Wu Yuanheng | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 758 |
| Died | 13 July 815 Chang'an, Tang Imperial China |
| Occupations |
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Wu Yuanheng (Chinese: 武元衡; 758 – 13 July 815[1]), courtesy name Bocang (伯蒼), formally Duke Zhongmin of Linhuai (臨淮忠湣公), was a Chinese poet and politician during the Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xianzong. Wu descended from a family of officials related to Empress Wu Zetian of Zhou and rose in the Tang bureaucracy during Emperor Dezong's reign, holding senior positions in the provinces and at court. After Dezong's grandson Xianzong ascended the throne, Wu became a chancellor and later served with distinction as governor of Xichuan Circuit in modern Chengdu, where he was a patron of the eminent poet Xue Tao. He returned to court in 813 to serve as chancellor and director of the examination bureau, and in that capacity supervised the court's campaign against the Henan warlord Wu Yuanji. On 13 July 815, Wu was assassinated in the imperial capital of Chang'an by agents of Wu Yuanji's ally Li Shidao, the military governor of Pinglu Circuit in Shandong.
- ^ Vol. 239 of Zizhi Tongjian indicated that Wu Yuanheng was assassinated before dawn (天未明) on the gui'mao day of the 6th month of the 10th year of the Yuan'he era; the date corresponds to 13 Jul 815 in the Julian calendar. Wu's biography in Old Book of Tang indicated the same death date (the 3rd day of the same month of the same year as the record in Tongjian, and the day being a gui'mao day). The biography also indicated that he was 58 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died. Thus, his birth year should be 758.