Xin Maojiang (辛茂將) (died January 3, 660) was a Chinese general and politician of 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

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 ...

for about a year during the reign of Emperor Gaozong.

Background

Despite Xin Maojiang's high status, little is firmly established about his background or career except for the years that he served as

—as, unusual for a chancellor, he did not have a biography in either the ''

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 ...

'' or the ''

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 ...

''. (The table of chancellors family trees in the ''New Book of Tang'' gave his grandfather's name as Xin Zheng (辛政) and father's name as Xin Zhao (辛肇), but did not give any office titles for them, implicitly indicating that they were not governmental officials.)''New Book of Tang'', vol. 73.1. Little is known about Xin Maojiang's career prior to his becoming chancellor in 658.

Service under Emperor Gaozong

As of 658, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, Xin Maojiang was serving as the chief judge of the supreme court, when he was made ''Shizhong'' (侍中) -- the head of the examination bureau of government and a post considered one for a chancellor. In summer 659, he and fellow chancellor

Xu Jingzong Xu Jingzong (592 – September 20, 672), courtesy name Yanzu, posthumously known as Duke Gong of Gaoyang, was a Chinese cartographer, historian, and politician who served as a chancellor in the Tang dynasty. Allied with Emperor Gaozong's power ...

were put in charge of an investigation of an alleged treason plot by the low level officials Wei Jifang (韋季方) and Li Chao (李巢), although it was Xu, an ally of Emperor Gaozong's powerful wife

Empress Wu The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

(later known as Wu Zetian), who spearheaded the investigation who ultimately convinced Emperor Gaozong that his uncle and chancellor

Zhangsun Wuji Zhangsun Wuji (; died 659), courtesy name Fuji (輔機), formally the Duke of Zhao, was a Chinese politician who served as a chancellor in the early Tang dynasty. He was Empress Zhangsun's brother, which made him a brother-in-law of Emperor Tai ...

, who had implicitly disapproved of Empress Wu's ascension (replacing Emperor Gaozong's first wife Empress Wang) in 655 by refusing to concur in the decision, was part of the plot. As a result of further investigations ordered by Emperor Gaozong (which not only Xin and Xu, but also Li Ji,

Ren Yaxiang Ren or REN may refer to: Abbreviations * Orenburg Tsentralny Airport, IATA code REN, civil airport in Russia * Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), Portuguese company * Renanthera, abbreviated as Ren, orchid genus * Ringer equivalence number (R ...

, and

Lu Chengqing Lu Chengqing (盧承慶) (595–670), courtesy name Ziyu (子餘), formally Duke Ding of Fanyang (范陽定公), was a Chinese politician during the Tang dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. Background Lu Chengqin ...

were involved in), Zhangsun was first exiled and then forced to commit suicide. Xin himself died around new year 660, and if he was given a

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 ...

or noble title, neither is recorded in history.

Notes and references

* ''

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. 200. {{DEFAULTSORT:Xin, Maojiang 660 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Gaozong of Tang Chinese judges Tang dynasty generals Year of birth unknown