Ministers › Remonstrators

Wei Zheng

Tang statesman who made some two hundred remonstrances to Emperor Taizong and oversaw the official histories of the five preceding dynasties

Also known as Zi Xuancheng · Zhengguo Gong · Wen Zhen

Roles: RemonstratorsChief MinistersPhilosopher / Thinker

Wei Zheng, courtesy name Xuancheng, is described in the *Old Book of Tang* (*Jiu Tangshu*) as a native of Qucheng in Julu; orphaned and poor, he was briefly a Daoist priest. In the last years of Sui he joined Li Mi's Wagang rebels, and after going over to Tang he served the crown prince Li Jiancheng, urging him to act early against the Prince of Qin. After the Xuanwu Gate incident Taizong still made him Grand Remonstrator; he went on to head the Palace Library, serve as chancellor and become Duke of Zheng. His biography counts more than two hundred remonstrances, among them the 'Ten Thoughts' memorial of 637, and he oversaw the court histories of the five preceding dynasties, writing the prefaces of the *Book of Sui* (*Suishu*) himself. He died in 643, received the posthumous name Wenzhen and was buried near Taizong's tomb; the emperor said he had lost one of his mirrors. That year his portrait was among the twenty-four placed in the Lingyan Pavilion.

Life and times

580 CEBornNorthern and Southern SuiTang
627Reign of ZhenguanTook partage 47Taizong reduced taxes and corvee, welcomed remonstrance, and disciplined officials, restoring the postwar economy and stabilizing Zhenguan governance.
1. Emperor Taizong Welcomes RemonstranceEmperor Taizong & Wei Zheng Cultivating the Zhenguan Era
643 CEDied

Works

Literature · Prose146
1. Memorial to Emperor Taizong on the Ten ReflectionsTangWei Zheng's memorial urging Emperor Taizong to guard against complacency: ten reflections
2. Book of SuiTangEarly Tang history of the Sui under Wei Zheng, whose bibliography fixed the four book classes
3. Memorial on Ten Signs of Failing to Persevere to the EndTangWei Zheng's 639 memorial listing ten ways Emperor Taizong had slipped from his early standards
4. Essentials of Government from Many BooksTangWei Zheng's 631 anthology on government from sixty-odd books, lost in China and kept in Japan
5. Book of Sui: Book of Sui, Annals of Emperor Yang (part 2): The Historian's CommentTang
6. +25 more
7. Open all works→
Literature · Sayings22
1. Think of Danger in Times of PeaceTangIdiom from the Zuo Tradition, urged in Wei Zheng's memorial: prepare for danger in peace
2. One Saying Can Make a State FlourishTangIdiom from the Analects, quoted by Wei Zheng to Emperor Taizong: words that build a state
3. Chasing the Deer Across the Central PlainTangIdiom in Wei Zheng's poem Expressing My Feelings: rivals racing for the deer of empire
4. Humble Palaces and Frugal MealsTangIdiom from the Book of Sui: Emperor Yang promises frugality as he builds a new capital
5. Begin Well and End WellTangIdiom from the Zhuangzi: accepting youth, age, beginning and end alike
6. +17 more
  1. Crumbling Earth and Rotting Fish: The Fall of SuiTangIdiom from the Book of Sui: a dynasty rotting from within and crumbling away
  2. Rotten Reins on a Racing Carriage: Wei Zheng's WarningTangFamous line from Wei Zheng's Ten Thoughts memorial: ruling is like driving with rotten reins
  3. Ji Bu's Promise, Worth More than GoldTangIdiom from the trustworthy Ji Bu, echoed in Wei Zheng's poem: a word always kept
  4. Curbing Extravagance with ThriftTangAphorism from Wei Zheng's memorial of ten reflections: a ruler must check luxury with thrift
  5. Choosing the Good and Following ItTangIdiom from the Analects, urged on Taizong by Wei Zheng: adopt whatever is good
  6. A Firm Root Makes a Peaceful StateTangIdiom quoted in the Sui History's annals of Emperor Yang: a secure people, a peaceful state
  7. Driving Six Horses With Rotten ReinsTangIdiom from Wei Zheng's memorial of ten warnings: ruling is like driving with rotten reins
  8. Worn to Kindling and Bone by MourningTangIdiom from the Sui History's life of Su Wei: a son wasted to bone by grief for his mother
  9. The Living Plunged into Mud and Fire: The Fall of SuiTangIdiom in the History of Sui: the misery of the people as the Sui collapsed
  10. Rats in the Shrine, Foxes in the WallTangIdiom in Wei Zheng's preface to the Essentials of Government: villains shielded by power
  11. Caring for the People as for the Wounded: Wei Zheng's Ten WarningsTangIdiom from Wei Zheng's Ten Warnings: how Taizong once tended the people as if they were wounded
  12. A String of Crimes Full, Evil Ripe for Harvest: the Fall of Emperor Yang of SuiTangIdiom from the Book of Sui: the historians' verdict on Emperor Yang, crimes full to the brim
  13. Turning Back the Sun and Moving HeavenTangIdiom from Wei Zheng's preface to the Essentials of Governance: power that can reverse fate
  14. The Water That Carries the Boat Can Overturn ItTangIdiom from Wei Zheng's memorial to Taizong: the people, like water, can carry or sink the state
  15. Opening with Bells, Closing with ChimesTangIdiom rooted in Mencius on Confucius: a full concert from bronze bells to jade chimes
  16. Carved Walls and Lofty HallsTangIdiom in Sui Yangdi's edict on building Luoyang: a promise of thrift soon broken
  17. Petty Thieves Pilfering Like Rats and DogsTangIdiom in the Book of Sui's verdict on Yangdi: rebels dismissed as petty thieves
Literature · Fables1
1. Riding a Tiger, Hard to DismountTangEmpress Dugu's words to Yang Jian in the Book of Sui: one riding a beast cannot get down
Literature · Poetry1
1. Expressing My FeelingsTangWei Zheng's poem on setting out to win over the east for the Tang, valuing loyalty above fame

Wei Zheng

Life and times

Works

Connections