Wei Jiansu (韋見素) (687–763),

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 ...

Huiwei (會微), formally Duke Zhongzhen of Bin (豳忠貞公), was a Chinese politician who served 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 Xuanzong of Tang Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the early ...

and his son Emperor Suzong. As a young man, Wei served as a military aide to Emperor Xuanzong's father, the future Emperor Ruizong, then the Prince of Dan. He later served in various regional postings and senior offices at the Tang court in

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 ...

, and though his conduct met with approbation, in the later stages of his career he was considered controllable. This, as well as his early connection to Emperor Ruizong, allowed the leading chancellor

Yang Guozhong Yang Guozhong () (died July 15, 756Volume 218 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Yang was killed on the ''bingshen'' day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Zhide era of Tang Suzong's reign. This date corresponds to 15 Jul 756 on the Gregori ...

to install Wei as chancellor and director of the examination bureau late in Emperor Xuanzong's reign. During the chaos of the

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 ...

, Wei accompanied Emperor Xuanzong and Yang in their flight from Chang'an and was severely injured when the imperial guard massacred Yang and his family. Subsequently, after Emperor Suzong claimed imperial title and Emperor Xuanzong abdicated, Wei initially retained his chancellorship but was subsequently shifted to positions of less responsibility. He eventually left office altogether and died in retirement in 763.

Background

Wei Jiansu was born in 687, during the first reign of Emperor Ruizong. His family was from 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 ...

capital

, and traced its ancestry to a line of officials of the

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 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 ...

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. Wei JIansu's grandfather Wei Fu () served as a prefectural prefect, and his father Wei Cou () served as an official during the reigns of Emperor Ruizong's father Emperor Gaozong, mother

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 ...

, brother Emperor Zhongzong, Emperor Ruizong himself, and Emperor Ruizong's son Emperor Xuanzong, being known for his honesty and bluntness. Wei JIansu himself 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, and during ''Jinglong'' era of Emperor Zhongzong (707-710), he served as a military officer at the mansion of Emperor Ruizong, who was then the Prince of Dan. He later served as a guard commander, and then the officer in charge of storage at Henan Municipality (河南府, encompassing the eastern capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

During Emperor Xuanzong's reign

Wei Cou died during Emperor Xuanzong's ''Kaiyuan'' era (713–741), and Wei Jiansu left public service to observe a mourning period. Once the mourning period was over, he became the secretary general of the supreme court (大理寺丞, ''Dali Sicheng''), and inherited his father's title of Duke of Pengcheng. At one point, he was accused of an offense lost in history and was demoted to be the military advisor to the prefect of Fang Prefecture (坊州, in modern

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an ...

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 ...

). He was subsequently recalled to be a low level official at the ministry of treasury and given the honorific title ''Chaosan Daifu'' (). He then served at the ministry of defense, before he became ''Jianyi Daifu'' (), a consultant at either the legislative bureau (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng'') or the examination bureau (門下省, ''Menxia Sheng''). In 746, Wei was made the examiner of the

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

, Shannan (山南, i.e., modern northern

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 ...

Qianzhong Qianzhong Commandery () was a historical commandery of the state of Chu during the Warring States period (481 BC - 221 BC). It was mentioned in the section ''Biography of Su Qin'' () of Sima Qian's ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or '' Strategi ...

(黔中, i.e., modern

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

and western

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

Lingnan Lingnan (; Vietnamese: Lĩnh Nam) is a geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains. The region covers the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as modern northe ...

regions, to tour the regions to examine the customs of the regions and find officials to promote or demote. It was said that wherever he went, he was stern, and the officials were also led into being stern. Upon his return to Chang'an, he was made ''Jishizhong'' (), an imperial attendant. He subsequently served as acting deputy minister of public works (工部侍郎, ''Gongbu Shilang''), and then ''Shangshu You Cheng'' (), one of the secretaries general at the executive bureau (尚書省, ''Shangshu Sheng''). In 750, he was made the deputy minister of civil service affairs (吏部侍郎, ''Libu Shilang'') and given the honorific title ''Yinqing Guanglu Daifu'' (). It was said that Wei was kind and forgiving, and that he was fair in selecting officials while serving as the deputy minister of civil service affairs. Meanwhile, at this time, the

and

Chen Xilie Chén Xīliè () (died February 11, 758) was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. During the An Shi Rebellion, he surrendered to An Lushan and served as chancellor of An's state ...

were not on good relations, and Emperor Xuanzong did not find Chen to be an appropriate chancellor. In 754, Chen thus resigned, and initially, Emperor Xuanzong wanted to replace him with Ji Wen (). Yang opposed, because Ji was then aligned with

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 ...

, with whom Yang also had a rivalry. Yang consulted the officials Bao Hua () and Song Yu (), both of whom told Yang that Wei was elegant but easy to control. Yang thus recommended Wei, and Emperor Xuanzong, remembering Wei's service to Emperor Ruizong while Emperor Ruizong was the Prince of Dan, agreed. In fall 754, Emperor Xuanzong thus made Wei the minister of defense (武部尚書, ''Wubu Shangshu'') with the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (), making him a chancellor ''de facto''. He also made Wei an imperial scholar at Jixian Institute () and put him in charge of the examination bureau. It was said that because Yang recommended Wei, Wei followed his directions, and that he did nothing to moderate the growing conflict between Yang and An, eventually leading to An's

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

in 755. In 756, after An's forward forces defeated and captured the Tang general

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 ...

Tong Pass Tongguan or Tong Pass, was a former mountain pass and fortress located south of the confluence of the Wei and Yellow Rivers, in today's Tongguan County, Shaanxi, China. It was an important chokepoint, protecting Xi'an and the surrounding Guanzho ...

, Emperor Xuanzong, under Yang's advice, decided to abandon Chang'an and flee to Jiannan Circuit (劍南, headquartered in 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 ...

). On July 13, the imperial train, without announcing to the people of Chang'an, left Chang'an, with Emperor Xuanzong attended to by the imperial clan members, Yang, Wei Jiansu, the official Wei Fangjin (), the general Chen Xuanli (), and eunuchs and

ladies in waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

close to the emperor. On July 15, Emperor Xuanzong's train reached Mawei Station (馬嵬驛, in modern

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...

). The imperial guards were not fed and were angry at Yang Guozhong. Chen also believed that Yang Guozhong provoked this disaster and planned to carry him—and reported his plans to Li Heng through Li Heng's eunuch

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 ...

, but Li Heng was hesitated and gave no approval. Meanwhile, though, Tufan emissaries, who followed Emperor Xuanzong south, were meeting with Yang Guozhong and complaining that they were also not fed. The imperial guard soldiers took this opportunity to proclaim that Yang Guozhong was planning treason along with the Tufan emissaries, and they killed him, along with his son Yang Xuan (), the Ladies of Han and Qin, and Wei Fangjin. Wei Jiansu was also nearly killed, but was spared at the last moment with severe injuries. The soldiers then surrounded Emperor Xuanzong's pavilion, and refused to scatter even after Emperor Xuanzong came out to comfort them and order them to scatter. Chen publicly urged him to put Emperor Xuanzong's favorite

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

and Yang Guozhong's cousin Consort Yang Yuhuan to death—which Emperor Xuanzong initially declined. After Wei Jiansu's son Wei E () and Gao Lishi spoke further, Emperor Xuanzong finally resolved to do so. He therefore had Gao take Consort Yang to a Buddhist shrine and strangle her there. Emperor Xuanzong had Li Mao () the Prince of Shou visit Wei Jiansu and give him medication. After the Yangs' death, Wei Jiansu was the only remaining high-level official in the imperial train, and the remaining generals had differences in opinion about what to do next—with many not wanting to proceed further to Jiannan because Yang was 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 Jiannan, and therefore they saw Jiannan as a potential trap. There were therefore various suggestions: to flee to Hexi (河西, headquartered in modern Wuwei,

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

) and Longyou (隴右, headquartered in modern

Haidong Prefecture Haidong (; Wylie: Haitung) is a prefecture-level city of Qinghai province in Western China. Its name literally means "east of the (Qinghai) Lake." On 8 February 2013 Haidong was upgraded from a prefecture () into a prefecture-level city. Haido ...

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

) Circuits; to flee to

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 ...

; to flee to

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

; and to return to Chang'an. Emperor Xuanzong was intent on still going to Jiannan, but did not dare to offend the soldiers. At Wei E's suggestion, he proceeded to Fufeng (扶風, 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 ...

), leaving

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 ...

behind as rear guard—but Li Heng was subsequently detained by the soldiers, who believed that a counterattack should be launched, and eventually departed from Emperor Xuanzong and proceeded to Lingwu. After Li Heng's departure, Emperor Xuanzong continued his trek south, but the soldiers were unhappy, some going as far as cursing the emperor. Fortuitously, though, a large cache of silk that Shu Commandery (蜀郡, roughly modern Chengdu) arrived. Emperor Xuanzong declared to the soldiers that it was his fault that a rebellion occurred, and that the soldiers should take the silk and then return home and let just the imperial train go to Shu Commandery. The soldiers were touched, and no longer considered rebelling against the emperor. In fall 756, after Emperor Xuanzong reached Baxi Commandery (巴西, roughly modern

Mianyang Mianyang (; formerly known as Mienchow) is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Located in north-central Sichuan covering an area of consisting of Jiangyou, a county-level city, five counties, and thre ...

), he made Wei, in addition to being the minister of defense, ''Zuo Xiang'' () -- the head of the examination bureau and a post considered one for a chancellor. When they reached Shu Commandery, Emperor Xuanzong further created him the Duke of Bin and gave him the honorific title ''Jinzi Guanglu Daifu'' ().

During Emperor Suzong's reign

Meanwhile, Li Heng had declared himself emperor at Lingwu (as Emperor Suzong). When Emperor Suzong's messengers reached Emperor Xuanzong, he gave public approval and took the title of ''

Taishang Huang In Chinese history, a ''Taishang Huang'' or ''Taishang Huangdi'' is an honorific and institution of a retired emperor. The former emperor had, at least in name, abdicated in favor of someone else. Although no longer the reigning sovereign, ther ...

'' (retired emperor). He sent Wei Jiansu and other chancellors

Fang Guan Fang Guan (房琯) (697 – September 15, 763), courtesy name Cilü (次律), formally the Duke of Qinghe (清河公), was a Chinese politician during the Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Xuanzong and Emperor Suzo ...

, and

Cui Huan Cui Huan (崔渙) (died January 14, 769) was a Chinese politician during the Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor briefly during the reign of Emperor Suzong—although he was commissioned by Emperor Suzong's father Emperor Xuanzong, not Emperor ...

to Lingwu to official invest Emperor Suzong as emperor and gave them the imperial seal and the edict officially passing the throne. They encountered Emperor Suzong, who was then launching a counterattack, at Shunhua (順化, in modern

Qingyang Qingyang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Gansu province, China. Geography and climate Qingyang is the easternmost prefecture-level division of Gansu and is thus sometimes referred to as "Longdong" (). It forms an administrative penins ...

), and they offered the seal and the edict to Emperor Suzong. Emperor Suzong declined, stating that with empire still in turmoil, it was not an appropriate time for him to officially take the throne, instead putting the seal and the edict aside and paying them daily respects, as they represented Emperor Xuanzong. Meanwhile, though, Emperor Suzong had been impressed with Fang's reputation and therefore particularly honored Fang, giving him most of the responsibilities. In contrast, Emperor Suzong was displeased with how Wei had followed Yang Guozhong's directions and therefore did not pay him much respect, although he allowed Wei to remain chancellor for some time. In spring 757, Wei was made ''Zuo Puye'' (), one of the heads of the executive bureau, and removed from his chancellor post. He was subsequently made a senior advisor to the crown prince.However, as there was no crown prince at the time, the post was entirely honorary. After Emperor Suzong recaptured Chang'an in fall 757, he sent Wei to Shu to escort Emperor Xuanzong back to Chang'an. After Wei brought Emperor Xuanzong back to Chang'an, he was given the honorific title ''Kaifu Yitong Sansi'' (). In Emperor Suzong's ''Shangyuan'' era (760-761), Wei requested to retire on account of a foot ailment, and Emperor Suzong allowed him to do so. He died around the new year 763, briefly after Emperor Suzong himself had died and been succeeded by his son Emperor Daizong. Wei was given posthumous honors and given an official burial.

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. 108
* ''

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. 118
* ''

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 ...

'', vols. 216,

217 Year 217 (Roman numerals, CCXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Praesens and Extricatus (or, less frequently, yea ...

, 218,

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wei, Jiansu Chancellors under Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Chancellors under Emperor Suzong of Tang 687 births 763 deaths Politicians from Xi'an Tang dynasty politicians from Shaanxi