Sui and Tang · Official

Wei Jian 韋堅

Attested AD 742 - AD 747

Passages: 18
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Wei Jian was an official.

Life and dates

Death

Execution
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 134, passage 110

Attested activity

AD 742 to AD 747 天寶
Dated from the passage context · New Book of Tang 134, passage 95

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Parent of Wei Liang (韋諒)
son 子
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 134, passage 109
Spouse of Wife of Wei Jian
wife 妻
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 134, passage 97
Sibling of Wei Bing (韋冰)
younger brother 弟 · Full siblings
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 134, passage 109
Sibling of Wei Zhi (韋芝)
younger brother 弟 · Full siblings
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 134, passage 109
Sibling of Wei Lan (韋蘭)
younger brother 弟 · Full siblings
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 134, passage 109

Places and affiliations

Polity Tang 唐 · Relation Served
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 134, passage 95

Events and relationships

Relation Rival of · Person Li Linfu (李林甫)
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 134, passages 98, 103

References in the histories

Search passages

History

18 passages

New Book of Tang, Chapter 134Volume 134 Biographies 59: Yuwen, Wei, Yang, Wang · 18 passages

堅為使，乃占咸陽，壅渭為堰，絕灞、浐而東，註永豐倉下，復與渭合。 As transport commissioner, Jian worked from Xianyang, damming the Wei to create a barrage, diverting the Ba and Chan rivers eastward, channeling the flow beneath Yongfeng Granary, and reuniting it with the Wei.

初，浐水銜苑左，有望春樓，堅於下鑿為潭以通漕，二年而成。 The Chan River originally ran along the western edge of the imperial park, where the Wangchun Tower stood. Jian dug a basin beneath the tower to link the canal, and the project took two years to complete.

堅豫取洛、汴、宋山東小斛舟三百首貯之潭，篙工柁師皆大笠、侈袖、芒屨，為吳、楚服。 Jian had collected three hundred small grain boats from Luoyang, Bian, Song, and the eastern provinces and moored them in the basin. The boatmen and helmsmen all wore broad hats, flowing sleeves, and straw sandals in the style of Wu and Chu.

開元末，得寶符於桃林，而陜尉崔成甫以堅大輸南方物與歌語葉，更變為《得寶歌》，自造曲十餘解，召吏唱習。 Near the end of the Kaiyuan era a treasure talisman was discovered at Taolin. Shaan Assistant Magistrate Cui Chengfu, seeing that Jian's massive shipment of southern goods matched the song's prophecy, reworked it into the "Treasure Song," writing more than ten new verses himself and training clerks to perform them.

船次樓下，堅跪取諸郡輕貨上於帝，以給貴戚、近臣。 As the fleet passed below the tower, Jian knelt and offered up the choicest goods from each prefecture for the emperor to distribute among the imperial clan and his closest ministers.

帝大悅，擢堅左散騎常侍，官屬賞有差，蠲役人一年賦，舟工賜錢二百萬，名潭曰廣運。 The emperor was delighted. He promoted Jian to Left Regular Attendant, gave graded rewards to his staff, exempted corvée laborers from one year's taxes, granted the boatmen two million cash, and named the basin Broad Transport.

堅進兼江淮南租庸、轉運、處置等使，又兼御史中丞，封韋城縣男。 Jian was further appointed concurrent commissioner for Jiang-Huai southern rent, transport, and disposition, also serving as Vice Censor-in-Chief, and was enfeoffed as Baron of Weicheng County.

初甚昵比，既見其寵，惡之。 At first Li Linfu and Jian were on intimate terms, but when he saw how favored Jian had become, he turned against him.

堅亦自以得天子意，銳於進，又與左相李適之善，故林甫授堅刑部尚書，奪諸使，以楊慎矜代之。 Jian, confident that he had the emperor's favor, pressed hard for advancement and was allied with Left Chancellor Li Shizhi. Linfu therefore made Jian Minister of Justice, removed all his transport commissions, and put Yang Shenjin in his place.

堅失職，稍怨望。 Stripped of his commissions, Jian gradually gave way to bitterness.

河西、隴右節度使皇甫惟明數於帝前短林甫，稱堅才，林甫知之。 Huangfu Weiming, military commissioner of Hexi and Longyou, repeatedly denigrated Li Linfu at court and praised Wei Jian's abilities. Li Linfu found out.

正月望夜，惟明與堅宴集，林甫奏堅外戚與邊將私，且謀立太子。 On the night of the Lantern Festival, Weiming and Jian held a banquet together. Li Linfu reported that Wei Jian, as an imperial connection by marriage, was colluding privately with a border commander and scheming to put the crown prince on the throne.

有詔訊鞫，林甫使楊慎矜、楊國忠、王鉷、吉溫等文致其獄，帝惑之，貶堅縉雲太守，惟明播川太守，籍其家。 The emperor ordered an investigation. Li Linfu set Yang Shenjin, Yang Guozhong, Wang Hong, Ji Wen, and others to fabricate the case. Misled, the emperor demoted Wei Jian to prefect of Jinyun and Huangfu Weiming to prefect of Bochuan, and had their families' property seized.

堅諸弟訴枉，帝大怒。 Wei Jian's brothers appealed against the injustice, and the emperor flew into a rage.

復貶堅江夏別駕。 Wei Jian was demoted again to vice-prefect of Jiangxia.

歲中，遣監察御史羅希奭就殺之，殺惟明於黔中，惟堅妻得原。 Within the year the court dispatched investigating censor Luo Xiyao to execute Wei Jian on the spot; Huangfu Weiming was killed in Qianzhong. Only Wei Jian's wife was spared.

堅始鑿潭，多壞民冢墓，起江、淮，至長安，公私騷然。 Wei Jian's initial canal project had desecrated countless commoners' graves. From the Jiang and Huai region all the way to Chang'an, the undertaking threw public and private affairs into turmoil.

及得罪，林甫遣使江、淮，鉤索堅罪，捕治舟夫漕史，所在獄皆滿。 After Wei Jian's disgrace, Li Linfu sent agents to the Jiang and Huai regions to dredge up every charge against him, arresting boatmen and transport clerks for prosecution until local prisons overflowed.