Sui and Tang · Official and Imperial Son-in-Law

Du Zhongli 杜中立

Attested c. AD 836

Passages: 8
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Du Zhongli was an official and Imperial Son-in-Law.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Courtesy name	Wuwei	無為	Wuwei

Life and dates

Death

died at forty-eight
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 184

Attested activity

c. AD 836 開成初
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 161

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Spouse of Princess Zhenyuan (真源長公主)
married Princess Zhenyuan 尚真源長公主 · Marriage
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 166
Child of Du Gao (杜羔)
son 子
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 161

Career and standing

Commandant of Imperial Sons-in-Law 駙馬都尉
Held
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 166
compiler in Archive Bureau 著作郎
Held
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 165
courier attendant to crown prince 太子通事舍人
Held
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 161
Director of Court of National Granaries 司農卿
Held
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 171
Yiwu military governor 義武節度使
Held
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 180
Minister of Works 工部尚書
Posthumously granted
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 184

Works and attributed material

Administrative defense · Speaker · Direct quotation
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 174

Events and relationships

Changed palace meal allowance disbursement to prevent fraud
Financial reform
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 178
Diverted floodwaters in Dazhong 12
AD 858 大中十二年 · Flood control
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 183
Had street thugs arrested and clubbed to death
Execution
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 170
Married Princess Zhenyuan and sought real duties
Marriage
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 166

Assessments and attributes

Assessment sharp, strict, and feared by subordinates · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 185

Source notes

Historicity historical
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 172, passage 161

References in the histories

Search passages

History

8 passages

New Book of Tang, Chapter 172Volume 172 Biographies 97: Yu, Wang, Two Du's, Fan · 8 passages

子中立，字無為，以門蔭歷太子通事舍人。 His son Zhongli, styled Wuwei, entered service through family privilege as courier attendant to the crown prince.

中立及校書郎衛洙得召見禁中，拜著作郎。 Zhongli and the collation secretary Wei Zhu were called into the inner palace and made compilers in the Archive Bureau.

中立數求自試，憒憒不樂，因言：「朝廷法令備具，吾若不任事，何賴貴戚撓天下法耶？」 Zhongli pressed again and again for real responsibility, chafing at idleness; he declared: "The statutes of the realm stand complete—if I hold no actual post, what excuse has a kinsman of the throne to warp the law?"

中立部從吏捕系，立箠死。 Zhongli's officers arrested them on the spot and clubbed them to death.

中立取錢納帑舍，率五日一出，吏不得為奸，後遂以為法。 Zhongli had the cash deposited in the treasury vault and issued it every five days on a fixed schedule, cutting off clerical theft—and the system afterward became law.

中立置「飛雪將」數百人，具舟以載，自是民不勞，軍食足矣。 He organized several hundred "Flying Snow" carriers and shifted the cargo to boats—after that the people were spared, and the army's provisions were secure.

大中十二年，大水泛徐、兗、青、鄆，而滄地積卑，中立自按行，引禦水入之毛河，東註海，州無水災。 In Dazhong 12 floods inundated Xu, Yan, Qing, and Yun; Cangzhou's lowlands were especially threatened—Zhongli toured the dikes himself, channeling the control waters into the Mao River and eastward to the sea, and the prefecture escaped disaster.

中立居官精明，吏下寒栗畏伏。 Zhongli administered with razor-sharp precision; the staff beneath him trembled and obeyed.