Jing Hui

JIng Hui (敬暉) (died 706), courtesy name Zhongye (仲瞱), formally Prince Sumin of Pingyang (平陽肅愍王), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong. He was a key figure in the coup that overthrew Wu Zetian and restored Emperor Zhongzong in 705, but was later exiled due to false accusations instigated by Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Sansi and killed in exile in a cruel manner.

It is not known when Jing Hui was born, but it is known that his family was from Jiang Prefecture (絳州, part of modern Yuncheng, Shanxi). He had several ancestors who served as officials for Tang Dynasty and its predecessor Sui Dynasty as well as the earlier dynasty Northern Qi, and it is known that his father Jing Shansong (敬山松) served as a county magistrate during Tang. All that is known about the early part of Jing Hui's career is that he passed the imperial examination when he was young.

In 698—during the reign of Wu Zetian, the wife of Emperor Gaozong, who had declared herself "emperor" of a new Zhou Dynasty, interrupting Tang—Jing Hui was made the prefect of Wei Prefecture (衛州, roughly modern Xinxiang, Henan). When he arrived at Wei Prefecture, it was in the aftermaths of a major Eastern Tujue incursion earlier in the year, and the local officials were all busy conscripting labor to build the city walls, despite the fact that it was also harvest season. Jing stated to his subordinates: "Even a city that is fortified with gold and water cannot be defended without food. Why abandon the harvest to build the defenses?" He released the laborers from their duty and allowed them to return to their field, and the people were very thankful.

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