang: deposed and killed with Li Linfu's involvement
• Crown Prince Li Heng, formerly Li Yu: Li became hostile because of the succession question and repeatedly used prosecutions to weaken the Eastern Palace
• Wei Jian: brother of Li Heng's wife, framed and eventually killed
• Huangfu Weiming: military governor of Longyou, framed and killed
• Li Shizhi: Grand Councilor excluded by Li and later driven to suicide
• Li Yong: governor of Beihai, beaten to death
• Pei Dunfu: governor of Zichuan, beaten to death
• Wang Zhongsi: military governor of four commands, falsely accused and demoted
• Yang Guozhong: political enemy in Li's later years who accused him of treason after his death
• An Lushan: feared Li Linfu while Li lived, but later launched the An Lushan Rebellion

Historical Assessment

Tang and Contemporary Views

• The Old Book of Tang praised Li's caution and administrative capacity, stating that he brought order to complex affairs and established regular standards for appointments and government.
• Wang Wei called him a “master craftsman” in a poem.
• Sun Ti called him a “worthy Grand Councilor” in a poem written for a gathering at Huichang Grove.
• Gao Shi wrote a poem expressing gratitude to Li after receiving office.

Song and Yuan Periods

• The New Book of Tang described Li as particularly jealous of men of literary ability and associated him with manipulation of the examinations and the “no worthy talent left in the countryside” episode.
• The Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance repeated the story and described him as outwardly soft and flattering but full of schemes.
• Sima Guang criticized Li for rising through flattery and preserving imperial favor through political manipulation.
• Song scholars generally treated Li as a classic example of a treacherous minister and often paired him with Yang Guozhong.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Ming thinker Li Zhi, in Essential Comments on the Historical Outline, called Li “the worst of treacherous ministers.”
• Qing scholar Wang Mingsheng, in Discussions on the Seventeen Histories, argued that although Li was treacherous, he also possessed real administrative ability.
• Qing historian Zhao Yi, in Notes on the Twenty-Two Histories, described Li's corrupt politics as the beginning of the Tang dynasty's decline.

Modern Scholarship

• Modern historian Cen Zhongmian, in History of the Sui and Tang, argued that Li was not without achievements and that his reduction of redundant offices and fiscal reforms had some positive effect.
• Huang Yongnian, in Twelve Lectures on Tang History, argues that later histories exaggerated the “honey in the mouth, a sword in the belly” image but that Li's monopoly of power did intensify political corruption.
• Lü Simian, in History of the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties, judged that although Li was politically unscrupulous, he possessed considerable ability and was not mediocre.
• Modern scholars commonly identify Li as one of the important figures in the Tang transition from prosperity to decline and regard his policy of promoting non-Han generals as an indirect factor in the outbreak of the An Lushan Rebellion.