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Yao Chong
Tang chief minister under Empress Wu, Ruizong and Xuanzong whose reforms at the start of the Kaiyuan era were paired with Song Jing's in the phrase 'Yao and Song'
Mural of the event “Reign of Kaiyuan”, which this person took part in.
After the long accumulation through Zhenguan and the Wu Zhou period, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang on his ascension ruled with vigor and abolished long-standing bureaucratic ills. He vigorously developed production, and the empire's national strength was building toward the prosperous historical peak.
Also known as Zi Yuanzhi · Yao Yuanchong · Duke of Liang · Shi Wenxian
- Roles
- Chief Ministers
Yao Chong, originally named Yuanchong, courtesy name Yuanzhi, came from Xiashi in Shan prefecture. He first became chief minister under Empress Wu in 698 and in 705 joined Zhang Jianzhi in killing the Zhang brothers. Chief minister again under Ruizong, he was demoted after urging that Princess Taiping be sent to live in Luoyang. When Xuanzong summoned him, the New Book of Tang (Xin Tangshu) says he first laid out ten conditions, among them lenient government and no eunuchs in politics, and accepted office only when they were granted; he dropped the Yuan from his name because it clashed with the new reign title Kaiyuan, and became Duke of Liang. When locusts ravaged the east in 716 and farmers only prayed, he sent censors to have them caught and burned. He stepped down after recommending Song Jing, and died in 721 with the posthumous name Wenxian; the two men are remembered together as 'Yao and Song'.
Life and times
Dates 650 CE–721 CE
- 713Reign of KaiyuanTook partage 63
- 713Kaiyuan Peak Prosperity of High Tangage 63