Pei Yanling
Encyclopedia
Pei Yanling (728
– October 23, 796) was an official of the Chinese
dynasty Tang Dynasty
. He was a close associate of Emperor Dezong
and was in charge of financial matters. He drew severe criticism from traditional historical accounts for his frivolousness, fiscal irresponsibility, and attacks against other officials.
. His family was from Hezhong Municipality (河中, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi
). His father Pei Xu (裴旭) served as a prefectural prefect. Toward the end of the Qianyuan era (758-760) of Emperor Xuanzong's son Emperor Suzong
, Pei Yanling was serving as the sheriff of Sishui County (汜水, in modern Luoyang
, Henan
), when the nearby eastern capital Luoyang
was captured by the rebel Yan
army. Pei fled to E Prefecture (鄂州, in modern Ezhou
, Hubei
). During his time there, he edited the commentaries that Pei Yin (裴駰) wrote for the Records of the Grand Historian
, and referred to himself as "Little Pei" in his remarks.
was serving as the prefect of Hua Prefecture (華州, in modern Weinan
, Shaanxi
), he invited Pei Yanling to serve as his assistant in his role as defender of Tong Pass. Later, when a regional surveyor recommended Pei for his abilities, Pei was recalled to the capital Chang'an
to serve as Taichang Boshi (太常博士), a scholar at the ministry of worship (太常寺, Taichang Si). When Lu Qi
was chancellor, Pei was promoted to be Shanbu Yuanwailang (膳部員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Libu) and an imperial scholar at Jixian Institute (集賢院); he later became Cibu Langzhong (祠部郎中), a supervisorial official at the ministry of rites. While Cui Zao
was chancellor, Cui was in charge of the finances, and he sent Pei to Luoyang to be in charge of the financial matters at the Luoyang branch government. After Han Huang
took over the financial matters, Pei was recalled to Chang'an to resume his duties as Cibu Langzhong and imperial scholar. Once Pei arrived at Chang'an, however, he did not wait for imperial orders to clarify his responsibilities and directly headed for Jixian Institute to resume his duties there. This displeased the chancellor Zhang Yanshang
, and Zhang had him demoted to be the magistrate of Zhaoying County (昭應, near Chang'an). While he was serving there, there was an occasion when he had a disagreement with the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the Chang'an region), Zheng Shuze (鄭叔則), and he submitted a petition attacking Zheng. The chancellor Li Mi
favored Zheng, but the deputy chief imperial censor Dou Can
, who was jealous of Li and protective of Pei, sided with Pei in the dispute. As a result, Zheng was demoted to be a prefectural prefect, while Pei was recalled to serve as Zhuzuolang (著作郎), an imperial librarian. When Dou subsequently became chancellor, he made Pei the deputy minister of imperial supplies (太府少卿, Taifu Shaoqing) and later the deputy minister of agriculture (司農少卿, Sinong Shaoqing).
recommended Li Sun (李巽) as Ban's replacement, and Emperor Dezong initially agreed. However, he soon changed his mind and wanted to replace Ban with Pei Yanling; he made Pei the deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, Hubu Shilang) and the director of finances. Lu submitted a petition severely criticizing Pei for frivolousness and lack of judgment, but Emperor Dezong did not take heed. As Pei was not himself familiar with financial matters, he summoned experienced administrators at the directorate of finances and asked them for suggestions on how to please the emperor. In 793, he came up with a scheme — to change, on the books, uncollectible tax debts from the various prefectures into collectible ones, and moving the tax revenues that were actually submitted into a new separate storage. In all, no actual revenues were created, but Emperor Dezong was fooled into believing that Pei could increase the wealth of the state and therefore favored him more. Pei also falsely claimed that there was a large meadow to the west of Chang'an that could be used for raising horses — which turned out to be nonexistent when Emperor Dezong sent investigators to consider it for that purpose, but Emperor Dezong did not punish him, despite criticism by other officials. Also at Pei's suggestion, Emperor Dezong left many officials' positions unfilled in order to save money, notwithstanding the necessity for those positions to be filled. Pei further suggested that the money used on imperial temples be diverted to Emperor Dezong's own palace, and also falsely claimed that he had access to giant trees for the building of a temple that Emperor Dezong commissioned, Shenlong Temple (神龍寺) — such that when Emperor Dezong pointed out that those giants trees were not even available during the prosperous reign of Emperor Xuanzong, he responded that Emperor Xuanzong's reign was not impressive enough for those trees to reveal themselves. It was said that Emperor Dezong actually did realize that Pei was frivolous and often spoke untruths, but that he was happy to hear Pei gossip about other officials, and therefore continued to favor Pei.
It was said that only several officials whose responsibilities were directly related to Pei's — Zhang Pang (張滂) the director of the salt and iron monopolies, Li Chong (李充) the mayor of Jingzhao, and Li Xian (李銛) the minister of agriculture — dared to speak out against him, in addition to Lu, who repeatedly submitted petitions attacking Pei. However, Emperor Dezong's trust in Pei was not shaken, and instead, he began to be disaffected from Lu, whose opinion he had deeply valued previously. Lu's criticism of Pei was further neutralized when his chancellor colleague Zhao Jing
began to leak Lu's criticism to Pei, such that Pei was able to anticipate it and deflect it. Around the new year 796, Lu was removed from his chancellor position, and thereafter Pei began to strike back, accusing Zhang, Li Chong, and Li Xian of being Lu's partisans, spreading rumors to cause soldiers to resent Emperor Dezong and Pei and to encourage them to mutiny. When an imperial guard soldier complained to Emperor Dezong that his corps was being inadequately supplied, Emperor Dezong came to believe that Pei was telling the truth about Lu and the others. In spring 796, he exiled Lu, Zhang, Li Chong, and Li Xian, to distant prefectures to be prefectural officials. In the aftermaths of these officials' exile, a number of low-level officials in charge of submitting suggestions to the emperor, led by Yang Cheng (陽城), submitted petitions attacking Pei and defending Lu and the others, but the petitions fell on deaf ears. However, despite expectations at the time that Pei would soon be made chancellor, Pei was never made chancellor. Still, Pei was promoted to be the minister of census (戶部尚書, Hubu Shangshu). It was said, though, that Pei was confident that he would become chancellor, and he was abusive in his language toward other officials. Further, when he subsequently grew ill, he was freely delivering items from the imperial treasury to his own home, but no one dared to speak against him. Pei died in fall 796, and it was said that no official mourned him, and many people actually celebrated, but Emperor Dezong mourned deeply and posthumously honored him. During the reign of Emperor Dezong's grandson Emperor Xianzong
, Pei was given the posthumous name
Miao (繆, meaning "untrue").
The Later Jin
historian Liu Xu, the lead editor of the Book of Tang
, commented thus about Pei and another official during the reign of Emperor Xianzong, Huangfu Bo
:
728
Year 728 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 728 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Liutprand, King of the Lombards occupies all...
– October 23, 796) was an official of the Chinese
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...
. He was a close associate of Emperor Dezong
Emperor Dezong of Tang
Emperor Dezong of Tang , personally name Li Kuo , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and the oldest son of his father Emperor Daizong. His reign of 26 years was the third longest in the Tang dynasty...
and was in charge of financial matters. He drew severe criticism from traditional historical accounts for his frivolousness, fiscal irresponsibility, and attacks against other officials.
Background
Pei Yanling was born in 728, during the reign of Emperor XuanzongEmperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang , personal name Li Longji , known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty...
. His family was from Hezhong Municipality (河中, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
). His father Pei Xu (裴旭) served as a prefectural prefect. Toward the end of the Qianyuan era (758-760) of Emperor Xuanzong's son Emperor Suzong
Emperor Suzong of Tang
Emperor Suzong of Tang , personal name Li Heng , né Li Sisheng , known as Li Jun from 725 to 736, known as Li Yu from 736 to 738, known briefly as Li Shao in 738, was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the son of Emperor Xuanzong...
, Pei Yanling was serving as the sheriff of Sishui County (汜水, in modern 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...
, 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...
), when the nearby eastern 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...
was captured by the rebel Yan
Yan (Anshi)
Yan , also known as the Great Yan , was a state established in 756 by the Tang Dynasty general An Lushan, after he rebelled against the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in 755. The state was extinguished in 763, with the death of An Lushan's former subordinate, Shi Siming's son, Shi Chaoyi, who...
army. Pei fled to E Prefecture (鄂州, in modern Ezhou
Ezhou
-Geography and climate:Ezhou is located in southeastern Hubei province, on the southern bank of the Yangtze River east of Wuchang , and across the river from the city of Huanggang, to which it is connected by the Ehuang Bridge...
, Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
). During his time there, he edited the commentaries that Pei Yin (裴駰) wrote for the Records of the Grand Historian
Records of the Grand Historian
The Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
, and referred to himself as "Little Pei" in his remarks.
Prior to becoming director of finances
When Dong JinDong Jin
Dong Jin , courtesy name Huncheng , was an official and general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong.- Background :...
was serving as the prefect of Hua Prefecture (華州, in 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...
), he invited Pei Yanling to serve as his assistant in his role as defender of Tong Pass. Later, when a regional surveyor recommended Pei for his abilities, Pei was recalled to the 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...
to serve as Taichang Boshi (太常博士), a scholar at the ministry of worship (太常寺, Taichang Si). When Lu Qi
Lu Qi
Lu Qi , courtesy name Ziliang , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong...
was chancellor, Pei was promoted to be Shanbu Yuanwailang (膳部員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Libu) and an imperial scholar at Jixian Institute (集賢院); he later became Cibu Langzhong (祠部郎中), a supervisorial official at the ministry of rites. While Cui Zao
Cui Zao
Cui Zao , courtesy name Xuanzai , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving briefly as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong...
was chancellor, Cui was in charge of the finances, and he sent Pei to Luoyang to be in charge of the financial matters at the Luoyang branch government. After Han Huang
Han Huang
Han Huang , courtesy name Taichong , formally Duke Zhongsu of Jin , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong...
took over the financial matters, Pei was recalled to Chang'an to resume his duties as Cibu Langzhong and imperial scholar. Once Pei arrived at Chang'an, however, he did not wait for imperial orders to clarify his responsibilities and directly headed for Jixian Institute to resume his duties there. This displeased the chancellor Zhang Yanshang
Zhang Yanshang
Zhang Yanshang , né Zhang Baofu , was an official of the Chinese dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong.- Background :...
, and Zhang had him demoted to be the magistrate of Zhaoying County (昭應, near Chang'an). While he was serving there, there was an occasion when he had a disagreement with the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the Chang'an region), Zheng Shuze (鄭叔則), and he submitted a petition attacking Zheng. The chancellor Li Mi
Li Mi (chancellor)
Li Mi , courtesy name Changyuan , formally the Marquess of Ye County , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty...
favored Zheng, but the deputy chief imperial censor Dou Can
Dou Can
Dou Can , courtesy name Shizhong , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong...
, who was jealous of Li and protective of Pei, sided with Pei in the dispute. As a result, Zheng was demoted to be a prefectural prefect, while Pei was recalled to serve as Zhuzuolang (著作郎), an imperial librarian. When Dou subsequently became chancellor, he made Pei the deputy minister of imperial supplies (太府少卿, Taifu Shaoqing) and later the deputy minister of agriculture (司農少卿, Sinong Shaoqing).
As director of finances
In 792, Ban Hong (班宏) the director of finances died. The chancellor Lu ZhiLu Zhi (Tang Dynasty)
Lu Zhi , courtesy name Jingyu , was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong. Even before he became chancellor, he became a trusted advisor to Emperor Dezong, who greatly valued his opinion...
recommended Li Sun (李巽) as Ban's replacement, and Emperor Dezong initially agreed. However, he soon changed his mind and wanted to replace Ban with Pei Yanling; he made Pei the deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, Hubu Shilang) and the director of finances. Lu submitted a petition severely criticizing Pei for frivolousness and lack of judgment, but Emperor Dezong did not take heed. As Pei was not himself familiar with financial matters, he summoned experienced administrators at the directorate of finances and asked them for suggestions on how to please the emperor. In 793, he came up with a scheme — to change, on the books, uncollectible tax debts from the various prefectures into collectible ones, and moving the tax revenues that were actually submitted into a new separate storage. In all, no actual revenues were created, but Emperor Dezong was fooled into believing that Pei could increase the wealth of the state and therefore favored him more. Pei also falsely claimed that there was a large meadow to the west of Chang'an that could be used for raising horses — which turned out to be nonexistent when Emperor Dezong sent investigators to consider it for that purpose, but Emperor Dezong did not punish him, despite criticism by other officials. Also at Pei's suggestion, Emperor Dezong left many officials' positions unfilled in order to save money, notwithstanding the necessity for those positions to be filled. Pei further suggested that the money used on imperial temples be diverted to Emperor Dezong's own palace, and also falsely claimed that he had access to giant trees for the building of a temple that Emperor Dezong commissioned, Shenlong Temple (神龍寺) — such that when Emperor Dezong pointed out that those giants trees were not even available during the prosperous reign of Emperor Xuanzong, he responded that Emperor Xuanzong's reign was not impressive enough for those trees to reveal themselves. It was said that Emperor Dezong actually did realize that Pei was frivolous and often spoke untruths, but that he was happy to hear Pei gossip about other officials, and therefore continued to favor Pei.
It was said that only several officials whose responsibilities were directly related to Pei's — Zhang Pang (張滂) the director of the salt and iron monopolies, Li Chong (李充) the mayor of Jingzhao, and Li Xian (李銛) the minister of agriculture — dared to speak out against him, in addition to Lu, who repeatedly submitted petitions attacking Pei. However, Emperor Dezong's trust in Pei was not shaken, and instead, he began to be disaffected from Lu, whose opinion he had deeply valued previously. Lu's criticism of Pei was further neutralized when his chancellor colleague Zhao Jing
Zhao Jing (Tang Dynasty)
Zhao Jing , courtesy name Tuiweng , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong.- Background :...
began to leak Lu's criticism to Pei, such that Pei was able to anticipate it and deflect it. Around the new year 796, Lu was removed from his chancellor position, and thereafter Pei began to strike back, accusing Zhang, Li Chong, and Li Xian of being Lu's partisans, spreading rumors to cause soldiers to resent Emperor Dezong and Pei and to encourage them to mutiny. When an imperial guard soldier complained to Emperor Dezong that his corps was being inadequately supplied, Emperor Dezong came to believe that Pei was telling the truth about Lu and the others. In spring 796, he exiled Lu, Zhang, Li Chong, and Li Xian, to distant prefectures to be prefectural officials. In the aftermaths of these officials' exile, a number of low-level officials in charge of submitting suggestions to the emperor, led by Yang Cheng (陽城), submitted petitions attacking Pei and defending Lu and the others, but the petitions fell on deaf ears. However, despite expectations at the time that Pei would soon be made chancellor, Pei was never made chancellor. Still, Pei was promoted to be the minister of census (戶部尚書, Hubu Shangshu). It was said, though, that Pei was confident that he would become chancellor, and he was abusive in his language toward other officials. Further, when he subsequently grew ill, he was freely delivering items from the imperial treasury to his own home, but no one dared to speak against him. Pei died in fall 796, and it was said that no official mourned him, and many people actually celebrated, but Emperor Dezong mourned deeply and posthumously honored him. During the reign of Emperor Dezong's grandson Emperor Xianzong
Emperor Xianzong of Tang
Emperor Xianzong of Tang , personal name Li Chun , né Li Chun , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty...
, Pei was given the posthumous name
Posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life...
Miao (繆, meaning "untrue").
The Later Jin
Later Jin Dynasty (Five Dynasties)
Note that there are four periods of Chinese history using the name "Jin" The Later Jìn was one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. It was founded by Shi Jingtang, posthumously known as Gaozu of Later Jin...
historian Liu Xu, the lead editor of the Book of Tang
Book of Tang
The 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...
, commented thus about Pei and another official during the reign of Emperor Xianzong, Huangfu Bo
Huangfu Bo
Huangfu Bo was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xianzong. He was viewed by traditional historians as a wicked official who pleased Emperor Xianzong by submitting revenues for Emperor Xianzong's personal use and who used...
: