Di Renjie

Di Renjie

Di Renjie (630-700 years), the word huaiying, Bingzhou Jinyang (now Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province) people. Tang Dynasty statesman, Prime Minister of Wu Zhou period.

Di Renjie was born in the di family of Taiyuan. In his early years, he served as bianzhou judge, Bingzhou FA Cao, Dali Si Cheng, Shi Yushi, Duzhi doctor, ningzhou CI Shi, Dongguan Shi Lang, Wenchang Youcheng, Yuzhou CI Shi, Fuzhou CI Shi, Luozhou Sima and so on. He is famous for his fearlessness of power. In September of the second year of Tianshu reign (691), he paid homage to the prime minister and served as the prefect's minister and Tongping Zhangshi. However, only four months later, he was falsely accused of conspiracy by the cruel official Lai Junchen. He was sentenced to prison and demoted to Pengze County Magistrate. He was recovered during the Yingzhou rebellion, and in the first year of Shengong (697), he worshipped the prime minister again. He served as the Minister of luantai and the Zhangshi of Tongping, and went to worship Nayan. Later, Yan Zhijian urged Wu Zetian to establish Li Xian, the king of Luling, as the crown prince, so that the Tang Dynasty could continue.

In the first year of Jiushi (700), di Renjie paid homage to the internal history and died in September of the same year. He was awarded the title of Wen Hui to the right Prime Minister of Wenchang. After the restoration of the Tang Dynasty, it was awarded to Sikong and the Duke of Liang.

Overview photo source: Portrait album of famous officials in Tang Dynasty, old collection of Nanxun Hall

Life of the characters

Stepping into official career

When Di Renjie was young, he took part in the imperial examination and was awarded bianzhou judge by Ming Dynasty. He was recommended by Yan Liben, the governor of Henan Province.

In the reign of Yifeng, di Renjie was promoted to the rank of Cheng of Dali temple. In one year, he judged a large backlog of cases involving 17000 people, but no one complained unjustly. Later, he was appointed as a censor.

In the first year of diaolu (679), di Renjie became a doctor of Duzhi and a doctor of chaosan. Along with Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, he visited Fenyang Palace (in today's jingle of Shanxi Province) and served as Zhidun envoy.

Tired of work

In 686, di Renjie was released to the governor of ningzhou. During his term of office, he handled ethnic relations properly and was deeply loved. Ningzhou people erected steles to extol his virtue. At that time, the censor Guo Han inspected Longyou and impeached a large number of county officials. However, when he arrived in ningzhou (now Ningxian County, Gansu Province), he constantly heard local people praise the governor, so he recommended Di Renjie to the imperial court. Before long, di Renjie was enlisted as the official servant of winter.

In 688, di Renjie served as governor of Jiangnan. At that time, the places in the south of the Yangtze River were full of immoral temples. Di Renjie learned that the imperial court burned more than 1700 temples, leaving only four temples dedicated to Xiayu, Taibo, Jizha and Wuyuan. Not long after that, di Renjie changed his post to Youcheng of Wenchang and became governor of Yuzhou in September of the same year. At that time, Li Zhen, king of Yue, fought against Wu Zetian in Yuzhou. Prime Minister Zhang Guangfu led the army to pacify the rebellion, but connived at extortion. Di Renjie refused to listen, but also rebuked Zhang Guangfu, saying that he was more guilty than Li Zhen. Zhang Guangfu held a grudge, which made it easy for him to impeach Di Renjie and insult the prime minister. Therefore, di Renjie was demoted as the governor of Fuzhou.

In the first year of Tianshu (690), Wu Zetian was called emperor and changed the Tang Dynasty to Zhou Dynasty, which was called Wu Zhou in history. In September of the following year, di Renjie was promoted from Sima of Luozhou prefecture to the official servant, acting as the minister's agent. He also granted the chapter of luantaiping, the Fengge Pavilion, and became the prime minister. Wu Zetian said to him, "when you were an official in Runan, you had good political achievements, but someone was slandering you. Do you know who it was?" Di Renjie replied: "if your majesty thinks that I have done something wrong, I should correct it. If your majesty understands that I have no fault, I am lucky. I don't want to know who is the person who slandered me, and I will regard him as my friend. " Wu Zetian was greatly impressed.

Relegated to Pengze

In the first month of the first year of longevity (692), the cruel official Lai Junchen falsely accused Di Renjie and other ministers of treason and arrested them. At that time, the law provided that those who admitted treason after interrogation could be exempted from capital punishment. Di Renjie pleaded guilty on the spot and said: "in the revolution of the great Zhou Dynasty, all things were new. The old officials of the Tang Dynasty were willing to kill, but it was true!" When Lai Junchen gets a confession, he puts Di Renjie and others in prison. He just waits for the execution of the sentence in the future and is no longer on guard. Di Renjie borrowed pen and ink from the prison officials, tore a piece of silk from the quilt, wrote about the injustice, stuffed it in the cotton padded clothes, and asked to be sent home. Wang Deshou, who is in charge of the guard, has no doubt and has it sent to di Guangyuan, di Renjie's son. Di Guangyuan complained to Wu Zetian with a silk letter.

After reading the silk script, Empress Wu summoned Junchen to question. Lai Junchen argued: "I didn't torture Di Renjie and others. I didn't even peel off their crowns and belts. I ate and slept as usual. If there is no fact of rebellion, how can they admit it? " Wu Zetian then sent Zhou Zhen, a general servant, to the prison to check. To Junchen first to di Renjie and others dressed neatly, and then let Zhou Yi into view. Zhou Yi was afraid of coming to Junchen, but he was just submissive. Without even looking at di Renjie and others, he went back to reply to Wu Zetian. Lai Junchen also ordered people to fake the name of Di Renjie and others, forge the Xie die Biao, and let Zhou Yi present it to Wu Zetian.

Wu Zetian decided to personally inquire about the case of Di Renjie's rebellion. She summoned Di Renjie and asked him why he admitted to rebellion. Di Renjie said: "if I don't admit the rebellion, I will die of torture." Wu Zetian then asked why she wrote the Xie Si Biao, but di Renjie replied that she had not written it. Wu Zetian then asked people to take out the "Xie Si Biao", and she knew that the seal was forged, so she exempted Di Renjie and other ministers from the capital punishment and demoted them all as local officials. Among them, di Renjie was demoted to Pengze as magistrate. After that, Wu Chengsi, the king of Wei, repeatedly asked to kill Di Renjie, but Wu Zetian refused.

Return to Zaifu

Long live Tongtian first year (696), Khitan leader Sun Wanrong rebellion, the capture of Jizhou, Hebei shock for a time. In order to stabilize the situation, Wu Zetian appointed Di Renjie as the governor of Weizhou. At that time, in order to resist Khitan, the former assassin urged the common people to enter the city and repair the equipment for guarding the city. But when Di Renjie took office, he let the people go back to work. Hearing that di Renjie was recovered, sun Wanrong withdrew without fighting. The people of Weizhou vied with each other to set up steles to praise virtue. Soon after, di Renjie was transferred to Youzhou as governor, and was given purple robes and turtle belts. Wu Zetian also inscribed twelve gold characters on the purple robe in recognition of Di Renjie's loyalty.

In the first year of Shengong (697), di Renjie paid homage to the prime minister again. He served as the Minister of luantai and the Minister of luantai in Tongfeng Pavilion. He was also awarded the title of Yin qingguanglu. At that time, the imperial court sent the people to guard the four towns in Anxi, which led to complaints. For this reason, di Renjie advised that Anton's Prefecture should be abolished, Gao's family should be established as the king of Koguryo, and the transportation of grain and grass in the south of the Yangtze River should be suspended to comfort the people in Hebei Province. Although his proposal was not adopted by the imperial court, it was approved by people of insight. Before long, di Renjie acted as an agent of Nayan, and concurrently served as the censor doctor of yousuzhengtai.

In the first year of the holy calendar (698), Turks went south to harass Hebei and plunder more than 10000 people. Wu Zetian appointed Di Renjie as marshal of Hebei Daoxing army to fight against Turks, and promised to act conveniently. After killing all the prisoners, the Turkic army returned to Mobei from wuhuidao (now in the west of Yixian County, Hebei Province). Di Renjie led a hundred thousand troops to pursue him, but he failed to catch up and had to return to Hebei. Wu Zetian appointed Di Renjie as the pacifying Ambassador of Hebei Province to pacify Hebei Province. At that time, most of the people in Hebei Province were coerced by Turks, and they fled one after another for fear of being implicated. Di Renjie played the role of Emperor Ming, pardoned the people in Hebei and made them return to their hometown for production.

Life in old age

In the first year of Jiushi (700), di Renjie paid homage to the internal history and visited Sanyang palace with Wu Zetian. At that time, many civil and military officials went with them. Only Di Renjie was granted the first house, which was the most favored one in the dynasty. In September of that year, di Renjie died of illness at the age of 71. Wu Zetian abolished the dynasty for three days and gave it to the right Prime Minister of Wenchang, with the posthumous title of Wenhui.

In the first year of Shenlong (705), Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty restored the throne and bestowed Di Renjie as Sikong.

In the fourth year of Jinglong (710), Emperor Ruizong of Tang Dynasty succeeded to the throne and granted Di Renjie the title of Duke of Liang.

In the sixth year of Tianbao (747), di Renjie, Zhang Cambodian, Wei Yuanzhong and other eight people shared the imperial temple together and attached it to the Zhongzong temple.

In the sixth year of Tianfu in the later Jin Dynasty (941), di Renjie was granted the title of grand master by the later Jin Dynasty.

Anecdotes and allusions

There is no time to talk about vulgar officials

When Di Renjie was a child, a member of his family was killed. When the county officials came to inquire, all the people argued. Only Di Renjie looked after himself and ignored him. Facing the censure of the county officials, he replied, "I am talking with the sages in the Yellow scroll. How can I have time to deal with you secular officials?"

an unnoticed talent

In his early years, di Renjie was falsely accused by petty officials. Yan Liben, the Minister of the Ministry of industry, was appointed as the dethroning envoy of He Nan Dao at that time. When he was interrogated, he found that he was a talented person with both political integrity and ability. He praised him: "Confucius said," if you have seen the past, you will know the benevolence. " You can say it's a legacy. " Later generations then used the metaphor of "pearls of the sea" to describe the buried talents.

remembrance of parents

When Di Renjie was an official in Bingzhou, his parents were far away in Heyang. He climbed the Taihang Mountain, looked back to the south, saw a white cloud flying, said to the people around: "my parents live under that white cloud." He stood and looked for a long time until the white clouds dispersed. Later generations used "Baiyun qinshe" and "Baiyun gufei" as the words of homesickness and missing their parents.

the only man under heaven

When Di Renjie was the facao of Bingzhou, his colleague Zheng Chongzhi had to work far away, but his mother was old and sick. Di Renjie took the initiative to question Zheng Chong: "your mother is seriously ill, but you have to go away. How can you make your relatives worry about you thousands of miles away?" He went to see the governor of Bingzhou, Shi linrenji, and asked to travel instead of Zheng Chongzhi. Lin Renji was very moved and deeply ashamed of the discord between him and Li Xiaolian. He took the initiative to reconcile with Li Xiaolian. He often praised Di Renjie and said, "the virtuous of Di Gong is just one person to the south of Beidou." Later generations then used "Dounan Yiren" to describe the unique talents in the world

Chinese PinYin : Di Ren Jie