範 Fàn

Crown Prince Huiwen, Fan, was first named Longfan. When Xuanzong came to the throne, Fan and the Prince of Xue, Longye, dropped one character of their two-character names to avoid the emperor's taboo. He was first made Prince of Zheng, then enfeoffed instead as Prince of Wei. Soon he was reduced to Prince of Baling, and then raised to Prince of Qi, serving as Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Grand Area Commander-in-chief of Bing Prefecture, and General-in-Chief of the Left Palace Army. He followed Xuanzong in putting the Princess Taiping to death, and for this merit was granted additional fiefs, so that he and Ye, Prince of Xue, each had a full five thousand households. He served in turn as a prefect and was promoted to Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent. He died in the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan; a letter of investiture conferred on him posthumously the title of crown prince and a posthumous name, and he was buried as an attendant at the Qiao Mausoleum. The emperor wept bitterly for him and gave up his regular meals for several tens of days, until the assembled officials pressed him to resume them. Edit

Fan loved learning, was skilled at calligraphy, and was fond of Confucian scholars, treating them all with full courtesy whatever their rank. He was on good terms with Yan Chaoyin, Liu Tingqi, Zhang E, Zheng Yao and others, and they often drank wine and composed poems together for their pleasure. He also collected calligraphy and paintings, all of them treasured by the world. Earlier, when the Sui fell, the books and pictures in the palace were scattered and lost. After the Tang arose, a search was made for them, and little by little they came to light again and were stored in the palace archives. At the beginning of Chang'an, Zhang Yizhi memorialised that there were craftsmen in the realm skilled at mounting and repair, and then secretly had them make copies so close as to be almost indistinguishable, and stole the originals to keep in his house. After he was executed, they were all taken by Xue Ji; when Ji too fell, Fan obtained them, and later they were finally destroyed by fire. The Commandant-escort Pei Xuji, who was versed in prophetic texts, was found guilty of associating privately with Fan and banished to Lingnan; Tingqi was demoted to Revenue Administrator of Ya Prefecture and E to Assistant Magistrate of Shanchi. Yet the emperor was not in the least estranged from Fan, and said to those around him: "The feeling between brothers comes from Heaven itself; how could it be different for me? Those who scramble for advancement force themselves on him, but I shall never give it the slightest thought." At that time Wang Maozhong and others had risen from humble origins to sudden eminence, and the princes always showed them courtesy when they met; Fan alone treated them as he always had. His son Jin succeeded him. Edit

Jin was dissolute and paid no heed to reputation or conduct, sinking into wine and women. He served as Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud and was enfeoffed as Prince of Hedong. He died suddenly and was posthumously made Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent. In the Tianbao period, Zhen, Duke of Lueyang, a son of the Prince of Xue, was made Prince of Qi by Succession. Edit

Zhen was of imposing and stately appearance. He served as Supernumerary Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Clan, and was on good terms with Zhu Rong, garrison commander of Yu Prefecture. Rong once said that Zhen resembled the Retired Emperor, and from this a plot arose. Rong went to Xing Ji, General of the Imperial Insignia Guard, and said: "The rebels beyond the passes are near and the capital is in turmoil; what is to be done?" Ji said: "I am of the Imperial Insignia Guard, the Son of Heaven's escort, and I follow him in life and death; how could I save myself?" Rong said: "If you go to see the Prince of Qi by Succession, you will have nothing to fear." Ji reported this. Suzong issued an edict reducing Zhen to a commoner and ordering him to take his own life, and Rong's confederates were all executed. Ji was promoted to Defence Commissioner of Guiguan. Edit