Wang Zeng ( 978 – 21 December 1038,

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 Theob ...

Xiaoxian) was a

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

scholar-official The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

who served as

grand councilor The grand chancellor (''zaixiang, tsai-hsiang''), also translated as counselor-in-chief, chancellor, chief councillor, chief minister, imperial chancellor, lieutenant chancellor and prime minister, was the highest-ranking executive official in th ...

during Emperor Renzong's early reign, first between 1022 and 1029, and later between 1035 and 1037. Wang was widely respected for his honesty and fairness, and people even set up shrines with his portrait when he was alive. Politically, Wang was a major opponent of Ding Wei and held Empress Dowager Liu's imperial ambitions in check.

During Emperor Zhenzong's reign

Orphaned at a young age, Wang Zeng was raised by his paternal uncle. In

Emperor Zhenzong Emperor Zhenzong of Song (23 December 968 – 23 March 1022), personal name Zhao Heng, was the third emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 997 to his death in 1022. His personal name was originally Zhao Dechang, but was change ...

's early reign, Wang Zeng scored first in the provincial examination, and

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

in the subsequent

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

. Wang's first assignment was in Ji Prefecture, not far from his hometown, where he served as prefectural supervisor. Returning to the national capital

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the No ...

, Wang interviewed at the Institute of Academicians, where he impressed the

Kou Zhun Kou Zhun ( 961 – 24 October 1023), courtesy name Pingzhong, was a much-praised official in ancient China's Northern Song Dynasty. He was the chancellor from 1004 to 1006 during Emperor Zhenzong's reign. Biography Kou Zhun became a ''jinshi'' ...

, who recommended him to interview at the Administration Chamber. Wang was subsequently appointed concurrent posts in the

Palace Library The Palace Library (; in Vietnam: 秘書所, ''Bí thư sở'') was a central government agency in monarchical China, Korea, and Vietnam generally in charge of maintaining and archiving the collection of the monarch's documents. China The off ...

(as editorial director),

Historiography Institute Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...

, and State Finance Commission (as an assistant).

During Emperor Renzong's reign

Notes and references

* 970s births 1038 deaths People from Qingzhou Song dynasty chancellors Politicians from Weifang {{China-hist-stub