Ren Zhigu (任知古) was a Chinese politician of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor.
Despite Ren's high status, little is firmly established about his background or career except for the time that he served as chancellor—as, unusual for a chancellor, he did not have a biography in either the Old Book of Tang or the New Book of Tang.[1] He was not even listed as a chancellor in the table of the chancellors' family tree, among the Rens.[2]
As of 691, Ren was serving as Fengge Shilang (鳳閣侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government (鳳閣, Fengge), when Wu Zetian gave him the designation Tong Fengge Luantai Pingzhangshi (同鳳閣鸞臺平章事), making him a chancellor de facto. In 692, he, along with fellow chancellors Di Renjie and Pei Xingben and other officials Cui Xuanli (崔宣禮), Lu Xian (盧獻), Wei Yuanzhong, and Li Sizhen (李嗣真), were accused of treason by Wu Zetian's secret police official Lai Junchen. Eventually, they escaped death when Di was able to hide a secret petition inside clothes that his family members took back home and was able to persuade Wu Zetian that they were not plotting treason. However, they were still exiled—in Ren's case, he was demoted to be the magistrate of Jiangxia County (江夏, in modern Wuhan, Hubei). There was no further reference in history about him, and it is not known when he died.
^See the Table of Contents for the Old Book of Tang and the Table of Contents for the New Book of Tang.
^New Book of Tang, vol. 73, part 1 Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
RenZhigu (任知古) was a Chinese politician of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor. Despite Ren's high status, little is firmly established...
692, when Lai Junchen was foiled in his attempt to have the chancellors RenZhigu, Di Renjie, Pei Xingben, and other officials Cui Xuanli (崔宣禮), Lu Xian...
official, Lai Junchen, falsely accused Di, along with other chancellors RenZhigu, and Pei Xingben, along with other officials Cui Xuanli (崔宣禮), Lu Xian...
Fu Youyi (690–691) Shi Wuzi (690–691) Zong Qinke (690) Le Sihui (691) RenZhigu (691–692) Ge Fuyuan (691) Ouyang Tong (691) Pei Xingben (691–692) Di Renjie...
prince. In 692, Lai falsely accused a group of individuals—the chancellors RenZhigu, Di Renjie, Pei Xingben, along with the other officials Cui Xuanli (崔宣禮)...
submitting a petition to persuade Wu Zetian to release the officials RenZhigu, Di Renjie, Pei Xingben, Cui Xuanli (崔宣禮), Lu Xian (盧獻), Wei Yuanzhong...
again serve as a censor. In 692, however, he, along with the chancellors RenZhigu, Di Renjie, and Pei Xingben, and other officials Cui Xuanli (崔宣禮), Lu...
general Li Anjing (李安靜). In 692, Lai falsely accused the chancellors RenZhigu, Di Renjie, and Pei Xingben, along with other officials Cui Xuanli (崔宣禮)...
established her own Zhou dynasty), a number of officials—the chancellors RenZhigu, Di Renjie, and Pei Xingben, along with other officials Pei Xuanli (裴宣禮)...
OpenHarmony launched in September 2022. Niobe U4 development board kit by Kaihong Zhigu, in October 2022. Shenzhen Kaihong KHDVK-3566B smart screen development...
commissioning a number of chancellors that she recommended — Liu Youqiu, Wei Zhigu, Cui Shi, and Lu Xiangxian. (Cui was a lover of Princess Taiping, and when...
merchants. Sea routes connected Goryeo to Khanbaliq through the port of Zhigu in Shandong. In 1295, a Goryeo official sent 14,000 bolts of linen to Shandong...
commissioning a number of chancellors that she recommended — Liu Youqiu, Wei Zhigu, Cui Shi, and Lu Xiangxian. (Cui was a lover of Princess Taiping, and when...
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