Background

Despite Zheng Yin's high status, little is firmly established about his career except for the 705 to 710 time period—as, unusual for a chancellor, he did not have a biography in either the Old Book of Tang or the New Book of Tang. It is known that he was not a member of the more prominent branches of the Zheng family that had served as officials since Northern Wei, but was from Cang Prefecture (滄州, roughly modern Cangzhou, Hebei). His father Zheng Xuansheng (鄭玄昇) served as a prefectural prefect. He passed the imperial examinations. It was said that during the reign of Wu Zetian, Zheng Yin was an associate of her lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong and had served as Dianzhong Shi Yushi (殿中侍御史), a low level imperial censor.

During Emperor Zhongzongs second reign

In 705, Wu Zetian was overthrown in a coup, and her son and crown prince Li Xian, formerly emperor, was restored to the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong). Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were killed in the coup, and Zheng Yin, as their associate, was demoted to be publics works officer at Xuan Prefecture (宣州, roughly modern Xuancheng, Anhui). Once there, he was accused of receiving bribes, and he fled and secretly returned to the eastern capital Luoyang. Once at Luoyang, he secretly met Emperor Zhongzong's cousin (Wu Zetian's nephew) Wu Sansi the Prince of Liang, who was then a trusted advisor of Emperor Zhongzong and a lover to Emperor Zhongzong's powerful wife Empress Wei and was locked in a power struggle with the leaders of the coup that had returned Emperor Zhongzong to the throne—Zhang Jianzhi, Cui Xuanwei, Huan Yanfan, Jing Hui, and Yuan Shuji. When Zheng first saw Wu Sansi, he cried out loud, and then laughed out loud. Wu Sansi, who was stern in his disposition, was perplexed. Zheng responded:

Wu Sansi was very happy and invited Zheng up a tower, to further discuss with Zheng the strategies he should take. He further recommended Zheng to serve as Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人), a mid-level official that legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng). Zheng thereafter served as chief strategist for Wu Sansi, along with Cui Shi. Soon, Wu Sansi and Empress Wei were able to persuade Emperor Zhongzong to remove the coup leaders from their chancellor posts under guise of honoring them with princely titles.

In 706, in association with Wu Sansi, Zheng accused the coup leaders, by then all out of the capital Chang'an, of having conspired with Emperor Zhongzong's son-in-law Wang Tongjiao (王同皎), who was executed early in 706 for having planned to kill Wu Sansi and depose Empress Wei. The five coup leaders were demoted to be military advisors to prefects in distant prefecture. Wu Sansi then had accusations about his affair with Empress Wei publicly posted in Luoyang, hoping to incense Emperor Zhongzong and then blame the coup leaders. Zheng then accused the coup leaders of having posted the accusations and requested that their clans be slaughtered. Emperor Zhongzong denied the request, but exiled the coup leaders to even more distant prefectures, where they subsequently died or were killed on Wu Sansi's orders.

In 707, Emperor Zhongzong's son by a concubine, Li Chongjun the Crown Prince, angry that Empress Wei's daughter Li Guo'er the Princess Anle and her husband Wu Chongxun (武崇訓, Wu Sansi's son) repeatedly humiliated him and were trying to have Li Guo'er made crown princess to displace him, rose in rebellion and killed Wu Sansi and Wu Chongxun, but subsequently was defeated and killed in exile. Zheng became an associate of Empress Wei's, and in 708, when he was serving as the minister of worship (太常卿, Taichang Qing), submitted an interpretation of popular songs that suggested that both Emperor Zhongzong and Empress Wei's authorities had divine origins, which pleased Emperor Zhongzong greatly.

In 709, Zheng was made the minister of civil service affairs (吏部尚書, Libu Shangshu), and given the designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事), making him a chancellor de facto. He, along with Cui, was in charge of selecting officials, and both of them were said to be corrupt. Later in 709, after indictment by the censors Jin Heng (靳恆) and Li Shangyin and investigation by the censor Pei Cui (裴漼), Cui and Zheng were removed from their offices. Cui was initially supposed to demoted to be the military advisor to the prefect of Jiang Prefecture (江州, roughly modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi), while Zheng was to be exiled to Ji Prefecture (吉州, roughly modern Ji'an, Jiangxi). After intercession by Emperor Zhongzong's concubine Consort Shangguan Wan'er, as well as Li Guo'er and Li Guo'er's new husband Wu Yanxiu (武延秀), Cui was instead made the prefect of Xiang Prefecture (襄州, roughly modern Xiangfan, Hubei), and Zheng was made the military advisor to the prefect of Jiang Prefecture. However, later in the year, when Emperor Zhongzong was set to make sacrifices to heaven and earth south of Chang'an, he recalled both Cui and Zheng to attend to him during the ceremony and apparently made deputy minister of civil service affairs (吏部侍郎, Libu Shilang).

After Emperor Zhongzongs death

Emperor Zhongzong died suddenly in 710—a death that traditional historians believed to be a poisoning carried out by Empress Wei and Li Guo'er, so that Empress Wei could become "emperor" like Wu Zetian and Li Guo'er could become crown princess. For the time being, Emperor Zhongzong's son by another concubine, Li Chongmao the Prince of Wen, was made emperor (as Emperor Shang), and Empress Wei retained authority as empress dowager and regent. For reasons lost to history, she demoted Zheng Yin out of the capital, back to being the military advisor to the prefect of Jiang Prefecture. While he went through Jun Prefecture (均州, in modern Shiyan, Hubei), he secretly discussed with Emperor Zhongzong's son Li Chongfu the Prince of Qiao, the prefect of Jun Prefecture, whom Emperor Zhongzong had disfavored and exiled, and Zhang Lingjun (張靈均), about rising in rebellion against Empress Dowager Wei. Sometime thereafter, Zheng was recalled to the capital to serve as Mishu Shaojian (秘書少監), the deputy director of the Palace Library.

Less than a month after Emperor Zhongzong's death, a coup led by Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping and nephew Li Longji the Prince of Linzi killed Empress Dowager Wei and Li Guo'er. Subsequently, Li Longji's father Li Dan the Prince of Xiang, himself a former emperor, returned to the throne (as Emperor Ruizong), displacing Emperor Shang. Zheng was demoted to be the prefect of Yuan Prefecture (沅州, roughly modern Huaihua, Hunan). He intentionally stopped over in Luoyang, knowing that Li Chongfu, under Zhang's instigation, would soon rebel. He prepared the mansion of Li Chongfu's brother-in-law Pei Sun (裴巽, the husband of LI Chongfu's sister Princess Yicheng), and also drafted two edicts—one purportedly from Emperor Zhongzong, ordering Li Chongfu to take the throne, and one for Li Chongfu, declaring himself emperor.

On September 9, 710, Li Chongfu arrived at Luoyang and took over Pei's mansion, and the officials at Luoyang, surprised, largely began to flee. Li Chongfu began to try to take command of the imperial troops in Luoyang, but the official Li Yong (李邕) persuaded the imperial guards to reject Li Chongfu, and when Li Chongfu arrived at imperial guards' camps, they fired arrows at him. His attacks on the governmental offices were also repelled. He thereafter fled and tried to hide, but the next day, with troops closing in on his position, he jumped into a canal and drowned. Zheng tried to flee by putting on women's clothes and changing his hair style into a woman's hairstyle, but was nevertheless captured. When both he and Zhang were interrogated, he was so fearful that he was shivering and unable to answer any questions. Zhang, who answered questions normally, commented as he looked on Zheng, "I deserve defeat for starting a rebellion with this kind of a man." Both Zheng and Zhang were taken to a busy marketplace and beheaded in public.

Notes and references

• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 208, 209, 210.

家世

鄭愔原本姓鄚，改姓鄭，混入滎陽鄭氏；父鄚玄昇，衛州刺史。

早期仕途

鄭愔十七歲中進士。武則天年間，鄭愔依附酷吏來俊臣得以進身為臨武丞，來俊臣奉命查案，屠害忠良，每有羅織文狀，都密令鄭愔起草文字陷害他人于罪。武則天侄梁王武三思子武崇訓迎娶前皇帝皇太子李顯嫡女安樂郡主李裹兒，武三思令宰相和鄭愔等詞人為賦《花燭行》。後來來俊臣被誅，鄭愔又諂事武則天男寵張易之、張昌宗，被推薦為殿中侍御史。

唐中宗複闢年間

神龍元年（705年），張柬之、崔玄暐、桓彥范、敬暉、袁恕己等人發動神龍革命，殺張易之、張昌宗，迫武則天禪讓，李顯複闢，是為唐中宗，鄭愔也因而被貶宣州司戶參軍，又犯貪汙罪而潛逃到東都洛陽，密會武三思。當時武三思為中宗寵臣且與有權勢的韋皇后私通，正陷入與張柬之、崔玄暐等領導者的權力鬥爭。鄭愔初見武三思，先大哭，再大笑。武三思素來貴重，感到迷惑。鄭愔答：「我剛見大王時哭，是哀大王將遭戮滅族。後大笑，是喜大王得到我鄭愔。大王雖然得天子之寵，但那五人都據將相之權，膽略過人，廢太后（即武則天）如反掌。大王自視自己的勢位與太后哪個更重？那五人日夜切齒，欲吃大王的肉，不滅盡大王一族不足以滿足他們的心志。大王不去此五人，就危如朝露，卻晏然還自以為安如泰山，這是我鄭愔為大王寒心的地方。」武三思大悅，與鄭愔登樓，問以自安之策，引為中書舍人，于是鄭愔與崔湜皆為武三思謀主。很快，武三思和韋皇后說服中宗表面上給五功臣封王，實則罷其相位。

二年（706年）春，上《聖感頌》，中宗為之刻石。鄭愔素被敬暉等所廢黜，五月任許州司功參軍時，在武三思指使下彈劾當時已都被遣出京城長安的五功臣與先前三月因計劃殺武三思、廢韋後而伏誅的駙馬都尉王同皎同謀，六月，五功臣都被貶為邊遠州司馬。七月，武三思又派人故意在洛陽聲張自己和韋後的私情，意圖激怒中宗，嫁禍五功臣。鄭愔時任侍御史，以此彈劾五功臣，請求族誅他們。中宗拒絕了，但將五功臣流放到更遠的州，他們隨後或死去或被武三思下令殺死。

景龍元年（707年），中宗庶子皇太子李重俊怒安樂公主李裹兒及武崇訓常侮辱自己及試圖以李裹兒為皇太女取自己而代之，遂起兵殺武三思、武崇訓，但隨後被擊敗，逃亡中被殺。鄭愔又親附韋後，二年（708年）二月在太常少卿任上引申歌曲《英王石州》《桑條韋》稱中宗、韋後早有為帝為後之預兆，作《桑條歌》十篇獻上，中宗高興，給予厚賞。鄭愔與侍中韋巨源、宰相宗楚客、右補闕趙延禧等說祥瑞妖異，私下引導韋後行武則天故事。四月，中宗置脩文館學士，鄭愔在其中。

三年（709年）三月，鄭愔在太常少卿兼檢校吏部侍郎任上被任為守吏部侍郎、同平章事，為實質宰相。又任為吏部尚書。他與時任中書侍郎兼知吏部侍郎同平章事崔湜一起負責選官，兩人都腐敗，貪贓受賄。侍御史靳恆與監察御史李尚隱彈劾之，監察御史裴漼奉命審案。崔湜和鄭愔都被罷官。五月，鄭愔流放吉州，崔湜貶江州司馬。中宗昭容上官婉兒、李裹兒、李裹兒新丈夫武延秀從中說情後，崔湜為襄州刺史，鄭愔為江州司馬。九月，中宗又召曾為修文館學士的崔湜、鄭愔回京參與祭祀天地大禮，又任鄭愔為吏部侍郎。

中宗死後

四年（710年），中宗暴崩。傳統史家認為他是被韋後和李裹兒毒殺，以使韋後如武則天般稱帝，李裹兒為皇太女。中宗另一庶子溫王李重茂被立為帝，即唐殤帝，韋後作為皇太后攝政握有實權。韋太后貶鄭愔為江州司馬，鄭愔行經均州，與失寵于中宗並遭貶的中宗子均州刺史譙王李重福及洛陽人張靈均密謀起兵討韋太后。

中宗崩後不到一個月，中宗妹太平公主和侄子臨淄王李隆基政變殺韋太后、李裹兒。李隆基父前皇帝相王李旦複闢為唐睿宗取代了殤帝。鄭愔當時未及舉兵，已被召回任秘書少監，這時又貶為沅州刺史。他故意留在洛陽，料到李重福在張靈均策劃下不久將起事。他在李重福妹宜城公主駙馬都尉裴巽的官邸做準備，起草詐稱中宗命李重福繼位及李重福稱帝詔書各一，並自署左丞相、知內外文武事，張靈均以下也依次除署官職。

9月9日，李重福到洛陽，住進裴巽家，洛陽官員吃驚逃散。李重福前去左、右屯營意圖奪取軍權，但留台侍御史李邕說服屯營拒之。李重福至營，營中亂箭射之。李重福攻左掖門，也被擊退。他逃跑，意圖藏匿，次日，搜索軍隊逼近，他投漕渠溺死。鄭愔貌醜多鬍鬚，梳頭髻穿女人衣服躲在車裡想逃，被捕。與張靈均一同受審時，他嚇得大腿發抖不能回答。張靈均則神氣自若，看著鄭愔說：「我和這種人舉事，敗了是應該的。」在中書侍郎、雍州長史張說審問下，鄭愔和張靈均招供了全部情狀，都被帶到東都鬧市斬殺。鄭愔被族誅。

有詩一卷。

評價

• 胡三省：史言張靈均雖幸禍好亂之人，猶能臨死不變。鄭愔者，反覆于群憸之間，冒利不顧，而畏死乃爾，烏足以權大事乎！

參考文獻及注釋