泰 Tài

Prince of Pu

Tai, Prince Gong of Pu, was styled Huibao. He was first made Prince of Yidu, then moved to the fief of Wei and made heir to the Prince of Huai. He was moved again to the fief of Yue and made Grand Area Commander-in-chief of Yangzhou. He was promoted further to Governor of Yongzhou and General-in-Chief of the Left Militant Guard. He was made Prince of Wei instead. Because Tai loved men of learning and wrote well, the emperor by edict set up an Academy of Literature in his establishment and allowed him to recruit scholars himself. And because Tai had a large waist and belly, he was permitted to ride to court in a small sedan. His Marshal, Su Xu, urged Tai to invite scholars and compile books, as the worthy princes of old had done. So Tai asked leave to compile the Kuodi zhi, and brought in Xiao Deyan, Editorial Director, Gu Yin, Assistant in the Palace Library, Jiang Yaqing, Administrative Clerk, Xie Yan, Personnel Administrator, and others to compile and arrange it. The Court of the Imperial Regalia supplied the tents and furnishings and the Court of Imperial Entertainments the food; most men with literary learning took part, and the young men of noble families, each using the others to get in, made his gate as busy as a market. Tai realised his mistake and, wishing to finish quickly, divided the work by circuit and counted by prefecture, compiling and excerpting, in all five hundred and fifty sections; it was finished after four years. An edict had it stored in the palace library, and ten thousand lengths of silk were given as a reward. Later the emperor visited Tai's residence in Yankang Ward, made a special pardon of the sentences of death in Chang'an, exempted the people of the ward from a year's land tax, and gave silk to the officials of the princely establishment according to their rank. Since Tai's monthly allowance far exceeded that of the Heir Apparent, Chu Suiliang, Grand Master of Remonstrance, remonstrated: "The sages honoured the son of the principal wife and lowered the sons of concubines. He is called the heir-ruler, so what he uses is not counted, and he shares it with the ruler; the sons of concubines may not be compared with him. This is to block the first shoots of suspicion and stop up the source of disaster. The laws of the former kings are rooted in human feeling: they knew that wherever there is a state there will be sons of principal wives and sons of concubines, and that however much a concubine's son is loved, he may not surpass the principal wife's son. If those who should be close are kept distant and those who should be honoured are made low, then private favour harms the public good, misleads the mind and throws the state into disorder. Now the Prince of Wei's allowance exceeds that of the Eastern Palace, and those who discuss it think it wrong. Of old, Empress Dowager Dou of Han loved the Prince of Liang and gave him more than forty cities in fief. The prince built a park of three hundred li, put up palaces and covered walkways, and spent huge sums; he had the roads cleared and guarded when he went out and came in; and the first time he was crossed, he fell ill and died. Emperor Xuan too indulged the Prince of Huaiyang, which nearly ended in ruin; only by giving him modest and retiring ministers to assist him was disaster avoided. Now the Prince of Wei has only just left the palace to set up his own establishment, and he should be shown frugality; the allowance can be increased month by month and year by year afterwards. A preceptor and tutor should also be chosen to teach him modesty and frugality and encourage him in letters, so that he grows into a man of virtue and capacity. This is what is called the teaching of the sages, which succeeds without severity." The emperor also ordered Tai to move into the Wude Hall. Wei Zheng, Director of the Chancellery, said too: "The prince is Your Majesty's beloved son. If you wish to keep him safe, you should not have him live in a place that invites suspicion. The Wude Hall lies west of the Eastern Palace; the Prince of Hailing lived there once, and those who discuss it think it should not be done. Though the times and the circumstances are different, when people talk a great deal there may still be cause for fear. Besides, the prince himself would have no peace of mind there. I ask that the order be withdrawn, so that the prince may have the virtue of being made wary by favour." The emperor understood and dropped it. At that time the Heir Apparent, Chengqian, was lame, and Tai schemed to bring him down. He drew in the Commandant-escorts and Imperial Sons-in-law Chai Lingwu, Fang Yi'ai and others as his intimates, while Wei Ting and Du Chuke in turn managed the affairs of his establishment. These two made connections for Tai among the officials at court and passed bribes between them, and the officials one after another attached themselves to him as a faction. Chengqian was afraid and secretly sent a man, posing as a clerk of Tai's establishment, to submit a sealed memorial at the Xuanwu Gate. The emperor read it, and it set out Tai's crimes. The emperor was angry and at once sent men to arrest and question the messenger, but he could not be found. Soon after, the Heir Apparent fell, and the emperor privately promised to set up Tai; Cen Wenben and Liu Ji asked that Tai then be made Heir Apparent. Zhangsun Wuji was determined to set up the Prince of Jin, and because a stone at Taiyuan bore the inscription "Zhi: ten thousand blessings", the emperor was again inclined to follow Wuji. Tai learned something of this and said to the Prince of Jin: "You were on good terms with Yuanchang; are you not afraid of being drawn in?" The prince was much distressed. The emperor found this strange, and the prince told him the reason, and the emperor was dismayed and understood. Just then Chengqian was summoned to be reproached, and he said: "I was honoured as Heir Apparent; what more could I want? It was only that Tai was plotting against me, and I consulted with officials at court to keep myself safe. Then wicked men led me to do lawless things. If Tai is made Heir Apparent, that is simply letting his scheme succeed." The emperor said: "That is so. If I set up Tai, it will show that the place of the heir can be won by trickery. If Tai is set up, Chengqian and Zhi will both die; if Zhi is set up, Tai and Chengqian can come to no harm." He at once confined Tai in the Directorate of Palace Buildings, removed him from his posts as Governor of Yongzhou, Area Commander-in-chief of Xiangzhou and General-in-Chief of the Left Militant Guard, and reduced him to Prince of Donglai. He then decreed: "From now on, if the Heir Apparent departs from the right way and a feudal prince covets his place, both shall be set aside. Let this be made a statute." Yet the emperor still said to Wuji: "You urged me to set up Zhinu. Zhinu is kindly and weak; may he not become a worry to the dynasty? What then?" Zhinu was Gaozong's childhood name. Tai was soon made Prince of Shunyang instead and lived at Yunxiang in Jun Prefecture. The emperor once held one of Tai's memorials and said to those about him: "Tai's writing is delightful; is he not a man of talent? I never stop thinking of him, but for the sake of the dynasty I have sent him to live away from the capital, so that both of them may be kept whole." In the twenty-first year he was raised to Prince of Pu. When Gaozong took the throne, an edict allowed Tai to open an establishment and appoint officials, with carriages, robes and food above the ordinary grades. He died at Yunxiang, aged thirty-five, and was posthumously made Grand Commandant and Governor of Yongzhou. He had two sons, Xin and Hui. Xin inherited the princedom; in the time of Empress Wu he was entrapped by the cruel officials, demoted to Aide of Zhaozhou, and died. His son Qiao was allowed to succeed as Prince by Succession at the beginning of Shenlong. In the Kaiyuan era he was Chancellor of the Directorate of Education; he was demoted for an offence to Aide of Dengzhou, and died. Hui was enfeoffed as Prince of Xin'an Commandery. Edit