Song Jing (663–737) was a Tang dynasty chancellor and man of letters. His birth-order name was Da, and he was also known as Song Guangping and Song Kaifu; his posthumous name was Wen Zhen, and he was enfeoffed as Duke of Guangping Commandery. His ancestral home was Guangping (in present-day southeastern Jize, Hebei), and he later moved to Nanhe in Xingzhou (present-day Nanhe, Hebei).
Life
During the Tiaolu era of Emperor Gaozong, he passed the jinshi examination and, while still a young man, was appointed county lieutenant of Shangdang; another account places his success at age seventeen. He subsequently served as Palace Censor, Tianguan Yuanwailang, Fengge Sheren, and Vice Censor-in-Chief; under Wu Zetian he rose to Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Left Censorate, and his uncompromising integrity won her esteem.
In the first year of Shenlong (705), under Emperor Zhongzong, he became Vice Minister of Personnel and then Huangmen Shilang; he was sent out as governor of Beizhou and then served as governor of Hangzhou and Xiangzhou. After Ruizong’s restoration, he became Minister of Personnel and Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin, curbed interference by imperial relatives and princesses, reformed abuses in official selection, and appointed able men; after offending Princess Taiping, he was demoted to governor of Chuzhou, served successively as governor of Wei, Yan, and Ji, and returned to become Director of the Imperial Academy and Commissioner of the Eastern Capital.
At the beginning of the Kaiyuan era under Xuanzong, he was Jingzhao governor, Censor-in-Chief, governor of Muzhou, and grand governor of Guangzhou; in the fourth year (716), he moved from Minister of Justice to Minister of Personnel concurrently holding the office of Huangmen Jian, succeeded Yao Chong as chancellor, and in the following year took the title Shizhong. In the eighth year of Kaiyuan (720), he received the honorific title Kaifu Yitong Sansi, was relieved of the conduct of government affairs, and was made Duke of Guangping Commandery; in the seventeenth year (729) he became Right Chancellor of the Department of State Affairs, and in the twentieth year (732) retired because of his age.
He died in the twenty-fifth year (737), aged seventy-five, and was posthumously granted the title of Grand Commandant and the posthumous name Wen Zhen. He was buried at Shahe, and Henan was his place of death; Yan Zhenqing wrote his memorial stele inscription.
Statesmanship and reputation
Song Jing became known for upholding law and rectitude and for his pointed remonstrances; as chancellor, he lightened taxes and corvée, reduced punishments, curbed interference by imperial relatives and princesses, and reformed abuses in official selection, and together with Yao Chong he was known as Yao-Song. A later saying contrasted “Fang-Du” with “Yao-Song,” and Song Jing is regarded as one of the notable chancellors of the Tang.
Literary work and associations
Song Jing was skilled in prose, poetry, and fu composition; in his youth he presented *The Long Pines* and *Rhapsody on Plum Blossoms* to Su Weidao and became known in his time. His ten-volume collected works are now lost; six of his poems survive in the *Complete Tang Poetry*.
His exchanges of poetry and prose included Su Ting, Li Longji (Emperor Xuanzong), Zhang Yue, Cui Mian, Yuan Qianyao, Pei Guangting, Wang Han, Yuwen Rong, and Cui Shang; he also received poetry and prose from Du Fu, Xiao Song, Li Longji, Yuan Qianyao, Zhao Dongxi, and Hu Hao.
Family
His father is variously named Song Wu and Song Xuanfu, and his father-in-law was Cui Yi. By birth order, his sons were Song Fu, Song Gong, Song Sheng, Song Han, Song Hun, Song Shu, Song Yan, Song Hua, and Song Heng; an entry also lists Song Shang as a son. Among his fourth-generation descendants was Song Qiqiu (887–959), along with another person whose name is rendered “Song A”.
References
- CBDB Song Jing (31275)
- 搜韵 宋璟 (13980)
- 法鼓佛教人名规范数据库 宋璟 (A010074)
- Wikidata Song Jing (Q712060)