Pei Ju
| Pei Ju | |
|---|---|
| Chancellor of the Tang dynasty | |
| Born | 547 |
| Died | 627 (aged 79–80) |
| Names | |
| Traditional Chinese | 裴矩 |
| Simplified Chinese | 裴矩 |
| Pinyin | Péi Jù |
| Wade–Giles | Pei Chü |
| Courtesy name | Hongda (Chinese: 弘大; pinyin: Hóngdà; Wade–Giles: Hung-ta) |
| Posthumous name | Duke Jing of Anyi (Chinese: 安邑敬公; pinyin: Ānyì Jìng Gōng; Wade–Giles: An-i Ching Kung |
| Other names | Pei Shiju (Chinese: 裴世矩; pinyin: Péi Shìjù; Wade–Giles: Pei Shih-chü) |
Pei Ju (547-627), birth name Pei Shiju, courtesy name Hongda, formally Duke Jing of Anyi, was a high-level official during the Sui and Tang dynasties, briefly serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang. He was praised by traditional Chinese historians for his ability and lack of corruption, but blamed for flattering Emperor Yang of Sui and practically directly contributing to Sui's downfall by encouraging many external military campaigns that drained Sui's resources. Modern historians have questioned these assessments: Arthur F. Wright labelled the latter judgement in the Zizhi tongjian a "particularly blatant piece of editorializing" and "absurd ... beyond doubt".
Pei Ju's clan was originally from Hedong Commandery (河東, roughly modern Yuncheng, Shanxi). His grandfather Pei Tuo (裴佗) was an official for Northern Wei, and his father Pei Nazhi (裴訥之) served as an official during Northern Wei's branch successor state Eastern Wei and Eastern Wei's successor state Northern Qi. Pei Nazhi died when Pei Ju was young, and Pei Ju was raised by his uncle Pei Rangzhi (裴讓之), himself a famed official during the time.
In his youth, Pei Ju was known for his knowledge and intelligence. He served on the staff of Gao Zhen (高貞) the Prince of Beiping and then of Gao Renying (高仁英) the Prince of Gaoping, both sons of Emperor Wucheng of Northern Qi. After Northern Qi was destroyed by rival Northern Zhou in 577, it was said that Pei was stuck at his position. When the Northern Zhou general Yang Jian served as the commandant at Ding Province (定州, roughly modern Baoding, Hebei), he invited Pei to serve as his secretary. Pei later left Yang Jian's service when his mother died, to observe a mourning period. In 580, Yang Jian seized power as regent over the young Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou. He sent messengers to summon Pei, and Pei served on his staff as a secretary.
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