Niu Sengru
Niu Sengru (牛僧孺) (780 – January 27, 849[1][2]), courtesy name Si'an (思黯), formally Duke Wenzhen of Qizhang (奇章文貞公), was a prominent statesman, scholar, chuanqi writer, and poet of China's Tang dynasty.
Niu was regarded by contemporaries, including his political adversary Li Deyu, as an official of high integrity, and he was posthumously awarded prestigious honors after his death in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong.
[3] Niu's literary output spanned multiple genres, including poetry and chuanqi, a form of fantastical short story popular in the later Tang.
While prior chuanqi writers had presented their writings as reflections of actual events, Niu clearly portrayed his subject matter as fictional and included detailed characterization in his work.
[10] His father died when he was young, and he tended a farm at Xiadu (下杜, near the capital Chang'an) that his family had previously been bestowed to make a living.
[12] In 808, when Emperor Dezong's grandson Emperor Xianzong held a special imperial examination for the examinees to give honest criticism of government, the officials in charge of the examination, Wei Guanzhi and Yang Yuling (楊於陵), selected three examinees who gave blunt criticism — Niu, Huangfu Shi (皇甫湜), and Li Zongmin — for top marks.
Niu, Huangfu, and Li Zongmin were not exiled, but they were said in the Zizhi Tongjian to be effectively stalled in their careers, forcing them to find governmental positions themselves under regional governors.
An Lushan and Zhu Ci [(two generals who had in previously decades rebelled against Tang rule)] were both highly talented people that the law did not stop.Emperor Muzong agreed with Niu and accepted his suggestion.
Han Hong had served as the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan) for a long time and amassed great wealth.
Upon enthronement, Emperor Jingzong conferred the honorary title of Yinqing Guanglu Daifu (銀青光祿大夫) on Niu Sengru, and also created him the Viscount of Qizhang.
(When he went through Xiangyang, the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered at Xiangyang), Liu Gongchuo (柳公綽), in order to show respect to the central government, as Niu was recently chancellor, paid respect to Niu, over his staff's objection, even though they had the same rank as military governor and Shannan East was considered a circuit with higher precedence than Wuchang.
Emperor Wenzong thus again made Niu a chancellor with the title of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, as well as the minister of defense (兵部尚書, Bingbu Shangshu).
When Emperor Wenzong contemplated how to react to the situation, Niu pointed out that Lulong had not actually belonged to the imperial government for decades and that a campaign against Yang would be futile.
Under his suggestion, Yang was allowed to keep the command of Lulong, while Emperor Wenzong, due to Li Zaiyi's previous accomplishments, made him the military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi).
(Niu's advocacy for taking no actions against Yang drew a sharply-worded criticism from the Song dynasty historian Sima Guang in his Zizhi Tongjian.
)[17] Also in 831, Niu's chancellor colleague Song Shenxi was accused of plotting to overthrow Emperor Wenzong and to replace him with his brother Li Cou the Prince of Zhang.
It was said that Niu did not care about the relative lack of power he had, and spent his days entertaining guests and collecting rare woods and rocks.
In 841, when a major flood on the Han River destroyed the civilians' houses at Xiang Prefecture, Li Deyu blamed Niu, removed him from his command, and had him made senior advisor to the Crown Prince.
Further, Lü Shu (呂述) the deputy mayor of Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the Luoyang region), submitted a report that stated that Niu sighed when the news of Liu Zhen's defeat arrived.
Emperor Wuzong, in anger, immediately stripped Niu of his responsibility as defender of Luoyang and demoted him to be an advisor of the Crown Prince[20] and moved Li Zongmin farther from Chang'an, to Zhang Prefecture (漳州, in modern Zhangzhou, Fujian).
