Zeng Bu

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Zeng Bu came from an official family in Nanfeng, Jiangxi. His grandfather Zeng Zhiyao was a prominent official under Emperor Taizong and rose to Director in the Ministry of Revenue; he was known for forthright remonstrance. His father Zeng Yizhan served as a scholar in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and had a reputation for learning and literary ability. Zeng Bu was the fifth son. His four elder brothers were Zeng Ye, Zeng Gong, Zeng Mou, and Zeng Zai, and his younger brother was Zeng Zhao. His second elder brother Zeng Gong became one of the celebrated Eight Masters of the Tang and Song.

Zeng Bu was born in 1036. His father died in 1048, when Zeng Bu was thirteen. He thereafter studied under Zeng Gong and benefited greatly from his brother's instruction and support. Zeng Gong was strict in supervising his studies, and Zeng Bu worked diligently. In 1057 the brothers traveled to the capital for the examinations and both passed the jinshi degree. That examination became famous for the number of outstanding figures who succeeded under chief examiner Ouyang Xiu, among them Su Shi, Su Zhe, Cheng Hao, Zhang Zai, Lü Huiqing, and Zhang Dun. After passing, Zeng Bu was assigned as a judicial staff officer in Xuanzhou and later served as magistrate of Huairen County, beginning his official career.

Commitment to Reform and Rapid Promotion

In 1069 Zeng Bu was transferred to Kaifeng. Recommended by Han Wei and Wang Anshi, he submitted a memorial on government. He argued that two fundamentals of rule were the strengthening of customs and the selection of talent, while eight practical priorities were the encouragement of farming and sericulture, management of finance and taxation, development of schools, careful selection of officials, evaluation of administrators, ordering of the imperial clan, strengthening of military preparedness, and management of distant peoples. These proposals closely matched Wang Anshi's program. Emperor Shenzong summoned Zeng Bu and, impressed by his ideas, appointed him Assistant to the Heir Apparent and lecturer in the Chongzheng Hall, then soon added several further posts. Within only three days Zeng Bu received five appointment edicts.

Wang Anshi placed great confidence in Zeng Bu and ordered him to work with Lü Huiqing in creating or implementing the Green Shoots Policy, Hired Service Policy, Mutual Security (baojia) Policy, and Hydraulic Works Law. Many senior officials and scholar-officials opposed the new measures. Zeng Bu memorialized Emperor Shenzong urging him to remain firm, rely fully on Wang Anshi, clarify rewards and punishments, and enforce the imperial will so that officials would understand that decrees could not be ignored. Shenzong and Wang Anshi therefore trusted him even more. Zeng Bu went on to hold posts including diarist, drafter of edicts, Hanlin Academician, and State Finance Commissioner, playing a major role during the central years of the New Policies of Wang Anshi. When the senior minister Han Qi submitted a forceful critique of the reforms and Shenzong began to waver, Zeng Bu answered Han's arguments point by point in defense of Wang Anshi, helping keep the policies in force. Wang Anshi later remarked that since discussion of the new policies had begun, Zeng Bu had consistently said they could work while Sima Guang had consistently said they could not, whereas others had shifted position. The comment illustrates the importance Wang attached to Zeng Bu.

The State Trade Policy Dispute and Demotion

In 1074 a severe drought struck the empire and Emperor Shenzong called for frank remonstrance. Zeng Bu submitted a memorial accusing Lü Jiawen, judge of the Market Exchange Office, of extracting heavy charges from the people and betraying the State Trade Policy's stated goals of protecting merchants and stabilizing prices. Zeng argued that state finances were strained because goods did not circulate; goods failed to circulate because merchants could not move freely; and merchants were obstructed by powerful households. The Market Exchange Office had been created to regulate prices and protect traders and ordinary people, but Lü Jiawen sent officials to forcibly purchase goods in the provinces, prevented private merchants from trading first, and used interest collections as the basis for rewards and punishments. In Zeng Bu's view, this turned the government itself into a monopolizing power and violated the original purpose of the State Trade Policy.

The memorial caused a major dispute within the reform faction. Lü Huiqing accused Zeng Bu of obstructing the reforms and Wang Anshi was also furious. Emperor Shenzong submitted the issue for discussion among senior drafting officials, and Zeng Bu was eventually removed from the office of State Finance Commissioner. That same year Lü Huiqing became Assistant Grand Councilor and initiated proceedings against him. Zeng Bu was demoted to prefect of Raozhou and then transferred to Tanzhou. Although he later regained the title of Academician of the Jixian Institute and served as prefect of Guangzhou, he was now far from the center of government.

In 1078 Zeng Bu became prefect of Guizhou with the title of Awaiting Imperial Instructions in the Longtu Pavilion. He later advanced to Direct Academician, served in Qinzhou, and held prefectural posts in Chenzhou, Caizhou, Qingzhou, and elsewhere. During nearly a decade outside the capital he accumulated extensive experience in local administration.

Maintaining His Position during the Yuanyou Era

In 1085 Emperor Shenzong died and the young Emperor Zhezong succeeded him, while Grand Empress Dowager Gao ruled from behind the curtain. Opponents of the reforms returned to power. Zeng Bu was restored as Hanlin Academician and promoted to Minister of Revenue. After Sima Guang assumed leadership, he ordered a change to the labor-service system and required Zeng Bu to assist. Zeng refused, arguing that the regulations for the exemption-from-service policy had all been drafted by his own hand and that it would be morally impossible for him immediately to reverse them. He was therefore sent out of court as prefect of Taiyuan with the title of Academician of the Longtu Pavilion and later served in Zhending, Heyang, Qingzhou, and Yingzhou. Throughout the Yuanyou era, when the old-policy faction controlled government and much of the reform program was dismantled, Zeng Bu continued to defend the reformist position and remained politically marginalized.

The Shaosheng Restoration and Conflict with Zhang Dun

In 1094 Emperor Zhezong began personal rule and recalled reformist officials. Zeng Bu was transferred to Jiangning but, while passing through the capital, was retained as Hanlin Academician. He was soon promoted to chief Hanlin Academician and imperial reader, appointed associate head of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and later head of the bureau, becoming one of the senior decision-makers of government. Zhang Dun was then Grand Councilor. When drafting Zhang's appointment decree, Zeng Bu praised him lavishly and hoped Zhang would bring him into the civil administration as a fellow chief minister. Zhang, however, was wary of him and recommended him only for the Bureau of Military Affairs, creating a lasting breach.

While in high office, Zeng Bu strongly supported Zhang Dun's policy of restoring the reforms. He requested rewards for officials and commoners who during the Yuanyou period had argued that changing the labor-service system was harmful, in order to encourage opinion favorable to restoration. Zhang Dun then launched sweeping prosecutions against members of the Yuanyou faction, and officials were exiled, demoted, or reduced in rank almost daily; Zeng Bu frequently supported these actions. Their rivalry nevertheless continued. Zhang sought broader scholar-official support by recommending prominent men such as Peng Ruli, Chen Guan, and Zhang Tingjian and by asking that posthumous honors stripped from Sima Guang and Lü Gongzhu be restored and their tombs protected. Zeng Bu opposed these measures as useless. He also warned the emperor that authority must not be inverted and claimed that officials from chief ministers to remonstrators feared the grand councilor more than the sovereign, implicitly attacking Zhang Dun. The attempt failed to remove him.

Role in the Succession and Premiership under Emperor Huizong

In 1100 Emperor Zhezong died without an heir. The empress dowager summoned the chief ministers to discuss the succession. Zhang Dun forcefully proposed Jian, a full brother of Zhezong, but the empress dowager rejected the choice because he had no son and because the princes were all sons of Emperor Shenzong. Zhang then proposed the elder Prince Shen, but she rejected him on grounds of illness. When Zhang tried to continue arguing, Zeng Bu sharply told him to follow the empress dowager's decision. She then chose Zhao Ji, Prince of Duan, who became Emperor Huizong. Zeng Bu's role in this succession decision greatly strengthened his political standing under the new emperor.

After Huizong's accession, Zhang Dun was removed. Huizong first appointed Han Zhongyan as Left Vice Director and later called Zeng Bu to serve as Right Vice Director. Although Han ranked above him, Han was mild in temperament and many affairs were effectively decided by Zeng Bu. Court opinion at the time held that both the Yuanyou and Shaosheng administrations had made serious errors and that factional divisions should be dissolved through impartial government. In the following year the era name was changed to Jianzhong Jingguo and members of both factions were employed. Before long Han Zhongyan was removed, Zeng Bu held power alone, and he increasingly advocated restoration of the reform policies.

Conflict with Cai Jing and Final Demotions

In 1102 Emperor Huizong appointed Cai Jing Left Vice Director. Cai and Zeng Bu had long been on poor terms. When Zeng Bu sought promotion for his relative by marriage Chen Youfu to Vice Minister of Revenue, Cai Jing accused him before the emperor, arguing that ranks and salaries were imperial rewards and should not be privately distributed by a chief minister to his associates. Zeng Bu argued back angrily and raised his voice. Wen Yi rebuked him for showing disrespect in the emperor's presence. Huizong withdrew displeased, and the censors quickly understood the court's mood and attacked Zeng Bu in succession. He was removed, given the title Grand Academician of the Guanwen Hall, and sent as prefect of Runzhou.

Cai Jing continued to pursue him, fabricating corruption charges and ordering Kaifeng authorities to arrest Zeng Bu's sons. Interrogators pressed witnesses into false confessions in order to implicate them. Zeng Bu lost his honorary rank, was assigned to oversee the Taiqing Palace, and was ordered to reside at Taipingzhou. He was later reduced to Director of the Court of Agricultural Supervision with a nominal assignment in the Southern Capital. Because he had previously recommended the academy official Zhao Shen, who later rebelled, Zeng Bu was further reduced to a loose-ranking official and ordered to reside in Hengzhou. He was then blamed for having abandoned Huangzhou while in power in 1101 and was demoted to assistant prefect of Hezhou and later to a clerical post in Lianzhou. Four years later he was moved to Shuzhou, restored to the rank of Grand Master of Court Discussion, and assigned to supervise the Chongfu Temple.

Zeng Bu died at Runzhou on the second day of the eighth month of 1107, aged seventy-two. He was posthumously granted the title Grand Academician of the Guanwen Hall and the posthumous name Wensu.

Major Activities

Core Figure of the Reform Movement

Zeng Bu was among the most determined supporters and implementers of the New Policies of Wang Anshi. Together with Lü Huiqing, he helped launch the Green Shoots Policy, Hired Service Policy, Mutual Security (baojia) Policy, and Hydraulic Works Law and played a major role in the central years of the reform program. Wang Anshi praised him as the man who had consistently argued from the beginning that the new policies were workable. In the early reform period Zeng Bu simultaneously held several posts in the Jixian Institute, Court of Agricultural Supervision, and Secretariat and received five appointment edicts within three days. After Lü Huiqing left office in mourning in 1074, Zeng Bu became one of Wang Anshi's most relied-upon assistants. He urged Shenzong to remain committed to reform and answered Han Qi's opposition point by point.

Debate over the State Trade Policy

In 1074 Zeng Bu accused Lü Jiawen of exploiting the population through the Market Exchange Office and argued that forced purchases, restrictions on merchant transactions, and reward systems based on interest collection violated the State Trade Policy's original purpose. The memorial caused a major rupture within the reform faction. Lü Huiqing regarded Zeng Bu as obstructing the reforms and Wang Anshi became angry. Zeng Bu consequently lost the post of State Finance Commissioner and was sent to Raozhou. The dispute became a major turning point in his career and was later cited as one of the episodes contributing to the hostile portrayal of him in the History of Song.

Role in Establishing Emperor Huizong

When Emperor Zhezong died without an heir in 1100, the empress dowager summoned the chief ministers to decide the succession. Zhang Dun advocated Princes Jian or Shen, but Zeng Bu rebuked him and insisted that he obey the empress dowager's decision. She ultimately selected Zhao Ji, Prince of Duan, as Emperor Huizong. Zeng Bu played an important part in this decision and was subsequently trusted by the new emperor and elevated to the chief ministry.

Defense of the Service-Exemption Policy

After Emperor Shenzong died in 1085 and Sima Guang came to power under the regency of Grand Empress Dowager Gao, Sima ordered revision of the labor-service system. Zeng Bu, then Minister of Revenue, refused, stating that the detailed rules of the service-exemption policy had all been drafted by him and that it would be morally impossible for him suddenly to reverse his own work. He was therefore sent out of court. The episode illustrates both his identification with the reforms and his insistence on consistency.

Ci Poetry

Zeng Bu also wrote ci poetry. Surviving pieces are described in the Chinese source as clear and graceful in style and as having a recognized place in the Northern Song ci tradition. His wife Wei Wan was likewise known as a woman ci poet, and the literary reputation of husband and wife became a noted feature of their household.

Personal Relations

• Zeng Zhiyao (grandfather); Zeng Yizhan (father); Zeng Gong, Zeng Ye, Zeng Mou, and Zeng Zai (elder brothers); Zeng Zhao (younger brother); Wei Wan (wife); Zeng Ting, Zeng Ying, Zeng Qiao, Zeng Yu, Zeng Xuan, and Zeng Fu (sons).
• Wang Anshi (patron and reform leader); Han Wei (recommender); Lü Huiqing (colleague and later political opponent); Zeng Gong (elder brother and teacher).
• Emperor Shenzong of Song (major patron); Emperor Zhezong of Song (employed him during the Shaosheng restoration); Emperor Huizong of Song (whose succession Zeng Bu helped secure and who later demoted him); Grand Empress Dowager Gao (regent during the Yuanyou era and opponent of the reform faction).
• Zhang Dun (fellow reformist but later rival); Cai Jing (late-life political opponent who displaced him); Han Zhongyan (co-chief minister whom Zeng Bu later marginalized); Sima Guang (policy opponent); Lü Jiawen (opponent in the State Trade Policy dispute); Wen Yi (official who rebuked Zeng Bu in court).

Historical Assessment

Northern Song and Contemporary Assessments

Wang Anshi held Zeng Bu in very high regard and said that, since discussion of the new policies began, Zeng Bu had consistently argued that they were feasible. Censors under Emperor Huizong attacked Zeng Bu as a man whose slightest breath could bring fortune or disaster and whose favor and anger could instantly change political fortunes; although hostile, such language also reflects the extent of his power. His role in establishing Huizong likewise gave him great influence and caused both respect and fear at court.

Song and Yuan Periods

The History of Song placed Zeng Bu in its biographies of "treacherous ministers" and judged him very negatively. Its compilers criticized his support for Zhang Dun's prosecutions of the Yuanyou faction, his political maneuvering against Han Zhongyan, and his later struggle with Cai Jing, while still recording Wang Anshi's praise of Zeng Bu's role in the reforms. Yuan historians generally followed this critical framework and treated him as a problematic collaborator in the reform movement.

Ming and Qing Periods

Many Ming and Qing scholars inherited the negative judgment of the History of Song. Wang Fuzhi, discussing factional politics in his Discussions of the Song, criticized Zeng Bu for opportunism, arguing that he first followed Wang Anshi, later fought Zhang Dun, and finally struggled with Cai Jing. Other scholars nevertheless paid attention to his concrete administrative achievements. The Qing scholar Lu Xinyuan, for example, supplemented the standard histories with additional materials in Supplement to the History of Song and gave some recognition to Zeng Bu's record in local office.

Modern Assessments

Liang Qichao praised Zeng Bu highly, calling him a man of unbending integrity through the ages and objecting to his placement among the treacherous ministers in the History of Song. Modern scholarship has generally adopted a more complex view, reassessing him through the history of reform and political institutions. Some scholars regard Zeng Bu as one of the core executors of Wang Anshi's program and a politician of ability comparable to Lü Huiqing, while also noting that the factional struggles of the late Northern Song repeatedly compromised his position. Others emphasize his support for Zhang Dun's persecution of Yuanyou officials as a serious problem in his political record.