Wei Baoheng (韋保衡) (died 873),

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 ...

Yunyong (蘊用), was an official of the Chinese

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 ...

. He became extremely powerful late in the reign of his father-in-law Emperor Yizong, rising to the post of

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 ...

and becoming the most powerful official at court, but after Emperor Yizong's death was accused of crimes, exiled, and forced to commit suicide.

Background

It is not known when Wei Baoheng was born. He was a member of the prominent Wei clan of Jingzhao (京兆, i.e., the region of the

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 ...

), in the branch that was known as the Duke of Pingqi Branch—named after one of his ancestors, Wei Tian (韋瑱), who carried the title of Duke of Pingqi during

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

. Wei Baoheng's ancestors traced their male-line ancestry through a line of 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'' <

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 ...

, Northern Zhou,

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

, and Tang. His grandfather Wei Yuanzhen (韋元貞) was not listed with any official titles,''

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. 7

http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a17/table/form76.htm] although both Wei Yuanzhen and Wei Baoheng's father Wei Que (韋愨) were said to have passed the

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 ...

s in the ''Jinshi'' class,''

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. 177. and Wei Que served in the imperial government, eventually serving as 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 Wuchang Circuit (武昌, headquartered in modern

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

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 ...

). According to the table of the chancellors' family tree in the ''

'', Wei Baoheng had at least one older brother, Wei Delin (韋德鄰), and at least five younger brothers, Wei Baoyin (韋保殷), Wei Shensi (韋慎思), Wei Baofan (韋保範), Wei Bao'ai (韋保乂), and Wei Baohe (韋保合), each of whom would eventually serve as an official.

During Emperor Yizong's reign

In 864, during the reign of Emperor Yizong, Wei Baoheng passed the imperial examinations in the ''Jinshi'' class. In 869, by which time Wei was ''You Shiyi'' (右拾遺), a low-level advisory official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''), Emperor Yizong gave Wei his favorite daughter, Princess Tongchang (born of Consort Guo), in marriage, and gave them a large mansion at Guangde Block (廣德里) in Chang'an as their house. It was said that Emperor Yizong spared no treasure in the palace in giving Princess Tongchang her dowry:''

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. 251. Wei subsequently was promoted to be ''Zuo Jianyi Daifu'' (左諫議大夫), a high-level advisory official at the examination bureau (門下省, ''Menxia Sheng''), as well as imperial scholar (翰林學士, ''Hanlin Xueshi''). In 870, he teamed with the

Lu Yan Lu Yan (路巖) (829–874), courtesy name Luzhan (魯瞻), was an official of the Tang dynasty of China, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Yizong. Background and early career Lu Yan was born in 829, during the reign of Emp ...

in making accusations against the general

Kang Chengxun Kang Chengxun () (808?-873?Kang Chengxun's biography in the '' New Book of Tang'' indicated that he died at the age of 65 and implied — but did not clearly state — that it was shortly after the death of Emperor Yizong, which was in 873. See '' ...

, who had just suppressed a major rebellion led by

Pang Xun Pang Xun (龐勛) (died October 14, 869 Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 251.) was the leader of a major rebellion, by soldiers from Xu Prefecture (徐州, in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu), against the rule of ...

, and Kang was exiled. Later in the year, by which time Wei was carrying the titles of deputy minister of defense (兵部侍郎, ''Bingbu Shilang'') and chief imperial scholar (翰林學士承旨, ''Hanlin Xueshi Chengzhi''), Wei was further given the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事), making him a chancellor ''de facto''.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 252. Because of Wei's marriage with Princess Tongchang, he was allowed to enter the palace at will and often feasted with Consort Guo, leading to rumors that he was having an affair with Consort Guo.''New Book of Tang'', vol. 77. In fall 870, Princess Tongchang died. Emperor Yizong was greatly saddened and angered. He executed a group of imperial physicians who failed to save her, and further arrested some 300 of their relatives, despite intercessions by the chancellor

Liu Zhan Liu Zhan (劉瞻) (died September 29, 874Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 252.), courtesy name Jizhi (幾之), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of ...

and the mayor of Jingzhao, Wen Zhang (溫璋). For their attempts to intercede, Liu was demoted, and Wen, hearing this, committed suicide. Lu and Wei then further falsely accused Liu of conspiring with the physicians to poison Princess Tongchang, and Liu was exiled to the extremely remote Huan Prefecture (驩州, in modern Nghệ An Province,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

). Despite Princess Tongchang's death, Wei's power did not wane, and he eventually came into conflict with Lu. He therefore spoke against Lu before Emperor Yizong, and Lu was removed from his chancellor position in 871. Similarly removed were fellow chancellors

Yu Cong Yu Cong (于琮) (died 881), courtesy name Liyong (禮用), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of his brother-in-law Emperor Yizong. After the agrarian rebel Huang Chao captured the imp ...

(in 872) and

Wang Duo Wang Duo () (died 884), courtesy name Zhaofan (), formally the Duke of Jin (), was a Chinese politician of the medieval Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Yizong and Emperor Yizong's son Emperor Xizong. After th ...

(in 873), both of whom had slighted Wei. A group of officials accused of being friendly with Yu were demoted, including

Xiao Gou Xiao Gou () (died April 6, 887Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''New Book of Tang''vol. 63.), courtesy name Desheng (得聖), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of the Emperor X ...

. (Wei's actions against Wang and Xiao were considered highly contrary to the general rules of officials' friendship at the time, as Wang was the examiner when Wei submitted himself for imperial examinations, and Xiao passed the imperial examinations in the same year as Wei.)

During Emperor Xizong's reign

Emperor Yizong died in 873 and was succeeded by his son Emperor Xizong. Pursuant to Emperor Yizong's final edict, Wei Baoheng served as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

during the period of mourning that Emperor Xizong held. However, his enemies were soon on to him, and because of their accusations, by fall 873, he was demoted to be the prefect of He Prefecture (賀州, in modern

Hezhou Hezhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Geography and climate Hezhou is located in northeastern Guangxi. It borders Hunan to the north and Guangdong to the east. ...

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

), and then further demoted to be the magistrate of Chengmai County (澄邁, in modern

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the Ha ...

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

). He was then ordered to commit suicide, and his brother Wei Bao'ai was then also exiled.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 177. * ''

'', vol. 184. * ''

'', vols. 251, 252. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wei, Baoheng 9th-century births 873 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Yizong of Tang Chancellors under Emperor Xizong of Tang Regents of China