Lu Zhi: A Critical Biography

Author: Wang Su
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-04-01
Features: Lu Zhan was a famous Tang Dynasty politician, political theorist, and thinker of the people-centered ideology. The golden period of his life coincided with the reign of Emperor Dezong, who was foolish yet self-willed and envious with little compassion. He experienced the turmoil of the Jianzhong period and the politically and socially dark eras of Zhenyuan and Jing'an. As a politician, he wrote a large number of political treatises (including manufacturing, memorial drafts, and Zhongshu memorial discourses), calling for peace to end chaos and advocating for the suffering of the people, once playing the role of "saving the times." However, he himself was very, exiled for ten years until his death, becoming a victim of this era. This book is divided into two parts: The first part is "Biography," which, based on a wealth of historical materials, examines and corrects the mistakes of previous scholars, restoring the original historical context regarding Lu Zhan's family background, close relatives, early career, and official career, as well as historical reviews and posthumous works. The second part is "Political Treatises," which selects 67 articles from Lu Zhan's only surviving collection, The Collection of the Han Academy, for chronological arrangement, summaries, abstracts, and brief evaluations. This not only allows readers to further understand the aspects of Emperor Dezong's era related to Lu Zhan but also enables them to appreciate and interpret Lu Zhan's style of political treatises and his people-centered ideology. The content is rich, the format is innovative, the discussions are profound yet accessible, and the language is elegant and fluent, making it uniquely distinctive among biographical works.