Wei Zhiyi
Encyclopedia
Wei Zhiyi was an official of the Chinese
dynasty Tang Dynasty
, serving briefly as chancellor in 805
, during the brief reign of Emperor Shunzong
and then briefly into the reign of Emperor Shunzong's son Emperor Xianzong
. He came to power due to his association with Emperor Shunzong's close associate Wang Shuwen
but later broke with Wang; he was nevertheless exiled once Emperor Xianzong became emperor due to his prior association with Wang and died in exile.
capital Chang'an
). HIs family traced its ancestry to a line of officials of Han Dynasty
, Northern Zhou
, and Tang Dynasty. HIs grandfather Wei Zhongchang (韋仲昌) served as a deputy mayor of Jingzhao, and his father Wei Mei (韋浼) served as a prefectural prefect. Wei Zhiyi himself was said to be handsome and talented in his youth.
, Wei Zhiyi passed the imperial examination
s and was particularly rated highly in the matter of offering strategies. He was made You Shiyi (右拾遺), a low-level consultant at the examination bureau (門下省, Menxia Sheng), and was subsequently made an imperial scholar (翰林學士, Hanlin Xueshi). At that time, he was in his 20s, and he was particularly favored by Emperor Dezong, who favored his writing; they often wrote poems that responded to each other. He became a part of a group of officials who were favored by Emperor Dezong — Pei Yanling
, Li Qiyun (李齊運), Wang Shao (王紹), Li Shi (李實), Wei Qumou (韋渠牟), and Wei Zhiyi himself and had easy access to the palace.
On one occasion, on Emperor Dezong's birth, Emperor Dezong's son and crown prince
Li Song
offered a Buddharupa
as a birthday gift to Emperor Dezong. Emperor Dezong had Wei Zhiyi write a text praising the statue, and under Emperor Dezong's direction, Li Song in turn gave Wei a gift of linen. When Wei went to the Crown Prince's palace to thank him, Li Song introduced him to a close associate, Wang Shuwen
. Thereafter, Wei and Wang became friends. Later, Wei's mother died and he left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her. After the mourning period was over, he returned to government service to serve as a supervisorial official.
In 803
, there was an occasion when an official, Zhang Zhengyi (張正一) had offered suggestions to Emperor Dezong and received an audience with the emperor. Several of his colleagues visited him to congratulate him on this showing of imperial favor. Someone, however, informed Wei that Zhang was criticizing his association with Wang. Wei believed the informant and accused Zhang and his colleagues of partisanship. When Emperor Dezong sent an imperial guard to spy on Zhang and his colleagues, the guard saw that Zhang and his colleagues were feasting beyond their usual proper diet. As a result, Emperor Dezong exiled them, but at that time, no public reason was stated.
, Emperor Dezong died, and Li Song succeeded him (as Emperor Shunzong). At that time, Li Song was seriously ill, and a group of his close associates, headed by Wang Shuwen and Wang Pi
, in association with his concubine Consort Niu
and the eunuch Li Zhongyan (李忠言), became very powerful. Wang Shuwen, in order that his reform policies could be carried out, recommended Wei as chancellor. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Shunzong made Wei, who was then Libu Langzhong (吏部郎中), a supervisorial official at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, Libu), was promoted to be Shangshu Zuo Cheng (尚書左丞), one of the secretaries general of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng) and given the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), making him a chancellor. It was said that when there important decisions to be made, they would be given to Wang Shuwen to be decided at the office of the imperial scholars (翰林院, Hanlin Yuan) and then given to Wei to be executed. On an occasion, when the chancellors, as per custom, were having lunch together, Wang wanted to see Wei and went to the office of the chancellors to do so. When a guard refused to let Wang in, Wang rebuked the guard and ordered him away. Wei rose from his seat and walked away to confer with Wang. Wei's colleagues Zheng Xunyu
, Du You
, and Gao Ying
stopped dining and waited for Wei to return. After a while, they sent the guard to see what the situation was, and the guard stated, "Wang Shuwen had requested food, and Chancellor Wei is dining with him." Neither Du nor Gao dared to say anything, but Zheng stated, "How can I remain here still?" He had his attendants fetch horses, and he went home and refused to return to office.
Meanwhile, as a result of Wei's rise to power, his father-in-law Du Huangshang
, who had been trapped in positions with few actual powers, was made the minister of worship. On one occasion, Du Huangshang suggested that Wei lead some other officials in suggesting that Emperor Shunzong make his crown prince Li Chun
regent
. Wei refused, as his and Wang Shuwen's partisans at the time were apprehensive of Li Chun.
Around this time, however, Wei and Wang began to break with each other, as Wei wanted not to be seen as a puppet of Wang's. For example, when Yang Shi'e (羊士諤), a messenger from Xuanshe Circuit (宣歙, headquartered in modern Xuancheng
, Anhui
), and Liu Pi
, a messenger from Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu
, Sichuan
), made demands on behalf of their superiors, Wang angrily wanted to execute both of them, but Wei opposed, and Yang was only exiled, while Liu fled back to Xichuan. Wei further threw himself off Wang's policies when Wang had to leave governmental service to observe a mourning period for his mother in summer 805. With several important eunuchs (including Ju Wenzhen (俱文珍) and Liu Guangqi (劉光琦), in addition to Li Zhongyan) then in control of the very ill Emperor Shunzong, Wang Shuwen's party lost power quickly. Soon thereafter, Emperor Shunzong passed the throne to Li Chun, who took the throne as Emperor Xianzong, and thereafter, all associates of Wang Shuwen's were purged, and Wang Shuwen himself was soon thereafter ordered to commit suicide.
Wei remained as chancellor for some time, and in fall 805, as the official in charge of editing the imperial history, had his subordinates draft a new calendar. By this point, though, he was constantly in fear of being exiled. Emperor Xianzong, who made Du Huangshang chancellor, did not immediately carry out any actions against Wei on Du's account, but in winter 805 demoted him to be the military advisor to the prefect of Yai Prefecture (崖州, in modern Sanya
, Hainan
). Wei died there of natural causes — as while Du was unable to save him from exile, Du made certain that he was not prosecuted further. After Wei's death, Du requested Emperor Xianzong to allow his casket to be returned, and Du gave him a proper burial.
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...
, serving briefly as chancellor in 805
805
Year 805 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Byzantine Empire :* Emperor Nicephorus I of Byzantium suffers a major defeat against the Saracens at Crasus.- Asia :...
, during the brief reign of Emperor Shunzong
Emperor Shunzong of Tang
Emperor Shunzong of Tang , personal name Li Song , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was created crown prince in 779 and became emperor in 805 after the death of his father Emperor Dezong, of whom he was the oldest son...
and then briefly into the reign of Emperor Shunzong's son 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...
. He came to power due to his association with Emperor Shunzong's close associate Wang Shuwen
Wang Shuwen
Wang Shuwen was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was a close associate of Emperor Shunzong while Li Song was crown prince under his father Emperor Dezong, and was powerful during Emperor Shunzong's brief reign in 805, when Emperor Shunzong was severely ill...
but later broke with Wang; he was nevertheless exiled once Emperor Xianzong became emperor due to his prior association with Wang and died in exile.
Background
It is not known when Wei Zhiyi was born, but it is known that his family was from Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the region of the 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...
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...
). HIs family traced its ancestry to a line of officials of Han Dynasty
Han 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...
, Northern Zhou
Northern Zhou
The Northern Zhou Dynasty followed the Western Wei, and ruled northern China from 557 to 581. It was overthrown by the Sui Dynasty.Northern Zhou's basis of power was established by Yuwen Tai, who was paramount general of Western Wei, following the split of Northern Wei into Western Wei and...
, and Tang Dynasty. HIs grandfather Wei Zhongchang (韋仲昌) served as a deputy mayor of Jingzhao, and his father Wei Mei (韋浼) served as a prefectural prefect. Wei Zhiyi himself was said to be handsome and talented in his youth.
During Emperor Dezong's reign
During the reign of Emperor DezongEmperor 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...
, Wei Zhiyi passed 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 and was particularly rated highly in the matter of offering strategies. He was made You Shiyi (右拾遺), a low-level consultant at the examination bureau (門下省, Menxia Sheng), and was subsequently made an imperial scholar (翰林學士, Hanlin Xueshi). At that time, he was in his 20s, and he was particularly favored by Emperor Dezong, who favored his writing; they often wrote poems that responded to each other. He became a part of a group of officials who were favored by Emperor Dezong — Pei Yanling
Pei Yanling
Pei Yanling was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was a close associate of Emperor Dezong and was in charge of financial matters...
, Li Qiyun (李齊運), Wang Shao (王紹), Li Shi (李實), Wei Qumou (韋渠牟), and Wei Zhiyi himself and had easy access to the palace.
On one occasion, on Emperor Dezong's birth, Emperor Dezong's son and 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....
Li Song
Emperor Shunzong of Tang
Emperor Shunzong of Tang , personal name Li Song , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was created crown prince in 779 and became emperor in 805 after the death of his father Emperor Dezong, of whom he was the oldest son...
offered a Buddharupa
Buddharupa
Buddharūpa is the Sanskrit and Pali term used in Buddhism for statues or models of the Buddha.-Commonalities:...
as a birthday gift to Emperor Dezong. Emperor Dezong had Wei Zhiyi write a text praising the statue, and under Emperor Dezong's direction, Li Song in turn gave Wei a gift of linen. When Wei went to the Crown Prince's palace to thank him, Li Song introduced him to a close associate, Wang Shuwen
Wang Shuwen
Wang Shuwen was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was a close associate of Emperor Shunzong while Li Song was crown prince under his father Emperor Dezong, and was powerful during Emperor Shunzong's brief reign in 805, when Emperor Shunzong was severely ill...
. Thereafter, Wei and Wang became friends. Later, Wei's mother died and he left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her. After the mourning period was over, he returned to government service to serve as a supervisorial official.
In 803
803
Year 803 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Nicephorus I of the Byzantine Empire and Charlemagne of the Holy Roman Empire settle their imperial boundaries and sign Pax Nicephori.* Venice is recognized as independent by the Byzantine Empire.* Stiftskeller St...
, there was an occasion when an official, Zhang Zhengyi (張正一) had offered suggestions to Emperor Dezong and received an audience with the emperor. Several of his colleagues visited him to congratulate him on this showing of imperial favor. Someone, however, informed Wei that Zhang was criticizing his association with Wang. Wei believed the informant and accused Zhang and his colleagues of partisanship. When Emperor Dezong sent an imperial guard to spy on Zhang and his colleagues, the guard saw that Zhang and his colleagues were feasting beyond their usual proper diet. As a result, Emperor Dezong exiled them, but at that time, no public reason was stated.
During Emperor Shunzong's and Emperor Xianzong's reigns
In spring 805805
Year 805 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Byzantine Empire :* Emperor Nicephorus I of Byzantium suffers a major defeat against the Saracens at Crasus.- Asia :...
, Emperor Dezong died, and Li Song succeeded him (as Emperor Shunzong). At that time, Li Song was seriously ill, and a group of his close associates, headed by Wang Shuwen and Wang Pi
Wang Pi
Wang Pi was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, who was a close associate of Emperor Shunzong . He, along with his ally Wang Shuwen, was powerful during Emperor Shunzong's brief reign in 805, but soon lost power and died in exile.- Background and service under Li Song as Crown Prince :It is...
, in association with his concubine Consort Niu
Consort Niu
Consort Niu, imperial consort rank Zhaorong was an imperial consort of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty...
and the eunuch Li Zhongyan (李忠言), became very powerful. Wang Shuwen, in order that his reform policies could be carried out, recommended Wei as chancellor. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Shunzong made Wei, who was then Libu Langzhong (吏部郎中), a supervisorial official at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, Libu), was promoted to be Shangshu Zuo Cheng (尚書左丞), one of the secretaries general of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng) and given the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), making him a chancellor. It was said that when there important decisions to be made, they would be given to Wang Shuwen to be decided at the office of the imperial scholars (翰林院, Hanlin Yuan) and then given to Wei to be executed. On an occasion, when the chancellors, as per custom, were having lunch together, Wang wanted to see Wei and went to the office of the chancellors to do so. When a guard refused to let Wang in, Wang rebuked the guard and ordered him away. Wei rose from his seat and walked away to confer with Wang. Wei's colleagues Zheng Xunyu
Zheng Xunyu
Zheng Xunyu , courtesy name Yuanbo , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Dezong and Emperor Shunzong.- Background :...
, Du You
Du You
Du You , courtesy name Junqing , formally Duke Anjian of Qi , was a Chinese scholar, historian and chancellor of the Tang Dynasty, who devoted thirty-six years to the compilation of the Tongdian, a historical encyclopedia with 200 sections , a collection of laws, regulations, and general events...
, and Gao Ying
Gao Ying
Gao Ying , courtesy name Gongchu , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Dezong and Emperor Shunzong.- Background :...
stopped dining and waited for Wei to return. After a while, they sent the guard to see what the situation was, and the guard stated, "Wang Shuwen had requested food, and Chancellor Wei is dining with him." Neither Du nor Gao dared to say anything, but Zheng stated, "How can I remain here still?" He had his attendants fetch horses, and he went home and refused to return to office.
Meanwhile, as a result of Wei's rise to power, his father-in-law Du Huangshang
Du Huangshang
Du Huangshang , courtesy name Zunsu , formally Duke Xuan of Bin or Duke Xuanxian of Bin , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Shunzong and Emperor Xianzong...
, who had been trapped in positions with few actual powers, was made the minister of worship. On one occasion, Du Huangshang suggested that Wei lead some other officials in suggesting that Emperor Shunzong make his crown prince Li Chun
Emperor Xianzong of Tang
Emperor Xianzong of Tang , personal name Li Chun , né Li Chun , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty...
regent
Regent
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...
. Wei refused, as his and Wang Shuwen's partisans at the time were apprehensive of Li Chun.
Around this time, however, Wei and Wang began to break with each other, as Wei wanted not to be seen as a puppet of Wang's. For example, when Yang Shi'e (羊士諤), a messenger from Xuanshe Circuit (宣歙, headquartered in modern Xuancheng
Xuancheng
Xuancheng is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province of Eastern China. It borders Wuhu to the northwest, Chizhou to the west, Huangshan to the southwest, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu to the southeast and northeast respectively....
, Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
), and Liu Pi
Liu Pi
Liu Pi was a Yellow Turban rebel general during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history.-Biography:After the decline of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Liu Pi's men allied themselves with Yuan Shu and Sun Jian in the early 190s. His party thrived in the Yingchuan and Runan region, and by the...
, a messenger from Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
, Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
), made demands on behalf of their superiors, Wang angrily wanted to execute both of them, but Wei opposed, and Yang was only exiled, while Liu fled back to Xichuan. Wei further threw himself off Wang's policies when Wang had to leave governmental service to observe a mourning period for his mother in summer 805. With several important eunuchs (including Ju Wenzhen (俱文珍) and Liu Guangqi (劉光琦), in addition to Li Zhongyan) then in control of the very ill Emperor Shunzong, Wang Shuwen's party lost power quickly. Soon thereafter, Emperor Shunzong passed the throne to Li Chun, who took the throne as Emperor Xianzong, and thereafter, all associates of Wang Shuwen's were purged, and Wang Shuwen himself was soon thereafter ordered to commit suicide.
Wei remained as chancellor for some time, and in fall 805, as the official in charge of editing the imperial history, had his subordinates draft a new calendar. By this point, though, he was constantly in fear of being exiled. Emperor Xianzong, who made Du Huangshang chancellor, did not immediately carry out any actions against Wei on Du's account, but in winter 805 demoted him to be the military advisor to the prefect of Yai Prefecture (崖州, in modern Sanya
Sanya
Sanya is the southernmost city in China and is a part of Hainan Province. In 2006, it had a population of 536,000, making it, after the provincial capital , the second most populous city on the island. The city is renowned for its tropical climate and has emerged as a popular tourist destination,...
, 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...
). Wei died there of natural causes — as while Du was unable to save him from exile, Du made certain that he was not prosecuted further. After Wei's death, Du requested Emperor Xianzong to allow his casket to be returned, and Du gave him a proper burial.