Yan Zhenqing (709-August 23, 784), courtesy name Qingchen, nicknamed Xianmenzi, also nicknamed Yingfang, was born in Jingzhao Wannian (now Xi'an, Shaanxi), and his ancestral home is Langya Linyi ( Today's Linyi, Shandong), the fifth descendant of Yan Shigu and the younger brother of Yan Gaoqing, was a famous official and outstanding calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty.
In the 22nd year of Kaiyuan (734), Yan Zhenqing ascended to the rank of Jinshi. He was appointed as the supervisory censor four times and moved to the palace to serve as the censor. Because he was rejected by the powerful minister Yang Guozhong, he was demoted to the prefect of Pingyuan and was known as "Yan Pingyuan". During the Anshi Rebellion. Rebels versus rebels. After Suzong of the Tang Dynasty came to the throne, he paid homage to the minister of the Ministry of Industry and the imperial censor to recruit envoys for Hebei. When he arrived at Fengxiang, he was awarded the title of Minister of the Ministry of Constitution, and later moved to the imperial censor. During the reign of Emperor Zong of the Tang Dynasty, he became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Prince and Grand Master, and was granted the title of Duke of Lu County, and was known as "Gong Yan Lu". In the first year of Xingyuan (784), he was framed by Prime Minister Lu Qi and sent to the rebel general Li Xilie's ministry to inform him. He sternly resisted the thieves and was eventually hanged.
Yan Zhenqing has exquisite calligraphy and is good at running and regular script. He created the "Yan style" regular script and is known as the "Four Masters of Regular Script" together with Zhao Mengfu, Liu Gongquan and Ouyang Xun. It is also called "Yan Liu" together with Liu Gongquan, and is also known as "Yan Jin Liu Gu". He was good at poetry and prose, and had many works, including "Yunhai Jingyuan", "Liyue Collection", "Wuxing Collection", "Luling Collection" and "Linchuan Collection", all of which are lost. The Song Dynasty compiled "Yan Lu Gongji"
In the third year of Emperor Jinglong's reign (709), Yan Zhenqing was born in Dunhuafang, Wannian County, Jingzhao Prefecture.
Yan Zhenqing lost his father when he was three years old, and his mother Yin personally educated him. When he grew up, he was knowledgeable, good at writing articles, and served his mother very filially.
He became a Jinshi in the 22nd year of Kaiyuan (734) and was admitted to the Jia Department.
In the first year of Tianbao (742), Xiu Yike, a Chinese poet, was appointed Lieutenant of Liquan County. After being promoted twice, he was appointed as the supervisory censor and was ordered to inspect Hedong and Longzhou. At that time, there was an unjust case in Wuyuan that had not been resolved for a long time, and the weather was dry. After Yan Zhenqing vindicated his injustice, it rained heavily. The people in Wuyuan called it "yushi rain". He also inspected Hedong County and wrote to Xuanzong to impeach Shuofang County Magistrate Zheng Yanzuo for not burying his mother thirty years after her death. Xuanzong ordered that Zheng Yanzuo should not be employed for life. Everyone who heard about this was frightened.
In the ninth year of Tianbao (750), Yan Zhenqing was promoted to the position of imperial censor. At that time, censor Jiwen framed Song Hun, the censor Zhongcheng, for personal grudges and demoted him to serve in Hezhou. Yan Zhenqing said: "How can you want to harm Song Jing's descendants out of anger?" Prime Minister Yang Guozhong hated him, suggesting that the imperial censor Zhongcheng Jiang Lie asked Xuanzong to appoint Zhenqing as the interview judge of the Eastern Capital (Luoyang), and then he was transferred to the Ministry of Military Affairs Yuanwai Lang, Yang Guozhong Always wanting to squeeze him out, in the twelfth year of Tianbao (AD 753), Yan Zhenqing was transferred out of the capital and served as the governor of Pingyuan.
Pingyuan County is under the jurisdiction of Anlushan. At that time, signs of Anlushan's rebellion had emerged, so Yan Zhenqing pretended that the rain would not stop, secretly raised the city wall, dredged the moat, recruited strong men, and stored grain and grass. On the surface, he went boating and drank with guests every day to numb Anlu Mountain. An Lushan really thought that he was a scholar and had nothing to worry about. In the fourteenth year of Tianbao (755), An Lushan raised troops in Fanyang on the pretext of "worrying about the danger of the country" and receiving a secret edict to attack Yang Guozhong. Most of the counties and counties in Hebei were captured by the rebels. Only Pingyuan City was well defended. Yan Zhenqing sent Li Ping, the commander of the army, to ride a fast horse to Chang'an to report to Xuanzong. When Xuanzong first heard the news about An Lushan's rebellion, he sighed: "There is not a single loyal minister in the twenty-four counties of Hebei?" When Li Ping arrived in Beijing, Xuanzong was overjoyed and said to the officials around him: "I don't understand Yan Zhenqing." What a man, what he did was so outstanding!"[8] At that time, there were 3,000 soldiers in Pingyuan County, and 10,000 more soldiers were recruited. Li Ze was sent to join the army to be the commander, and appointed Diao Wansui, He Lin, and Xu. Hao, Ma Xiangru, Gao Kanglang and others were generals and led the troops respectively. They rewarded the soldiers grandly at the west gate of the city. Yan Zhenqing made an impassioned speech and shed tears. The whole army was moved. Lu Quancheng, the governor of Raoyang, Li Sui, the governor of Jinan, Wang Huaizhong, the governor of Qinghe, Li Muwei, the Sima of Jingcheng, and Wang Tao, the governor of Yejun, each led their troops to join him. The imperial court ordered Beihai Governor Helan Jinming to lead five thousand elite soldiers to cross the river to assist.
The rebels captured Luoyang, the eastern capital, and sent Duan Ziguang to send the heads of Li Xin, Lu Yi, and Jiang Qing to Hebei for public display. Yan Zhenqing was worried that everyone would be frightened, so he coaxed the generals and said: "I have always known Li Xin and others, and these heads do not belong to them.
Liu Zhan later rebelled and crossed the Huaihe River, while Li Ao fled to Jiangxi. Li Fuguo moved the Supreme Emperor to the West Palace, and Yan Zhenqing led hundreds of officials to greet him. Li Fuguo hated him and demoted him to the post of governor of Peng. When Daizong came to the throne, he was appointed as the governor of Lizhou. He did not issue a letter of appointment and was appointed as the minister of the Ministry of official affairs. He was appointed as the governor of Jingnan, but before he could take up his post, he was appointed Minister Youcheng.
When Dai Zong returned to the court from Shaanzhou, Yan Zhenqing invited Dai Zong to visit the mausoleum and ancestral temple first, and then ascended the throne in the main hall. Prime Minister Yuan Zai thought he was pedantic, and Yan Zhenqing said angrily: "Does this opinion apply to you? What's the fault of the person who suggested it? But how can the court rules withstand your breaking them twice?" Yuan Zai was very angry. Soon after, he was appointed as Shuofang's Xingying envoy with the post of Shangshu of the Ministry of Inspection and Punishment. He did not take up the post and stayed in the capital to preside over the affairs of the Shangshu Province, and was renamed Duke of Lu County. At that time, Yuan Zai formed a party for personal gain. He was afraid that the ministers would report to Dai Zong, so he wanted to deceive Dai Zong and asked him to order all the ministers' opinions to be reviewed by him before they could be reported. Yan Zhenqing wrote a memorial to dissuade him, so the eunuchs spread the news inside and outside the palace.
Later Yan Zhenqing took charge of the affairs of the Ancestral Temple and said that the sacrificial vessels were not in good repair. Yuan Zai thought that he had slandered the court and was demoted to Xiazhou Biejia, and later changed to Jizhou Sima; in April of the third year of Dali (768), He was appointed governor of Fuzhou and Huzhou. During his five years in Fuzhou, he cared about the sufferings of the people, focused on agricultural production, and was enthusiastic about public welfare undertakings. In response to the current situation that the main channel of the Fuhe River was silted up, the branch ports were overflowing, and the farmland was submerged, he led the people to build a long stone dam south of Biandanzhou, a small island in the center of the Fuhe River, thus relieving the flood problem and diverting water to irrigate the fields during the dry season. In order to commemorate him, the people of Fuzhou named the stone dam Qianjinpi and built an ancestral temple to offer sacrifices at four seasons.
After Yuan Zai was killed, Yang Wan recommended him and promoted him to Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishments, and then to Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel. After the death of Emperor Daizong, he was appointed as the envoy of etiquette. Therefore, he submitted a memorial saying that the etiquette for adding posthumous titles to emperors in previous dynasties was complicated and that the etiquette should be based on the initial etiquette. Yuan Wei resolutely rejected his opinion and refused to report it to the court. At that time, after the death of the country and the war, the laws and regulations were abolished. Although Yan Zhenqing was knowledgeable about the past and the present, his suggestions were mostly blocked by powerful ministers and could not be delivered to the emperor.
When Yang Yan was in charge of state affairs, Yan Zhenqing was not tolerated by Yang Yan because of his uprightness, so he was appointed as the Prince's Young Master, but he also served as the ceremonial envoy. After Lu Qi came to power, he became even more disgusted with Yan Zhenqing's uprightness. He changed his position to the crown prince and grand master, and even dismissed the etiquette envoy. He sent people many times to find out which town was more convenient, and prepared to exclude him from Kyoto. Yan Zhenqing went to see Lu Qi and told him: "The head of your late father Lu Zhongcheng (Lu Yi) was sent to Pingyuan County. His face was covered with blood. I couldn't bear to wipe it with my clothes and licked it clean with my tongue. You can't bear to tolerate me." "Really?" Lu Qi bowed in fear on the outside, but in his heart he was filled with hatred.
In the first year of Xingyuan (784), when Li Xilie captured Ruzhou, Lu Qi actually suggested sending Yan Zhenqing as an envoy to Li Xilie's army to convey the imperial decree, and Dezong agreed. The courtiers were shocked. Prime Minister Li Mian also made a secret report and insisted on keeping him. Uncle Yin Zheng of Henan also advised him not to go, and Yan Zhenqing replied: "Can the imperial edict be evaded?" After Yan Zhenqing arrived, Li Xilie wanted to give him a blow. During the meeting, more than a thousand people including his generals and adopted sons gathered inside and outside the hall. As soon as Yan Zhenqing started to read out the imperial edict, those people rushed up to him, holding bright sharp knives in their hands. They surrounded Yan Zhenqing and cursed and threatened her, but Yan Zhenqing's expression remained unchanged. Li Xilie protected him with his body and ordered the generals to retreat and let Zhen Qing live in the post house. Li Xilie forced Yan Zhenqing to write a letter to Dezong to clear up his crimes, but Yan Zhenqing refused to listen. Li Xilie used his name to send Yan Zhenqing's nephew Yan Xian and several followers to the court to continue his request, but Dezong did not reply. Every time Yan Zhenqing wrote to his sons, he only warned them to strictly respect their ancestors and raise orphans. He never said anything else.
Li Xilie sent Li Yuanping to persuade him. Yan Zhenqing rebuked Yuanping and said, "You were appointed as an official by the country and cannot repay the country. You think I don't have the soldiers to kill you, so why do you come to persuade me?" Li Xilie invited him. His accomplices held a grand meeting, summoned Yan Zhenqing, and instigated the actors to use their operas to attack and insult the imperial court. Zhenqing said angrily: "You are the emperor's minister, how can you do this!" He stood up, brushed his clothes and left. Xi Lie was very ashamed.
At that time, Zhu Tao, Wang Wujun, Tian Yue, Li Na and other envoys from the vassal town were all present. They said to Li Xilie: "I have heard for a long time that the Grand Master has a high reputation and good moral character. You want to be the emperor. The Grand Master is here to choose someone." Who can be better than the Grand Master?" Yan Zhenqing scolded him, "Have you heard that Yan Changshan was my brother? Thief. I am nearly eighty years old, and I am a Grand Master. I will keep my honor until death. How could I succumb to your coercion?" Everyone looked pale.
Li Xilie finally arrested Yan Zhenqing and guarded him with soldiers. A pit measuring one foot square was dug in the courtyard, and there were rumors that he would be buried alive. Yan Zhenqing made an appointment with Li Xilie and said, "Life and death matter, so why do you want to do those tricks!" When Zhang Boyi was defeated, Li Xilie ordered Zhang Boyi's honor guard and head to be shown to Yan Zhenqing. , he fell to the ground crying in grief. It happened that Zhou Zeng and Kang Xiulin, who were Li Xilie's accomplices, wanted to kill Li Xilie in a sneak attack and respected Yan Zhenqing as his commander. When the incident was revealed and Zhou Zeng was killed, Li Xilie escorted Yan Zhenqing to Caizhou. Yan Zhenqing estimated that he would definitely die, so he wrote a suicide note to Dezong, his own epitaph and a memorial. He pointed to the west wall of the dormitory and said, "This is where my body is!" When Li Xilie proclaimed himself emperor, he sent an envoy to ask Deng. Regarding the ceremony for the throne, Yan Zhenqing replied: "I am nearly eighty years old. I used to be in charge of national etiquette. I only remember the etiquette of princes meeting the emperor!"
Later, the imperial army became stronger again, and the rebels expected that the situation would turn out badly. He sent generals Xin Jingzhen and Anhua to Yan Zhenqing's residence, piled up dry firewood in the courtyard and said, "If you don't surrender, you will be burned to death!" Yan Zhenqing stood up and jumped into the fire, but Xin Jingzhen and others hurriedly grabbed him. Li Xilie's younger brother Li Xiqian was killed for rebelling with Zhu Si. Li Xilie became angry and sent eunuchs to Caizhou to kill Yan Zhenqing on the third day of August in the first year of Xingyuan (August 23, 784), saying: "There is an edict!" Yan Zhenqing paid his respects. Two rak'ahs. The eunuch said: "You should be given death." Yan Zhenqing said: "I have not completed my mission, and I deserve to die. But on what day did the envoy come from Chang'an?" The eunuch said: "From Daliang." Zhenqing cursed: "So it is. How dare you call the imperial edict, a traitor!" Yan Zhenqing was hanged and died at the age of seventy-six (one work is seventy-seven). Li Gao, the successor king of Cao, shed tears when he heard the news of Yan Zhenqing's death. The three armies all cried bitterly for him.
Six months later, Li Xilie was poisoned and killed by his subordinate Chen Xianqi, and the rebellion was put down. Yan Zhenqing's coffin was escorted back to Beijing by his sons Yan Kai and Yan Shuo, and was buried in the 10,000-year-old Yan family's ancestral tomb in Beijing. Emperor Dezong deposed the emperor for five days and gave him the posthumous title of Situ, Wenzhong.
In the sixth year of Zhenyuan (790), Dezong issued a letter of pardon and made Yan Kai a fifth-rank official. In the early years of Kaicheng's reign, Yan Hongshi, the great-grandson of Yan Zhenqing, was appointed to join the army in Tongzhou.