Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and his Prime Minister, Wei Zheng, were one the most famous and admirable pairs of monarch and advisors in Chinese history. Wei Zheng was known for his honest feedback and constructive criticisms of Emperor Taizong, as the readers will find in many history books. Here are a few interesting anecdotes about them.

No one would talk about Emperor Taizong and Wei Zheng without mentioning the famous rule of Zhenguan (the era name of Emperor Taizong.) Emperor Taizong became emperor at the age of 29 and changed the era name to Zhenguan. During that time, it was said that there was no need for the people to lock their doors at night and that items left on the road remained untouched by others. The prosperity of the era and the leadership of Emperor and his renowned officials epitomize the peak of traditional leadership that future generations would strive to emulate. Emperor Taizong established a good political system where the government was divided into the ministries of legislation, administration and justice. In terms of human resources, Emperor Taizong installed a system to recruit the most virtuous and qualified government officials. He aspired to be a virtuous ruler and expected his subjects to be virtuous governmental officials. The most admirable aspect of Emperor Taizong's administration is that both the emperor and his top officials were devoted to realizing Emperor Taizong's vision of ruling the country virtuously and helped each other to attain that goal.

Emperor Taizong and his royal cabinet would discuss important issues and reach consensus first before carrying out the decisions. Therefore, when a decision was made, there was strong commitment and support from his royal cabinet and court subjects. Four years after Emperor Taizong ascended to the throne, the Tang Dynasty reached an unprecedented level of prosperity. Emperor Taizong was able to recruit a group of the most virtuous and qualified government officials because of his virtue and his trust in his subjects. Wei Zheng was probably the best in his royal cabinet. Wei Zheng served Emperor Taizong for 17 years before he passed away. According to the history books, Wei Zheng never compromised his integrity. Even when Emperor Taizong was offended by his honest feedback or criticisms, Wei Zheng did not show any fear or back off. Eventually Emperor Taizong always calmed down and listened to his comments with an open mind. Emperor Taizong chose to listen to reason and Wei Zheng chose to be honest. To this day, their interactions still serve as a model for today's politicians.

Wei Zheng did not just give his opinion on issues of government administration. He also tried to direct Emperor Taizong's private life towards the righteous direction as well. For example, Emperor Taizong was very fond of hunting. He was also very interested in playing with a type of hunting hawk. He had even established a personal pet house for his collection of hunting hawks. One day Emperor Taizong took his hunting hawks out for an excursion. When he returned, he sighed. "Why does the time seem to go much faster when I play with my hunting hawks? There is never enough time!" Apparently Emperor Taizong had already become addicted to hunting hawks.

One day Emperor Taizong obtained a baby hawk. He was very fond of the small creature and was playing with it when he suddenly spotted Wei Zheng walking towards him. He immediately hid the baby hawk in one of his sleeves and sat up straight. Unfortunately Wei Zheng had already seen that His Majesty was often wasting time playing with his pets, so he decided to give Emperor Taizong a lesson. He purposely extended the length of the conversation. When Wei Zheng finally left, Emperor Taizong immediately took the baby hawk out of his sleeve. However, it was too late. The baby hawk had already died of suffocation! After that, the Emperor never spent time playing with hunting hawks any more for the rest of his life.

One day Emperor Taizong decided to go hunting on Mount Zhong'nan. When Wei Zheng heard His Majesty's plan, he hurried to the entrance of the palace and waited for Emperor Taizong to come out. He thought he would try to persuade Emperor Taizong to cancel the time-consuming hunt. He waited for a long time, but Emperor Taizong did not come out. Finally he entered the palace and asked to see Emperor Taizong. He saw Emperor Taizong in the hunting outfit, but he did not look like he was going anywhere. Wei Zheng went up to him and asked, "I heard that Your Majesty was going to Mount Zhong'nan for hunting. Why aren't you leaving?" The Emperor answered with a smile, "I was going to, but I knew you would come and stop me, so I have decided not to go hunting after all. You can relax now and go home!" Wei Zheng bowed to Emperor Taizong and left the palace with a big smile on his face.

Emperor Taizong was a very ambitious and diligent ruler. He often invited Wei Zheng to his chamber to discuss important issues in person. Wei Zheng was a very wise man with a lot of insight. Emperor Taizong was an open-minded person, but it was still not easy to listen to harsh remarks from Wei Zheng at times. One day when Emperor Taizong returned from a cabinet meeting in the palace hall, he looked furious and angrily told Empress Changsun, "Sooner or later I will kill that country bumpkin!" The Empress asked apprehensively, "Who are you talking about, Your Majesty?" "Wei Zheng! He always contradicts me and embarrasses me in front of everyone!" After hearing Emperor Taizong's comment, Empress Changsun left the room. When she returned, she was dressed in formal dress. She congratulated Emperor Taizong and explained, "A subject is willing to present his honest opinion only when the emperor is wise and open-minded. I would like to congratulate Your Majesty for having a cabinet member who is not afraid to contradict you because it is a proof of Your Majesty's open-mindedness!" After hearing the Empress's words, Emperor Taizong calmed down gradually. He began to recall Wei Zhong's integrity and moral character, and his heart was filled with respect for him. Emperor Taizong once commented, "A lot of people think Wei Zheng is a direct and tactless man, but I think those are his very charms."

Wei Zheng was a very stern man and did not like to joke. As a result, Emperor Taizong enjoyed teasing him. Emperor Taizong heard that Wei Zheng was partial to pickled celery in vinegar. He decided to tease him about it. He invited Wei Zheng to a banquet and included pickled celery in vinegar as one of the dishes. Indeed the rumor was true. Wei Zheng's eyes sparkled when he saw the pickled celery and finished it right away. Emperor Taizong grinned and said to him, "You once told me you don't have any attachments. Now I have found your attachment to pickled celery in vinegar!" Wei Zheng said, "If Your Majesty does not have a bigger ambition than exploring trivial matters about your subjects, I have no choice but to develop an attachment to pickled celery for your satisfaction." Wei Zheng answered in a very respectful and humble manner, but he implied that he had much greater expectations of Emperor Taizong. After hearing that, Emperor Taizong was silent for a long time and repeatedly looked up to the sky and sighed. It was because he had heard great expectations in Wei Zheng's words and was very touched by Wei Zheng's true loyalty and dedication to the country.

Wei Zheng made great contributions to the rule of Zhenguan because of his uncompromising integrity, courage, vision and wisdom. When Wei Zheng passed away, Emperor Taizong attended his funeral and burst into tears. He stopped the daily cabinet meeting for five days to mourn the loss of Wei Zheng. Later when he resumed the daily meeting at the royal hall, he said to the entire court of subjects, "Put a slab of copper as a mirror in front of me, and I can straighten out my robe. Put history as a mirror in front of me, and I can identify the alarming signs of rise and fall of a society. Have a man as a mirror who reflects my flaws, and I can rectify my mistakes. I constantly keep these three mirrors to prevent me from making mistakes. Now that Wei Zheng has passed away, I have lost a mirror!"

Virtuous and wise subjects abounded during the rule of Zhenguan, especially ministers. Emperor Taizong had a very strong group of ministers. Nearly all of them are very famous ministers in the Chinese history. Among all the ministers in the Tang Dynasty, Wei Zheng has always been revered as the best minister of the Chinese history. It seems that the gods arranged for the best talents to serve Emperor Taizong. It was the cohesive efforts of Emperor Taizong and his virtuous and talented royal cabinet that created the best rule in Chinese history -- the rule of Zhenguan.

歷史故事：唐太宗和魏徵

唐太宗和魏徵是一對歷史上有名的君臣，他們之間的一些趣聞, 魏徵對於太宗的各種諫言，史書中多有記載，這裡只談一些他們之間的小故事。

說到他們兩人，就不能不提到歷史上赫赫有名的「貞觀盛世」。太宗即位時才二十九歲，改年號為「貞觀」，這就是貞觀治世的開始。太宗在政治上，建立了良好的決策和諫諍制度，在人事方面，以選拔賢能之士為本。太宗要求自己是個聖君，同時也要求臣下為賢臣。而最難得的是，君臣雙方對於這個偉大的抱負，都能貫徹始終，而且互相鼓勵，惟恐無法達成。

太宗和群臣經常在一起討論各種問題，形成共識，所以貫徹的力量非常強大。「貞觀四年」時，整個國家就已經進入「貞觀之治」的盛世了。「貞觀」一朝人才濟濟，名臣如雲，而其中以「諫諍」聞名的就數魏徵了。魏徵輔佐太宗十七年，史書稱他：「有志膽，每犯顏進諫，雖逢帝甚怒，神色不徙，而天子亦為之霽威。」就是形容他對太宗進諫時的模樣，雖然太宗天威震怒，他還是神色堅定，毫無懼色，而太宗也能漸漸的息怒，聆聽諫言。他們兩人，一個從善如流，一個直言敢諫，君臣之間，在歷史上留下了千古的佳話，有許多的事績，一直到今天仍令後人傳誦不已。

魏徵對於太宗，不管是公事還是私事，只要他認為不恰當的地方，都會馬上提出糾正。太宗非常喜歡打獵，也非常喜歡玩一種叫做「鷂鷹」的鳥。為了這個嗜好，他還特地成立了一個「鷂坊」，派專人飼養着大批的鷂鷹。有一次太宗帶鷂鷹出去玩時，就嘆息着說：「唉！玩鷂鷹的時間怎麼過得那麼快，總沒個夠！」可見他沉迷之深了。

一天，太宗得到了一隻小鷂鷹，非常喜歡，正放在手上逗着玩兒呢，忽然看見魏徵走過來了，便趕快把小鷂鷹藏入懷中坐好。可是魏徵遠遠的早就看見了，於是就故意把話題拉長，講個沒完。好不容易等魏徵走後，太宗急忙把懷中的小鷹取出，一看，哎呀！小鷹早已悶死了！經過了這件事後，太宗終身都不再玩鷂鷹了！

還有一次，太宗要去終南山打獵，這事兒被魏徵知道后，就跑到宮門口去等候，想要勸阻太宗。可是等了半天，都沒見太宗出來。不得已只好跑到宮裡看看，只見太宗全副獵裝端坐在那裡，可是又不像要出門的樣子。魏徵只好硬着頭皮上前問道：「聽說陛下要去終南山打獵，怎麼還沒去呢？」太宗笑着說：「我本來是要去打獵的啊！但我想你一定會來勸阻我的，所以我決定不去了，你放心的回家吧！」於是魏徵就笑眯眯的叩拜出宮去了。

太宗即位以後，勵精圖治。曾多次請魏徵到卧室，商量政事，請教得失。魏徵有見識才略，個性忠直，又碰到明君，所以更加知無不言。而太宗也十分信任魏徵，對於他的意見，無不欣然採納。但是這種治國雅量，也是需要反覆磨練，才能成熟的。有一次太宗退朝回宮后，盛怒未息，對長孫皇后說：「遲早我要殺了這個鄉巴佬！」皇后急忙問道：「陛下要殺誰呀？」「魏徵總是當面侮辱我，不給我留情面！」皇后聽完后，立刻換了禮服出來向太宗道賀說：「君明則臣直。魏徵忠直，敢於犯顏直諫，正說明你的聖明大度，真是可喜可賀啊！」太宗聽完后，怒氣漸消。想起魏徵的為人處世，內心油然生起了無限的敬意。所以太宗曾說：「人言魏徵舉動疏慢，我但見嫵媚耳。」就是說，人家都說魏徵舉止粗魯，我看這正是他嫵媚可愛的地方啊！

魏徵端正嚴肅，不拘言笑，太宗其實也很喜歡去開開他的玩笑，逗一逗他。有一次太宗聽說他喜歡吃「醋芹」--就是一種用醋浸泡的芹菜。於是就賜宴魏徵，席中也準備了醋芹。果然魏徵一看到醋芹就喜形於色，兩三下就吃光了。太宗看了就笑嘻嘻對他說：「你說你沒有嗜好，可我今天看見了矣！」魏徵面對着太宗的調侃，拜謝道：如果君主沒有甚麼作為，只想探索這些無聊小事，那我們做為臣子的，也只好就喜歡「吃醋芹」這種平凡的事了。魏徵的態度恭謹而語鋒敏銳，既是回答也是進諫，他希望天子要有大作為，這樣臣下也才能勵精圖治啊！太宗聽后沉默了許久，望着天再三嘆息着。因為他在話里聽到了更多的期望與鼓勵，而感動不已啊！

魏徵看到該說的就說，從不畏懼。他的膽識和卓見，為「貞觀之治」作出了不可磨滅的貢獻。魏徵病逝時，太宗親臨痛哭，並罷朝舉哀五日，後來太宗臨朝時流着淚對群臣說：「以銅為鏡，可以正衣冠。以古為鏡，可以知興替。以人為鏡，可以明得失。朕當常保此三鏡，以防己過。今魏徵殂逝，朕遂亡一鏡矣！」


「貞觀」一朝，人才輩出，大放光彩。尤其是「宰相團」陣容堅強，幾乎個個都是歷史上的名相。而大唐良相魏徵，更被後人譽為「千秋金鑒」。上天的安排，風雲際會，好像把人才都集中到這二、三十年間了，太宗與群臣們聚集在一起，共同譜就了這波瀾壯闊、泱泱大風的「貞觀盛世」，留下千秋佳話。