Wei Zheng

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Wei Zheng : biography

580 – 643

In 634, when Emperor Taizong wanted to send officials to visit the circuits to see how the people were doing in the provinces, Li Jing recommended Wei. Emperor Taizong, however, responded, "Wei needs to point out my faults, and I cannot let him go." Instead, he sent 13 officials, including Li Jing and Xiao Yu, out to the circuits for this mission.

Emperor Taizong had commissioned the compilation of several official histories of Tang’s predecessor dynasties—commissioning Linghu Defen and Cen Wenben to compile the Book of Zhou (Northern Zhou’s history); Kong Yingda (孔穎達) and Xu Jingzong to compile the Book of Sui (Sui Dynasty’s history); Yao Silian to compile the Book of Liang (Liang Dynasty’s history) and Book of Chen (Chen Dynasty’s history); and Li Baiyao to compile the Book of Northern Qi (Northern Qi’s history). Wei was in charge of writing commentaries on a number of important persons whose biographies were contained in these histories, and after the histories were completed around 636, Emperor Taizong awarded him silk and upgraded his title to Duke of Zheng. (For reasons unclear, Wei was given credit as the lead editor of the Book of Sui, but not the other works.)

Also in 636, Wei tried to resign on account of eye illnesses. Emperor Taizong relieved him from his post as Shizhong and gave him the honorific post of Tejin (特進), but still gave him full authority as if he were still Shizhong. He also continued to designate him Canyi Deshi (參議得失), keeping him as a de facto chancellor.

By this point, Emperor Taizong had begun to favor his son Li Tai over his oldest son and crown prince Li Chengqian. When there accusations made that the high level officials were disrespectful to Li Tai, Emperor Taizong was initially angry, rebuking the high level officials. However, Wei responded that those high level officials should, in fact, be more honored than the imperial princes, as the state’s key personnel, and Emperor Taizong, seeing that Wei was correct, apologized.

In 637, a new code of rites, coauthored by Wei and Fang, was completed. Also in 637, Wei submitted a petition containing a number of advice for Emperor Taizong to continuously examine himself. This petition was later titled the Petition on Ten Thoughts (十思疏)Petition on Ten Thoughts. and became a famous document often held up as examples of how officials should advise the emperor.

In 638, there was yet another incident where Wang, by then the minister of ceremonies, suggested that high level officials should not have to yield to imperial princes when their processions meet. Emperor Taizong initially saw this as an insult to the imperial princes—particularly Li Tai, whom he was secretly considering replacing Li Chengqian with—and he made the statement, "Life is uncertain. If the Crown Prince should die early, how do you know that one of the princes would not be your lord in the future. How can you disrespect them?" Wei, seeing what was happening, spoke bluntly, "Ever since Zhou Dynasty, succession is always from father to son, not to brothers, to prevent plotting by younger sons and stop infighting at their origin. This is what the rulers need to be careful about." Emperor Taizong thereafter approved Wang’s proposal.

In 638, Emperor Taizong, celebrating the birth of a grandson, held a feast for imperial officials, at which he made the comment:

Before I took the throne, it was by Fang Xuangling’s assistance that I was able to seize power. After I took the throne, it was by Wei Zheng’s assistance that I was able to have my errors corrected.

He then awarded both Fang and Wei an imperial sword. Also around that time, Wei advised him to be cognizant that he was not accepting adverse advice from others as he had previously. Emperor Taizong agreed to examine himself more carefully.

In 639, after Ashina Duobi’s nephew Ashina Jiesheshuai (阿史那結社率) formed a plot to ambush Emperor Taizong, but his plot was discovered and destroyed, Emperor Taizong created a Tujue prince who had served him faithfully, Li Simo (né Ashina Simo) the Prince of Huaihua, as the khan of a newly recreated Eastern Tujue state (as Qilibi Khan), and had him take the Eastern Tujue people outside of Tang territory, to be settled between Tang and Xueyantuo. At that time, Emperor Taizong made the comment that he nearly suffered because he did not listen to Wei’s suggestion in 630.