Yuwen Jie (宇文節),

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 ...

Dali (大禮),''

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. 71. was an official of the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

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 ...

. He served 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. Yuwen Jie's grandfather Yuwen Bi (宇文弼) was a major general during the

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...

and the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

. Not much is known about Yuwen Jie's own early career. At one point during the reign of

Emperor Taizong of Tang Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty fo ...

, he served as a secretary general of the executive bureau of government (尚書省, ''Shangshu Sheng''). He was said to be well-studied in laws and capable in his duties. One time, Emperor Taizong's cousin, the well-known general

Li Daozong Li Daozong () (603?-656?Historical accounts indicate that Li Daozong died at the age of 53, and died during the journey to his place of exile after he was exiled in 653, without reaching the place of exile. That appears to be some evidence that he ...

, had made a private request of him and Yuwen Jie, rather than acquiescing, reported it to Emperor Taizong, who rewarded him with silk. Emperor Taizong died in 649 and was succeeded by his son Emperor Gaozong. As of 651, Yuwen Jie was ''Huangmen Shilang'' (黃門侍郎), the deputy head of the examination bureau of government (門下省, ''Menxia Sheng''), when Emperor Gaozong gave him the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin'' (同中書門下三品), making him a chancellor ''de facto''. In 652, he became ''Shizhong'', the head of the examination bureau and post considered one for a chancellor. In winter 652, a plot was discovered centering Emperor Gaozong's sister Princess Gaoyang and her husband Fang Yi'ai (房遺愛). Along with another brother-in-law of Emperor Gaozong's, Chai Lingwu (柴令武), the general Xue Wanche (薛萬徹), and Emperor Gaozong's brother

Li Ke Li Ke (; 619 – 10 March 653), posthumously known as the Prince of Yùlín (鬱林王), often known by his greater title as the Prince of Wú (吳王), was an imperial prince of the Tang dynasty. As a highly honored son of Emperor Taizong, he w ...

, they were accused of plotting to overthrow Emperor Gaozong and replacing him with his uncle Li Yuanjing (李元景) the Prince of Jing. Yuwen Jie was friendly with Fang and tried to assist him, but eventually, all of the major alleged coconspirators were either executed or forced to commit suicide. On account of Yuwen's attempt to help Fang, Yuwen was exiled to Gui Prefecture (桂州, roughly modern

Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Kweilin, is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the we ...

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 ...

), where he died in exile. His grandson

Yuwen Rong Yuwen Rong () (d. 730 or 731) was a Chinese economist and politician, serving as a chancellor of the Tang dynasty, chancellor for 100 days during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Emperor Xuanzong. He was said to be the first official during ...

eventually served as a chancellor under Emperor Xuanzong.

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.

105 105 may refer to: *105 (number), the number * AD 105, a year in the 2nd century AD * 105 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 105 (telephone number), the emergency telephone number in Mongolia * 105 (MBTA bus), a Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority ...

. * ''

'', vol. 134. * ''

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. 199. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yuwen, Jie Year of birth missing Year of death missing Chancellors under Emperor Gaozong of Tang Jie