Wei Shifang
Encyclopedia
Wei Shifang (died 695), also known as Wu Shifang (武什方), was briefly a chancellor during Wu Zetian
's Zhou Dynasty.
, Henan
), who was staying at Linzhi Temple (麟趾寺) in the capital Luoyang
, who self-claimed the title of "Pure Light Rulai (Tathagata
) Buddha" (淨光如來佛) and claimed to be able to predict the future. The second was Wei, who was an associate of the old nun, and who was from Mount Song
, who claimed to be born in 238, during the reign of the emperor Sun Quan
of Eastern Wu
-- which would make him 456 years old at the time. The third was a non-Han
old man who claimed to be 500 years old and who had met Wu Zetian's lover Huaiyi
200 years earlier. Wu Zetian respected them greatly and bestowed the imperial clan name of Wu on Wei Shifang. In fall 694, she even made him Zhengjian Daifu (正諫大夫), a senior consultant at the examination bureau of government (鸞臺, Luantai) and gave him the designation of Tong Fengge Luantai Pingzhangshi (同鳳閣鸞臺平章事), making him a chancellor de facto.
On the edict giving him these offices, she emphasized that he was more impressive than even Lord Guangcheng (廣成子) of Yellow Emperor
's time who claimed to have lived for 1,200 years, and Duke Heshang (河上公) of Emperor Wen of Han
's time who claimed to have written commentaries for the Tao Te Ching
for more than 1,700 years. Less than a month later, Wei requested that he be allowed to return to Mount Song. Wu Zetian relieved him of his posts and escorted him back to Mount Song.
region to look for material for the medicine. After the fire, the old nun—who was said to pretend to follow Buddhist teachings on vegetarianism but instead was secretly feasting on pigs and goats, and who had also kept a staff of 100 young and immoral nuns as her disciples—went to see Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian rebuked her and said, "You claimed that you could predict the future, so why could you not predict the fire?" Wu Zetian had the nun escorted back to Henei, and her disciples and the old non-Han man both fled.
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...
's Zhou Dynasty.
Rise to top
Wei Shifang had a highly unusual rise to his position. As of 694, Wu Zetian was said to be attracted to the teaching of three individuals involved in mystic teachings. The first was an old Buddhist nun from Henei (河內, in modern JiaozuoJiaozuo
Jiaozuo is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the south, Xinxiang to the east, Jiyuan to the west, Luoyang to the southwest, and the province of Shanxi...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
), who was staying at Linzhi Temple (麟趾寺) in the capital Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
, who self-claimed the title of "Pure Light Rulai (Tathagata
Tathagata
Tathāgata in Pali and Sanskrit) is the name the Buddha of the scriptures uses when referring to himself. The term means, paradoxically, both one who has thus gone and one who has thus come . Hence, the Tathagata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena...
) Buddha" (淨光如來佛) and claimed to be able to predict the future. The second was Wei, who was an associate of the old nun, and who was from Mount Song
Mount Song
Mount Song, known in Chinese as Song Shan , is one of the Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism and is located in Henan province on the south bank of the Yellow River in China...
, who claimed to be born in 238, during the reign of the emperor Sun Quan
Sun Quan
Sun Quan , son of Sun Jian, formally Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He ruled from 222 to 229 as King of Wu and from 229 to 252 as Emperor of Wu....
of Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...
-- which would make him 456 years old at the time. The third was a non-Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
old man who claimed to be 500 years old and who had met Wu Zetian's lover Huaiyi
Huaiyi
Huaiyi , né Feng Xiaobao , sometimes referred to as Xue Huaiyi , was a Buddhist monk who was known for being the lover of Wu Zetian, the only woman to be commonly recognized as "emperor" in the history of China....
200 years earlier. Wu Zetian respected them greatly and bestowed the imperial clan name of Wu on Wei Shifang. In fall 694, she even made him Zhengjian Daifu (正諫大夫), a senior consultant at the examination bureau of government (鸞臺, Luantai) and gave him the designation of Tong Fengge Luantai Pingzhangshi (同鳳閣鸞臺平章事), making him a chancellor de facto.
On the edict giving him these offices, she emphasized that he was more impressive than even Lord Guangcheng (廣成子) of Yellow Emperor
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor or Huangdi1 is a legendary Chinese sovereign and culture hero, included among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he reigned from 2697–2597 or 2696–2598 BC...
's time who claimed to have lived for 1,200 years, and Duke Heshang (河上公) of Emperor Wen of Han
Emperor Wen of Han
Emperor Wen of Han was the fifth emperor of the Han Dynasty in China. His given name is Heng.Liu Heng was a son of Emperor Gao of Han and Consort Bo, later empress dowager...
's time who claimed to have written commentaries for the Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching
The Tao Te Ching, Dao De Jing, or Daodejing , also simply referred to as the Laozi, whose authorship has been attributed to Laozi, is a Chinese classic text...
for more than 1,700 years. Less than a month later, Wei requested that he be allowed to return to Mount Song. Wu Zetian relieved him of his posts and escorted him back to Mount Song.
Change in attitude
In 695, however, Wu Zetian's attitude to these individuals changed, in light of a fire that Huaiyi set to the imperial meeting hall (明堂, Mingtang) in jealousy over her having a new lover, the imperial physician Shen Nanqiu (沈南璆). Slightly earlier, Wei had claimed that he would be capable of creating medicine that would allow people to live forever, and Wu Zetian sent him to take governmental wagons to the LingnanLingnan
Lingnan is a geographic area referring to lands in the south of China's "Five Ranges" which are Tayu, Qitian, Dupang, Mengzhu, Yuecheng. The region covers the Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces of modern China and northern Vietnam...
region to look for material for the medicine. After the fire, the old nun—who was said to pretend to follow Buddhist teachings on vegetarianism but instead was secretly feasting on pigs and goats, and who had also kept a staff of 100 young and immoral nuns as her disciples—went to see Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian rebuked her and said, "You claimed that you could predict the future, so why could you not predict the fire?" Wu Zetian had the nun escorted back to Henei, and her disciples and the old non-Han man both fled.