Lü Ben

Lu Ben (14th century—1382), a native of Shouzou, Fujian, was an official at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty. He once served as a courtier in the Grand Marshal's Office and later defected to Zhu Yuanzhang. In 1366 (the Year of Bingwu), he served as an assistant clerk in the Secretariat; in 1367 (the first year of King Wu), he was appointed as a Director of the Huguang provincial government. In the third year of the Hongwu reign (1370), he was promoted to Right Director of the Secretariat; in the fourth year, he was changed to Left Director; in the fifth year, he was promoted to Vice Minister of Justice, and subsequently served as Minister of Personnel. In the sixth year, he was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. In the seventh year, he was transferred to serve as an Associate of the Censorate of Beiping, then recalled to serve as Minister of Rites again, and not long afterward was appointed as the Salt Transport Commissioner for Liang and Zhe provinces. In the twelfth year of Hongwu (1379), he was again appointed as Minister of the Ministry of Rites. In 1382, he died of illness and was buried in the shade of Zhongshan Mountain. Lu Ben had no children; his daughter, Lady Lu, was the secondary consort to Crown Prince Zhu Ziao, and his grandson was Emperor Jianwen.