Zhu Pu was an official of the Chinese dynastyTang Dynasty, serving briefly from 896 to 897 as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong. Emperor Zhaozong made him chancellor after he made assurances that he would be able to make the imperial administration, then suppressed by the power of the warlords, revived and powerful again, but after he was unable to deliver on the promise, he was removed and exiled at the instigation of the warlordHan Jian; he died in exile.
Background and early career
Little is known about Zhu Pu's background, as his family was not included in the table of the chancellors' family trees in the New Book of Tang. It is also not known when he was born, but it is known that he was from Xiangyang and that he had, at some point, passed the imperial examinations, but not in the prestigious Jinshi class, but in the "Three Histories" class — i.e., for the Records of the Grand Historian, the Book of Han, and the Book of Later Han. After passing the imperial examinations, Zhu was initially made the magistrate of Jingmen County, then the archival officer at Jingzhao Municipality, then an archiver at the imperial archives. Early in Emperor Zhaozong's Qianning era, the deputy secretary of commerce Li Yuanshi made a proposal to deduct two months of pay from each imperial official to pay for military campaigns; Zhu submitted a petition against it, and Li Yuanshi's proposal was not accepted by Emperor Zhaozong. Thereafter, Zhu was promoted to be a professor at the imperial university, teaching about the version of the Classic of Poetry annotated by the Han Dynasty scholar Mao Heng. At that time, with virtually the entire Tang realm engulfed in warfare, Zhu submitted a petition that the imperial capital be moved from Chang'an to the region of Xiang and Deng Prefectures; the petition was not acted upon. It was said that Zhu was an excellent speaker, but was not talented otherwise. In 896, though, the imperial official He Ying submitted a recommendation to Emperor Zhaozong, claiming that Zhu was as talented as the great Jin Dynastyprime ministerXie An. The Taoist monk Xu Yanshi, a close associate of Emperor Zhaozong's due to his medical abilities, also recommended Zhu, claiming that he had economic talent. Emperor Zhaozong met with Zhu for several days straight and was impressed by Zhu's speaking ability. He stated, "Although I am not Emperor Taizong , having you is like having Wei Zheng ." He gave both Zhu and He awards of gold and silk.
Chancellorship and after chancellorship
By this point, Emperor Zhaozong, who, along with the imperial officers, was then at Hua Prefecture to flee an attack by the warlord Li Maozhenthe military governor of Fengxiang Circuit earlier in the year, was distressed about the state of affairs the Tang realm was in, and had the hope of finding exceptional individuals who could help him govern the state, such that he was willing to promote them in irregularly fast manners. Zhu took this opportunity and stated to Emperor Zhaozong, "Make me a chancellor, and there will be peace in just over a month." Emperor Zhaozong believed him, and in fall 896, he made Zhu Zuo Jianyi Daifu, a high-level advisory official at the examination bureau — and a chancellor, with the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi. It was said that this commission completely surprised the people because Zhu was not known for his talent and was commonly believed to be frivolous. Soon thereafter, Emperor Zhaozong also made him the acting director of taxation and entrusted him with all matters relating to military expenses, in preparation of a campaign against Li Maozhen. By spring 897, with the realm as overrun by warfare as it had been previously, the people believed that Zhu's promises had failed. Han Jian the military governor of Zhenguo Circuit, the warlord who had Emperor Zhaozong in his physical control, first falsely accused two of Emperor Zhaozong's associates, the astronomer Ma Daoyin, and Xu Yanshi, of crimes, and had them executed. He then accused Zhu and another chancellor, Sun Wo, of close association with Ma and Xu, and had them removed from chancellorship. Zhu was first made Mishu Jian, the director of the Palace Library. Later in the year, Zhu was exiled, first to be the military advisor to the prefect of Kui Prefecture, then to be the census officer at Chen Prefecture.
