Ministers › Chief Ministers
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
- 650 CEBorn
Tang - 713Reign of Kaiyuan
Took partage 63Early in his reign, Xuanzong appointed Yao Chong and Song Jing, reformed administration, and fostered the prosperity associated with Kaiyuan.- Kaiyuan Peak Prosperity of High TangEmperor Xuanzong & Chancellors Reaching High Tang Apex
- Kaiyuan Peak Prosperity of High Tang
- 721 CEDied
Works
Literature · Prose3- Ten Essential MattersTangTen conditions Yao Chong reputedly set before Emperor Xuanzong when made chief minister in 713
- Testament Admonishing My Sons and GrandsonsTangYao Chong's deathbed testament urging his heirs to be content, divide property and bury simply
- Admonition of the Ice PotTangChief minister Yao Chong's admonition likening an honest official to a flawless ice pot
- Literature · Sayings3
- In the Space of a Glance Down and UpTangIdiom from Yao Chong's last testament: how quickly the present becomes the past
- Pure as Ice, Lustrous as JadeTangIdiom from a note to A New Account of Tales of the World: a famed father- and son-in-law
- Touching the Dragon's Reversed ScalesTangLine from Yao Chong's Ten Essential Matters: let ministers touch the dragon's scales
Connections
- Shared events1
- Rulers and officials1
