Lu Xiufu 陸秀夫 | |
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| Grand Chancellor of the Song dynasty | |
| In office 10 May 1278 – 19 March 1279 | |
| Monarch | Zhao Bing |
| Preceded by | Wen Tianxiang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 November 1236 |
| Died | March 19, 1279(1279-03-19) (aged 42) |
| Lu Xiufu | |||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 陸秀夫 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陆秀夫 | ||||||
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Lu Xiufu (8 November 1236 – 19 March 1279),[1]courtesy nameJunshi (君实/君實), was a Chinese statesman and military commander who lived in the final years of theSong dynasty. Originally from Yancheng (present-dayJianhu County) inJiangsu Province,[2] along withWen Tianxiang andZhang Shijie, he is regarded as one of the 'Three Loyal Princes of the Song' (大宋三忠王).[3]
In 1256, together withWen Tianxiang, Lu passed theimperial examination, thus becoming a"presented scholar", and thereafter joined theMinistry of Rites as a vice-minister.
On 18 January 1276, the generalBayan of theMongol-ledYuan dynasty showed up with his army outsideLin'an. In a desperate attempt to make peace, the Song imperial court sent Lu Xiufu to negotiate but he was forced to surrender and then was released.
The capital of the Southern Song dynasty atLin'an inZhejiang fell to Yuan invaders from the north in 1276, and the five-year-oldEmperor Gong was taken prisoner. Together withChen Yizhong, Zhang Shijie andConsort Yang, amongst others, Lu took care of the two sons ofEmperor Duzong, seven-year-oldZhao Shi (赵昰) and four-year-oldZhao Bing (赵昺). Later the same year atFuzhou inFujian Province,Zhao Shi was enthroned and began ruling under theera name "Jingyan" (景炎; literally: "bright flame"). Emperor Duanzong appointed Lu as military advisor to thePrivy Council with the task of continuing resistance to Yuan forces.
After Emperor Duanzong died at the age of ten in 1278, Lu and Zhang Shijie together enthroned his younger brotherZhao Bing whilst Consort Yang (now Empress Dowager Yang) effectively ran the court from behind a screen. Lu becameLeft Chancellor (左丞相) and ran the government together with Zhang Shijie.
In 1279, Yuan forces led byZhang Hongfan launched a large scale naval offensive against Song forces at Mount Ya (present-dayYamen), forcing Zhao Bing to flee. During the ensuingBattle of Yamen on March 19, 1279, the entire Song army and navy were totally wiped out. When the seven-year-old emperor Zhao Bing saw the outcome of the naval battle, he was shocked and slightly rebuked the disorder of his armed forces by saying "they should have coordinated their attack and fought as a unit."[citation needed]
Lu, unwilling to be taken captive by Yuan troops, first ordered his younger wife to commit suicide then advised the emperor Zhao Bing:
The affairs of our nation lie in ruins and our country is destroyed. Your Majesty, please do not continue the disastrous policies of your predecessorEmperor Gong whose presence inDadu is an unbearable shame, we cannot again bear such an insult.
With that, Lu gave the young emperor his seal, picked him up in his arms and jumped from a cliff into the sea, killing them both. Many imperial concubines and ministers also died and by July there were tens of thousands of corpses floating in the sea.[4] Their deaths marked the end of the Song dynasty and the unification ofChina proper under the Yuan dynasty.
Lu's descendants moved through many places before settling down in Qiangang Village (钱岗村),Conghua City,Guangdong Province.
Today inJiangmen City, Guangdong Province there stands a memorial hall to the 'Three Loyal Princes of the Song' (大宋三忠王). There is also a shrine to the three heroes in theShuangxi District ofNew Taipei City, Taiwan. Built in 1868 during the reign of theTongzhi Emperor in theQing dynasty, the Three Loyalists Temple (三忠廟/三宗庙) is the religious center of the township.
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