Du Zhenglun

Du Zhenglun (杜正倫) (died 658?) was an official of the Chinese dynasties Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang.

It is not known when Du Zhenglun was born, but it is known that he was from what would eventually become Xiang Prefecture (相州, in modern Handan, Hebei). During the Renshou era (601-604) of Sui Dynasty's founding emperor Emperor Wen, Du Zhenglun and his older brothers Du Zhengxuan (杜正玄) and Du Zhengzang (杜正藏) all passed the imperial examination. As Sui Dynasty imperial examinations were considered unusually difficult—with only 10-odd examinees passing each year—the Du household received great acclaim for having three brothers who did so. It was said that Du Zhenglun was capable in literature, particularly in explaining meanings of passages. He later served as a military officer in the Sui imperial government.

During the reign of Sui's successor dynasty Tang Dynasty's founder Emperor Gaozu, Du Zhenglun was initially serving as the military advisor to the commandant at Qi Prefecture (齊州, roughly modern Ji'nan, Shandong). Emperor Gaozu's son, the major general Li Shimin the Prince of Qin became aware of Du's talents, and invited him to serve as a resident scholar at Li Shimin's mansion.

In 626, Li Shimin became emperor (as Emperor Taizong). One of his key advisors, Wei Zheng, recommended Du Zhenglun's talent and stated that there were few people as talented. Emperor Taizong then made Du an official at the ministry of defense in 627. In 628, Du was made imperial attendant and put in charge of recording Emperor Taizong's acts for imperial archives. On one occasion, Emperor Taizong stated, "Everyday, as I sit in judgment of important matter and get ready to speak, I think carefully about whether what I have to say has any benefit or harm to the people. That is why I do not speak a lot." Du responded, "Whatever an emperor says is recorded in history. As my responsibility is to record Your Imperial Majesty's acts, I have to be honest. If any of your words is improper, it will harm your reputation for a thousand years, and it is not only harmful to the people. May Your Imperial Majesty consider this carefully." Emperor Taizong was pleased with these words and gave Du an award of silk.

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