Zhang Fangping (1007–1091) was a Northern Song statesman. His courtesy name was Andao, his sobriquet Lequan Jushi, and his posthumous name Wending; he was a native of Songcheng in Yingtiang (present-day Shangqiu, Henan).
Life
His father was Zhang Yaoqing. Accounts differ over his qualification and first appointment in the first year of Jingyou (1034): one account says that he passed the maocai yideng examination and was appointed jiaoshu lang, then passed the Xianliang fangzheng examination and was promoted to zhuzuo zuolang; another calls him a jinshi and says that he was promoted to zhuzuo lang. He later served as magistrate of Kunshan and assistant prefect of Muzhou.
As Director of the Office of Remonstrance, after the Western Xia invaded, he submitted the Ten Strategies for Pacifying the Rong and advocated peace negotiations with the Western Xia; he was then summoned to the Jixian Academy, served as drafter of edicts and acting prefect of Kaifeng, entered the Hanlin Academy, and was appointed Censor-in-chief, Commissioner of the Three Financial Offices, and Academician of the Duanming Palace and Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
After an incident, he was sent out as prefect of Chuzhou; he soon became prefect of Jiangning, entered the Court Personnel Selection Office, and then served as prefect of Huazhou before being transferred to Yizhou. Recalled again as Commissioner of the Three Financial Offices, he was promoted to Left Executive of the Shangshu Sheng and made superintendent of Nanjing; shortly afterward he became Minister of Works and military governor of Qinzhou. After Yingzong’s accession, he was promoted to Minister of Rites, served as prefect of Yunzhou, and returned as Hanlin Academician-in-Chief; he changed military circuits ten times in all.
On Shenzong’s accession, he was appointed vice grand councillor. He disagreed with Wang Anshi, opposed the New Policies, and argued forcefully against their harms. He was temporarily removed because of mourning for his father; after completing the mourning period, he remained in the western capital as Academician of the Guanwenge and served in several commanderies. After repeatedly requesting retirement, he retired in the second year of Yuanfeng as Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent. Even after retiring, he continued to submit forceful memorials on military expeditions and legal prosecutions.
He died in the sixth year of Yuanyou (1091), aged eighty-five, and was posthumously granted the title of Sikong and the posthumous name Wending. His father-in-law was Ma Jiang; his sons-in-law included Cai Tianshen and Wang Gong. His “youngest son” and “only surviving son” were both identified as Zhang Shu, while Zhang Mu was a grandnephew and collateral grandson.
Thought and associations
Zhang Fangping was well acquainted with the Su father and sons, and Su Shi continued to respect him throughout his life. Fan Zhongyan recommended Zhang Fangping, while Zhang Fangping recommended Li Dalin, Ma Mo, and Wang Guangyuan.
According to a transmitted account, he happened upon the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and, on reading the line “In the world, birth and extinction are apart, like flowers in empty space,” came to understand a matter concerning his former life; in old age he gave the scripture to Su Shi and spent 300,000 cash to have it printed and sent to Jiangnan and Huainan.
Works
His works include the surviving forty-juan 《樂全集》, the twenty-juan 《玉堂集》, and the one-juan 《注仁宗樂書》. The titles 《芻蕘奧論》, 《樸齋小集》, 《嘉祐驛令》 in three juan, and 《嘉祐祿令》 in ten juan are also associated with him. His poems were compiled in four juan, with additional poems from outside the collection appended.
References
- CBDB Zhang Fangping (217)
- 搜韵 張方平 (25657)
- 法鼓佛教人名规范数据库 張方平 (A003619)
- Wikidata Zhang Fangping (Q11068539)