Niu Sengru

Life and career

His lineage was traced to Qizhang Gong Hong, a Sui officeholder. His father is named as Niu Youjian or Niu Youwen, and his father-in-law as Xin Mi. His sons included Niu Cong and Niu Fengqian; Niu Wei was the eldest and Niu Ju the second son.

His sons-in-law included Miao Yin, Zhang Zhu, Deng Chang, Deng Shu, and Zhang Xifu; his grandsons included Zhang Du, Niu Jiao, and Niu Zheng.

At fifteen, he went to Chang’an to study. In Zhenyuan 19 (803), Wei Zhiyi sent Liu Yuxi and Liu Zongyuan to visit him at Fanxiang, and he became known; he passed the Jinshi examination in Zhenyuan 21, a date also given as 805. In Yuanhe 3 (808), he passed the Xianliang Fangzheng neng zhiyan jijian examination, placing first in the policy essays; his direct criticism of maladministration brought him under Li Jifu’s censure or suspicion, and he was appointed magistrate of Yique, where he remained without advancement for a long time.

He later served as magistrate of Henan, Investigating Censor, Vice Director in the Ministry of Rites, Vice Director of Merit Evaluation, Director of the Kubu, drafter of edicts, Palace Censor-in-Chief, and Vice Minister of Revenue; his earlier career also included Duguan yuanwailang and Shiyushi. During the Changqing era under Muzong, he became Vice Minister of Revenue and then a chancellor. After Jingzong came to the throne, he was made Zhongshu shilang and received the honorific title Yinqing Guanglu Dafu before being sent out as military governor of Wuchang. The timing of his enfeoffment as Duke of Qizhang is disputed: one account places it under Jingzong, while another treats it as a posthumous enfeoffment.

In the fourth year of Taihe (830), under Wenzong, he returned to court and again became chancellor as Minister of War; he later governed the Huainan circuit. In the second year of Kaicheng (837), he became grand defender of the eastern capital, was recalled as Left Vice Director of the Secretariat, and was sent again to Xiangzhou and the Shannan East Circuit, eventually being advanced to Situ. Apart from circuit commands, he served as prefect of Jiangxia (825–830), Yangzhou (832–837), and Luoyang (837–838 and 842–844). He also served as prefect of Xiangyang (839–841) and of Tingzhou from 844.

In the fourth year of Huichang (844), while Li Deyu dominated the court, Niu Sengru was demoted to chief clerk of Xunzhou. After Xuanzong took the throne, he was transferred to the posts of chief clerk of Hengzhou and Ruzhou and again became Junior Preceptor to the Crown Prince. He died at Luoyang, was posthumously presented with the title Grand Commandant, and received the posthumous names Wenjian and Wenzhen in different accounts. Close to Li Zongmin and Linghu Chu, he became the leader of the faction later called the Niu faction; his side clashed with Li Deyu’s, in what became known as the Niu–Li Partisan Struggle.

Literary work and associations

When he first sat for the Jinshi examination, he travelled with books and a zither around the Ba and Chan rivers and presented his writings to Han Yu and Huangfu Shi. After reading his essay “Shuo Yue,” the two praised it and inscribed the gate of Qinglong Temple; metropolitan literati came to see the inscription the next day, and his reputation as Qizhang became prominent. He was known for his prose and as a poet; four poems, nine fragments, one additional poem, and two additional fragments are counted among the surviving pieces.

He wrote the ten-volume tale collection *Xuanguai lu*, also known as *Youguai lu*. Other titles associated with his writings include *Zhou Qin Xingji*, *Qi Tui Nüzhuan*, and *Mingyu Zhuan*, each in one scroll, as well as a collection titled *Niu Sengru ji*. He was a friend of Li Zongmin and exchanged poems and prose with Bai Juyi, Liu Yuxi, and Li Shangyin; Du Mu wrote his epitaph.

Local service and posthumous memory

He served in Hubei for six years and spent five years rebuilding the walls of Ezhou, making the Yellow Crane Tower an independent scenic structure. Qizhang Pavilion on Snake Hill was built to commemorate his posthumous enfeoffment as Duke of Qizhang.