Late Táng 唐 official and scholar, briefly Chancellor under Táng Zhāozōng 唐昭宗 (r. 888–904), author of the Daoist-Confucian synthesis commentary [[KR5c0068|Dàodé zhēn jīng zhuàn 道德真經傳]] (DZ 685).
Office and career. Native of Sū zhōu 蘇州 in the Jiāngnán region. Jìnshì 進士. Rose through the Hànlín 翰林 academy to serve as 同中書門下平章事 (Tóng zhōng shū mén xià píng zhāng shì, i.e. Chancellor) under Zhāozōng in 895 — one of the final scholar-officials of the dying Táng state. Retired before Zhāozōng’s final crisis; died in 895 (per CBDB 20536, Xīn Táng shū 73B.14a; the CBDB note cites the Japanese 唐代人物知識ベース “Táng-era persons knowledge-base” as giving 895? with uncertainty). Biographical notices are at Jiù Táng shū 舊唐書 149.3914 and Xīn Táng shū 新唐書 116.4235.
Scholarly activity. Lù was simultaneously a significant Daoist and Confucian commentator — one of the few late-Táng figures to maintain an active interpretive engagement with both traditions. His attested commentaries include:
- [[KR5c0068|Dàodé zhēn jīng zhuàn]] 道德真經傳 (DZ 685, 4 juan) on the Lǎozǐ. Preface preserved also in Yún jí qī qiān 1.13a–16a. A nearly identical text is preserved in the Qīng Zhī hǎi 指海 collectanea.
- A commentary on the Yì jīng 易經 — partially lost; references preserved in Sòng shǐ 宋史 Yì wén zhì 藝文志.
- A commentary on the Chūnqiū 春秋 — partially lost; references preserved in Sòng shǐ yì wén zhì.
Philosophical orientation. Lù’s commentary on the Dàodé jīng articulates a sustained Confucian-Daoist synthesis: Confucius and Lǎozǐ are presented as complementary sages addressing different aspects of a single cosmological-ethical vision. Confucius taught wén 文 (culture, governing the emotions); Lǎozǐ taught zhì 質 (substance, returning to nature); the alternation of wén and zhì governs the unfolding of civilisation. The commentary uses the Buddhist-derived oppositions lǐshì 理事 (principle-phenomena) and tǐyòng 體用 (essence-function) with notable fluency, anticipating key developments in Sòng Neo-Confucian metaphysics.
Influence. Lù’s synthesis was influential on Sòng Neo-Confucianism — Wáng Ānshí 王安石 (1021–1086) in his own Dàodé jīng commentary (Liáng tōng shū 兩同書, partially lost) is noted as reflecting Lù’s approach (Schipper & Verellen 2004, 1:286 n.). The language of fù xìng 復性 (“returning to intrinsic nature”) that Lù develops in the commentary is a direct ancestor of Lǐ Áo’s 李翱 (772–841) more famous Fù xìng shū 復性書 and, through it, of Sòng Neo-Confucian discourse.
CBDB: 20536.