Zhao Yanzhao (),

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 ...

Huanran (奐然), 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 ...

and

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 ...

's Zhou dynasty, 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 reigns of Emperor Zhongzong, Emperor Shang, and Emperor Ruizong.

Background

It is not known when Zhao Yanzhao was born, but it is known that his family was originally from Gan Prefecture (甘州, roughly modern

Zhangye Zhangye (), formerly romanized as Changyeh or known as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Inner Mongolia on the north and Qinghai on the south. Its central district is Ga ...

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 ...

). His father Zhao Wumeng (趙武孟) was known for favoring hunting during youth. On one occasion, when Zhao Wumeng had killed some fresh prey and presented it to his mother (Zhao Yanzhao's grandmother), Zhao Wumeng's mother wept and stated, "You do not study and only hunt all day. I feel hopeless." She refused the food. After that incident, Zhao Wumeng became studious and 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 ...

. He later served as an imperial censor during the reign of

and authored a 10-volume work on the notable people of the

Hexi Corridor The Hexi Corridor (, Xiao'erjing: حْسِ ظِوْلاْ, IPA: ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and relativ ...

, the region he was from. Zhao Yanzhao himself was known for literary talent and being high-spirited. He passed the imperial examination as well, and was made the sheriff of Nanbu County (南部, in modern

Nanchong Nanchong (; Sichuanese: lan2cong1) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of Sichuan province, China, with an area of . At the 2020 census it was home to 5,607,565 people, of whom 1,936,534 lived in the built-up (or 'metro') area made of th ...

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 ...

). It was around this time that he became a friend of several later prominent politicians,

Guo Yuanzhen Guo Yuanzhen (郭元振; 656–713), formal name Guo Zhen () but went by the courtesy name of Yuanzhen, was an official, general, and diplomat of Tang and Zhou China, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Ruizong and Emperor Xuanzo ...

Xue Ji Xue Ji (; 649 – July 29, 713), courtesy name Sitong (嗣通), was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, and politician of the Tang dynasty, briefly serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Ruizong. He was considered one of the four greatest ...

, and

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 ...

. He later served as the magistrate of Xinfeng County (新豐, in modern

Shaoguan Shaoguan (; Hakka: Seukoan) is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province (Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriarch H ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

), before he was recalled to serve as ''Jiancha Yushi'' (監察御史), a mid-level imperial censor.

During Emperor Zhongzong's second reign

In 709, during the reign of Wu Zetian's son Emperor Zhongzong, Zhao Yanzhao was promoted to be ''Zhongshu Shilang'' (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government (中書省) and given the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事), making him a

''de facto''.Zhao Yanzhao's biography in 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 ...

'' indicated that he was given the greater designation of ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin'' (同中書門下三品), but such designation was typically reserved for officials serving as chancellors whose main office was one of the third grade or above, and Zhang's main office of ''Zhongshu Shilang'' was not. His biography in 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 ...

'' indicated that he was given the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'', and the ''

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 ...

'' followed this. Compare ''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 92, with ''New Book of Tang'', vol. 123 and ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 209. He was also made an imperial scholar at the Xiuwen Pavilion (修文館). In 710, Emperor Zhongzong was set to marry Princess Jincheng, the daughter of his nephew

Li Shouli Lĭ Shǒulĭ (672–741) () was the second son of Li Xián who was also known as Crown Prince Zhanghuai of Tang. Born Li Guangren (李光仁), during the Chuigong era of his youngest uncle Emperor Ruizong of Tang Emperor Ruizong of Tang ...

the Prince of Yong, to Tufan's king Me Agtsom. He initially ordered the chancellor

Ji Chuna Ji Chuna (; died July 24, 710) was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Zhongzong's son Emperor Shang. He was a member of the faction of Emperor Zhongzong's powerful ...

to escort Princess Jincheng to Tufan, but after Ji declined, ordered Zhao to do so. Zhao did not want to go—believing that if he left 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 favors that Emperor Zhongzong had shown him might wane in his absence. At the suggestion of Zhao Lüwen (趙履溫), he asked Emperor Zhongzong's powerful 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 by ...

to speak on his behalf, and Emperor Zhongzong sent the general Yang Ju (楊矩) instead.

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

Later in 710, Emperor Zhongzong died suddenly—a death that traditional historians believed to be a poisoning carried out by his powerful wife Empress Wei and Li Guo'er, so that Empress Wei could eventually be "emperor" like Wu Zetian and Li Guo'er could be

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 ...

. For the time being, 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, 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 ...

. Zhao Yanzhao continued to serve as chancellor. Less than a month later, a coup led by 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 early ...

the Prince of Linzi killed Empress Dowager Wei and Li Guo'er. Subsequently, Li Longji's father Li Dan the Prince of Xiang, a former emperor, returned to the throne (as Emperor Ruizong), displacing Emperor Shang. Shortly after Emperor Ruizong took the throne, Zhao was demoted to be the prefect of Jiang Prefecture (絳州, part of modern

Yuncheng Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...

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 ...

), but was almost immediately recalled to again serve as ''Zhongshu Shilang'' and chancellor. Later that year, however, he was again demoted, this time to be the prefect of

Songzhou Songzhou or Song Prefecture () was a ''Zhou (country subdivision), zhou'' (prefecture) in history of China, imperial China centering on modern Shangqiu, Henan, China. It existed (intermittently) from 596 to 1006. The Song dynasty was named after t ...

. Later, for reasons unclear, he was further demoted to be the prefect of Gui Prefecture (歸州, roughly modern

Yichang Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...

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 ...

). Later, he was promoted to be the commandant at Liang Prefecture (涼州, roughly modern

Wuwei, Gansu Wuwei () is a prefecture-level city in northwest central Gansu province. In the north it borders Inner Mongolia, in the southwest, Qinghai. Its central location between three western capitals, Lanzhou, Xining, and Yinchuan makes it an important bu ...

). He was said to be stern at Liang Prefecture, instilling much fear in his subordinates. He was subsequently recalled to serve as the deputy minister of civil service affairs (吏部侍郎, ''Libu Shilang''), and later the chief imperial censor (御史大夫, ''Yushi Daifu'').

During Emperor Xuanzong's reign

In 712, Emperor Ruizong passed the throne to Li Longji, who took the throne as Emperor Xuanzong, but Emperor Ruizong retained actual powers 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). In 713, locked in a rivalry with Princess Taiping, Emperor Xuanzong carried out a purge of her party and forced her to commit suicide, and Emperor Ruizong yielded powers to him. Two of the officials involved in Emperor Xuanzong's purge who served chancellors, Guo Yuanzhen and Zhang Shuo, were friendly with Zhao Yanzhao, and they claimed that he was part of the plot as well. Zhao was therefore made the minister of justice (刑部尚書, ''Xingbu Shangshu'') and created the Duke of Geng. It was around this time that Zhang, who feared that another official, Yao Yuanzhi, might be made chancellor as well, asked Zhao to submit an indictment against Yao, but Emperor Xuanzong summarily dismissed the indictment. Yao was subsequently made chancellor, and Zhang was demoted. Zhao was himself made a commanding general to the north of the capital. In 714, the imperial censor Jiang Hui (姜晦), pointing out that at the time of Emperor Zhongzong's death and that Empress Wei's cousin

Wei Wen Wei Wen (韋溫) (died July 24, 710) was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Zhongzong's son Emperor Shang. He was trusted by Emperor Zhongzong's powerful wife Emp ...

and fellow chancellor

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 her ...

altered Emperor Zhongzong's will to remove Emperor Ruizong as coregent, Zhao,

Wei Sili Wei Sili (韋嗣立; 654–719), courtesy name Yan'gou (延構), formally Duke Xiao of Xiaoyao (逍遙孝公), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Wu Zetian, her so ...

Wei Anshi Wei Anshi (; 651–714), formally Duke Wenzhen of Xun (), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, serving as a chancellor several times, during the reigns of Wu Zetian, her sons Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ru ...

, and Li Jiao were all chancellors and did nothing to stop them, had his subordinate Guo Zhen (郭震) file an indictment against the former chancellors. Guo's indictment further accused Zhao of honoring the witch Zhao Wuniang (趙五娘) as an aunt and secretly meeting her, while wearing women's clothing, with his wife, to ask her to use witchcraft to have him made chancellor, during Emperor Zhongzong's reign. These former chancellors were all demoted, with Zhao reduced to being the secretary general of Jiang Prefecture (江州, roughly modern

Jiujiang Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city ...

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 ...

). He died while still at Jiang Prefecture, but it is not known when that occurred.

Notes

References

* ''

'', vol. 9

* ''

'', vol. 12

* ''

'', vols. :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷209, 209,

210 Year 210 ( CCX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Faustinus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 963 ''Ab urbe condita ...

, 211.

External links

Book 102
of the ''

Quan Tangshi (''Complete Tang Poems'') is the largest collection of Tang poetry, containing some 49,000 lyric poems by more than twenty-two hundred poets. In 1705, it was commissioned at the direction of the Qing dynasty Kangxi Emperor and published under ...

'' (which collects Zhao Yanzhao's poems) at the

Chinese Text Project The Chinese Text Project (CTP; ) is a digital library project that assembles collections of early Chinese texts. The name of the project in Chinese literally means "The Chinese Philosophical Book Digitization Project", showing its focus on books ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Yanzhao Chancellors under Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Chancellors under Emperor Shang of Tang Chancellors under Emperor Ruizong of Tang Tang dynasty historians 8th-century Chinese historians Tang dynasty generals Tang dynasty poets