Zhang Wenguan (張文瓘) (606 – September 30, 678),

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 ...

Zhigui (稚圭), was an official of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

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 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 reign of Emperor Gaozong. He was acclaimed for his fairness while serving as the chief judge of the supreme court.

Background

Zhang Wenguan was born in 606, during the reign of

Emperor Yang of Sui Emperor Yang of Sui (隋煬帝, 569 – 11 April 618), personal name Yang Guang (), alternative name Ying (), Xianbei name Amo (), also known as Emperor Ming of Sui () during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong, was the second emperor of ...

. His family was originally from what would eventually become Bei Prefecture (貝州, part of modern Xingtai,

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

), but moved to what would eventually become Wei Prefecture (魏州, roughly modern

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

) early in Zhang Wenguan's life. He lost his father when he was young, and was said to serve his mother and older brother(s) appropriately. Early in the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang (r. 626–649), Zhang 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 ...

and was made a military advisor to the secretary general of Bing Prefecture (并州, roughly modern

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. ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

), Li Shiji. Li valued his service greatly, and on one occasion stated, "Zhigui is the modern day Guan Zhong and

Xiao He Xiao He (257 BC–193 BC) was a Chinese politician of the early Western Han dynasty. He served Liu Bang (Emperor Gao), the founder of the Han dynasty, during the insurrection against the Qin dynasty, and fought on Liu's side in the Chu–Han Co ...

. I am not as capable as he is." At one point, when Li was set to visit Emperor Taizong at 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 ...

,The context suggests, but does not indicate for certain, that this event occurred when Li was promoted to be the minister of defense in 641. Zhang and two other officials held a feast for Li. Li gave a sword to one of the officials and a jade belt to the other, but gave Zhang nothing. Zhang was surprised and asked Li the reason. Li responded: Li later recommended Zhang for his talents, and Zhang was made a reserve official at the water bureau of the department of public works. At that time, his older brother Zhang Wencong () was serving as the deputy minister of census—and the departments of public works and census were both under the executive bureau of government (尚書省, ''Shangshu Sheng''). According to regulations, brothers were not supposed to serve at the same bureau of government, and so Zhang Wenguan was soon made the magistrate of Yunyang County (雲陽, 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 ...

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 ...

During Emperor Gaozong's reign

Zhang Wenguan later served successively as a mid-level official at both the legislative bureau (西臺, ''Xi Tai'') and the examination bureau (東臺, ''Dong Tai''). As of 667, he was serving at the examination bureau, when Emperor Gaozong gave him the designation of ''Tong Dong Xi Tai Sanpin'' (), making him a

''de facto''. It was said that at the time, the imperial treasury was getting exhausted as Emperor Gaozong was building several palaces —

Penglai Palace The Daming Palace was the imperial palace complex of the Tang dynasty, located in its capital Chang'an. It served as the imperial residence of the Tang emperors for more than 220 years. Today, it is designated as a national heritage site of China ...

(), Shangyang Palace (), and Hebi Palace () — as well as requisitioning a large number of horses for the imperial stable for the purposes of using them for military campaigns. Zhang warned Emperor Gaozong that similar activities by Emperor Yang of Sui led to resentment by the people and Sui's downfall, and Emperor Gaozong, in response, reduced the number of imperial horses by several thousands. In 669, Zhang was promoted to be ''Dong Tai Shilang'' (), the deputy head of the examination bureau, and still a chancellor ''de facto''. In 672, Zhang was made the chief judge at the supreme court and continued to serve as chancellor as well as a member of the staff of Emperor Gaozong's

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 ...

Li Hong Li Hong () (652 – 25 May 675), formally Emperor Xiaojing (孝敬皇帝, literally, "the filial and respectful emperor") with the temple name of Yizong (義宗), was a crown prince (not emperor, despite his formal title) of the Chinese dynasty ...

. It was said that Zhang was efficient and fair at reviewing criminal judgments, quickly ruling on a large number of complex cases. it was further said that those he found guilty had no complaints, and that he was capable of overturning judgments against those who were innocent. When he was ill, the prisoners awaiting review were praying for his health, and he was compared to

Dai Zhou Dai Zhou (died 633), courtesy name Xuanyin, posthumously known as Duke Zhong of Dao, was a Chinese official who lived in the Sui dynasty and early Tang dynasty. He served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang. During Sui D ...

, another famed chief judge who served during Emperor Taizong's reign. In 675, he was made ''Shizhong'' (), the head of the examination bureau (which by this point had been renamed ''Menxia Sheng'' ()) and a post considered one for a chancellor, and also continued to serve on Li Hong's staff as an advisor. It was said that when the prisoners still awaiting review heard that Zhang was no longer chief judge, they wept bitterly. It was further said that at times when he was ill, when the other chancellors reported their suggestions to Emperor Gaozong, Emperor Gaozong would inquire as to whether they had consulted Zhang. If they responded that they had not, he would require them to go to Zhang's mansion to consult him, before ruling on their proposal. In 678, Zhang was seriously ill. However, when he heard that Emperor Gaozong was contemplating a campaign against

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

, he rode a litter to the palace and spoke to Emperor Gaozong, "At this time, Tufan is invading and we are defending against the invasion. Although Silla is not sufficiently submissive, it is not attacking our borders. If we divide our forces and attack east, I am afraid that neither the government nor the people can withstand the consequences." After this counsel, Emperor Gaozong cancelled plans to attack Silla. Zhang died later that year and was given the

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 ...

of Yi (懿, "benevolent"). As he had served on Li Hong's staff, Emperor Gaozong had him buried with honor near the tomb of Li Hong (who had died in 675 and was posthumously honored an emperor).

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. 85. * ''

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.

113 113 may refer to: *113 (number), a natural number *AD 113, a year * 113 BC, a year *113 (band), a French hip hop group * 113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route * 113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run ...

. * ''

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.

201 Year 201 ( CCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fabianus and Arrius (or, less frequently, year 954 '' Ab urbe condi ...

202 Year 202 (Roman numerals, CCII) 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 Severus and Antoninus (or, less frequently, year 955 '' ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Wenguan Chancellors under Emperor Gaozong of Tang Chinese judges 606 births 678 deaths Politicians from Dezhou Tang dynasty politicians from Shandong