Ren Yaxiang (; died March 9, 662) was a Chinese military general and politician during the

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 ...

, serving as

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 ...

during the reign of Emperor Gaozong.

Background

Despite Ren Yaxiang's high status, little is firmly established about his background or career except for the years that he served as

—as, unusual for a chancellor, he did not have a biography in either 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 ...

'' or the ''

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 ...

''.See the Table of Contents for the ''Old Book of Tang'' and the Table of Contents for the ''New Book of Tang''. It is known that he was from

Weinan Weinan ( zh, s=渭南 , p=Wèinán) is a prefecture-level city in east-Guanzhong, central Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, northwest China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provinc ...

Service under Emperor Gaozong

As of 657, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, Ren Yaxiang was serving as Protector General of Yanran (燕然, headquartered in modern

Bayan Nur Bayannur or Bayannao'er ( zh, c=巴彦淖尔市, p=bāyànnàoěr; ''Bayannaɣur qota'', Mongolian Cyrillic Баяннуур хот) is a prefecture-level city in western Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. Until 1 December 2003, the ...

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

), when he was made a deputy to the general

Su Dingfang Su Dingfang () (591–667), formal name Su Lie () but went by the courtesy name of Dingfang, formally Duke Zhuang of Xing (), was a Chinese military general of the Tang dynasty who succeeded in destroying the Western Turkic Khaganate in 657. He wa ...

in Su's campaign against

Western Tujue The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate () was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after the split of the First Turkic Khaganate (founded in the 6th century o ...

's Shabuolüe Khan Ashina Helu (). He later participated in Su's battles against Ashina Helu and was a participant in the victories, which ultimately resulted in Ashina Helu's capture by another deputy of Su, Xiao Siye (). As of 659, Ren was serving as minister of defense, when he was given the designation of ''Canzhi Zhengshi'' (), making him a

''de facto''. Later that year, when the former chancellor and Emperor Gaozong's uncle

Zhangsun Wuji Zhangsun Wuji (; died 659), courtesy name Fuji (), formally the Duke of Zhao, was a Chinese politician who served as a chancellor in the early Tang dynasty. He was Empress Zhangsun's brother, which made him a brother-in-law of Emperor Taizong ( ...

, who had already been exiled on suspicion of treason, was accused of further plotting, Ren, along with fellow chancellors Li Ji,

Xu Jingzong Xu Jingzong (592 – September 20, 672), courtesy name Yanzu, posthumously known as Duke Gong of Gaoyang, was a Chinese cartographer, historian, and politician who served as a chancellor in the Tang dynasty. Allied with Emperor Gaozong's power ...

, Xin Maojiang, and

Lu Chengqing Lu Chengqing ( zh, 盧承慶; 595–670), courtesy name Ziyu (子餘), formally Duke Ding of Fanyang (范陽定公), was a Chinese politician during the Tang dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. Background Lu Chen ...

were put in charge of the investigation (although it was Xu, who was an ally of Emperor Gaozong's powerful wife

Empress Wu The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as st ...

(later known as Wu Zetian), who drove the investigation), which resulted in Zhangsun's forced suicide. In 661, when Emperor Gaozong launched a major campaign against

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

, Ren was one of generals commissioned with a major part of the force, along with Su, Xiao, and Qibi Heli (). He died in spring 662, while still serving on the campaign against Goguryeo. It was said that during Ren's service as major general, he never promoted his friends or relatives, but rather, when there were positions to be filled, would always request the proper agencies to fill them. Explaining his actions, he said, "Offices, no matter great or small, are all offices of the state. How can I use them to satisfy my own desires?" It was therefore said that within his army, rewards and punishments were fair, and that the people admired Ren for his fairness.

Notes and references

* ''

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 ...

'', vol. 200. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ren Yaxiang 662 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Gaozong of Tang Politicians from Weinan Tang dynasty generals at war against Goguryeo Tang dynasty generals at war against the Göktürks Tang dynasty generals from Shaanxi Year of birth unknown