Fang Xuanling

Fang Qiao
A painting of Fang Xuanling by Kikuchi Yōsai
Chancellor of the Tang dynasty
Born	579
Died	648 (aged 68–69)
Names
Traditional Chinese	房喬
Simplified Chinese	房乔
Pinyin	Fáng Qiáo
Wade–Giles	Fang Chiao
Courtesy name	Xuanling (simplified Chinese: 玄龄; traditional Chinese: 玄齡; pinyin: Xuánlíng; Wade–Giles: Hsuan-ling)
Posthumous name	Duke Wenzhao of Liang (Chinese: 梁文昭公; pinyin: Liáng Wénzhāo Gōng; Wade–Giles: Liang Wen-chao Kung

Fang Qiao (579–648), courtesy name Xuanling, better known as Fang Xuanling, posthumously known as Duke Wenzhao of Liang, was a Chinese statesman and writer who served as a chancellor under Emperor Taizong in the early Tang dynasty. He was the lead editor of the historical record Book of Jin (covering the history of the Jin Dynasty) and one of the most celebrated Tang dynasty chancellors. He and his colleague, Du Ruhui, were often described as role models for chancellors in imperial China.

Fang Xuanling was born in 579, shortly before the founding of the Sui dynasty in 581, during Sui's predecessor state, Northern Zhou. His great-grandfather Fang Yi (房翼) was a general, official, and hereditary count under the Northern Wei dynasty, and his grandfather Fang Xiong (房熊) was also an official. His father Fang Yanqian (房彥謙) was a county magistrate during the Sui dynasty.

Fang Xuanling was said to be intelligent and well-learned in his youth, and particularly skillful at calligraphy. It was said that once, when he accompanied his father to the capital Chang'an, the state was peaceful, and the popular sentiment was that Sui would last a long time. However, Fang Xuanling secretly opined to his father:

The emperor [i.e., Emperor Wen of Sui] had no accomplishments or virtues, and he gained his power by trickery. He did not think about long-term benefits for his descendants, and he allowed his sons to have no differences between the heir and the non-heirs. They therefore compete with each other and plot against each other, and they also compete in their wastefulness and luxuries. They will eventually kill each other, and the state will not be preserved. Even though everything is peaceful now, I expect its fall to be soon.

Fang Yanqian was surprised by his son's opinion, which, however, eventually turned out to be prophetic. When he was 17, he was successful at the imperial examination, and he became a military officer. He particularly impressed the deputy minister of civil service, Gao Xiaoji (高孝基). However, it appeared that he did not serve long, as his father became ill, and the illness lasted 10 years, during which Fang Xuanling attended to him earnestly. After his father's death, he fasted for five days. He later became the magistrate of Xicheng County (隰城, in modern Lüliang, Shanxi).