Xu You (Southern Tang)
Xu You | |
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Personal details | |
Born | c. 960 |
Full name | Surname: Xú (徐) Given name: Yóu (游) |
Xu You | |
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Hanyu Pinyin | Xú Yóu |
Wade–Giles | Hsu2 Yu2 |
Xu You (Chinese: 徐游; pinyin: Xú Yóu; born c. 960),[1] was a Chinese official most active in the Southern Tang dynasty as a court minister, royal tutor, and artist. A member of the Xu family, comprising many government officials and civil servants, and descendant of Emperor Wu, he served as the Grand Guardian of Li Yu and enjoyed a close relationship with the royal family.
Early life and career
Xu You was born in c. 960, in
Xu is described as a loyal subject of Li Yu. Following the death of Yuanzong in 961, Li Congshan attempted to seize the crown from the heir and his elder brother Li Yu.[5] Viewing this as an opportune moment, the younger Li tried to coerce Xu into passing him Li Jing's final will, citing their shared genealogy and Xu's father's respect for Yuanzong.[2] Xu was not convinced with the unlawful suggestion, however, and promptly reported the matter to the crown prince. Consequently, Li Congshan was demoted from Prince of Han to Duke of Southern Chu.[5]
He was a "clever" inventor and reportedly built a working qiqi (Chinese: 欹器; lit. 'leaning vessel'), a time-measuring device, from scratch. By Xu's time, the qiqi had already been obsolete and virtually none of his peers knew how to operate one.[7] He was also well-read in the arts, especially Chinese painting, and enjoyed travelling, particularly with the royal family.[3]
Xu died of an illness. Controversially, Xu Xuan commented on his death, "Would
In popular media
Xu is mentioned in a fictitious tale collected in A Record of Ghosts and the Living, in which he dreams of a "an emissary dressed in black" who informs him that he will "become Lord of the
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
- Kurz, Johannes L. (2011). China's Southern Tang Dynasty, 937–976. ISBN 0203828615.
- Strassberg, Richard E. (2008). Wandering Spirits: Chen Shiyuan’s Encyclopedia of Dreams. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520934177.
- Xie, Xuemin (2007). 南唐二主新传 [New biographies of Nantang's two rulers] (in Chinese). Chinese History. ISBN 9787503420092.
- Zou, Jingfeng (2000). 南唐国史 [History of Southern Tang] (in Chinese). University of Nanjing Press. ISBN 9787305035791.
- Du, Wenyu (2006). 夜宴: "浮华背后的五代十国" [The Banquet] (in Chinese). Chinese Bookstore. ISBN 9787101052572.
- 中國古典文學辭典 [Almanac of Chinese Classical Literature] (in Chinese). Chinese Foreign Press. 1976.