Lu Yuanfang
Chinese Chancellor
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).
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