Lu Yuanfang

Lu Yuanfang (陸元方) (639 - March 20, 701), courtesy name Xizhong (希仲), was an official of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, twice serving as chancellor.

It is not known when Lu Yuanfang was born, but it is known that his family was from Su Prefecture (蘇州, roughly modern Suzhou, Jiangsu) and that he was from a line that had long served as officials during the Southern Dynasties. His grandfather or great-grandfather Lu Chen (陸琛) served as an important official during Chen Dynasty. His uncle Lu Jianzhi (陸柬之) was a well-known calligrapher and served as a Tang official, but his father Lu Xuanzhi (陸玄之) was only a county sheriff.

It was said that Lu Yuanfang initially passed one imperial examination out of eight—which was already enough for him to become an official—but he later passed all eight. He eventually became an assistant censor. On one occasion during Wu Zetian's reign, he was commissioned to go investigate cases in the Lingnan region, which at that time required travel by sea. Once the ship launched, there was violent sea movement, and the people in the ship were fearful. Lu stated, "I am setting out on a mission, not for my own profit; how will the gods hurt me?" He ordered the ship to continue, and soon, the storm passed. After he returned, he was promoted as a censor and then successively as Fengge Sheren (鳳閣舍人) -- a mid-level at the legislative bureau of government (鳳閣, Fengge) -- and deputy minister of justice (秋官侍郎, Qiuguan Shilang). While serving as deputy minister of justice, he was falsely accused by the secret police official Lai Junchen, but contrary to the fate of most officials accused by Lai, Wu Zetian took no actions against him, and in 693 made him Luantai Shilang (鸞臺侍郎) -- the deputy head of the examination bureau (鸞臺, Luantai) -- and gave him the designation Tong Fengge Luantai Pingzhangshi (同鳳閣鸞臺平章事), making him a chancellor de facto.

In late 694, Wu Zetian, displeased with the powerful chancellor Li Zhaode, exiled Li, and fellow chancellor Zhou Yunyuan and the assistant chief judge of the supreme court, Huangfu Wenbei (皇甫文備), then submitted articles of impeachment against Lu and several fellow chancellors -- Doulu Qinwang, Wei Juyuan, Du Jingjian, and Su Weidao—for not being able to curb Li Zhaode's power. The five chancellors so accused were all demoted to be prefectural prefect—in Lu's case, to be the prefect of Sui Prefecture (綏州, roughly modern Yulin, Shaanxi).

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