Wei Zhiyi

Wei Zhiyi (韋執誼) was a Chinese historian and politician during the Tang dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor in 805, during the brief reign of Emperor Shunzong and then briefly into the reign of Emperor Shunzong's son Emperor Xianzong. He came to power due to his association with Emperor Shunzong's close associate Wang Shuwen but later broke with Wang; he was nevertheless exiled once Emperor Xianzong became emperor due to his prior association with Wang and died in exile.

Background It is not known when Wei Zhiyi was born, but it is known that his family was from Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the region of the Tang dynasty capital Chang'an). His family traced its ancestry to a line of officials of the Han dynasty, Northern Zhou, and Tang dynasty. His grandfather Wei Zhongchang served as a deputy mayor of Jingzhao, and his father Wei Mei served as a prefectural prefect. Wei Zhiyi himself was said to be handsome and talented in his youth.

During Emperor Dezong's reign During the reign of Emperor Dezong, Wei Zhiyi passed the imperial examinations and was particularly rated highly in the matter of offering strategies. He was made You Shiyi , a low-level consultant at the examination bureau (門下省, Menxia Sheng), and was subsequently made an imperial scholar (翰林學士, Hanlin Xueshi). At that time, he was in his 20s, and he was particularly favored by Emperor Dezong, who favored his writing; they often wrote poems that responded to each other.

On one occasion, on Emperor Dezong's birth, Emperor Dezong's son and crown prince Li Song offered a Buddharupa as a birthday gift to Emperor Dezong. Emperor Dezong had Wei Zhiyi write a text praising the statue, and under Emperor Dezong's direction, Li Song in turn gave Wei a gift of linen. When Wei went to the Crown Prince's palace to thank him, Li Song introduced him to a close associate, Wang Shuwen. Thereafter, Wei and Wang became friends. Later, Wei's mother died and he left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her. After the mourning period was over, he returned to government service to serve as a supervisorial official.

During Emperor Shunzong's and Emperor Xianzong's reigns In spring 805, Emperor Dezong died, and Li Song succeeded him (as Emperor Shunzong). At that time, Li Song was seriously ill, and a group of his close associates, headed by Wang Shuwen and Wang Pi, in association with his concubine Consort Niu and the eunuch Li Zhongyan , became very powerful. Wang Shuwen, in order that his reform policies could be carried out, recommended Wei as chancellor. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Shunzong made Wei, who was then Libu Langzhong , a supervisorial official at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, Libu), was promoted to be Shangshu Zuo Cheng , one of the secretaries general of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng) and given the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi , making him a chancellor. It was said that when important decisions were to be made, they would be given to Wang Shuwen to be decided at the office of the imperial scholars (翰林院, Hanlin Yuan) and then given to Wei to be executed. On an occasion, when the chancellors, as per custom, were having lunch together, Wang wanted to see Wei and went to the office of the chancellors to do so. When a guard refused to let Wang in, Wang rebuked the guard and ordered him away. Wei rose from his seat and walked away to confer with Wang. Wei's colleagues Zheng Xunyu, Du You, and Gao Ying stopped dining and waited for Wei to return. After a while, they sent the guard to see what the situation was, and the guard stated, "Wang Shuwen had requested food, and Chancellor Wei is dining with him." Neither Du nor Gao dared to say anything, but Zheng stated, "How can I remain here still?" He had his attendants fetch horses, and he went home and refused to return to office. After Wei's death, Du requested Emperor Xianzong to allow his casket to be returned, and Du gave him a proper burial.

Grave and statue

Wei Zhiyi is buried around 20 km south of Haikou, the capital city of Hainan province. His grave is located at the top of a small hill facing rice paddies. A little less than 1 km to the north is a temple and statue commemorating him.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 135 . Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 235, 236.