簡介

史書未記載武攸暨的生年。他是武則天伯父武士讓之孫，右監門長史武懷道之子。天授年間，封為千乘郡王。初仕為右衛中郎將。武則天殺了他的妻子，于是太平公主順利的下嫁他，授駙馬都尉，婚後，太平公主生下二子一女。遷任右衛將軍，封千乘郡王，歷任司禮卿、左散騎常侍等官職，晉封定王。神龍年間降封安定王，曾拜任司徒，後請辭。其侄武延秀等於唐隆之變被誅後，降為楚國公。延和元年逝世，追封定王。次年，太平公主涉及謀逆，被唐玄宗發動先天之變處死，攸暨墓亦遭毀。

子女

據《舊唐書》記載，武攸暨與太平公主生下二子一女（長子武崇敏、次子武崇行、長女武氏）。

• 武崇敏（？—713年），字正卿，景龍二年，與異父兄薛崇簡同授三品，與漁陽王兄弟四人同制，睿宗時，封異姓王，任國子祭酒，先天二年，公主敗亡時被殺

• 武崇行（？—713年），景龍二年，與異父兄薛崇簡同授三品，與漁陽王兄弟四人同制，睿宗時，封異姓王，任九卿，先天二年，公主敗亡時被殺

另有次女武氏，封永和縣主，嫁光祿卿崔瑤。在永和縣主墓誌銘中，記其為武攸暨和太平公主的第二女。但她出生時，太平公主與前夫薛紹的婚姻仍然存在，永和縣主不可能是太平公主的女兒，當是武攸暨其他妻妾所生。

另有一子武勝，官居尚書膳部員外郎、徐州刺史，娶唐肅宗姨母楊氏，生子武充，字虛受。

資料來源

• 《舊唐書 卷一百八十三 外戚》

• 《新唐書 列傳第一百三十一》

• 《全唐文 卷二百四十 宋之問》

• 《全唐文補遺》三秦出版社2006年版

影視形象

• 2000年中國大陸電視劇《大明宮詞》（1998年），著名演員傅彪飾演（該劇將武攸暨更名為武攸嗣，可能是取自于武承嗣的名字）

• 2011年中國大陸電視劇《太平公主秘史》，由王昊飾演

• 2018年香港電視劇《宮心計2之深宮計》，由曾偉權飾演

注釋

Background

It is not known when Wu Youji was born. What is known is that his grandfather Wu Shirang (武士讓) was an uncle of Emperor Gaozong's second wife Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), and that he, like Wu Zetian's father Wu Shihuo (武士彠), had supported Tang Dynasty's founder Emperor Gaozu and had been, for his accomplishments, created the Duke of Xuancheng and buried with honor near Emperor Gaozu's tomb.

As of 690, Empress Wu was serving as empress dowager and regent over her son Emperor Ruizong, and Wu Youji was serving as a military officer. Empress Dowager Wu's only daughter Princess Taiping had been widowed since 688, when her husband Xue Shao (薛紹) was executed for participating in the rebellion of her cousin Li Chong, the Prince of Langye, against Empress Dowager Wu's authority. Empress Dowager Wu wanted to marry Princess Taiping to Wu Youji, who was however already married. Empress Dowager Wu therefore secretly had Wu Youji's wife assassinated, and then married Princess Taiping to him.

During Wu Zetians reign

Later in 690, Empress Dowager Wu had Emperor Ruizong yield the throne to her, establishing Zhou Dynasty as its "emperor" and interrupting Tang Dynasty. She created a number of her Wu clan relatives princes, and, after posthumously created Wu Youji's grandfather Wu Shirang the Prince of Chu, she created Wu Youji the Prince of Qiancheng. In 691, she created him the greater title of Prince of Ding. At a later point, however, his title was reduced to Prince of Anding.

Wu Youji was known for being unambitious and peaceful in his character, and, unlike Princess Taiping, who was very much involved in her mother's reign and often gave her mother advice, appeared to be largely uninvolved in Wu Zetian's governance. An exception was in 699, when Wu Zetian, in fear that after her death that her son Li Xian the Crown Prince (formerly emperor after Emperor Gaozong's death in 683 but who was quickly removed by her for disobedience in 684 in favor of Emperor Ruizong) and the Wu clan princes would not be able to coexist peacefully, had Li Xian, Li Dan (the former Emperor Ruizong), Princess Taiping, Wu Youji, and the other Wu clan princes swear an oath to each other and read the oaths to the gods. The oaths were then carved on iron and kept in the imperial archives.

During Emperor Zhongzongs and Emperor Ruizongs second reigns

In 705, a coup led by the officials Zhang Jianzhi, Cui Xuanwei, Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan, and Yuan Shuji killed Wu Zetian's lovers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong, overthrew Wu Zetian, and restored Li Xian to the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong). Princess Taiping participated in the coup as well, and after Emperor Zhongzong assumed the throne, he credited both Wu Youji and his cousin Wu Sansi with participating in the coup as well, and he restored Wu Youji to the greater title of Prince of Ding and gave him the honorific title of Situ (one of the Three Excellencies). Wu Youji declined both, and subsequently, when Emperor Zhongzong reduced the Wu clan princes' titles in accordance with public sentiment, Wu Youji's title was reduced to Prince of Leshou. Emperor Zhongzong, believing that 16 officials, including Wu Youji, Wu Sansi, and the officials who actually carried out the coup, were contributors to his reign, granted them iron certificates that were supposed to guarantee that, except for treason, they would be pardoned from death 10 times. (However, Emperor Zhongzong subsequently turned away from these promises as to Zhang, Cui, Jing, Huan, and Yuan, as the five were falsely accused of crimes by Wu Sansi and exiled, and then died or were executed in exile.)

In 707, during a drought, Emperor Zhongzong sent Wu Sansi and Wu Youji to the tomb of Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian (who had died later than Gaozong, in 705) to pray for rain. When rain came, Emperor Zhongzong used this as the reason to restore the ancestral temple of the Wu ancestors and restore the tombs of Wu Shihuo and Wu Zetian's mother Lady Yang to imperial tomb status.

In 710, Emperor Zhongzong suddenly died — a death that traditional historians believed to be a poisoning carried out by his wife Empress Wei and daughter Li Guo'er the Princess Anle, as Empress Wei wanted to be emperor and Li Guo'er wanted to be crown princess. Emperor Zhongzong's son by a concubine, Li Chongmao the Prince of Wen was installed as emperor, but Empress Wei retained power as empress dowager. Less than a month later, a coup led by Princess Taiping and Li Dan's son Li Longji the Prince of Linzi killed Empress Wei and Li Guo'er. At the urging of Princess Taiping, Li Longji, and Li Longji's brother Li Chengqi the Prince of Song, Li Dan retook the throne. After the coup, many Wu clan members who had supported Empress Wei were killed, and the survivors had their ranks reduced. Wu Youji's title was reduced to Duke of Chu.

By 711, a power struggle between Princess Taiping and Li Longji (who was created crown prince) had become intense, and at the suggestion of the chancellors Song Jing and Yao Yuanzhi, Emperor Ruizong briefly sent Princess Taiping and Wu Youji out of the capital Chang'an, to live in Pu Prefecture (蒲州, roughly modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) to try to defuse the situation. Subsequently, when Princess Taiping complained, Song and Yao were demoted, and Princess Taiping and Wu Youji were recalled to Chang'an. Later that year, in order to please Wu Youji, Princess Taiping requested that Wu Shihuo's and Lady Yang's tombs be again returned to imperial tomb status. (They had been again stripped of their imperial tomb status after the coup against Empress Wei.)

In 712, Wu Youji died. Emperor Ruizong posthumously honored him and created him the Prince of Ding, with the posthumous name Zhongjian (literally meaning "faithful and approachable"). In 713, after Emperor Ruizong had passed the throne to Li Longji, who took the throne as Emperor Xuanzong, Emperor Xuanzong and Princess Taiping's conflict came to a head. Emperor Xuanzong, suspecting Princess Taiping to be plotting to overthrow him, acted against her first, and, after he killed a number of her associates, he forced her to commit suicide. After her death, Wu Youji's grand tomb was destroyed.

Notes and references

• Old Book of Tang, vol. 183.http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/tan20.htm

• New Book of Tang, vol. 206.http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/ntan22.htm

• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 204, 206, 208, 209, 210.