Pei Mian (; died January 5, 770),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Zhangfu (章甫), formally the Duke of Ji (冀公), was a Chinese politician during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, serving as a

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

during the reigns of Emperor Suzong and Emperor Daizong. He was known for his faithfulness to Tang during the difficult times of

An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general office ...

, but was also looked down upon by historians for his material greed.

Background

It is not known when Pei Mian was born. He was from a prominent clan of Hedong (河東, in modern

Yuncheng Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

), which traced its ancestry to officials of

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

Jin Dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...

Former Yan The Former Yan (; 337–370) was a dynastic state ruled by the Xianbei during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin dynasty-created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, ...

Later Qin The Later Qin (; 384–417), also known as Yao Qin (), was a state ruled by the Qiang ethnicity of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin dynasty (266–420) in China. The Later Qin is entirely distinct from the Qin dynasty, the Former Qin and the We ...

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

, and

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. His grandfather Wei Zhi (韋陟) served as a military advisor to a prefectural prefect, and his father Wei Ji (韋紀) served as the secretary general for Chang'an County, one of the two counties making up the Tang capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

During Emperor Xuanzong's reign

Early in Emperor Xuanzong's ''Tianbao'' era (742–756), because of his ancestors' status as imperial officials, Pei Mian was made the sheriff of Weinan County (in modern

Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of Shan ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

), and he became known for his administrative abilities. When Wang Hong (王鉷) the chief imperial censor took on the additional post as the surveyor of the Chang'an region, he made Pei his assistant. Pei later served as an imperial censor, initially with the low rank of ''Jiancha Yushi'' (監察御史), then the higher rank of ''Dianzhong Shi Yushi'' (殿中侍御史). It was said that while Pei was not well-learned, he was diligent, responsible, and decisive, and Wang much depended on him. In 752, when Wang Hong was implicated in a coup plot of his brother Wang Han (王銲) and was forced to commit suicide, his several hundred subordinates did not dare to even approach Wang Hong's door, except for Pei, who personally took Wang Hong's body and buried it properly. He became renowned for this, and in 753,

Geshu Han Geshu Han () (died December 1, 757), formally Prince Wumin of Xiping (), was a general of Tang China who was of Turgesh extraction. He became a powerful general late in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and in 756 became responsible for defend ...

, the military governor (''

jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

'') of Hexi Circuit (河西, headquartered in modern

Wuwei, Gansu Wuwei () is a prefecture-level city in northwest central Gansu province. In the north it borders Inner Mongolia, in the southwest, Qinghai. Its central location between three western capitals, Lanzhou, Xining, and Yinchuan makes it an important bu ...

) invited him to serve as an officer below Geshu.

During Emperor Suzong's reign

In 755, the military governor

An Lushan An Lushan (; 20th day of the 1st month 19 February 703 – 29 January 757) was a general in the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion. An Lushan was of Sogdian and Göktürk origin,Yang, Zhijiu, "An Lushan ...

rebelled, and by 756 had established a new state of

Yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

. Further, Yan forces were approaching Chang'an, forcing Emperor Xuanzong to flee toward Shu Commandery (蜀郡, roughly modern

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

). Emperor Xuanzong's son,

Li Heng Emperor Suzong of Tang (''yihai'' day, 711 – 16 May 762; r. 756 – 762), 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 t ...

the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

, however, did not follow Emperor Xuanzong and instead headed toward the important military outpost

Lingwu Lingwu (, Xiao'erjing: لِئٍ‌وُ شِ) is a county-level city of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Southwest China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yinchuan. It is the most important industrial city of Ningxia. Li ...

. Meanwhile, Pei, who had received a recall to serve as deputy chief imperial censor (御史中丞, ''Yushi Zhongcheng''), encountered Li Heng at

Pingliang Pingliang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Gansu province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the south and east and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to the north. The city was established in 376 AD. It has a residential population of 2, ...

and accompanied Li Heng to Lingwu. Subsequently, at the urging of Pei and

Du Hongjian Du Hongjian () (709 – December 13, 769), courtesy name Zhisun (), formally Duke Wenxian of Wei (), was a Chinese Buddhist monk and politician during the Tang dynasty who served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Daizong. He was known, ...

, Li Heng declared himself emperor there (as Emperor Suzong)''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', vol. 218.—an act that Emperor Xuanzong would recognize when the news reached him later. Emperor Suzong made Pei ''Zhongshu Shilang'' (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government (中書省), and gave him the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事), making him a

''de facto''. It was said that Pei was faithful and diligent as chancellor, and received the support of the people. However, it was also said that he was not wise, and, believing that it was necessary to gather money for government use, advocated selling government offices for money, and also letting people become

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

monks and use them to gather more money. As a result, political honors became worthless. After Emperor Suzong, gradually advancing back toward Chang'an, moved to Fengxiang (鳳翔, in modern

Baoji () is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a population of 3,321,853 accordin ...

) in spring 757, Pei was made ''You Pushe'' (右僕射), one of the heads of the executive bureau (尚書省, ''Shangshu Sheng''), and no longer chancellor. In fall 757, when Tang and

Huige The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; otk, 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Toquz Oγuz budun, Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic empire that e ...

forces recaptured Chang'an, it was Pei that Emperor Suzong sent to Chang'an to comfort the people and to offer sacrifices to the imperial ancestral temple. Emperor Suzong created him the Duke of Ji. In 758, when Emperor Xuanzong gave his daughter Princess Ningguo in marriage to Huige's

Bayanchur Khan )''Heavenborn State Founding Wise Qaghan'', birth_name=Yàolúogě Mòyánchùo (藥羅葛磨延啜) Mo-yun Chur (磨延啜) (b. 713 - d.759) or Eletmish Bilge Qaghan was second qaghan of Uyghur Khaganate. His Tang dynasty invested title was Yingwu ...

, Pei was sent to escort Princess Ningguo to the border, although not to Huige headquarters. Pei was subsequently made the mayor of Chengdu Municipality and the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in Chengdu), although he was later recalled to again be ''You Pushe''. In 761, when the powerful

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

Li Fuguo Li Fuguo ( 李輔國; 704 – November 12, 762According to Tang Daizong's biography in the ''Old Book of Tang'', Li was killed at night on the ''dingmao'' day in the 10th month of the 1st year of the Baoying era of Tang Suzong's/Daizong's reign. ...

wanted to be chancellor, and Emperor Suzong, who by this point was fearful of Li Fuguo, refused on the basis that he did not have the support of the officials, Li Fuguo tried to persuade Pei to recommend him. Emperor Suzong told the chancellor Xiao Hua that if an important official (i.e., someone like Pei) recommended Li Fuguo, he would no longer have the excuse to refuse Li Fuguo's request. When Xiao subsequently discussed this with Pei, Pei's response was: Subsequently, Li Fuguo was not able to be chancellor while Emperor Suzong was alive, much to Li Fuguo's resentment.

During Emperor Daizong's reign

In 762, Emperor Suzong died. After a power struggle between Emperor Suzong's wife Empress Zhang and Li Fuguo, Li Fuguo prevailed and killed Empress Zhang, and subsequently supported Emperor Suzong's crown prince Li Yu as emperor (as Emperor Daizong). Meanwhile, Pei Mian was put in charge of building an imperial tomb for Emperor Suzong, and, in order to ingratiate Li Fuguo, made Li Fuguo's close associate Liu Xuan (劉烜) his assistant. After Li Fuguo was removed in 762, Pei had disagreements with the newly powerful eunuch

Cheng Yuanzhen Cheng Yuanzhen (程元振) (died 764?) was a Chinese eunuch, military general, and politician during the Tang Dynasty. He was exceedingly powerful early in the reign of Emperor Daizong and was said to, in his attempts to consolidate his power, hav ...

, and thus was demoted to be the prefect of Shi Prefecture (施州, roughly modern

Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture () is located in the mountainous southwestern corner of Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It forms Hubei's southwestern "panhandle", bordering on Hunan in the south and Chongqing Municipality i ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

). Several months later, he was moved to be the prefect of Li Prefecture (澧州, roughly

Changde Changde ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi City, Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

), and eventually was recalled to be ''Zuo Puye'' (左僕射), the other head of the executive bureau. By 769, the chancellor

Yuan Zai Yuan Zai (元載) (713 – May 10, 777), courtesy name Gongfu (公輔), formally Duke Huang of Yingchuan (潁川荒公) and then Duke Chengzong of Yingchuan (潁川成縱公), Duke Zhong of Yingchuan (潁川忠公), was a Chinese economist, histori ...

was the most powerful figure at court. Yuan was grateful to Pei for having recommended him in the past, and therefore, when Du Hongjian, who was then chancellor, died that year, Yuan recommended Pei to again be chancellor both to repay Yuan and to further control the government in light of Pei's old age and illness. When Pei was receiving his commission as chancellor, pursuant to customs, he was dancing to show gratefulness to the emperor, but as he danced, he fell to the ground, and Yuan had to help him up and to give thanks on his behalf. Pei died around the new year 770 and was posthumously honored. Emperor Daizong further had an award of silk and grain sent to his family. However, no

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

was recorded for him. It was said that Pei, despite his faithfulness, was also known for wastefulness, spending much resources on his wagons, his clothes, his food, and his horses. He invented a form of headdress that was imitated by others and which became known as ''Puye Form'' (僕射樣). When he succeeded Du as chancellor, his subordinate reported to him the amount of additional salary he would be earning, and he was pleased with the earning, drawing scorn from those who saw him.

Notes and references

* ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

'', vol.

113 113 may refer to: *113 (number), a natural number *AD 113, a year * 113 BC, a year *113 (band), a French hip hop group * 113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route * 113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run ...

. * ''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

'', vol.

140 140 may refer to: * 140 (number), an integer * AD 140, a year of the Julian calendar * 140 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * ''140'' (video game), a 2013 platform game * Tin King stop Tin King () is an at-grade MTR Light Rail stop ...

. * ''

'', vols. 216,

218 Year 218 (Roman numerals, CCXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Adventus (or, less frequently, year ...

219 __NOTOC__ Year 219 ( CCXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Sacerdos (or, less frequently, year 972 '' ...

, 220,

222 __NOTOC__ Year 222 ( CCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antoninus and Severus (or, less frequently, ye ...

, 223, 224. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pei, Mian 770 deaths Year of birth unknown Chancellors under Emperor Suzong of Tang Chancellors under Emperor Daizong of Tang Pei clan of Hedong Tang dynasty jiedushi of Xichuan Circuit