Wei Fangzhi
Encyclopedia
Wei Fangzhi (died October 1, 690), formally the Duke of Fuyang (扶陽公), was an official of the Chinese
dynasty Tang Dynasty
who served as chancellor during the first reign of Emperor Ruizong
.
and Tang's predecessor Sui Dynasty
, but was killed in 626 shortly after the coup known as the Incident at Xuanwu Gate
-- as his superior Dou Gui (竇軌), with whom he had a poor relationship, suspected him of being an associate of Li Jiancheng
the Crown Prince
, who had been killed during the incident by his brother Li Shimin
the Prince of Qin (the later Emperor Taizong and grandfather of Emperor Ruizong). Wei Fangzhi's father Wei Shishi (韋師實) subsequently served as a Tang official as well, and by the time of Emperor Ruizong's first reign was prefect of Hua Prefecture (華州, roughly modern Weinan
, Shaanxi
) and deputy head of the household of the crown prince Li Chengqi
, with the title of Duke of Fuyang.
Empress Dowager Wu
(later known during her own reign as Wu Zetian) moved him to the post of Fengge Shilang (鳳閣侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau (鳳閣, Fenge) and also gave him the designation of Tong Fengge Luantai Pinzhangshi (同鳳閣鸞臺平章事), making him a chancellor de facto. In 685, she gave him the more honorific designation of Tong Fenge Luantai Sanpin (同鳳閣鸞臺三品).
Wei Fangzhi served as chancellor for the next several years, but his acts were largely unrecorded in history. An exception was in 687, when Empress Dowager Wu wanted to commission his fellow chancellor Wei Daijia
to attack Tufan. Wei Fangzhi, pursuant to the usual protocol, requested that a censor be made the auditor for the campaign. Empress Dowager Wu, however, rejected his request, pointing out that an auditor often served to interfere with the authority of the commanding general, and therefore did not commission an auditor for the campaign. It was also recorded that around that time, Empress Dowager Wu had a large body of administrative regulations drafted, known as the Chuigong Regulations (垂拱格, Chuigong being the era name at that time), and that Wei Fangzhi was instrumental in editing the regulations to make them appropriate and was praised for it.
By spring 690, Empress Dowager Wu's nephews Wu Chengsi
and Wu Sansi
had become very powerful, and even the chancellors had to bow to them. When Wei Fangzhi suffered an illness that year, Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi went to visit him, but Wei lay on his bed and did not answer their greetings. When someone warned him that not doing so risked offending them, he responded, "Life and death are all determined by heaven. How can a real man prostrate himself to flatter imperial relatives just to avoid disaster?" Soon, Wei was falsely accused by Empress Dowager Wu's trusted secret police official Zhou Xing
, and he was exiled to Dan Prefecture (儋州, roughly modern Danzhou
, Hainan
), and his assets were seized. Later that year, after Empress Dowager Wu had taken the throne from Emperor Ruizong and become "emperor" of her own Zhou Dynasty, Wei was executed in exile. Only after Wu Zetian herself was overthrown in 710 and replaced by Emperor Ruizong's brother Emperor Zhongzong
were Wei's honors posthumously restored.
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
dynasty Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
who served as chancellor during the first reign of Emperor Ruizong
Emperor Ruizong of Tang
Emperor Ruizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Dàn , known at times during his life as Li Xulun , Li Lun , Wu Lun , and Wu Dan , was the fifth and ninth emperor of Tang Dynasty...
.
Background
Wei Fangzhi's grandfather Wei Yunqi (韋雲起) had served as an official both during the early Tang DynastyTang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
and Tang's predecessor Sui Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
, but was killed in 626 shortly after the coup known as the Incident at Xuanwu Gate
Incident at Xuanwu Gate
The Incident at Xuanwu Gate refers to an incident on July 2, 626, when Li Shimin the Prince of Qin, a son of Emperor Gaozu of Tang , in an intense rivalry with his older brother Li Jiancheng the Crown Prince and fearing that Li Jiancheng was about to kill him, set an ambush at Xuanwu Gate, the...
-- as his superior Dou Gui (竇軌), with whom he had a poor relationship, suspected him of being an associate of Li Jiancheng
Li Jiancheng
Li Jiancheng , formally Crown Prince Yin , nickname Pishamen , was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was the oldest son of the founding emperor Emperor Gaozu and therefore was designated crown prince after the founding of the dynasty in 618...
the Crown Prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
, who had been killed during the incident by his brother Li Shimin
Emperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Shìmín , was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649...
the Prince of Qin (the later Emperor Taizong and grandfather of Emperor Ruizong). Wei Fangzhi's father Wei Shishi (韋師實) subsequently served as a Tang official as well, and by the time of Emperor Ruizong's first reign was prefect of Hua Prefecture (華州, roughly modern Weinan
Weinan
Weinan is a Municipality in the province of Shaanxi, PRC. The Grand Historian Sima Qian was born in Weinan.-Administration:...
, Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
) and deputy head of the household of the crown prince Li Chengqi
Li Chengqi
Li Chengqi , known as Wu Chengqi during the reign of his grandmother Wu Zetian and as Li Xian after 716, formally Emperor Rang , was an imperial prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who served as crown prince during the first reign of his father Emperor Ruizong who yielded that position to...
, with the title of Duke of Fuyang.
Service as chancellor
Not much is known about the early part of Wei Fangzhi's own career. By 684, he was serving as Luantai Shilang (鸞臺侍郎), the deputy head of the examination bureau of government (鸞臺, Luantai), when Emperor Ruizong's powerful mother and regentRegent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
Empress Dowager Wu
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian , personal name Wu Zhao , often referred to as Tian Hou during the Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant...
(later known during her own reign as Wu Zetian) moved him to the post of Fengge Shilang (鳳閣侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau (鳳閣, Fenge) and also gave him the designation of Tong Fengge Luantai Pinzhangshi (同鳳閣鸞臺平章事), making him a chancellor de facto. In 685, she gave him the more honorific designation of Tong Fenge Luantai Sanpin (同鳳閣鸞臺三品).
Wei Fangzhi served as chancellor for the next several years, but his acts were largely unrecorded in history. An exception was in 687, when Empress Dowager Wu wanted to commission his fellow chancellor Wei Daijia
Wei Daijia
Wei Daijia was a general and official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the first reign of Emperor Ruizong.- Background :...
to attack Tufan. Wei Fangzhi, pursuant to the usual protocol, requested that a censor be made the auditor for the campaign. Empress Dowager Wu, however, rejected his request, pointing out that an auditor often served to interfere with the authority of the commanding general, and therefore did not commission an auditor for the campaign. It was also recorded that around that time, Empress Dowager Wu had a large body of administrative regulations drafted, known as the Chuigong Regulations (垂拱格, Chuigong being the era name at that time), and that Wei Fangzhi was instrumental in editing the regulations to make them appropriate and was praised for it.
By spring 690, Empress Dowager Wu's nephews Wu Chengsi
Wu Chengsi
Wu Chengsi , formally Prince Xuan of Wei , was a nephew of Chinese sovereign Wu Zetian and an imperial prince during her Zhou Dynasty...
and Wu Sansi
Wu Sansi
Wu Sansi , formally Prince Xuan of Liang , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and his aunt Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, becoming an imperial prince and chancellor during the reign of Wu Zetian and subsequently, while only briefly chancellor during the second reign of Wu Zetian's son...
had become very powerful, and even the chancellors had to bow to them. When Wei Fangzhi suffered an illness that year, Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi went to visit him, but Wei lay on his bed and did not answer their greetings. When someone warned him that not doing so risked offending them, he responded, "Life and death are all determined by heaven. How can a real man prostrate himself to flatter imperial relatives just to avoid disaster?" Soon, Wei was falsely accused by Empress Dowager Wu's trusted secret police official Zhou Xing
Zhou Xing (Tang Dynasty)
Zhou Xing was a secret police official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty. He was largely responsible for carrying out her actions to wipe out senior members of Tang's Li imperial clan, but, in a turnabout, was in 691 himself accused of crimes and, under threats of...
, and he was exiled to Dan Prefecture (儋州, roughly modern Danzhou
Danzhou
Danzhou is a city in the northwest of the Chinese island province of Hainan. It is a County-level city administered directly by the province.- See also :* Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China...
, Hainan
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
), and his assets were seized. Later that year, after Empress Dowager Wu had taken the throne from Emperor Ruizong and become "emperor" of her own Zhou Dynasty, Wei was executed in exile. Only after Wu Zetian herself was overthrown in 710 and replaced by Emperor Ruizong's brother Emperor Zhongzong
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Xiǎn , at times during his life Li Zhe and Wu Xian , was the fourth Emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 684 and again from 705 to 710.Emperor Zhongzong was the son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu...
were Wei's honors posthumously restored.
Note and references
- Book of TangBook of TangThe Book of Tang , Jiu Tangshu or the Old Book of Tang is the first classic work about the Tang Dynasty. The book began when Gaozu of Later Jin ordered its commencement in 941...
, vol. 75.http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/tan09.htm - New Book of TangNew Book of TangThe New Book of Tang , is a classic work of history about the Tang Dynasty edited by Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi and other official scholars of the Song Dynasty. The emperor called for a revision of the former Book of Tang in 1044. The New Book was presented to the throne in 1060. It was given its...
, vol. 103.http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/ntan15.htm - Zizhi TongjianZizhi TongjianThe Zizhi Tongjian was a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084, under the form of a chronicles. In 1065 CE, Emperor Yingzong of Song ordered the great historian Sima Guang to lead with other scholars such as his chief assistants Liu Shu, Liu Ban and Fan Zuyu, the...
, vols. 203, 204.