Zhang Yue (Tang Dynasty)

Zhang Yue (simplified Chinese: 张说; traditional Chinese: 張說; pinyin: Zhāng Yuè) (663–730), courtesy name Daoji (道濟) or Yuezhi (說之), formally Duke Wenzhen of Yan (燕文貞公), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, serving as a chancellor three separate stints during the reigns of Emperor Ruizong and Emperor Xuanzong. He is known for having suggested the transition of Tang central government armed forces from being conscription-based to recruitment-based, and for turning the office of the chancellor into a specialized post with strong executive powers.

Zhang Yue was a well-respected literary figure of his time, and was ranked alongside Su Ting (Duke Wenxian of Xu, another of Emperor Xuanzong's chancellors) as the two great writers of the Kaiyuan era. They were known in unison as 燕许大手笔 ("Immense pen-brushes from Yan and Xu").

Zhang Yue was born in 663, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. His family was from the Tang Dynasty eastern capital Luoyang, and traced its ancestry to the great Han Dynasty strategist Zhang Liang, as well as a line of officials that served Cao Wei, Jin Dynasty (265-420), Northern Wei, and Northern Zhou.

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