Zhang Yue

Zhang Yue (663–730), courtesy name Daoji (道濟) or Yuezhi (說之), formally Duke Wenzhen of Yan (燕文貞公), was a Chinese historian, military general, poet, and politician. He served as an official under Wu Zetian's Zhou dynasty, a chancellor with three separate stints during the reigns of Emperor Ruizong and under Emperor Xuanzong. He was 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"). Background 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 (266–420), Northern Wei, and Northern Zhou. In his youth, Zhang Yue passed the imperial examinations and received the highest score among the group of people who took the exam at the same time. He was made an attendant in the crown prince's studies.