Xue Ji (; 649 – July 29, 713兩千年中西曆轉換
/ref>),

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 ...

Sitong (嗣通), was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, 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 ...

, briefly 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 ...

during the reign of Emperor Ruizong. He was considered one of the four greatest

calligraphers Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

of early Tang, along with Yu Shinan,

Ouyang Xun Ouyang Xun (; 557–641), courtesy name Xinben (), was a Chinese calligrapher, politician, and writer of the early Tang dynasty. He was born in Hunan, Changsha, to a family of government officials; and died in modern Anhui province. Achievements ...

, and

Chu Suiliang Chu Suiliang (596–658), courtesy name Dengshan, formally the Duke of Henan, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, and politician who served as a chancellor during the reigns of the emperors Taizong and Gaozong in the Tang dynasty. He became i ...

Background

Xue Ji was born in 649, the first year of the reign of

Emperor Gaozong of Tang Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife Empress Wu (the f ...

. He was a great-grandson of Xue Daoheng (薛道衡), an important official of the preceding

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 ...

Xue Yuanchao Xue Yuanchao (; 622–683), formal name Xue Zhen (薛振) but went by the courtesy name of Yuanchao, formally Baron of Fenyin (汾陰男), was a Chinese politician of the Chinese Tang Dynasty who served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor ...

– a

during Emperor Gaozong's reign – was a cousin to his grandfather Xue Xingcheng (薛行成). Xue Xingcheng was a county magistrate, and Xue Ji's father Xue Renwei (薛仁偉) was not recorded 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. 73, part 2. However, it is known that Xue Ji's mother was a daughter of the famed chancellor

Wei Zheng Wei Zheng (580–643), courtesy name Xuancheng, posthumously known as Duke Wenzhen of Zheng, was a Chinese politician and historian. He served as a chancellor of the Tang dynasty for about 13 years during the reign of Emperor Taizong. He was al ...

. Xue Ji 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 at one point, although the date is not known. Late in the reign of Emperor Gaozong's wife

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 ...

, he served as an imperial attendant, along with her lovers

Zhang Yizhi Zhang Yizhi (張易之; died February 20, 705),Both volume 207 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' and Wu Zetian's biography in volume 4 of ''New Book of Tang'' recorded that the Shenglong Coup took place on the ''guimao'' day of the 1st month of the 1st year of ...

and

Zhang Changzong Zhang Yizhi (張易之; died February 20, 705),Both volume 207 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' and Wu Zetian's biography in volume 4 of ''New Book of Tang'' recorded that the Shenglong Coup took place on the ''guimao'' day of the 1st month of the 1st year of ...

and several officials with literary talents, including

Ji Xu Ji Xu () was a Chinese politician during Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor. Background It is not known when Ji Xu was born, but it is known that he was from the Zhou capital Luoyang. He was said to be tall, good at hiding ...

, Tian Guidao (田歸道),

Li Jiongxiu Li Jiongxiu (李迥秀), courtesy name Maozhi (茂之), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as chancellor during Wu Zetian's reign. Background It is not known when Li Jiongxiu wa ...

, and Yuan Banqian (員半千).

During Emperor Zhongzong's second reign

As of the second reign of Emperor Gaozong's and Wu Zetian's son Emperor Zhongzong (705-710), Xue Ji was serving as ''Zhongshu Sheren'' (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''). At that time, his second cousin Xue Yao (薛曜) was serving at the examination bureau (門下省, ''Menxia Sheng''), and both of them were known for their literary talent. Later in Emperor Zhongzong's reign, he served as ''Jianyi Daifu'' (諫議大夫), an imperial advisor, and also served as an imperial scholar at Zhaowen Pavilion (昭文館). As his grandfather Wei Zheng's household held many important literary and artistic works, he had access to many calligraphic works of Yu Shinan and

, and he, following their style, was a well-known calligrapher himself. He was also an accomplished painter. At that time, Emperor Zhongzong's brother Li Dan the Prince of Xiang was also a calligrapher, and he became acquainted with Xue. As part of this relationship, he married his daughter Princess Xianyuan to Xue's son Xue Boyang (薛伯陽).

During Emperor Shang's reign and Emperor Ruizong's second reign

In 710, Emperor Zhongzong died suddenly—a death traditional historians believed to be a poisoning carried out by his powerful wife Empress Wei and her daughter Li Guo'er the

Princess Anle Princess Anle (; 684? – 21 July 710), personal name Li Guo'er (), was a Chinese princess of the Tang Dynasty. She was the youngest daughter of Emperor Zhongzong and his wife Empress Wei. Popular history holds that she was doted upon heavily b ...

, so that Empress Wei could become "emperor" like Wu Zetian, and Li Guo'er could become

crown princess 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 wife ...

. Meanwhile, Emperor Zhongzong's son by a

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 ...

Li Chongmao Emperor Shang (695 or 698 – 5 September 714), also known as Emperor Shao (少帝), personal name Li Chongmao, was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 710. Li Chongmao was the youngest son of Emperor Zhongzong, born to ...

the Prince of Wen, was named emperor (as Emperor Shang), but Empress Wei retained power as

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...

and

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 ...

. Less than a month later, Emperor Zhongzong's sister

Princess Taiping Princess Taiping (, lit. "Princess of Great Peace", personal name unknown, possibly Li Lingyue (李令月)) (after 662 – 2 August 713) was a royal princess and prominent political figure of the Tang dynasty and her mother Wu Zetian's Zhou dynas ...

and nephew

Li Longji 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 earl ...

the Prince of Linzi (Li Dan's son) rose in rebellion and killed Empress Dowager Wei and Li Guo'er. Li Dan, himself a former emperor, was restored to the throne (as Emperor Ruizong), displacing Emperor Shang. One of the chancellors that Emperor Ruizong commissioned was Zhong Shaojing, whose support to Li Longji was instrumental during the coup. However, Zhong was not from a prominent clan and had been a low level official previously, and this drew resentment from officials from established clans. Xue, who had been made deputy minister of worship (太常少卿, ''Taichang Shaoqing'') and had been in charge of drafting imperial edicts, along with Su Ting, suggested to Zhong that he demonstrate modesty by offering to resign—something often done when high level officials are commissioned and mostly done ceremonially—and when Zhong did, Xue entered the palace and persuaded Emperor Ruizong to accept the resignation. Subsequently, Xue was made ''Zhongshu Shilang'' (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, given the designation ''Canzhi Zhengshi'' (參知政事), making him a chancellor ''de facto''. Soon, however, he repeatedly argued with another chancellor,

Cui Riyong Cui Riyong 崔日用 (673–722), formally Duke Zhao of Qi 齊昭公, was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, briefly serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Ruizong. Background Cui Riyong ...

—with Xue accusing Cui of flattering

Wu Sansi Wu Sansi (died August 7, 707), known posthumously as Prince Xuan of Liang (), was a Chinese prince and politician of the Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties. Wu Sansi served as a chancellor and imperial prince during the reign of his aunt, Empress Wu Zetian ...

, and Cui accusing Xue of flattering Zhang Yizhi and

Zong Chuke Zong Chuke (宗楚客) (died July 24, 710), courtesy name Shu'ao (叔敖), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reigns of Wu Zetian, her son Emperor Zhongzong, and he ...

. Emperor Ruizong, tired of their bickering, removed both of them from their chancellor posts, with Xue becoming ''Zuo Sanqi Changshi'' (左散騎常侍), a senior advisor at the examination bureau.

During Emperor Xuanzong's reign

Meanwhile, the government became divided between the parties of Princess Taiping and Li Longji, to whom Emperor Ruizong passed the throne in 712 and who took the throne as Emperor Xuanzong. After Emperor Xuanzong's enthronement, however, his struggles with Princess Taiping continued, as she continued to highly influence politics through Emperor Ruizong, who retained power as ''

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). By 713, it was said that Princess Taiping,

Dou Huaizhen Dou Huaizhen (; died July 29, 713), known by his courtesy name Dou Congyi (竇從一) during the second reign of Emperor Zhongzong (r. 705–710), posthumously renamed Du Huaizhen (毒懷貞), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty and Wu Ze ...

Cen Xi Cen Xi (; died July 29, 713), courtesy name Bohua (伯華), was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Shang, Emperor Ruizong, and Emperor Xuanzong. He was k ...

Xiao Zhizhong Xiao Zhizhong (; died July 29, 713?The chronicles of Emperor Xuanzong's reign in the '' Old Book of Tang'' indicated that Xiao, along with Cen Xi, were arrested and beheaded on the same day that Emperor Xuanzong carried out the suppression of Pri ...

Cui Shi Cui Shi (崔湜; 671–713), courtesy name Chenglan (澄瀾), was a Chinese writer and politician. He served as an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Wu Zetian's sons ...

, Xue; along with other officials Li Jin (李晉) the Prince of Xinxing (a grandson of Li Deliang (李德良), a cousin of Tang's founder Emperor Gaozu), Li You (李猷), Jia Yingfu (賈膺福), Tang Jun (唐晙); the generals Chang Yuankai (常元楷), Li Ci (李慈), and Li Qin (李欽); and the monk Huifan (惠範), were plotting to overthrow Emperor Xuanzong. It was further said that they discussed, with the

lady 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 ...

Lady Yuan, poisoning the ''

gastrodia elata ''Gastrodia elata'' is a saprophytic perennial herb in the family Orchidaceae. It is found in Nepal, Bhutan, India, Japan, North Korea, Siberia, Taiwan, and China. Description The orchid has an 8–12 centimeters long elliptical underground rhiz ...

'' that Emperor Xuanzong routinely took as an aphrodisiac. When this alleged plot was reported to Emperor Xuanzong by

Wei Zhigu Wei Zhigu (; 647–715), formally Duke Zhong of Liang (), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Ruizong and Emperor Xuanzong. Background Wei Zhigu was b ...

, Emperor Xuanzong – who had already received advice from Wang Ju (王琚), Zhang Shuo, and Cui Riyong to act first – did so. He convened a meeting with his brothers Li Fan (李範) the Prince of Qi, Li Ye (李業) the Prince of Xue, Guo Yuanzhen, along with a number of his associates — the general Wang Maozhong (王毛仲), the officials Jiang Jiao (姜皎) and Li Lingwen (李令問), his brother-in-law Wang Shouyi (王守一), the

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

Gao Lishi Gao Lishi () (684–762), formally the Duke of Qi (齊國公), was a Chinese eunuch and politician of the Tang dynasty and the Wu Zhou dynasty, becoming particularly powerful during Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's reign. He is believed to have been in ...

, and the military officer Li Shoude (李守德) — and decided to act first. On July 29, Emperor Xuanzong had Wang Maozhong take 300 soldiers to the imperial guard camp to behead Chang and Li Ci. Then, Jia, Li You, Xiao, and Cen were arrested and executed as well. Dou and Princess Taiping committed suicide. Emperor Ruizong yielded powers to Emperor Xuanzong and no longer actively participated in policy decisions thereafter. Xue was arrested and imprisoned at the jail of Wannian County (萬年, one of the counties making up 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 ...

) and ordered to commit suicide. His son Xue Boyang was spared on the basis that he was the emperor's brother-in-law, but was exiled, and he committed suicide in exile.

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. 7

* ''

'', vol. 9

* ''

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. 206,

209 Year 209 ( CCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Commodus and Lollianus (or, less frequently, year 962 '' Ab urbe cond ...

, 210. {{DEFAULTSORT:Xue Ji 649 births 713 deaths 7th-century Chinese calligraphers 7th-century Chinese painters 8th-century Chinese calligraphers 8th-century Chinese painters 8th-century executions by the Tang dynasty Chancellors under Emperor Ruizong of Tang Forced suicides of Chinese people Executed Tang dynasty people Tang dynasty calligraphers Tang dynasty painters