Huan Yanfan
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Huan Yanfan (桓彥範) (653–706),
courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...
Shize (士則), formally Prince Zhonglie of Fuyang (扶陽忠烈王), briefly known during the reign of
Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (26 November 656 – 3 July 710), personal name Li Xian, and at other times Li Zhe or Wu Xian, was the fourth and seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling briefly in 684 and again from 705 to 710. During ...
as Wei Yanfan (韋彥範), was an official of the Chinese
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
and
Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was List of rulers of China#Tang dynasty, Empress of China from 660 to 705, ruling first through others and later in her own right. She ruled as queen consort , empress consort th ...
's Zhou dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong. He was a key figure in the coup () that overthrew Wu Zetian and restored Emperor Zhongzong in 705, but was later exiled due to false accusations instigated by Wu Zetian's nephew
Wu Sansi Wu Sansi (died August 7, 707), known posthumously as Prince Xuan of Liang (), was a Chinese prince and politician of the Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties. Wu Sansi served as a chancellor and imperial prince during the reign of his aunt, Empress Wu Zetia ...
and killed in exile in a cruel manner.


Background

Huan Yanfan was born in 653. His family was from Run Prefecture (潤州, roughly modern
Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and ...
,
Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...
) and traced its ancestry to the
Jin dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...
(266–420) general Huan Chong. His grandfather Huan Fasi (桓法嗣) and father Huan Simin (桓思敏) both served as officials during
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
, and on account of this heritage, Huan Yanfan was made an officer of the imperial guards when he was young. It was said that he was generous and expressive.


During Wu Zetian's reign

Early in the ''Shengli'' era (697–700)—when the ruling sovereign was
Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was List of rulers of China#Tang dynasty, Empress of China from 660 to 705, ruling first through others and later in her own right. She ruled as queen consort , empress consort th ...
, the wife of Emperor Gaozong, who had seized the throne in 690 and taken the title of "emperor" of a new Zhou dynasty, interrupting Tang—Huan Yanfan became ''Sixingsi Zhubu'' (司刑寺主簿), the secretary general at the supreme court (司刑寺, ''Sixingsi''). The
chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Di Renjie Di Renjie (630 – November 11, 700), courtesy name Huaiying (懷英), posthumous name Duke Wenhui of Liang (梁文惠公), was a Chinese politician of the Tang dynasty, Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties, twice serving as Chancellor of the Tang dynas ...
was impressed by his talent and showed him respect. Huan was eventually made an imperial censor. In 704, Huan was made the assistant chief judge of the supreme court (司刑少卿, ''Sixing Shaoqing''). At that time, Wu Zetian's lover Zhang Changzong was accused of allowing the fortuneteller Li Hongtai (李弘泰) to prophesy that Zhang would be emperor one day. The censor
Song Jing Song Jing (宋璟) (663 – November 21, 737), formally Duke Wenzhen of Guangping (廣平文貞公), was a Chinese politician during the Tang dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, serving as the Chancellor of the Tang dynasty, chancellor during th ...
advocated that Zhang be arrested, a suggestion that Wu Zetian rejected. At Huan's further urging, Wu Zetian allowed Song to investigate, although she soon ordered the investigation terminated. Meanwhile, at that time, the chancellor Li Jiao advocated that the people who suffered at the hands of Wu Zetian's secret police officials, whom she entrusted with great power early in her reign, be restored in their reputation, a suggestion that Wu Zetian initially tabled, but after Huan suggested a compromise—that such restoration be limited to persons other than those accused of being involved in three military rebellions against her (those started by
Li Jingye Li Jingye (; 636 – December 29, 684), also known as Xu Jingye (), was a Chinese general and politician who was a grandson of the Tang dynasty general Li Shiji who, after Emperor Gaozong's powerful wife Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian) ...
the Duke of Ying, Li Chong the Prince of Langye, and Li Zhen the Prince of Yue—Wu Zetian approved the proposal. In spring 705, with Wu Zetian being ill, Huan entered into a plot with a number of officials and generals, including Zhang Jianzhi, Cui Xuanwei, Jing Hui, and
Yuan Shuji Yuan Shuji (; died 706), posthumous name Prince Zhenlie of Nanyang (南陽貞烈王), was an official of China's Tang dynasty and Wu Zhou, Wu Zhou dynasty, serving as Chancellor of the Tang dynasty, chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong ...
, to kill Zhang Changzong and his brother Zhang Yizhi, also a lover of Wu Zetian's. Before proceeding, Huan reported this to his mother, and his mother, approving his involvement in the plot, told him, "Where loyalty and filial piety cannot both be satisfied, you should first be faithful to the empire before your obligations to your family." With agreement from Li Xian the
Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...
(Wu Zetian's son and former emperor), they acted on February 20, killing Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, and then surrounding Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian ordered Li Xian to return to the crown prince's palace, stating, "It is you. Since now the hoodlums i.e., the Zhang brothers, whom the coup leaders were claiming to have designs on the throne)have died, you can return to the Eastern Palace." However, Huan stepped forward and spoke: Wu Zetian did not speak further after that. While the coup leaders allowed her to retain the title of "emperor," they had her put under house arrest at the secondary palace Shangyang Palace (上陽宮) and forced her to yield the throne to Li Xian, who was formerly emperor, and he was restored to the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong). Two days later, Emperor Zhongzong was formally restored.


During Emperor Zhongzong's second reign

Huan Yanfan, along with Zhang Jianzhi, Cui Xuanwei, Jing Hui, and Yuan Shuji, were recognized as leaders in Emperor Zhongzong's restoration, and they were put into key positions and created dukes, with Huan becoming ''Nayan'' (納言)—the head of the examination bureau of government (鸞臺, ''Luantai''), and carrying the title of Duke of Qiao. He and the other coup leaders instituted a regime of restoring Tang institutions and deprecating Zhou ones, and when fellow chancellor Yao Yuanzhi displayed distress at Wu Zetian's removal to Shangyang Palace, Zhang and Huan had him demoted out of the capital. (One of the coup participants, Xue Jichang (薛季昶), had advocated to Zhang Jianzhi and Jing the killing of Wu Zetian's nephew
Wu Sansi Wu Sansi (died August 7, 707), known posthumously as Prince Xuan of Liang (), was a Chinese prince and politician of the Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties. Wu Sansi served as a chancellor and imperial prince during the reign of his aunt, Empress Wu Zetia ...
the Prince of Liang in the aftermaths of the killing of Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, but neither Zhang Jianzhi nor Jing paid Xue's suggestion much heed until it was too late; in fact, Jing argued hard against the killing of the Wus, even though another subordinate,
Liu Youqiu Liu Youqiu (; 655 – December 6, 715Volume 211 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Liu died on the ''jiashen'' day of the 11th month of the 3rd year of the Kaiyuan era of Tang Xuanzong's reign. This date corresponds to 6 Dec 715 on the Gregorian ca ...
, also advocated for the Wus' death and unsuccessfully tried to convince Jing and Huan.) Subsequently, alarmed about the rise of the power of Empress Wei, who carried on an affair with Wu Sansi, as well as that of the monk Huifan (慧範), Huan submitted petitions requesting that Empress Wei's power be curbed and that Huifan be executed. Emperor Zhongzong paid him no heed. When Emperor Zhongzong gave high offices to the sorcerers Zheng Pusi (鄭普思) and Ye Jingneng (葉靜能), Huan again opposed to no avail. In summer 705, by which time Emperor Zhongzong's trust in Huan and his colleagues had completely been lost, Emperor Zhongzong, following Wu Sansi's recommendation, created the five coup leaders princes—in Huan's case, Prince of Fuyang—but stripped them of chancellor positions. He also bestowed on Huan the surname of Wei, making him a member of Empress Wei's clan. In spring 706, Jing was further sent out of
Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...
, which was now capital again, to serve as the prefect of Ming Prefecture (洺州, in modern
Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...
,
Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
). Later in spring 706, with all five of the coup leaders already out of the capital, Wu Sansi and Empress Wei made accusations against them, and they were demoted to more remote prefectures—in Huan's case, to be the prefect of Bo Prefecture (亳州, roughly modern
Bozhou Bozhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Huaibei to the northeast, Bengbu to the southeast, Huainan to the south, Fuyang to the southwest, and Henan to the north. Its population was 4,996,844 at ...
,
Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...
). Wu Sansi then had his strategist Zheng Yin further accuse the five of them of having participated in the plot of Emperor Zhongzong's son-in-law Wang Tongjiao (王同皎)—who was executed early in 706 after having been accused of plotting to kill Wu Sansi and deposing Empress Wei. The five were further demoted with the provisions that they would never be allowed to return to the capital
Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...
, with Huan becoming the military advisor to the prefect of Long Prefecture (瀧州, roughly modern
Yunfu Yunfu (), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Wanfow, and historically known as Dong'an (), which was postal map romanization, formerly romanized as Tong On, from 1578 to 1913, is a prefecture-level city in we ...
,
Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
) and stripped of his surname of Wei. Wu Sansi then had accusations that Empress Wei was having affairs posted publicly in
Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...
, with the intent of incensing Emperor Zhongzong—and then accused the five coup leaders of being behind this public humiliation. He then had his associates propose that the five be killed. Emperor Zhongzong, citing that the five had been previously awarded iron certificates that guaranteed that they would not be executed in recognition of their contribution, ordered that they be reduced to commoner rank and permanently exiled to the
Lingnan Lingnan (; ) is a geographic area referring to the lands in the south of the Nanling Mountains. The region covers the modern China, Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong & Macau and Northern Vietnam. Background The ar ...
region with their families—in Huan's case, to Rang Prefecture (瀼州, roughly modern
Chongzuo Chongzuo (; ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region near the Sino-Vietnamese border. It is home to one of China's largest Zhuang people, Zhuang populations. Geography and climate Chongzuo is locate ...
,
Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...
). At the suggestion of Cui Shi, Wu Sansi then sent the censor Zhou Lizhen (周利貞) to the Lingnan region under guise of reviewing the affairs of the region but with instructions to kill the five. When Zhou encountered Huan at Gui Prefecture (貴州, roughly modern Guigang,
Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...
), he had Huan bound and then slid over sharpened bamboo roots, tearing Huan's flesh off until bones were showing; he then caned Huan to death.However, Cui's biography in the ''
Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
'' indicated that Huan committed suicide upon hearing that Zhou was arriving. See ''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 74.
After Emperor Zhongzong's death in 710 and Emperor Zhongzong's brother Li Dan the Prince of Xiang, himself a former emperor, was restored (as Emperor Ruizong), Huan and his colleagues were posthumously honored.


Notes and references

* ''
Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
'', vol. 9

* ''
New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...
'', vol. 12

* ''
Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...
'', vols.
207 Year 207 (Roman numerals, CCVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Severus (or, less frequently, year 960 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...
, 208. {{DEFAULTSORT:Huan, Yanfan Chancellors under Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Tang dynasty nonimperial princes Chinese judges 653 births 706 deaths