Li duan

Came from an old bureaucratic family of Lu. He was the son of Lu Eti, deputy head of the military department (Binbu Shilan) of the Later Jin Dynasty . Born in the town of Anqi (the territory of the modern urban district of Langfang, Hebei Province).

In his youth, he discovered a talent for learning. Pretty quickly got the highest degree of jinshi. During the Late Han and Late Zhou dynasties, he held high positions in the palace guard, was engaged in compiling daily records and was included in the Shiguan Historical College.

When the Song Dynasty came to power, he was sent to manage the occupied areas, while he retained formal posts at court. In 960, he was appointed deputy head of Taichansi (the Office of Great Constancy, which was engaged in rituals, music, sacrifices to Heaven and Earth), at the same time as the head of the county of Jun and tangpan (an assistant to the head of the region who was involved in matters in the field of judicial power).

Between 968–976 during the Hao Chongxin embassy to the Khitan , Lu Duan, who at that time was already an assistant to the chairman of Taipushi (Great Stable Order), was appointed the second person in the embassy. In 975, he became the prefect of the Hangzhou region, but before he managed to go to his post, he was promoted to the position of Ximen Yuanweilan (freelance assistant to the head of the imperial guard) and the head of the Chengdu region.

Successes in the administration of the province contributed to the attention of Zhao Tinmei, Qin Wang and heir to the throne. In 975, he invited Duan Lu to his place and appointed yuanvaylan tupan (a freelance assistant to the capital prefecture in the judicial part).

In 979, the palace manager was convicted of buying wood from smugglers. Because Lu Duan did not control this process, he is demoted and sent as an adviser to the northern border province. Subsequently, he was appointed a freelance assistant to the head of the Ministry of Rites and Ceremonies, as well as chairman of the Kaifeng County, then he passed the certification and received the position of assistant, as well as historian-chronicler tsashichi. Then he headed the embassy in Koryo, on his return he was promoted to the head of the ministry for tax collection and population accounting.

In 985, Zhao Yuanxi, the new heir and head of the capital's county, summoned Lu Duan to himself. In 987, he became chairman of the financial department of the metropolitan area and one of the advisers to the emperor Tai Chzun . After the death of Yuansi in 992, he was put on trial, he was suspended from any decision-making by providing a formal position at the court - chenxiang (assistant to the first minister). The same year, after the death of Zhao Pu, he led the group of the old aristocracy and bureaucracy, which supported the emperor Tai-chzun.

In 994, the emperor appoints Duan Lu Zaisiang (first minister). During the emperor’s illness in 997, he took over a significant part of his powers. At the same time he tried to ensure a smooth transition of power to the heir - Zhao Hyun (known as Zhen Zong ). After the death of Tai Chi, revealed and suppressed the conspiracy of Empress Tzu and eunuch Wang Jiyen, that they tried to transfer power to another son of Tai Chi, Zhao Yuanzu.

Lu Duan retained the influence of Emperor Zhen Zong, remaining in his post until his death in 1000.

• Franke Herbert Sung Biographies. 4 volumes. Steiner. 1976.
• Hymes Robert P. Statesmen and Gentlemen: The Elite of Fu-Chou, Chiang-Hsi, in Northern and Southern Sung. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., 1986.