Shi Wuzi (史務滋) (died January 2, 691兩千年中西曆轉換
/ref>) was a Chinese politician of the Chinese

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

and

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...

's Zhou Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor during Wu Zetian's reign. It is not known when Shi Wuzi was born, but it is known that he was from Liyang (溧陽, in modern

Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

). As of 690, when Wu Zetian had just taken over the throne from her son Emperor Ruizong, establishing Zhou and interrupting Tang, Shi was serving as the minister of vassal affairs (司賓卿, ''Sibin Qin''), when she promoted him to be ''Nayan'' (), the head of the examination bureau of government (鸞臺, ''Luantai'') -- a post considered one for a chancellor. She subsequently commissioned him and nine other officials to tour the 10 circuits that the empire was divided into. In 691, the assistant imperial censor Lai Zixun () falsely accused the official Liu Xinggan (), his brothers Liu Xingshi () and Liu Xingyu (), and nephew Liu Qiantong () of treason. Wu Zetian put Shi and her secret police official

Lai Junchen Lai Junchen ( Chinese: 來俊臣) (died April 28, 697) was a Chinese politician and writer. He was a well-known secret police official during the Chinese Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties, whose ability to interrogate and falsely implicate officials of ...

in charge of the investigations. Shi was friendly with Liu Xinggan and tried to find ways to absolve him and his family members, but could not, and Liu Xinggan and his brothers and nephew were all executed. Afterwards, Lai Junchen reported to Wu Zetian that Shi was trying to absolve the Lius. Wu Zetian ordered Lai Junchen to investigate Shi as well. Shi, in fear, committed suicide.

Notes and references

* '' Old Book of Tang'', vol. 9

* '' New Book of Tang'', vol. 11

* ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...

'', vol. 204. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shi, Wuzi 691 deaths Chancellors under Wu Zetian People from Liyang Politicians from Changzhou Suicides in China Year of birth unknown