The Case of Di Gong in the Tang Dynasty: an Undercurrent in the City of Gods

Di Renjie (630-700), named Huaiying, was a native of Taiyuan, Bingzhou. He was an outstanding politician in the Tang Dynasty and prime minister of Wuzhou. He was an honest and upright official. When he was the Prime Minister of Dali Temple, he settled more than 10,000 backlogged cases in a year. He made fair and clear judgments without anyone complaining. He was famous for his accurate judgment of cases. He has served as governor in many places, caring for the people and achieving outstanding political achievements; from official to prime minister, he dared to give direct advice and was not afraid of the powerful. He urged Wu Zetian to reestablish Luling King Li Xian as the prince, preserve the Li and Tang Dynasties, and recommended Zhang Jianzhi, Yao Chong and other virtuous ministers to lay the foundation for the rejuvenation of the Tang Dynasty. Di Renjie had both the character of a detective and a prime minister. Later generations respected him as "the mainstay of the Tang Dynasty". He was a model of famous ministers and capable officials in solving cases in Chinese history.