Xiao Song

Life

Early in his career he entered office through recruitment. In the first year of the Shenlong era (705), he first served at Mingzhou as a military assessor (參軍事; elsewhere, 錄事參軍); in the first year of Jingyun (710), he became county commandant of Liquan. He subsequently held the posts of Investigating Censor, Palace Attendant Censor, Vice Director of the Bureau of Merit, Retainer to the Heir Apparent, and Vice Director of the Court of Sacrifices; early in the Kaiyuan era he became a Zhongshu Sheren and was sent out as governor of Songzhou.

In Kaiyuan 11 (723), he served as Shangshu Zuocheng (尚書左丞; also given as 尚書左丞相), and in the following year became Vice Minister of War. In Kaiyuan 14 (726), as Minister of War, he took command of the Shuofang Military Governorship; when Tibetan forces captured Guazhou, he was transferred in the following year to the Hexi Military Governorship. He sent his deputy Du Binke into battle against the Tibetans and routed them; the frontier thereafter became more settled, and his victory over the Tibetans brought appointment as Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin.

In Kaiyuan 15 he was created Baron of Lanling. In Kaiyuan 17 (729), he concurrently became Zhongshu Ling, received the additional posts of Academician of the Jixian Hall and Zhi Yuanshi (知院事, elsewhere 知樞密院事), was granted the rank of Grand Master with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon (金紫光祿大夫), and was elevated to Duke of Xu. After Kaiyuan 21 he was removed as chancellor and served as Shangshu You Chengxiang.

The sequence of his later appointments and demotion is disputed. One account says that he became Grand Preceptor to the Heir Apparent in Kaiyuan 17, was demoted to governor of Qingzhou after Li Linfu's slander, was soon restored as Grand Preceptor, and retired because of age; another places the appointment in Kaiyuan 24 (736), as Junior Preceptor to the Heir Apparent (also given as Grand Preceptor), followed by demotion to Qingzhou and restoration to his former post. He died in the eighth year of Tianbao (749), aged over eighty, and was posthumously awarded the title Kaifu Yitong Sansi (開府儀同三司).

Family and associations

Song had a father-in-law, He Hui; his eldest son was Xiao Hua (d. 764), and his second son was Xiao Heng. Xiao Zong (蕭揔; 976–1009) is listed as his eighth-generation descendant, or yun sun (雲孫).

In 737, the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan, he joined Zhang Jiuling, Pei Yaoqing, Han Xiu, Wang Wei, Du Xian, and Wang Qiu at the Wei family's Xiaoyaogu gathering, where they exchanged poetic responses; Wang Wei wrote the preface entitled “Preface to the Gathering of the Grand Preceptor, the Chancellor, and the Gentlemen at the Wei Family's Xiaoyaogu.” He also exchanged poems and prose with Emperor Xuanzong, Song Jing, Zhang Yue, and Yuan Qianyao, and received poems and prose from Wang Wei, Wang Wan, and Wei Keng.

Literary work

Song was accomplished in prose and recognized as a poet; he was versed in ritual and wrote many works. His writings include “Ge hou changxing chi,” “Kaiyuan li,” and “Kaiyuan li yijing”; two of his imperially commissioned poems survive.