Zheng Yanchang

Zheng Yanchang , courtesy name Guangyuan , was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, who served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong in the 9th century.

Background It is not known when Zheng Yanchang was born. His family was part of the Zheng clan known as the "Northern Ancestor" branch and traced its line from the ruling house of the Spring and Autumn period state Zheng; its ancestors also included officials of Han dynasty, Cao Wei, Jin dynasty (266–420), Later Zhao, Former Yan and/or Later Yan, Northern Wei, Northern Zhou, and Tang dynasty. Of Zheng Yanchang's closer relatives was his third cousin Zheng Congdang, who was a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xizong. (Zheng Congdang's grandfather Zheng Yuqing was a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xizong's great-great-grandfather Emperor Dezong.) However, Zheng Yanchang's own immediate ancestors did not appear to be particularly prominent—as his great-grandfather Zheng Shen was a county sheriff and his grandfather Zheng Zezhi was an imperial guard officer, although his father Zheng Yi was a prefectural prefect. He had at least one older brother, Zheng Yunsheng , and one younger brother, Zheng Yanji .

Zheng Yanchang passed the imperial examinations late in the Jinshi class late in the Xiantong era (861–874) of Emperor Xizong's father Emperor Yizong. He later became an imperial censor with the title Jiancha Yushi .

Service under Zheng Tian and subsequent career When the former chancellor Zheng Tian (not related to Zheng Yanchang) he invited Zheng Yanchang to serve on his staff. Zheng Tian had Zheng Yanchang made , a low-level official at the ministry of civil service affairs (, ), as well as an imperial scholar (, ). Later (it is unclear whether Zheng Tian was still chancellor by this point), Zheng Yanchang was made the deputy minister of defense (, ), the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (, i.e., the Chang'an region), and the acting director of finances (, ). He was then also made the minister of justice (, ). His service as chancellor was said to be undistinguished. In 893, when the warlord Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang tried to foster protests at Chang'an against Emperor Zhaozong's planned campaign against him, the protest crowd surrounded Zheng and fellow chancellor Cui Zhaowei on one occasion and attacked them, forcing them to take refuge in people's houses.

In 894, Zheng was removed from his chancellorship and made , one of the heads of the executive bureau (, ), as he was ill. He subsequently died—with his biography in the New Book of Tang implying that the death was shortly after his removal, but giving no dates.

Notes and references

New Book of Tang, vol. 182. Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 259.

Yanchang