Tian Qianqiu
Tian Qianqiu (Chinese: 田千秋, ？-77BC) is a Han dynasty politician who served as prime minister for 12 years during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Zhao of Han. He was the host of the debate of Salt and Iron in 81 BC.
According to the book of Han, Tian was a descendant of the ruling house of the dukedom of Qi. His family migrated to Changling Country where he was born. His first appointment in the imperial court was Gaoqinglang(高寢郎), the guard of the shrine of Emperor Gao of Han, the founder of Han dynasty. During the incident of Crown Prince Wei, he stood by the side of the crown prince. Emperor Wu was impressed by his uprightness and appointed him the position of Dahonglu. Shortly afterward, Tian became prime minister and was granted the title of Hou(候).
Emperor Wu, on his deathbed, delivered his son Fuling(Emperor Zhao of Han) to Huo Guang, Sang Hongyang, Shangguan Jie and Tian Qianqiu. The four ministers were thus in charge of the imperial court.
Although Tian remained on his term of prime minister until his death in 77 BC, no major political achievements were made by him. Huo Guang, on the other hand, became the de facto ruler of China during the reign of Emperor Zhao of Han. Possibly due to his political nonchalance, Tian was applauded by Huo for being "prudent".[1]
Tian hosted the debate of Salt and Iron in the sixth year of Shiyuan(81 BC). During the debate, Tian kept his silence without uttering a word. He was later criticized by Huan Kuan, the recorder of the debate for being extremely evasive. [2]However, without further judgements, it can be said that Tian maintained his neutrality during the debate.