Li Fan (Tang dynasty) facts for kids

Li Fan (born 754, died 811) was an important official in China during the Tang dynasty. He served as a top advisor, known as a chancellor, for Emperor Xianzong. His courtesy name was Shuhan.

Early Life and Family

Li Fan was born in 754, when Emperor Xuanzong was ruling China. His family was a well-known and respected clan from Zhao Prefecture, which is in modern-day Shijiazhuang, Hebei. It's important to know that his family was not related to the imperial Li family who ruled the Tang dynasty.

Li Fan's family had a long history of serving the government. They could trace their family line back to a famous general named Li Mu from the ancient Warring States period. Many of his ancestors were officials in different Chinese dynasties, including the Qin dynasty, Han dynasty, and Sui dynasty. Both his great-grandfather, Li Zhiyuan, and his grandfather, Li She, were known for being very virtuous and good people.

Early Career

Li Fan's father, Li Cheng, was a governor during the reign of Emperor Dezong. Li Fan himself was described as a quiet, careful, and very studious young man.

When his father died in 783, Li Fan inherited a lot of money. However, he was very generous. He allowed relatives to take what they needed and continued to give to charity. Within a few years, all the money was gone, and his family became poor. His wife was not happy about this, but Li Fan didn't seem to mind.

When Li Fan was in his 40s, he was still studying and not yet working as an official. He didn't even have enough money for his daily needs.

A Stand for Justice

Later, a man named Du Ya, who was a friend of Li Fan's father, invited Li Fan to work for him as a secretary in the city of Luoyang. One day, there was a big robbery in Luoyang. An officer named Linghu Yun was wrongly accused of the crime. Du Ya believed the accusations and even tortured Linghu until he confessed.

Li Fan knew Linghu was innocent. He argued strongly to defend Linghu, but Du Ya refused to listen. Because he couldn't stand by and watch an innocent person suffer, Li Fan resigned from his job. Soon after, the real robber was caught, and Li Fan became famous for his honesty and courage.

Facing False Accusations

After leaving Luoyang, Li Fan was invited to work for Zhang Jianfeng, a military governor. In the year 800, Zhang Jianfeng became very ill. One of his officers, Du Jian, tried to take control of the region without permission. Li Fan bravely told Du Jian to return to his post immediately, or he would report him to the emperor. Du Jian was scared and obeyed.

When Zhang Jianfeng died, the emperor tried to appoint a new governor. However, the local soldiers rebelled and wanted Zhang Jianfeng's son, Zhang Yin, to take over. After some fighting, the emperor had to agree to let Zhang Yin become a military leader in the area.

After this, Li Fan left the region. Du Jian, who was still angry at Li Fan, falsely accused him of encouraging the rebellion. Emperor Dezong was furious and ordered Li Fan's execution. However, Du You, another governor, showed the order to Li Fan. Li Fan calmly said he was not afraid to die. Du You then wrote to the emperor, defending Li Fan.

Emperor Dezong still had doubts, so he called Li Fan to the capital city, Chang'an, to meet him in person. After meeting Li Fan, the emperor was impressed by his calm and elegant manner. He realized Li Fan was innocent and appointed him to a position at the Palace Library.

Standing Firm in the Capital

While working in the capital, a powerful official named Wang Chun tried to invite Li Fan to a meeting, hoping Li Fan would show submission and be promoted. But Li Fan refused to meet him, showing his independence.

Li Fan also avoided joining other junior officials who spent their time gambling and using frivolous language. He joined them once but disliked their behavior and never went back. He later held several low-level positions in the government, including at the Ministry of Rites.

During Emperor Shunzong's Reign

In 805, Emperor Dezong died, and his son, Emperor Shunzong, became emperor. When Emperor Shunzong made his own son, Li Chun, the crown prince (the next in line to the throne), an official named Wang Chun changed his name to Wang Shao. He did this to avoid using a character from the crown prince's name, which was a tradition called "naming taboo." Many people thought it was too early to do this since Li Chun wasn't emperor yet.

However, Li Fan said that throughout history, dynasties were sometimes weakened by officials who didn't understand what was truly important. He believed that what Wang Shao did was not a big deal.

During Emperor Xianzong's Reign

Later in 805, Emperor Shunzong, who was very ill, gave the throne to Li Chun, who became Emperor Xianzong. Li Fan was soon promoted to a higher position in the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs. He was in charge of appointing lower-level officials. Once, he made some mistakes in appointments because he was given wrong information. As a result, he was demoted.

However, he was soon promoted again to be the deputy head of the imperial university and then an imperial attendant. In this role, he had to review drafts of imperial orders. Whenever he saw something he thought was wrong, he would write his comments directly on the yellow paper used for the order. Other officials asked him to write his comments on separate white paper, but Li Fan refused. He said, "Then I would be writing a request, not correcting the order." This showed his strong belief in doing his duty properly. The chancellor, Pei Ji, often told the emperor that Li Fan had the skills to be a chancellor.

A Straightforward Chancellor

In 809, Emperor Xianzong felt that his current chancellor, Zheng Yin, was too quiet. So, he removed Zheng and made Li Fan a deputy head of the examination bureau and a chancellor. Li Fan was known for being very open and honest in his discussions, never hiding what he knew. Emperor Xianzong respected him greatly for this. Later that year, based on advice from Li Fan and Pei Ji, Emperor Xianzong made a peace treaty with the Tufan.

In 810, Emperor Xianzong and his chancellors were discussing whether gods existed. Li Fan sensed that the emperor might be thinking about taking special medicines from alchemists to try and live forever. Li Fan wisely pointed out that even powerful emperors like Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han failed in their attempts to achieve immortality. He also reminded the emperor that his own ancestor, Emperor Taizong, had become sick from such medicines. Li Fan advised Emperor Xianzong to focus on bringing peace to the country and to ignore the alchemists. He told the emperor that if he did this, he would live a long and happy life, like the mythical ancient emperors Yao and Shun. Li Fan also encouraged the emperor to live simply and avoid waste.

Standing Up to Power

Also in 810, a military governor named Wang E wanted an honorary chancellor title. He tried to bribe many of Emperor Xianzong's close friends to get it. Emperor Xianzong then secretly ordered Li Fan and another chancellor, Quan Deyu, to give Wang E the honorary title.

Li Fan drafted the order but then boldly crossed out the words "and chancellor" to show his strong disagreement. Quan Deyu, who also disagreed, was surprised and said, "You can oppose it, but is crossing out the words on the order appropriate?" Li Fan replied, "This is urgent. If the order is issued, it cannot be taken back. The sun is setting. How can we have enough time to oppose it?" Because of Li Fan's and Quan Deyu's strong opposition, the emperor decided not to give Wang E the honorary chancellor title.

Later Years and Death

In late 810, Pei Ji resigned as chancellor due to illness. In early 811, Li Jifu was made chancellor, even though Li Fan opposed it. Because of this, Li Jifu held a grudge against Li Fan.

After arriving in the capital, Li Jifu told Emperor Xianzong that Li Fan had made a mistake by allowing a warlord's son to inherit his father's military governorship. This made Emperor Xianzong unhappy. A few days later, Li Fan was removed from his position as chancellor and made the head of the household for the crown prince, Li Ning.

Several months later, Emperor Xianzong began to miss Li Fan and invited him for discussions. In 811, Li Fan was appointed as the prefect (governor) of Hua Prefecture. However, he died before he could leave Chang'an. He was given special honors after his death. People at the time said that while he might not have been as capable as Pei Ji or as strict as Wei Guanzhi, he was greatly admired for his honesty and strong principles.