"To Rebuild the Empire provides the first complete critical study in any language of Lu Chih (Lu Hsuan-kung, 754-805), one of traditional China's most important prime ministers and a pivotal figure in T'ang dynasty China's struggle for survival toward the end of the eighth century. The work also provides an intellectual history of an era, beginning about the middle of the T'ang Dynasty (618-907), that was influential in the revival and transformation of Confucianism. Josephine Chiu-Duke reconstructs and examines both Lu Chih's intellectual commitments, as shown in his efforts to rebuild the T'ang empire, and his significance for the Confucian tradition."--BOOK JACKET.