Zheng Tan

After Emperor Jingzong was assassinated around new year 827 and was succeeded by his brother Emperor Wenzong,[6] Zheng Tan was made Zuo Sanqi Changshi (左散騎常侍), a senior advisory official at the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng). In 829, he was also given the title of assistant imperial scholar (翰林侍講學士). In 830, he was made deputy minister of public works. It was said that Zheng was learned in the Confucian classics and was upright in his behavior, and therefore Emperor Wenzong respected him. At Zheng's suggestion, Emperor Wenzong started a project where the text of the Confucian classics were edited, commentaries were written, and the resulting text carved onto stone tablets and displayed publicly at the imperial university.[3] (This project would not be completed until 837, when Zheng would be chancellor.)[7]

As of 831, Li Zongmin and Niu Sengru were chancellors, and Li Zongmin, because Zheng was friendly with Li Deyu, viewed Zheng pejoratively. He was, in particular, disliking the fact that Zheng, as assistant imperial scholar, would have access to the emperor. He thus recommended Zheng to be the minister of public works (工部尚書, Gongbu Shangshu) but had him stripped of his assistant imperial scholar status. However, Emperor Wenzong, who was interested in studying the Confucian classics, missed Zheng, and he again made Zheng assistant imperial scholar in 832.[3] In 833, after Li Deyu became chancellor to replace Niu, there was a time when Emperor Wenzong complimented the knowledge that Yin You (殷侑) had about the classics, comparing him to Zheng. Li Zongmin responded, "Perhaps Zheng Tan and Yin You have understanding of the classics, but their suggestions are not worth listening to." Li Deyu responded, "The suggestions of Zheng Tan and Yin You are ignored by others, but not by Your Imperial Majesty." Soon thereafter, without further consulting Li Zongmin, Emperor Wenzong made Zheng the chief imperial censor (御史大夫, Yushi Daifu). Soon thereafter, Li Zongmin was sent out of the capital to serve as the military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi).[8]

In 834, Zheng was made the minister of census (戶部尚書, Hubu Shangshu). Later in the year, Li Deyu was stripped of his chancellor post, and Li Zongmin, who again became chancellor, worked in conjunction with Emperor Wenzong's close associates Li Xun and Zheng Zhu to eject Li Deyu's allies out of important posts. Zheng Tan was thereafter made Mishu Jian (秘書監), the head of the Palace Library. In summer 835, after Li Zongmin and his ally Yang Yuqing (楊虞卿) offended Emperor Wenzong and were exiled, Zheng was made the minister of justice (刑部尚書, Xingbu Shangshu). In winter 835, he was made You Pushe (右僕射), one of the heads of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng) as well as the principal of the imperial university (國子祭酒, Guozi Jijiu).[3]

Soon thereafter, a plot by Emperor Wenzong, Li Xun, and Zheng Zhu to slaughter the powerful eunuchs (later known as the Ganlu Incident) ended in failure — with the eunuchs arresting or slaughtering Li Xun, Zheng Zhu, and many other imperial officials, including Li Xun's fellow chancellors Wang Ya, Jia Su, and Shu Yuanyu — at the eunuchs' prompting, Emperor Wenzong summoned Zheng Tan and his Pushe colleague Linghu Chu to the palace to examine a confession by Wang — extracted under torture — that he and the other officials were set to overthrow Emperor Wenzong and replace him with Zheng Zhu. Linghu and Zheng Tan confirmed that the handwriting was Wang's. Subsequently, Emperor Wenzong kept Zheng Tan and Linghu at the Office of the Chancellors to oversee the aftermaths. (Li Xun, Wang, Jia, and Shu were subsequently executed, while Zheng Zhu was killed in an ambush.) Linghu, however, subsequently offended the leading eunuch Qiu Shiliang by drafting an edict that, while condemning Wang and the other chancellors of treason, was in such empty language to imply the lack of believability of the treason allegations, and was not made chancellor. Zheng Tan was subsequently made chancellor de facto with the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), along with Li Shi.[7] Zheng was also created the Duke of Yingyang.[3]

At the time that Zheng Tan and Li Shi served as chancellors, the eunuchs, led by Qiu Shiliang, often tried to humiliate the imperial officials by citing the examples of Li Xun and Zheng Zhu. It was said that Li Shi and Zheng Tan responded by pointing out that Li Xun and Zheng Zhu had initially been recommended to Emperor Wenzong by the eunuch Wang Shoucheng. Thereafter, it was said that the eunuchs' arrogance subsided somewhat, and the imperial officials depended on Li Shi and Zheng Tan to protect them. Soon thereafter, there was an incident in which, when the eunuch Tian Quancao (田全操) returned to the capital, he had remarked that when he got to the capital he would slaughter the officials, causing a general panic in Chang'an. Zheng suggested to Li Shi that they find refuge when Tian was approaching Chang'an, but Li Shi refused, pointing out that if even the chancellors fled, the panic would overtake the capital entirely, and that if there were to be disaster, they would not be able to get away anyway. Zheng agreed. Subsequently, Zheng and Li Shi urged that the relatives of Li Xun and the other executed officials be no longer pursued.[7]

However, the eunuchs continued to be in control of the government, and it was said that the imperial officials worried about being slaughtered on a daily basis. It was not until spring 836, when Liu Congjian the military governor of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), submitted harshly worded petitions protesting the innocence of Wang Ya and Jia Su and accusing Qiu of crimes, did Qiu and the other eunuchs began to cut back on their behavior and allow Emperor Wenzong, as well as Li Shi and Zheng, to exercise their authority.[7]

It was said that Zheng, while well-learned, was not a good writer, and he despised the Jinshi imperial examinees for their overly-grand writing. He therefore suggested that the Jinshi examinations be abolished — a suggestion that Emperor Wenzong did not accept.[3] Still, when Emperor Wenzong and Zheng had a discussion about poetry, Zheng pointed out that the poetry of the time often had inflated language and often were completely not descriptive.[7] Meanwhile, with the imperial university carrying out the classics-carving project, at Zheng's recommendation, the officials Zhou Chi, Cui Qiu (崔球), Zhang Cizong (張次宗), and Wen Ye (溫業) were put in charge of the project. When the project was completed, Zheng was given the additional offices of Menxia Shilang (門下侍郎, the deputy head of the examination bureau) and imperial scholar at Hongwen Institute (弘文館), and was put in charge of editing the imperial history.[3]

In 836, with Li Guyan, a former chancellor, serving again as chancellor with Zheng and Li Shi, Li Shi advocated the posthumous rehabilitation of the former chancellor Song Shenxi, whom Wang Shoucheng and Zheng Zhu had previously accused of treason, leading to Song's exile. Zheng and Li Guyan joined Li Shi in his petition, and Emperor Wenzong agreed, restoring Song's offices posthumously.[7]

By 838, Li Shi and Li Guyan were no longer chancellor, and serving with Zheng were Chen Yixing, Yang Sifu, and Li Jue. Soon, the chancellors were frequently arguing with each other, with Zheng and Chen (both of whom were considered Li Faction leaders) on one side and Yang and Li Jue (both of whom were considered Niu Faction leaders) on the other.[5] For example, when Yang advocated for Li Zongmin, who was then forced to serve in the lowly post of military advisor to the prefect of Hengzhou (modern Hengyang in Hunan), to be promoted closer to the capital, Emperor Wenzong agreed, but Zheng opposed vehemently, stating as far that he would resign his chancellorship if Li Zongmin were promoted, leading to a heated argument between Yang and Zheng in Emperor Wenzong's presence. (In the aftermaths of the argument, Li Zongmin was made the prefect of Hang Prefecture (杭州, in modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang).) It was said that from that point on, every important decision became colored by factional politics, such that Emperor Wenzong could not rule on them easily. Late in 838, Zheng offered to resign. In response, Emperor Wenzong, while not accepting the resignation, allowed him to report to the Office of the Chancellors only once every three to five days.[9]

In 839, there was another major argument between the chancellors that led to Zheng's and Chen's removal. Emperor Wenzong had praised the talents of the acting director of finances, Du Cong. Yang and Li Jue thereafter recommended Du to be the ministry of census. Chen responded, "Such orders should come from the Emperor. In the past, those who lost stately sovereignty did so by losing their authorities to their subjects." Li Jue responded, "Your Imperial Majesty had told me previously that an Emperor should select chancellors, not suspect them." In a subsequent discussion, Chen again emphasized that the Emperor should not yield authority to his subjects. Li Jue, offended, responded, "Chen Yixing is obviously suspecting that there are chancellors who are stealing power from Your Imperial Majesty. I have often requested retirement, and I would be fortunate to be given a post as an imperial prince's teacher." Zheng then stated, "Your Imperial Majesty ruled well in the first and second years of the Kaicheng era [(i.e., 836 and 837)], while less so in the third and fourth years of Kaicheng [(i.e., 838 and 839)]." Yang responded, "In the first and second years, Zheng Tan and Chen Yixing were in power. In the third and fourth years, your subject and Li Jue joined them. Of course, the crime is mine." He then stated, "I do not dare to again enter the Office of the Chancellors!" He withdrew from Emperor Wenzong's presence. Emperor Wenzong subsequently sent a eunuch to comfort him, and Zheng partially apologized, stating, "Your subject is foolish. I did not intend to point at Yang Sifu, but Yang Sifu's reaction shows that he has no tolerance for me." Yang responded, "Zheng Tan stated that the governance is deteriorating year by year. This does not only incriminate your subject, but also speaks ill of your holy virtues." Yang then submitted multiple offers to resign. Soon thereafter, Zheng and Chen were stripped of their chancellor posts, and Zheng was again made You Pushe.[9]