Du Rangneng (杜讓能) (841–893), courtesy name Qunyi (群懿), formally the Duke of Jin (晉公), was an official of the late Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Xizong and Emperor Xizong's brother Emperor Zhaozong. Early in Emperor Zhaozong's reign, against Du's recommendations, Emperor Zhaozong planned a campaign against the warlord Li Maozhen and put Du in charge of the campaign. After Li subsequently defeated the imperial forces, he marched on the capital Chang'an and demanded Du's death, and Emperor Zhaozong was forced to order Du to commit suicide. Background Du Rangneng was born in 841, during the reign of Emperor Wuzong. He was a descendant of the early Tang Dynasty chancellor Du Ruhui. His father Du Shenquan served as a chancellor early in the reign of Emperor Wuzong's cousin Emperor Yizong. Early career Du Rangneng himself passed the imperial examinations in 872, late in Emperor Yizong's reign. He thereafter served as the sheriff of Xianyang County (咸陽, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi). When the former chancellor Wang Duo served as the military governor (Jiedushi) of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan), he invited Du to serve on his staff. Subsequently, by which time Emperor Yizong's son Emperor Xizong was emperor, Du was recalled to the capital Chang'an to serve as the sheriff of Chang'an County, one of the two counties making up Chang'an, as well as an assistant at Jixian Institute (集賢院). Sometime later, when his mother died, he left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her. After the end of the mourning period, he served on the staff of the former chancellor Liu Ye while Liu served as the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu). He was later recalled to Chang'an to serve as an imperial censor with the title Jiancha Yushi (監察御史). Subsequently, when Niu Wei (牛蔚) served as the military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi), Du served on his staff. Du subsequently was recalled to Chang'an, and he went through a progression of offices: You Bujue (右補闕), a low-level advisory official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng); imperial chronicler (起居郎, Qiju Lang); Libu Yuanwailang (禮部員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Libu); and Bingbu Yuanwailang (兵部員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of defense (兵部, Bingbu). When Emperor Xizong fled from Chang'an to