Background

Wei Chun was born in 760, during the reign of Emperor Suzong. His family claimed ancestry from the Northern Zhou official Wei Xiong (韋敻), through Wei Xiong's son, the Sui Dynasty general Wei Shikang (韋世康). Wei Chun's grandfather Wei Xiyuan (韋希元) served as a county sheriff, while his father Wei Zhao (韋肇) reached the position of deputy minister of civil service affairs. He had one older brother, Wei Shou (韋綬), and at least one younger brother, Wei Xun (韋纁).

During Emperor Dezongs reign

Wei Chun passed the imperial examinations when he was young, and early in the Zhenyuan era (785-805) of Emperor Suzong's grandson Emperor Dezong, he further passed a special examination for those considered talented and good-charactered, and thereafter was made Xiaoshu Lang (校書郎), a copyeditor at the Palace Library. After his term of service was over at the archival bureau, he was made the secretary general of Chang'an County, one of the two counties making up the Tang capital Chang'an.

Near the end of Emperor Dezong's reign, the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the Chang'an region), Li Shi (李實), was very powerful, and whatever he recommended to Emperor Dezong would be done within several days. When someone recommended Wei to Li, Li responded, "I have often heard of his talent, and he lives near me. I often wanted to meet him, and if I get a chance to, I will recommend him to the emperor." The person who recommended Wei to Li relayed this to Wei, but Wei, while not declining explicitly, never went to meet Li over a course of several years, and thus was not promoted during that time.

During Emperor Xianzongs reign

Before chancellorship

Emperor Dezong died in 805, and was succeeded by his severely ill son Emperor Shunzong who, in turn, after reigning only a few months, passed the throne to his own son Emperor Xianzong. As Emperor Xianzong was named Li Chun, Wei Chun no longer used his original name and used his courtesy name of Guanzhi instead, to observe naming taboo. Shortly after Emperor Xianzong became emperor, Wei Guanzhi was made an imperial censor with the title of Jiancha Yushi (監察御史). He submitted a petition asking that the position be given to his brother Wei Xun instead. As a result, he was made You Bujue (右補闕), a consultant at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng), while Wei Xun was made Jiancha Yushi. In 806, when Du Congyu (杜從郁), the son of the chancellor Du You, was set to be made Zuo Bujue (左補闕), a consultant at the examination bureau, Wei Guanzhi and Cui Qun suggested that this was improper. Initially, Du Congyu's title was reduced to Zuo Shiyi (左拾遺), a lower rank, but still a consultant at the examination bureau, Wei and Cui further clarified their rationale — that the consultants were there to suggest to the emperor corrections to make when the chancellors' governance were not proper, and they believed it improper for Du Congyu to be effectively casting judgment on his father's governance. Du Congyu thus was instead made the secretary general of the archival bureau.

At a later point, he and Zhang Hongjing were in charge of a special imperial examination on strategies, and it was said that of the 18 people they selected as the high scores, most were later well known for their writing. Wei later served as Lǐbu Yuanwailang (禮部員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Lǐbu). While he was serving there, there was an occasion when the deputy director of palace supplies, Jin Zhongyi (金忠義), who was from Silla and who had apparently previously been a merchant, requested that his two sons be made officials. Wei refused, pointing out that sons of merchants and laborers, pursuant to regulation, would not be made officials. Jin lobbied a number of powerful officials, but Wei insisted and directly reported this matter to the emperor, and Jin's sons were not given offices. Wei was thereafter made Lìbu Yuanwailang (吏部員外郎), a low-level official at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, Lìbu, note different tone than the ministry of rites).

In 808, when Emperor Xianzong held a special imperial examination for the examinees to give honest criticism of government, Wei and Yang Yuling (楊於陵) were in charge of the examination, and Wei selected three examinees who gave blunt criticism — Niu Sengru, Huangfu Shi (皇甫湜), and Li Zongmin — for top marks. However, the chancellor Li Jifu were stung by the criticism that they gave and viewed these as personal attacks against him. Li Jifu tearfully complained to Emperor Xianzong that the reviewers of the scores that Wei and Yang gave — the imperial scholars Pei Ji and Wang Ya — had conflicts of interest, as Huangfu was Wang's nephew. As a result of Li Jifu's accusations, Pei, Wang, Yang, and Wei were all demoted, with Wei initially demoted to be the prefect of Guo Prefecture (果州, in modern Nanchong, Sichuan), and then further moved to be the prefect of Ba Prefecture (巴州, in modern Bazhong, Sichuan). However, Wei was soon summoned back to Chang'an to serve as Duguan Langzhong (都官郎中), a supervisorial official at the ministry of justice (刑部, Xingbu) and put in charge of drafting imperial edicts. The next year, he was made Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau. In 811, he participated in a major revision of official salaries that Li Jifu advocated, along with Xu Mengrong (許孟容) and Li Jiang. Wei was thereafter made the deputy minister of rites (禮部侍郎, Lǐbu Shilang). He served as deputy minister of rites for two years, and the examinees that he selected as top scorers were the ones that he felt to have valued substance over form, and it was said because of his policy, those who tried influence examination results decreased. He was later made Shangshu You Cheng (尚書右丞), one of the secretaries general of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng).

Chancellorship

In 814, Wei Guanzhi was given the title of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), making a chancellor de facto. In 815, while the imperial forces were engaged in a campaign against the warlord Wu Yuanji, who controlled Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern Zhumadian, Henan), Wei's fellow chancellor Wu Yuanheng, in charge of the campaign, was assassinated. It was believed at the time that Wu Yuanheng's assassins were sent by Wu Yuanji's ally Wang Chengzong the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei). In 816, Emperor Xianzong declared a campaign against Wang as well, over Wei's objections that waging two campaigns simultaneously could bring another confluence of revolts like the revolt of Zhu Ci that caused Emperor Dezong to have to flee from the capital, but Emperor Xianzong did not listen to him. Further, at this time, Emperor Xianzong favored the speaking abilities of a low-level consultant, Zhang Su (張宿), and sent Zhang on a diplomatic mission to meet with another warlord, Li Shidao the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong), and when the chancellor Pei Du sought a more honorable uniform for Zhang than Zhang's rank was entitled to, Wei rejected it, believing that Zhang was wicked, thus drawing Zhang's resentment. It was further said that Wei was arrogant and did not associate with people that he believed to be of low birth. He was also drawing anger from Emperor Xianzong for his opposition to Emperor Xianzong's campaigns. With Zhang accusing Wei of partisanship, in summer 816, Wei was removed from his chancellor position and made the deputy minister of civil service affairs (吏部侍郎, Lìbu Shilang). In fall 816, he was further demoted out of the capital to serve as the governor (觀察使, Guanchashi) of Hunan Circuit (湖南, headquartered in modern Changsha, Hunan). His brother Wei Xun was also demoted, while several other officials — Wei Yi (韋顗), Li Zhengci (李正辭), Xue Gonggan (薛公幹), Li Xuan (李宣), Wei Chuhou, and Cui Shao (崔韶) — were accused of being of Wei Guanzhi's associates and demoted out of the capital to serve as prefectural prefects.

After chancellorship

After Wei Guanzhi began his service as the governor of Hunan, there was an occasion, due to the imperial treasury's depletions from the campaigns, Emperor Xianzong commissioned the deputy director of salt and iron monopolies, Cheng Yi, to tour the circuits and collect tax revenues from the circuits. Wherever Cheng went, he persuaded the governors to impose special taxes and submit them, but Wei was unwilling to do so. Instead, Wei only submitted the reserves that the circuit had. He was thereafter given the title of the head of the household of the crown prince Li Heng, but ordered to keep his office at the eastern capital Luoyang.

During Emperor Muzongs reign

In 820, Emperor Xianzong died and was succeeded by Li Heng (as Emperor Muzong). Emperor Muzong made Wei Guanzhi the mayor of Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the Luoyang region), and then summoned him to Chang'an to serve as the minister of public works (工部尚書, Gongbu Shangshu). However, before Wei could depart Luoyang, he died there in 821, and he was given posthumous honors.

It was said that from the time that Wei was a commoner to the time that he became chancellor, he did not make modifications to his house, and that while he served in important positions for 20 years, no one dared to give him expensive gifts. It was said that he was quiet, and that whenever he met with friends, he would not use flattery to please them. After he died, his household did not have any retained wealth. He also authored a 30-volume collection of his writings.

Notes and references

• Old Book of Tang, vol. 158.

• New Book of Tang, vol. 169.

• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 237, 238, 239.

家世

韋貫之出自京兆韋氏逍遙公房，八世祖韋敻，七世祖韋世康，祖父韋希元為上黨尉，父韋肇為吏部侍郎。他是次子，有兄長韋綬，及至少一個弟弟韋纁。姐姐為崔發母親。

唐德宗年間

韋純年輕時中進士，唐德宗貞元元年（785年）為禮部侍郎鮑防所選登賢良方正科，時人稱美鮑防知人。韋純被授校書郎。任滿後，從調判入等，轉長安尉（長安丞）。

德宗末年，京兆尹李實有權勢，建議德宗的事幾天內就能辦成。當有人向李實推薦韋純時，李實答：「我常聽聞他賢，他和我的住所同里。我常想見他，如果有機會，我會向皇帝推薦他。」舉著笏對推薦者說「我已經記下他的名字了」。推薦者將此事告訴韋純：「你今天去見李實，明天就受賀了。」但韋純雖然沒有表面拒絕，卻只是唯唯諾諾，幾年都不去見李實，也就一直沒有升遷。韋貫之任滿窮困，挖地烤火，吃豆粥禦寒過冬。

唐憲宗年間

拜相前

二十一年（805年），德宗崩，由重病的兒子唐順宗繼位，順宗登基了幾個月就禪讓給兒子唐憲宗。憲宗名李純，韋純起初並不想改名以避諱。但憲宗下詔改給事中陸淳名為陸質，韋純不得已，上疏請求改名，從此以字行，改用表字貫之，以避諱。憲宗為帝後不久，他被任為監察御史。他上表稱此職應由弟弟韋纁擔任。結果，他被任為右補闕，韋纁被任為監察御史。時人不以為這是他的私心。元和元年（806年），韋貫之和中書舍人張弘靖主考制策，選拔了十八人，後來都以文才聞名。九月，宰相杜佑之子杜從鬱被任為左補闕，韋貫之和翰林學士崔群、諫官獨孤鬱認為這不妥。最初，杜從鬱的官職被降為左拾遺，但仍是諫官。韋、崔進一步闡明立場——諫官是當宰相行政不妥時報請皇帝糾正的，他們認為讓杜從鬱議論其父的行政是不妥的。杜從鬱因此被改任為秘書丞。

二年（807年），韋貫之與兵部郎中蔣乂及許孟容、柳登等受詔刪定製敕成三十卷。

轉禮部員外郎。任上，本是商人的少府監新羅人金忠義給兩個兒子求官。韋貫之拒絕了，指出按規定，工商業者之子不能當官。金忠義遊說很多權臣為他說話，但韋貫之堅持，還將此事上表皇帝，金忠義之子最終未獲官職。韋貫之還言辭懇切地彈劾金忠義為官的資格，使得金忠義被罷免。改吏部員外郎。

三年（808年）四月，憲宗策試賢良方正直言極諫舉人，韋貫之和戶部侍郎楊於陵、左司郎中鄭敬、都官郎中李益為考策官。伊闕尉牛僧孺、陸渾尉皇甫湜、前進士李宗閔三人批評時政，韋貫之選他們為上等，對策為中等，又為不中第者註解牛、李策語。中書舍人裴垍複查後也認可。但宰相李吉甫被他們的批評激怒，視之為對他的人身攻擊，哭著對憲宗說給韋貫之和楊於陵覆策的裴垍、翰林學士王涯有利害衝突，皇甫湜又是王涯的外甥。因李吉甫彈劾，裴垍、王涯、楊於陵、鄭敬、韋貫之、李益都被貶，韋貫之先被貶為果州刺史，數日後在途中再貶巴州刺史。翰林學士拾遺白居易作《論制科人狀》為裴垍、王涯、韋貫之等辯解。但韋貫之當年就被召回長安為都官郎中，與裴度都被當時拜相的裴垍用為知制誥。五年（810年）八月，以都官郎中拜中書舍人。裴垍為宰相時，曾經三次奏事，憲宗不從，但在韋貫之指點下，裴垍所言被憲宗聽取，于是裴垍說：「君以後當居此位。」元和六年（811年）六月，他和給事中段平仲、兵部侍郎許孟容、戶部侍郎李絳一起參與了李吉甫主張的一場大規模俸祿複查，省冗官八百員，吏一千四百員。改權知禮部侍郎。在兩年任期內，所選拔的人都重實幹多于浮華，因此試圖影響考試結果的人減少了。他曾從容上奏說：「禮部侍郎重于宰相。」憲宗說：「侍郎是宰相所任的，怎能重呢？」答：「但是侍郎是為陛下選拔宰相的人，能不重嗎？」憲宗稱讚其言。七年（812年）十二月，奏試明經，請停墨義，依舊格問口義，獲准。轉尚書右丞，謝恩之日，面賜金紫。時有僧人登門，說：「君將要拜相了。」韋貫之命左右將他請出，說：「這是妄人。」

韋貫之被認為孤峻和才幹都勝過宰相李藩。

八年（813年）四月，韋貫之以朝議大夫權知禮部侍郎的身份與其他大臣們奉命敬祭故太保贈太傅杜佑。

拜相

元和九年（814年）十二月，中大夫、守尚書右丞、上騎都尉、賜紫金魚袋韋貫之以本官被授同中書門下平章事，為實質宰相。遷中書侍郎。元和十年（815年），當朝廷軍隊正和控制彰義的軍閥吳元濟交鋒時，負責戰事的韋貫之同僚宰相武元衡被暗殺。當時殺害武元衡的刺客被認為是吳元濟盟友成德節度使王承宗所派。元和十一年（816年），憲宗同時對王承宗宣戰，韋貫之反對，認為同時進行兩場戰事會帶來另一波類似導致德宗被迫逃離京城的朱泚之亂的叛亂，不如先平定吳元濟再對付王承宗，但憲宗不聽。後來憲宗雖然很認可韋貫之的說法，但詔書已下。朝廷以宣武節度使韓弘為都統，又命河陽節度使烏重胤、忠武節度使李光顏合兵而進。韋貫之認為不應該設置統督，這會讓將領持重，但未被聽取。四年後吳元濟才依韋貫之之策被平定，王承宗果然如韋貫之所料臣服。不久，遷中書侍郎。同僚推薦張仲素、左補闕段文昌為學士，段文昌是武元衡女婿，韋貫之與武元衡不協，認為張、段行止不正，不宜在內庭，拒絕了。當時，左補闕張宿有口辯，得寵于憲宗，憲宗命他出使平盧節度使李師道，宰相裴度想為他請求越級的銀緋章服，韋貫之拒絕，認為張宿奸佞，因此被張宿怨恨。韋貫之性格高傲，不和他認為出身低的人交往。和裴度在御前論兵時，他也惹怒了憲宗。張宿彈劾他結黨，八月，他被罷相為守吏部侍郎，散官勛賜如故。不到十天，九月，翰林學士、左拾遺郭求為他申辯，結果被罷免學士，韋貫之又被貶出京城為湖南觀察使。弟弟虢州刺史韋纁也被貶，韋顗、李正辭、薛公幹、李宣、禮部考功員外郎韋處厚、戶部員外郎崔韶、京兆少尹李建都因和韋貫之相善，都被張宿誣陷為韋貫之的黨羽，被貶出京城為州刺史。韋處厚早年為韋貫之所看重，他和韋顗、李正辭都是清正之人，卻因此被貶，朝內外開始大恨張宿。

裴垍、韋貫之、李絳、崔群、蕭俛都是韋顗的布衣舊交，先後都做了宰相，但朝廷典章之事多諮詢韋顗，說：「我們五人的智力比不上一個韋公。」

韋貫之罷相當年，宰相李逢吉用段文昌為學士。

拜相後

韋貫之任湖南觀察使後的當月，因作戰，國庫不足，憲宗命鹽鐵副使程異出使諸道督課財賦。程異每到一個方鎮，都說服當地官員額外收稅並上繳，但韋貫之卻說不忍給百姓加賦，上繳的數額不滿足程異的要求，便率屬部內六州上繳鎮裡所有的收入。因而被罷為太子李恆詹事，在東都洛陽就職。

唐穆宗年間

十五年（820年），唐憲宗崩，李恆繼位，即唐穆宗。三月，穆宗任韋貫之為河南（即今洛陽地區）尹。長慶元年（821年）四月請去年夏末至本年夏初供館驛外殘錢。同年被召回長安拜工部尚書。但韋貫之還未及離開洛陽，就于十月在那裡去世，詔贈尚書右僕射。謚貞，後改謚文。

韋貫之由布衣直至宰相期間，從未改易居室，居要職二十餘年，沒人敢送他重禮。他性格沉默寡言，與朋友相見時，從不奉承取悅對方。拜相期間，裴均之子持萬縑請他給裴均寫墓誌銘，他說：「我寧可餓死，豈能做這事！」死後，家無餘財。有文集三十卷。

寶曆元年（825年），宰相李逢吉、竇易直、李程在延英殿談及鄠縣令崔發拖拽中人獲罪之事，奏稱崔發雖犯大不敬，但崔發母是已故宰相韋貫之的姐姐，年已八十，自崔發下獄以來積憂成疾，請求恩宥崔發。唐敬宗這才知崔發有老母，立即遣中使送崔發回家並撫問崔母韋夫人。韋夫人號哭，當中使麵杖崔發四十，拜章謝恩，敬宗又遣中使安慰她。

作品

• 《元和刪定製敕》三十卷，許孟容、韋貫之、蔣乂、柳登等集。

• 《韋貫之集》三十卷。

• 《開元格後敕》三十篇，蔣乂、許孟容、韋貫之刪正制敕。

• 《南平郡王高崇文神道碑》

評價

• 《舊唐書》

　• 史臣曰：韋氏三宗，世多才俊。純、纁忠懿，為時元龜，作輔論兵，言皆體國。澳之貞亮，不替祖風。三代謚貞，考行無愧。

　• 贊曰：純、纁文雅，綽有父風。

子孫

• 韋澳

• 韋潾

• 韋氏，嫁柳仲郢

注釋及參考文獻