Pei Ju

Pei Ju (547-627), birth name Pei Shiju, courtesy name Hongda, formally Duke Jing of Anyi, was a high-level official during the Sui and Tang dynasties, briefly serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Tang. He was praised by traditional Chinese historians for his ability and lack of corruption, but blamed for flattering Emperor Yang of Sui and practically directly contributing to Sui's downfall by encouraging many external military campaigns that drained Sui's resources. Modern historians have questioned these assessments: Arthur F. Wright labelled the latter judgement in the Zizhi tongjian a "particularly blatant piece of editorializing" and "absurd ... beyond doubt".

Background

Pei Ju's clan was originally from Hedong Commandery (河東, roughly modern Yuncheng, Shanxi). His grandfather Pei Tuo (裴佗) was an official for Northern Wei, and his father Pei Nazhi (裴訥之) served as an official during Northern Wei's branch successor state Eastern Wei and Eastern Wei's successor state Northern Qi. Pei Nazhi died when Pei Ju was young, and Pei Ju was raised by his uncle Pei Rangzhi (裴讓之), himself a famed official during the time.