Lu Mengzheng

Also known as Zi Shenggong · Xuguo Gong · Wen Mu

Lu Mengzheng, courtesy name Shenggong, came from Henan (Luoyang). He took first place in the metropolitan examination of 977, served as deputy prefect of Shengzhou and Hanlin academician, and became assistant councillor. When a courtier sneered at him on his first day at court, he stopped colleagues from finding out the man's name, saying that once he knew it he could never forget it. He became grand councillor in 988, again in 993 and a third time under Emperor Zhenzong in 1001; offered an antique mirror said to reflect two hundred li, he laughed that his face was only the size of a dish. Created Duke of Lai in 1003 and later Duke of Xu, he died in 1011 aged sixty-eight, with the posthumous name Wenmu. The History of Song notes that only Zhao Pu had held the chief ministry three times before him, and two men he recommended, his nephew Lu Yijian and Fu Bi, later became chief ministers too.