Wei Wen
Encyclopedia
Wei Wen (died July 24, 710) was an official of the Chinese
dynasty 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 Empress Wei
, who was his cousin, and after she was killed in a coup after Emperor Zhongzong's death, he was also killed.
. Wei Wen's cousin
-- the daughter of Wei Xuanyan's younger brother Wei Xuanzhen (韋玄貞) -- was the wife and crown princess of Emperor Gaozong's son Li Zhe
the Crown Prince
, and on that account was quickly promoted. After Emperor Gaozong's death in 683, Li Zhe took the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong), but soon ran afoul of his mother Empress Dowager Wu
(later known as Wu Zetian), who retained power as regent
, partly over his desire to promote Wei Xuanzhen to be chancellor. In spring 684, she deposed Emperor Zhongzong to be the Prince of Luling and exiled him and his wife. (She subsequently took the throne herself as "emperor" in 690.) Wei Wen thus, for the time being, received no help from his relationship with his cousin, and when he served as a probationary official, he was accused of receiving bribes and removed from his office.
In 709, Wei Wen was made Taizi Shaobao (太子少保), an advisor to the crown prince (but entirely honorary post at that time, as there was no crown prince) and given the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin (同中書門下三品), making him a de facto chancellor.
, so that Empress Wei could eventually be "emperor" like Wu Zetian, and Li Guo'er could be crown princess. Empress Wei initially did not announce Emperor Zhongzong's death, and immediately put Wei Wen in overall command of the imperial guards, with his cousin Wei Xuan (韋璿) and nephews Wei Bo (韋播) and Gao Song (高嵩) in command as well.
Meanwhile, though, under a plan drafted by Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping
and concubine Consort Shangguan Wan'er
, Emperor Zhongzong's son by another concubine, Li Chongmao
would be named emperor. Empress Wei would serve as empress dowager
and regent
, while Emperor Zhongzong's younger brother Li Dan
the Prince of Xiang, himself a former emperor, would serve as coregent; Consort Shangguan subsequently formalized this in a will she drafted posthumously for Emperor Zhongzong. Wei Wen and another chancellor, Ji Chuna
, however, opposed this plan on the grounds that this would require her and Li Dan to frequently confer, which violated Confucian principles that a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law should not converse with each other. Under Ji's and Wei Wen's insistence, the other chancellors did not dare to oppose their will, and Li Dan was not made coregent. Li Chongmao soon took the throne (as Emperor Shang), with Empress Wei serving as empress dowager and regent.
Meanwhile, Ji feared Li Dan and Princess Taiping, and was advocating to Empress Dowager Wei and Wei Wen that Li Dan and Princess Taiping should be killed. At the same time, though, Princess Taiping and Li Dan's son Li Longji
had received news of this and were planning a coup—which was facilitated by that Wei Bo and Gao were alienating the imperial guards by being harsh to the guards, trying to establish their authority. Li Longji took this opportunity to encourage the guard commanders to rise against the Wei party, and on July 21, Princess Taiping and Li Longji, with the imperial guards' support, rose in rebellion, killing Empress Dowager Wei and Li Guo'er. Li Dan was named regent. Wei Xuan, Wei Bo, and Gao were killed on during the coup, but Wei Wen was not executed until July 24, for reasons unclear in history. After his death, his clan was massacred.
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...
, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Zhongzong
Emperor 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...
and Emperor Zhongzong's son Emperor Shang
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....
. He was trusted by Emperor Zhongzong's powerful wife Empress Wei
Empress 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...
, who was his cousin, and after she was killed in a coup after Emperor Zhongzong's death, he was also killed.
Background
It is not known when Wei Wen was born. His father was Wei Xuanyan (韋玄儼), who served as a prefectural prefect late in 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...
. Wei Wen's cousin
Empress 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...
-- the daughter of Wei Xuanyan's younger brother Wei Xuanzhen (韋玄貞) -- was the wife and crown princess of Emperor Gaozong's son Li Zhe
Emperor 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...
the Crown Prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
, and on that account was quickly promoted. After Emperor Gaozong's death in 683, Li Zhe took the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong), but soon ran afoul of his mother Empress Dowager Wu
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...
(later known as Wu Zetian), who retained power as 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...
, partly over his desire to promote Wei Xuanzhen to be chancellor. In spring 684, she deposed Emperor Zhongzong to be the Prince of Luling and exiled him and his wife. (She subsequently took the throne herself as "emperor" in 690.) Wei Wen thus, for the time being, received no help from his relationship with his cousin, and when he served as a probationary official, he was accused of receiving bribes and removed from his office.
During Emperor Zhongzong's second reign
In 705, Wu Zetian was overthrown, and Li Zhe, then carrying the title of crown prince and having changed his name to Li Xian, returned to the throne. His wife again became empress, and Wei Wen, as her closest male relative (as her father Wei Xuanzhen had died in exile and her brothers Wei Xun (韋洵), Wei Hao (韋浩), Wei Dong (韋洞), and Wei Ci (韋泚) had been killed by the local tribal chieftain Ning Chengji (寧承基)), was made the minister of rites (禮部尚書, Libu Shangshu) and created the Duke of Lu. Many of his relatives also were honored, as Empress Wei wanted to promote her relatives.In 709, Wei Wen was made Taizi Shaobao (太子少保), an advisor to the crown prince (but entirely honorary post at that time, as there was no crown prince) and given the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin (同中書門下三品), making him a de facto chancellor.
Death
In 710, Emperor Zhongzong died suddenly—a death that traditional historians believed to be a poisoning carried out by Empress Wei and her daughter Li Guo'er the Princess AnlePrincess 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 eventually be "emperor" like Wu Zetian, and Li Guo'er could be crown princess. Empress Wei initially did not announce Emperor Zhongzong's death, and immediately put Wei Wen in overall command of the imperial guards, with his cousin Wei Xuan (韋璿) and nephews Wei Bo (韋播) and Gao Song (高嵩) in command as well.
Meanwhile, though, under a plan drafted 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 concubine Consort Shangguan Wan'er
Shangguan Wan'er
Shangguan Wan'er , imperial consort rank Zhaorong , posthumous name Wenhui , was the granddaughter of Shangguan Yi and was one of the women most famous in Chinese history for her talent...
, Emperor Zhongzong's son by another concubine, 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....
would be named emperor. Empress Wei would serve 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...
, while Emperor Zhongzong's younger brother 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, would serve as coregent; Consort Shangguan subsequently formalized this in a will she drafted posthumously for Emperor Zhongzong. Wei Wen and another chancellor, Ji Chuna
Ji Chuna
Ji Chuna was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Zhongzong's son Emperor Shang...
, however, opposed this plan on the grounds that this would require her and Li Dan to frequently confer, which violated Confucian principles that a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law should not converse with each other. Under Ji's and Wei Wen's insistence, the other chancellors did not dare to oppose their will, and Li Dan was not made coregent. Li Chongmao soon took the throne (as Emperor Shang), with Empress Wei serving as empress dowager and regent.
Meanwhile, Ji feared Li Dan and Princess Taiping, and was advocating to Empress Dowager Wei and Wei Wen that Li Dan and Princess Taiping should be killed. At the same time, though, Princess Taiping and Li Dan's son 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...
had received news of this and were planning a coup—which was facilitated by that Wei Bo and Gao were alienating the imperial guards by being harsh to the guards, trying to establish their authority. Li Longji took this opportunity to encourage the guard commanders to rise against the Wei party, and on July 21, Princess Taiping and Li Longji, with the imperial guards' support, rose in rebellion, killing Empress Dowager Wei and Li Guo'er. Li Dan was named regent. Wei Xuan, Wei Bo, and Gao were killed on during the coup, but Wei Wen was not executed until July 24, for reasons unclear in history. After his death, his clan was massacred.