Background

It is not known when Fang Gao was born, but it is known that he was from the Tang Dynasty capital Chang'an. In his youth, he served on staff at the mansion of the Tang chancellor Cui Yin. According to the Old History of the Five Dynasties, he later took up residence at Hezhong Municipality (河中, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) due to a disturbance. (This might be referring to Cui's death at the hands of the major warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan), in 904.)

During Later Tang

In 926, by which time Tang had long fallen, and the emperor of central China was the Later Tang emperor Li Siyuan, Li Siyuan commissioned his adoptive son Li Congke as the acting military governor of Huguo Circuit (护国, headquartered at Hezhong). Either at that time or shortly after, when Li Congke went to Hezhong to take over the circuit command, Fang Gao went to greet him on the road, and requested to serve on his staff. Li Congke was pleased with him, and made him in charge of the guests in Li Congke's household.

In 934, Li Congke overthrew then-emperor, his adoptive brother (Li Siyuan's biological son) Li Conghou, and became emperor. Apparently shortly after, Fang was made the acting secretary at the office of the chief of staff (枢密院, Shumi Yuan), and thereafter a director of palace affairs (宣徽使, Xuanhuishi). In fall 935, Fang was made one of the chiefs of staff, serving with Li Congke's brother-in-law Zhao Yanshou. However, Li Congke's close associate Liu Yanlang served as deputy chief of staff, and it was said that Li Congke listened to Liu, as well as a scholar at the office of chief of staff, Xue Wenyu (薛文遇), far more than he did Zhao or Fang. Fang himself made few decisive suggestions, often acting ambiguously when presented proposals. Indeed, when intelligence reports and requests came from the two key commands on the border between Later Tang and its northern rival Khitan Empire — Lulong Circuit (卢龙, headquartered in modern Beijing), then commanded by Zhao's adoptive father Zhao Dejun, and Hedong Circuit (河东, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), then commanded by another brother-in-law of Li Congke's, Shi Jingtang, Fang would often fall asleep at the chief of staff meetings. As a result, the matters ended up being ruled on by Liu. It was said that Liu used the opportunity to extract bribes from military governors and prefects, giving them prize assignments for greater bribes, causing much resentment from the generals toward Li Congke, who was unaware of the situation. However, Fang (along with imperial scholars Li Song and Lü Qi did do what they could to dissuade Li Congke from an idea that he had that they believed would be disastrous — moving Shi from Hedong to Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong) — believing that Shi would rebel if he did so.

In summer 936, by which time Lü was no longer imperial scholar, there was a night when Li Song had the night off, and Xue was on duty, attending to Li Congke. Xue took the opportunity to persuade Li Congke that Shi would rebel anyway, and that it was better to let him rebel now. Li Congke agreed, and therefore issued an edict moving Shi from Hedong to Tianping. Shi did in fact rebel, and thereafter, with aid from the Khitan, defeated Later Tang forces Li Congke sent against him and then approached the capital Luoyang. Li Congke and his family committed suicide, ending Later Tang.

During Later Jin

Shi Jingtang, whom Khitan's Emperor Taizong had declared to be emperor of a new state of Later Jin, entered Luoyang and took over Later Tang's territory. In an edict that Shi issued after entering Luoyang that declared a general pardon, he, excepting them from the general pardon, ordered the deaths of Li Congke's close associates Zhang Yanlang, Liu Yanhao, and Liu Yanlang. He singled out several officials whom he stated as not complicit with Li Congke (his justification for rebelling against Li Congke was that Li Congke, as an adoptive son, was an usurper of the Later Tang throne) — Ma Yinsun, Fang Gao, Li Zhuanmei (李专美), and Han Zhaoyin — such that they were removed from their posts but spared their lives.

In 939, Shi, apparently viewed his punishment of Ma, Fang, Han, and Li Zhuanmei to be too harsh (as he pitied them for being in poverty), commissioned them various offices — in Fang's case, a general of the imperial guards — but then immediately ordered them into retirement (i.e., to allow them to draw pensions without allowing them to return to the government). Fang would die in 944, during the reign of Shi's nephew and successor Shi Chonggui, at Luoyang.

Notes and references

• Old History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 96.

• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 279, 280, 282.

家世

房暠生年不详，唐朝都城长安人氏。年轻时为宰相崔胤家臣，后因避乱（可能指天佑元年（904年）崔胤死于大军阀宣武军节度使朱全忠之手）客居蒲州。

后唐年间

后唐明宗李嗣源天成元年（926年），李嗣源任养子李从珂为护国军留后。李从珂赴任时，房暠迎谒于路左，请求做他的幕僚，李从珂感到高兴，命他负责宾客。

当时凤翔有盲人张蒙自称懂术数，能通神，房暠很相信他。一天张蒙到府，听到李从珂说话声，骇然说：「这不是人臣啊。」房暠询问，张蒙便传神语说：「三珠并一珠，驴马没人驱，岁月甲庚午，中兴戊己土。」房暠请求解释，张蒙又称不知神言。长兴四年（933年）五月，凤翔府廨诸门无故自动，人们都惊异，派房暠问张蒙，张蒙说：「衙署有小异动不要奇怪，不出三日，当有恩命。」当夜报至，李从珂被封为潞王。

应顺元年（934年），房暠与节度判官韩昭胤、掌书记李专美、牙将宋审虔、孔目官刘延朗共佐李从珂推翻时任皇帝即他的养弟、明宗亲子李从厚，成为皇帝。李从珂见册曰「维应顺元年岁次甲午，四月庚午朔。」就回头看房暠说：「张蒙神言甲庚午，不也奇怪吗！」又令房暠与术士解三珠一珠事，得出结论：「三珠指的是三位皇帝；驴马没人驱，指的是失位。」从此房暠愈发被李从珂亲信，以巫祝用事，被任为权知枢密院记，五月又被任为宣徽北院使，当月又以宣徽北院使、检校工部尚书加检校司空，行左威卫大将军，仍为宣徽北院使。清泰二年（935年）四月，为左卫上将军，充宣徽南院使，九月，被任为刑部尚书，充枢密使，与明宗女婿赵延寿为同僚。但刘延朗为宣徽南院使兼枢密副使，相比于房、赵两位正枢密使，李从珂更听从刘延朗和枢密直学士薛文遇，房暠的话只被听取不足三四成。房暠几乎不提建议，随势可否。每每朝廷有大事，如后唐与契丹边境重镇、由赵延寿养父赵德钧管治的卢龙军和由明宗另一女婿石敬瑭管治的河东军遣使入奏时，房暠就睡觉。因此事务都由刘延朗决断。刘延朗趁机向节度使、刺史们索贿，给行贿多的人分配好的任所，将领们因而怨愤于李从珂，李从珂却不知道。但房暠和端明殿学士给事中李崧、吕琦力谏李从珂，阻止他将石敬瑭迁为天平军节度使，认为一旦这么做，石敬瑭将叛，不可。

清泰三年（936年）五月庚寅夜，当时吕琦已不再是端明殿学士，李崧在外，只有薛文遇当值，与李从珂议河东事，趁机说服李从珂，石敬瑭必叛，不如现在就逼他叛了。李从珂同意了，下诏将石敬瑭从河东迁到天平。石敬瑭果然叛乱，在契丹援助下，打败李从珂派去镇压的唐军，进逼都城洛阳。李从珂举家自杀，后唐亡。

后晋年间

契丹太宗立石敬瑭为新朝后晋的皇帝。石敬瑭进入洛阳，接管后唐领地。下诏大赦，只将行工部尚书充三司使张延朗、刑部尚书充枢密使刘延皓、刘延朗除外，下令将他们处死。他还另外列出，他认为并未与被他指为以养子身份篡后唐位的李从珂串通一气的官员中书侍郎平章事马胤孙、枢密使房暠、宣徽使李专美、河中节度使韩昭胤，将他们罢官，但并不处死。

天福四年（939年），石敬瑭见自己之前罢免的后唐旧臣陷于贫困，任他们官职，其中房暠被任为右骁卫大将军（《旧五代史》本传作左骁卫大将军），但立即命他们致仕，这样他们就能在不需要回归政府的情况下领取养老俸禄了。石敬瑭侄石重贵继位后，开运元年（944年）春，房暠卒于洛阳。

注释及参考文献