Zhang Wenwei
Encyclopedia
Zhang Wenwei (died April 25, 908), courtesy name Youhua (右華), was an official of the Chinese
dynasty Tang Dynasty
and Tang's succeeding dynasty Later Liang Dynasty
, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Tang's final emperor Emperor Ai
and Later Liang's founding emperor Emperor Taizu (Zhu Quanzhong).
general Zhang Er (張耳). The traceable ancestry of Zhang Wenwei's included officials of Sui Dynasty
and Tang Dynasty
. His grandfather Zhang Junqing (張君卿) was a copyeditor at Jixian Pavilion (集賢院), and his father Zhang Shang (張禓) served in a number of prominent positions, including, eventually, the military governorship (Jiedushi
) of Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an
, Shandong
). Zhang Wenwei had at least two younger brothers, Zhang Jimei (張濟美) and Zhang Yixian (張貽憲), both of whom, like he, would eventually pass the imperial examination
s in the Jinshi (進士) class. However, only Zhang Yixian would go on to serve as an imperial official; Zhang Jimei would be stricken by heart ailments, and it was said that Zhang Wenwei, while eventually progressing in his career, would care for Zhang Jimei's health for over 30 years, drawing praise from the gentry of the day. Zhang Wenwei himself was said to be good at writing in his youth, and he was both studious and friendly with people, gaining the reputation of being a gentleman.
, during the reign of Emperor Xizong
. He thereafter served as a surveyor for the office of salt and iron monopolies; he then served as a sheriff of a county near the imperial capital Chang'an
, as well as a scholar at an imperial institute. After his father Zhang Shang died in 877
, he left governmental service to observe a mourning period and to attend to the household.
Sometime during Emperor Xizong's Zhonghe era (881
-885
), when Emperor Xizong had fled to Chengdu
due to the major agrarian rebellion led by Huang Chao
, who captured Chang'an and declared his own state of Qi as its emperor, Emperor Xizong, in order to raise funds for the military campaigns against Qi, moved the office of salt and iron monopolies to Yang Prefecture (揚州, in modern Yangzhou
, Jiangsu
) and put the official Li Du (李都) in charge of the office. At Li Du's recommendation, Zhang Wenwei was made a roving surveyor for the office. After Huang was defeated and Emperor Xizong returned to Chang'an in 885, Zhang was first made an imperial censor with the title Jiancha Yushi (監察御史); then (either successively or holding the offices all at once) Zuo Bujue (左補闕), a low-level advisory official at the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng); an imperial censor with the title Dianzhong Shi Yushi (殿中侍御史); an imperial chronicler with the title Qiju Sheren (起居舍人); and Sixun Yuanwailang (司勛員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, Libu). He was then promoted to a supervisory position at the ministry of civil service affairs, with the title Sixun Langzhong (司勛郎中) and put in charge of drafting edicts. After serving in those roles for a year, he was made Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人). After his mother's death, he left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her.
After Zhang finished observing the mourning period, he returned to the imperial government as a Zhongshu Sheren. He was soon thereafter made the chief imperial scholar (翰林學士承旨, Hanlin Xueshi Chengzhi). As then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong
(Emperor Xizong's brother and successor) had just returned to Chang'an, and the imperial authority was extremely weak at that time, edicts that Zhang drafted had to be, and were, appropriately delicate in language but assertive, and was much praised for their propriety. He was then given the additional post of deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, Hubu Shilang), and later was made the deputy minister of rites (禮部侍郎, Libu Shilang) but no longer imperial scholar by that point.
, Zhang was still serving as the deputy minister of rites — at that time, at Luoyang, which had been made the capital after the powerful warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng
, Henan
) had forcibly moved Emperor Zhaozong from Chang'an to Luoyang in 904
, — under Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor Emperor Ai
, as Zhu had had Emperor Zhaozong assassinated late in 904. In 905, the chancellor Liu Can
, an associate of Zhu's, had alienated Zhu from the other chancellors Pei Shu
, Dugu Sun
, and Cui Yuan
; Pei, Dugu, and Cui were therefore removed from chancellor offices, while Zhang and Yang She
were made chancellors, with the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事). He was also made Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, and acting director of taxation (判戶部, Pan Hubu). Later in the year, when Zhu carried out a purge of many prominent Tang officials at the instigation of Liu and Li Zhen (in which, among others, Pei, Dugu, Cui, and other former chancellors Lu Yi
and Wang Bo
were killed), Liu had initially prepared an even larger list of officials to purge. It was said that it was at Zhang's urging that the purge was not expanded. After Liu himself was killed by Zhu around the new year 906
, Zhang also took over the duties of the directors of finances and salt and iron monopolies.
In 907
, Emperor Ai was preparing to yield the throne to Zhu Quanzhong. As part of the ceremonial passage of the throne, Zhang, acting as the head of the legislative bureau (中書令, Zhongshu Ling), was put in charge of announcing the passage of the throne. He, as well as Yang (who was to deliver the main imperial seal to Zhu) and Xue Yiju (who was to deliver the secondary imperial seals), went in a grand procession from Luoyang to Daliang
(i.e., the capital of Xuanwu Circuit), where Zhu was at the time, for the ceremony. Zhu accepted the throne, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang Dynasty
(as its Emperor Taizu). It was said that, at a subsequent feast that the new emperor held for Zhang and the other Tang officials, most of them, including Zhang, were prostrate and unable to speak.
to battle the state of Jin (i.e., the lands ruled by Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin, who refused to recognize the new Later Liang regime), he left Zhang in charge of Luoyang. Zhang died later in 908, while still serving as a Later Liang chancellor.
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...
and Tang's succeeding dynasty Later Liang Dynasty
Later Liang Dynasty
The Later Liang was one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. It was founded by Zhu Wen, posthumously known as Taizu of Later Liang, after he forced the last emperor of the Tang dynasty to abdicate in his favour...
, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Tang's final emperor Emperor Ai
Emperor Ai of Tang
Emperor Ai of Tang , also known as Emperor Zhaoxuan , born Li Zuo, later Li Zhu , was the last emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 904 to 907. The Ai Emperor was the son of Emperor Zhaozong....
and Later Liang's founding emperor Emperor Taizu (Zhu Quanzhong).
Background
It is not known when Zhang Wenwei was born. His family claimed ancestry from the early Han DynastyHan Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
general Zhang Er (張耳). The traceable ancestry of Zhang Wenwei's included officials of 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....
and 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...
. His grandfather Zhang Junqing (張君卿) was a copyeditor at Jixian Pavilion (集賢院), and his father Zhang Shang (張禓) served in a number of prominent positions, including, eventually, the military governorship (Jiedushi
Jiedushi
The Jiedushi were regional military governors in China during the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. Originally set up to counter external threats, the jiedushi were given enormous power, including the ability to maintain their own armies, collect taxes, and pass their...
) of Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an
Tai'an
Tai'an is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, People's Republic of China.Centered around Mount Tai, the city borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Laiwu to the northeast, Zibo to the east, Linyi to the southeast, Liaocheng to the extreme west and Jining to the south...
, Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
). Zhang Wenwei had at least two younger brothers, Zhang Jimei (張濟美) and Zhang Yixian (張貽憲), both of whom, like he, would eventually pass the imperial examination
Imperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...
s in the Jinshi (進士) class. However, only Zhang Yixian would go on to serve as an imperial official; Zhang Jimei would be stricken by heart ailments, and it was said that Zhang Wenwei, while eventually progressing in his career, would care for Zhang Jimei's health for over 30 years, drawing praise from the gentry of the day. Zhang Wenwei himself was said to be good at writing in his youth, and he was both studious and friendly with people, gaining the reputation of being a gentleman.
Early career
Zhang Wenwei passed the imperial examinations in the Jinshi class in 875875
Year 875 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* December 29 – Charles the Bald, king of West Francia, is crowned emperor....
, during the reign of Emperor Xizong
Emperor Xizong of Tang
Emperor Xizong of Tang , né Li Yan , later name changed to Li Xuan , was an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 873 to 888. He was the fifth son of his predecessor Emperor Yizong and was the elder brother of his successor Emperor Zhaozong...
. He thereafter served as a surveyor for the office of salt and iron monopolies; he then served as a sheriff of a county near the imperial capital Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
, as well as a scholar at an imperial institute. After his father Zhang Shang died in 877
877
Year 877 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* The Danes take Exeter, England.* A flotilla of 120 Danish ships is lost in a storm off Swanage....
, he left governmental service to observe a mourning period and to attend to the household.
Sometime during Emperor Xizong's Zhonghe era (881
881
Year 881 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Charles the Fat is crowned Western Emperor.* Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu: Louis III of France routs Norman pirates....
-885
885
Year 885 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* The Vikings besiege Paris.* Godfrith, the Sea King is killed in Lobith...
), when Emperor Xizong had fled to Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
due to the major agrarian rebellion led by Huang Chao
Huang Chao
Huang Chao was the leader of the Huang Chao Rebellion , known in mainland China as the Huang Chao Revolution in China that seriously weakened the once mighty Tang Dynasty of China...
, who captured Chang'an and declared his own state of Qi as its emperor, Emperor Xizong, in order to raise funds for the military campaigns against Qi, moved the office of salt and iron monopolies to Yang Prefecture (揚州, in modern Yangzhou
Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across...
, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
) and put the official Li Du (李都) in charge of the office. At Li Du's recommendation, Zhang Wenwei was made a roving surveyor for the office. After Huang was defeated and Emperor Xizong returned to Chang'an in 885, Zhang was first made an imperial censor with the title Jiancha Yushi (監察御史); then (either successively or holding the offices all at once) Zuo Bujue (左補闕), a low-level advisory official at the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng); an imperial censor with the title Dianzhong Shi Yushi (殿中侍御史); an imperial chronicler with the title Qiju Sheren (起居舍人); and Sixun Yuanwailang (司勛員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, Libu). He was then promoted to a supervisory position at the ministry of civil service affairs, with the title Sixun Langzhong (司勛郎中) and put in charge of drafting edicts. After serving in those roles for a year, he was made Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人). After his mother's death, he left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her.
After Zhang finished observing the mourning period, he returned to the imperial government as a Zhongshu Sheren. He was soon thereafter made the chief imperial scholar (翰林學士承旨, Hanlin Xueshi Chengzhi). As then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong
Emperor Zhaozong of Tang
Emperor Zhaozong of Tang , né Li Jie , name later changed to Li Min , yet later name changed to Li Ye , was the penultimate emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China. He reigned from 888 to 904...
(Emperor Xizong's brother and successor) had just returned to Chang'an, and the imperial authority was extremely weak at that time, edicts that Zhang drafted had to be, and were, appropriately delicate in language but assertive, and was much praised for their propriety. He was then given the additional post of deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, Hubu Shilang), and later was made the deputy minister of rites (禮部侍郎, Libu Shilang) but no longer imperial scholar by that point.
Chancellorship
As of 905905
Year 905 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Africa :* The Abbasid Caliphate re-establishes control of Egypt from the Tulunids.- Asia :...
, Zhang was still serving as the deputy minister of rites — at that time, at Luoyang, which had been made the capital after the powerful warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
, 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...
) had forcibly moved Emperor Zhaozong from Chang'an to Luoyang in 904
904
Year 904 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* The Byzantines under Andronikos Doukas defeat the Arabs near Germanikeia...
, — under Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor Emperor Ai
Emperor Ai of Tang
Emperor Ai of Tang , also known as Emperor Zhaoxuan , born Li Zuo, later Li Zhu , was the last emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned from 904 to 907. The Ai Emperor was the son of Emperor Zhaozong....
, as Zhu had had Emperor Zhaozong assassinated late in 904. In 905, the chancellor Liu Can
Liu Can (Tang Dynasty)
Liu Can , courtesy name Zhaozhi , formally the Baron of Hedong , nicknamed Liu Qiezi , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Zhaozong and Emperor Zhaozong's son Emperor Ai, near the end of the dynasty...
, an associate of Zhu's, had alienated Zhu from the other chancellors Pei Shu
Pei Shu
Pei Shu , courtesy name Jisheng or Huasheng , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving two terms as chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Zhaozong and Emperor Zhaozong's son Emperor Ai, near the end of the dynasty...
, Dugu Sun
Dugu Sun
Dugu Sun , courtesy name Yousun , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Zhaozong and Emperor Zhaozong's son Emperor Ai, near the end of the dynasty...
, and Cui Yuan
Cui Yuan (Tang Dynasty)
Cui Yuan , courtesy name Youyu , formally Duke Zhaoxiang of Zhao , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Xuanzong and Emperor Suzong.- Background :...
; Pei, Dugu, and Cui were therefore removed from chancellor offices, while Zhang and Yang She
Yang She
Yang She , courtesy name Wenchuan , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Tang's successor dynasty Later Liang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Tang's final emperor Emperor Ai and Later Liang's both commonly-recognized emperors, Emperor Taizu and Emperor...
were made chancellors, with the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事). He was also made Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, and acting director of taxation (判戶部, Pan Hubu). Later in the year, when Zhu carried out a purge of many prominent Tang officials at the instigation of Liu and Li Zhen (in which, among others, Pei, Dugu, Cui, and other former chancellors Lu Yi
Lu Yi (Tang Dynasty)
Lu Yi , né Lu Yundi , courtesy name Xiangwen , formally the Duke of Wu Commandery , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as chancellor for two terms during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong.- Background :Lu Yi was born in 847, during the reign of Emperor Xuānzong; he was...
and Wang Bo
Wang Bo (Late Tang)
Wang Bo , courtesy name Mingyang , formally Duke Jing of Taiyuan , was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Muzong and Emperor Wenzong...
were killed), Liu had initially prepared an even larger list of officials to purge. It was said that it was at Zhang's urging that the purge was not expanded. After Liu himself was killed by Zhu around the new year 906
906
Year 906 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Battle of Fritzlar: The Conradines defeat the Babenberg counts to establish themselves as dukes of Franconia. Conrad the Elder is killed in the battle...
, Zhang also took over the duties of the directors of finances and salt and iron monopolies.
In 907
907
Year 907 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Oleg leads the Kievan Rus' in a campaign against Constantinople ....
, Emperor Ai was preparing to yield the throne to Zhu Quanzhong. As part of the ceremonial passage of the throne, Zhang, acting as the head of the legislative bureau (中書令, Zhongshu Ling), was put in charge of announcing the passage of the throne. He, as well as Yang (who was to deliver the main imperial seal to Zhu) and Xue Yiju (who was to deliver the secondary imperial seals), went in a grand procession from Luoyang to Daliang
Kaifeng
Kaifeng , known previously by several names , is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, Central China. Nearly 5 million people live in the metropolitan area...
(i.e., the capital of Xuanwu Circuit), where Zhu was at the time, for the ceremony. Zhu accepted the throne, ending Tang and starting a new Later Liang Dynasty
Later Liang Dynasty
The Later Liang was one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. It was founded by Zhu Wen, posthumously known as Taizu of Later Liang, after he forced the last emperor of the Tang dynasty to abdicate in his favour...
(as its Emperor Taizu). It was said that, at a subsequent feast that the new emperor held for Zhang and the other Tang officials, most of them, including Zhang, were prostrate and unable to speak.
During Later Liang
After the transition to Later Liang, Zhang remained chancellor. He was said to be the drafter of much of the regulations that the Later Liang imperial government used. When Emperor Taizu left Luoyang in 908908
Year 908 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* The Battle of Belach Mugna is fought.* Zhu Wen kills the last Tang Dynasty emperor.- Deaths :* Al-Muktafi, Abbasid caliph...
to battle the state of Jin (i.e., the lands ruled by Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin, who refused to recognize the new Later Liang regime), he left Zhang in charge of Luoyang. Zhang died later in 908, while still serving as a Later Liang chancellor.