Su Ting
Encyclopedia
Su Ting (680 – July 31, 737), courtesy name Tingshuo (廷碩), formally Duke Wenxian of Xu (許文憲公), was an official of the Chinese
dynasty Tang Dynasty
and Wu Zetian
's Zhou Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong
. He was a capable supporting chancellor to Song Jing
, and he was also immensely gifted literarily, ranking with Zhang Yue as the two great literary figures of their time. They were known in unison as 燕许大手笔 ("Immense pen-brushes from Yan and Xu").
. At that time, his father Su Gui
was serving on the staff of Emperor Gaozong's son Li Dan
the Prince of Yu. It was said that Su Ting was intelligent and handsome in his youth, and was able to remember and recite texts with 1,000 characters.
, Su Ting passed the imperial examination
s and was made the magistrate of Wucheng County (烏程, in modern Huzhou
, Jiangsu
). He eventually became an imperial censor with the title Jiancha Yushi (監察御史). Late in her reign, during the Chang'an era (701-705), she had Su review the cases that her secret police official Lai Junchen
had handled early in her reign which had resulted in many executions. Su was able to uncover many wrongful convictions and get people's honors posthumously restored.
, a former emperor, returned to the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong). Su Ting was made an imperial attendant (給事中, Geishizhong) and an imperial scholar at Xiuwen Pavilion (修文館). He was soon made Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng). Soon thereafter, Su Ting's father Su Gui was made chancellor, and the family was considered an exceedingly honored one. At that time, most official commissions were drafted by Su, and his language was considered very beautiful.
and her daughter Li Guo'er the Princess Anle
, so that Empress Wei could become "emperor" like Wu Zetian and Li Guo'er could be crown princess. Meanwhile, Emperor Zhongzong's son Li Chongmao
the Prince of Wen was named emperor (as Emperor Shang), but Empress Wei retained power as empress dowager
and regent
. Less than a month later, Empress Wei and Li Guo'er were killed in a coup led by Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping
and nephew Li Longji
the Prince of Linzi. Li Longji's father Li Dan
the Prince of Xiang, himself a former emperor, was initially named regent, and in the aftermaths of the coup, there were many commission and demotion orders to be written, with Su Ting in charge of drafting them. He was reading them so quickly to his scribe that the scribe commented, "Lord, please be slower. Otherwise, my wrist would be dislocated." The chancellor Li Jiao, who was Su Ting's superior and who was himself known for great literary talent, commented, "The Sheren thinks as fast as a gushing spring. I, Li Jiao, cannot compare to him." Soon, under the urging of Princess Taiping, Li Longji, and Li Longji's brother Li Chengqi
, Li Dan took the throne himself (as Emperor Ruizong), displacing Emperor Shang. Sometime thereafter, Su Ting was made the deputy minister of worship (太常少卿, Taichang Shaoqing).
Later in 710, Su Gui died. Su Ting inherited the title of Duke of Xu and left government service to observe a mourning period for his father. Soon thereafter, Emperor Ruizong tried to recall him to government service as the deputy minister of public works (工部侍郎, Gongbu Shilang), which he declined—and when Emperor Ruizong sent the official Li Rizhi
to visit Su Ting to urge him to return to government service, Li Rizhi saw that Su Ting's mourning was deep and genuine. Emperor Ruizong thus allowed Su Ting to serve out the traditional three-year mourning period.
This started a precedent for officials who draft imperial edicts to also leave their names on the edicts for posterity. Subsequently, after Emperor Ruizong died in 716, Emperor Xuanzong wanted to build a stele
at Emperor Ruizong's tomb Jingling (靖陵). Su opposed, pointing out that not only was it not fitting with tradition, but that if he did so, all of the prior emperors' tombs needed to be retroactively given steles. Emperor Xuanzong thus stopped the project.
Around the new year 717, Su, whose title had been changed to Ziwei Shilang (紫微侍郎) by that point due to a number of name changes in offices that Emperor Xuanzong instituted, was given the designation Tong Ziwei Huangmen Pingzhangshi (同紫微黃門平章事), making him a chancellor de facto. He worked well with the more senior chancellor Song Jing
. It was said that Song was strict and often made the decisions that Su obeyed. Whenever Song made reports to Emperor Xuanzong, Su would make reports that supplemented Song's. Song once commented:
Later in 717, there was a controversy over whether Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong, as brothers, could both be worshipped at the ancestral temple. The officials in charge of worship, Chen Zhenjie (陳貞節), Feng Zong (馮宗), and Su Ting's cousin Su Xian (蘇獻), advocated moving Emperor Zhongzong's cult out of the imperial temple and having him worshipped at a separate temple, as they believed that the traditional requirement that the emperor worship seven ancestors referred to seven generations of ancestors, and that Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong, of the same generation, thus constituted only one of the seven ancestors together. Sun Pingzi (孫平子), however, believed that this violated the principle that past emperors should all be worshipped. Because Su Xian was Su Ting's cousin, Su Ting advocated for him, and eventually his suggestion was accepted.
Over the next few years, Su concurred with Song on many matters of morality and governmental cleanliness, including:
By 720, however, Song's strictness would eventually bring his and Su's removal. Song had ordered that individuals who had repeatedly appealed their cases without cause be detained by the imperial censors, until they were willing to drop their appeals. This drew much anger from people. At that time, there happened to be a drought, which, according to popular beliefs at the time, would be accompanied by the appearance of a spirit known as the Hanba (旱魃). One day, while Emperor Xuanzong was watching a play, an actor dressed as the Hanba, and stated:
Meanwhile, further, Song and Su were strictly prohibiting the use of damaged coins, which they had tried to replace with newly minted coins. However, the damaged coins were still in circulation despite the prohibition, particularly in the region between the Yangtze River
and the Huai River
. Song sent the imperial censor Xiao Yinzhi (蕭隱之) to the region to be in charge of collecting the damaged coins and taking them out of circulation. Xiao was strict in his behavior, drawing much resentment. Emperor Xuanzong, when he heard this, demoted Xiao, and in spring 720 removed Song and Su from their chancellor posts, making Su the minister of rites (禮部尚書, Libu Shangshu) instead. He replaced Song and Su with Yuan Qianyao
and Zhang Jiazhen.
In 725, when Emperor Xuanzong suspected that the civil service selections were not done properly, he commissioned 10 officials, including Su, to reexamine the official commissions of that year, against advice that doing so undermined the authority of the civil service affairs ministry, although he stopped doing this in 726. Also in 725, when Emperor Xuanzong offered sacrifices to heaven and earthat Mount Tai
, he had Su draft the text of the monument there.
It was said that Su was frugal and did not care about money—and that he shared his salaries with his younger brothers and family members, with no savings left. He died in 727. Initially, there was no posthumous honors given to him. The official Wei Shu (韋述) submitted a petition pointing out Su's contributions, and Emperor Xuanzong, in response, bestowed posthumous honors on Su.
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
dynasty Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
and Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian , personal name Wu Zhao , often referred to as Tian Hou during the Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant...
's Zhou Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang , personal name Li Longji , known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty...
. He was a capable supporting chancellor to Song Jing
Song Jing
Song Jing , formally Duke Wenzhen of Guangping , was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as the chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Ruizong and Emperor Xuanzong...
, and he was also immensely gifted literarily, ranking with Zhang Yue as the two great literary figures of their time. They were known in unison as 燕许大手笔 ("Immense pen-brushes from Yan and Xu").
Background
Su Ting was born in 680, near the end of the reign of Emperor GaozongEmperor Gaozong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang , personal name Li Zhi , was the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683...
. At that time, his father Su Gui
Su Gui
Su Gui , courtesy name Changrong or Tingshuo , formally Duke Wenzhen of Xu , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Zhongzong, Emperor Shang, and Emperor Ruizong.- Background :Su Gui was born in 639,...
was serving on the staff of Emperor Gaozong's son Li Dan
Emperor Ruizong of Tang
Emperor Ruizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Dàn , known at times during his life as Li Xulun , Li Lun , Wu Lun , and Wu Dan , was the fifth and ninth emperor of Tang Dynasty...
the Prince of Yu. It was said that Su Ting was intelligent and handsome in his youth, and was able to remember and recite texts with 1,000 characters.
During Wu Zetian's reign
During the reign of Emperor Gaozong's wife Wu ZetianWu Zetian
Wu Zetian , personal name Wu Zhao , often referred to as Tian Hou during the Tang Dynasty and Empress Consort Wu in later times, was the only woman in the history of China to assume the title of Empress Regnant...
, Su Ting passed the imperial examination
Imperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...
s and was made the magistrate of Wucheng County (烏程, in modern Huzhou
Huzhou
Huzhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu to the west and north respectively.-Administration:...
, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
). He eventually became an imperial censor with the title Jiancha Yushi (監察御史). Late in her reign, during the Chang'an era (701-705), she had Su review the cases that her secret police official Lai Junchen
Lai Junchen
Lai Junchen was a secret police official during the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, whose ability to interrogate and falsely implicate officials of crimes made him a subject of fear and hatred...
had handled early in her reign which had resulted in many executions. Su was able to uncover many wrongful convictions and get people's honors posthumously restored.
During Emperor Zhongzong's second reign
In 705, Wu Zetian was overthrown in a coup, and her son and crown prince Li XianEmperor Zhongzong of Tang
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Xiǎn , at times during his life Li Zhe and Wu Xian , was the fourth Emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 684 and again from 705 to 710.Emperor Zhongzong was the son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu...
, a former emperor, returned to the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong). Su Ting was made an imperial attendant (給事中, Geishizhong) and an imperial scholar at Xiuwen Pavilion (修文館). He was soon made Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng). Soon thereafter, Su Ting's father Su Gui was made chancellor, and the family was considered an exceedingly honored one. At that time, most official commissions were drafted by Su, and his language was considered very beautiful.
During Emperor Shang's reign and Emperor Ruizong's second reign
In 710, Emperor Zhongzong died suddenly—a death that traditional historians believed to be a poisoning carried out by his powerful wife Empress WeiEmpress Wei (Zhongzong)
Empress Wei was an empress of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Zhongzong, who reigned twice, and during his second reign, she tried to emulate the example of her mother-in-law Wu Zetian and seize power...
and her daughter Li Guo'er the Princess Anle
Princess Anle
Princess Anle , personal name Li Guo'er , was a princess of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. She was the youngest daughter of Emperor Zhongzong and his wife Empress Wei who was greatly favored by her parents and therefore grew very powerful and corrupt during her father's second...
, so that Empress Wei could become "emperor" like Wu Zetian and Li Guo'er could be crown princess. Meanwhile, Emperor Zhongzong's son Li Chongmao
Emperor Shang of Tang
Emperor Shang , also known as Emperor Shao , personal name Li Chongmao , was an emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 710....
the Prince of Wen was named emperor (as Emperor Shang), but Empress Wei retained power as empress dowager
Empress Dowager
Empress Dowager was the title given to the mother of a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese emperor.The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of Grand empress dowager. Numerous empress...
and regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
. Less than a month later, Empress Wei and Li Guo'er were killed in a coup led by Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping
Princess Taiping
Princess Taiping was a princess of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and her mother Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty. She was the youngest daughter of Wu Zetian and Emperor Gaozong and was powerful during the reigns of her mother and her elder brothers Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong , particularly...
and nephew Li Longji
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang , personal name Li Longji , known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty...
the Prince of Linzi. Li Longji's father Li Dan
Emperor Ruizong of Tang
Emperor Ruizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Dàn , known at times during his life as Li Xulun , Li Lun , Wu Lun , and Wu Dan , was the fifth and ninth emperor of Tang Dynasty...
the Prince of Xiang, himself a former emperor, was initially named regent, and in the aftermaths of the coup, there were many commission and demotion orders to be written, with Su Ting in charge of drafting them. He was reading them so quickly to his scribe that the scribe commented, "Lord, please be slower. Otherwise, my wrist would be dislocated." The chancellor Li Jiao, who was Su Ting's superior and who was himself known for great literary talent, commented, "The Sheren thinks as fast as a gushing spring. I, Li Jiao, cannot compare to him." Soon, under the urging of Princess Taiping, Li Longji, and Li Longji's brother Li Chengqi
Li Chengqi
Li Chengqi , known as Wu Chengqi during the reign of his grandmother Wu Zetian and as Li Xian after 716, formally Emperor Rang , was an imperial prince of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who served as crown prince during the first reign of his father Emperor Ruizong who yielded that position to...
, Li Dan took the throne himself (as Emperor Ruizong), displacing Emperor Shang. Sometime thereafter, Su Ting was made the deputy minister of worship (太常少卿, Taichang Shaoqing).
Later in 710, Su Gui died. Su Ting inherited the title of Duke of Xu and left government service to observe a mourning period for his father. Soon thereafter, Emperor Ruizong tried to recall him to government service as the deputy minister of public works (工部侍郎, Gongbu Shilang), which he declined—and when Emperor Ruizong sent the official Li Rizhi
Li Rizhi
Li Rizhi was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Ruizong.- Background :...
to visit Su Ting to urge him to return to government service, Li Rizhi saw that Su Ting's mourning was deep and genuine. Emperor Ruizong thus allowed Su Ting to serve out the traditional three-year mourning period.
During Emperor Xuanzong's reign
In 712, Emperor Ruizong passed the throne to Li Longji, who took the throne as Emperor Xuanzong. Once Su Ting's mourning period was over, Emperor Xuanzong began considering where he could place Su. He considered making Su Zhongshu Shilang (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, but was unsure whether there was a precedent, and so he asked the chancellors, "Is there precedent for someone to become Zhongshu Shilang from being Gongbu Shilang?" He received a response of, "Your Imperial Majesty should care about whether he is suitable, not precedent." Emperor Xuanzong thus made Su Zhongshu Shilang -- and gave him the unprecedented honor of sharing the food normally served only to chancellors. At that time, Li Ai (李乂), who was also a capable writer, was also Zhongshu Shilang. Emperor Xuanzong thus commented to Su:This started a precedent for officials who draft imperial edicts to also leave their names on the edicts for posterity. Subsequently, after Emperor Ruizong died in 716, Emperor Xuanzong wanted to build a stele
Stele
A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
at Emperor Ruizong's tomb Jingling (靖陵). Su opposed, pointing out that not only was it not fitting with tradition, but that if he did so, all of the prior emperors' tombs needed to be retroactively given steles. Emperor Xuanzong thus stopped the project.
Around the new year 717, Su, whose title had been changed to Ziwei Shilang (紫微侍郎) by that point due to a number of name changes in offices that Emperor Xuanzong instituted, was given the designation Tong Ziwei Huangmen Pingzhangshi (同紫微黃門平章事), making him a chancellor de facto. He worked well with the more senior chancellor Song Jing
Song Jing
Song Jing , formally Duke Wenzhen of Guangping , was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as the chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Ruizong and Emperor Xuanzong...
. It was said that Song was strict and often made the decisions that Su obeyed. Whenever Song made reports to Emperor Xuanzong, Su would make reports that supplemented Song's. Song once commented:
Later in 717, there was a controversy over whether Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong, as brothers, could both be worshipped at the ancestral temple. The officials in charge of worship, Chen Zhenjie (陳貞節), Feng Zong (馮宗), and Su Ting's cousin Su Xian (蘇獻), advocated moving Emperor Zhongzong's cult out of the imperial temple and having him worshipped at a separate temple, as they believed that the traditional requirement that the emperor worship seven ancestors referred to seven generations of ancestors, and that Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong, of the same generation, thus constituted only one of the seven ancestors together. Sun Pingzi (孫平子), however, believed that this violated the principle that past emperors should all be worshipped. Because Su Xian was Su Ting's cousin, Su Ting advocated for him, and eventually his suggestion was accepted.
Over the next few years, Su concurred with Song on many matters of morality and governmental cleanliness, including:
- In winter 717, when Emperor Xuanzong requested that Song and Su submit a number of formal names and titles for his sons and daughters—but separately requested a set of particularly honorable names, presumably for a favorite son—Song and Su pointed out that this would be viewed as favoritism, and therefore submitted a group of names without any designation as to what were particularly honorable names.
- When Emperor Xuanzong's father-in-law Wang Renjiao (王仁皎) died, Wang Renjiao's son Wang Shouyi (王守一) requested that a tomb be built for Wang Renjiao that would be as large as Emperor Xuanzong's maternal grandfather Dou Xiaochen (竇孝諶), and Emperor Xuanzong initially agreed. Song and Su pointed out that Dou's tomb was already considered overly wasteful and should not be followed. Emperor Xuanzong agreed, and reduced the scale of Wang Renjiao's tomb.
By 720, however, Song's strictness would eventually bring his and Su's removal. Song had ordered that individuals who had repeatedly appealed their cases without cause be detained by the imperial censors, until they were willing to drop their appeals. This drew much anger from people. At that time, there happened to be a drought, which, according to popular beliefs at the time, would be accompanied by the appearance of a spirit known as the Hanba (旱魃). One day, while Emperor Xuanzong was watching a play, an actor dressed as the Hanba, and stated:
Meanwhile, further, Song and Su were strictly prohibiting the use of damaged coins, which they had tried to replace with newly minted coins. However, the damaged coins were still in circulation despite the prohibition, particularly in the region between the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
and the Huai River
Huai River
The Huai River is a major river in China. The Huai River is located about mid-way between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two largest rivers in China, and like them runs from west to east...
. Song sent the imperial censor Xiao Yinzhi (蕭隱之) to the region to be in charge of collecting the damaged coins and taking them out of circulation. Xiao was strict in his behavior, drawing much resentment. Emperor Xuanzong, when he heard this, demoted Xiao, and in spring 720 removed Song and Su from their chancellor posts, making Su the minister of rites (禮部尚書, Libu Shangshu) instead. He replaced Song and Su with Yuan Qianyao
Yuan Qianyao
Yuan Qianyao , formally the Duke of Anyang , was an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, twice serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong.-Background:...
and Zhang Jiazhen.
In 725, when Emperor Xuanzong suspected that the civil service selections were not done properly, he commissioned 10 officials, including Su, to reexamine the official commissions of that year, against advice that doing so undermined the authority of the civil service affairs ministry, although he stopped doing this in 726. Also in 725, when Emperor Xuanzong offered sacrifices to heaven and earthat Mount Tai
Mount Tai
Mount Tai is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an, in Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The tallest peak is the Jade Emperor Peak , which is commonly reported as tall, but is described by the PRC government as .Mount Tai is one of the...
, he had Su draft the text of the monument there.
It was said that Su was frugal and did not care about money—and that he shared his salaries with his younger brothers and family members, with no savings left. He died in 727. Initially, there was no posthumous honors given to him. The official Wei Shu (韋述) submitted a petition pointing out Su's contributions, and Emperor Xuanzong, in response, bestowed posthumous honors on Su.