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 (護國, 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 (樞密院, 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 (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing), then commanded by Zhao's adoptive father Zhao Dejun, and Hedong Circuit (河東, 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 (李專美), 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

房暠生年不詳，唐朝都城長安人氏。年輕時為宰相崔胤家臣，後因避亂（可能指天祐元年（904年）崔胤死于大軍閥宣武軍節度使朱全忠之手）客居蒲州。

後唐年間

後唐明宗李嗣源天成元年（926年），李嗣源任養子李從珂為護國軍留後。李從珂赴任時，房暠迎謁于路左，請求做他的幕僚，李從珂感到高興，命他負責賓客。

當時鳳翔有盲人張濛自稱懂術數，能通神，房暠很相信他。一天張濛到府，聽到李從珂說話聲，駭然說：「這不是人臣啊。」房暠詢問，張濛便傳神語說：「三珠並一珠，驢馬沒人驅，歲月甲庚午，中興戊己土。」房暠請求解釋，張濛又稱不知神言。長興四年（933年）五月，鳳翔府廨諸門無故自動，人們都驚異，派房暠問張濛，張濛說：「衙署有小異動不要奇怪，不出三日，當有恩命。」當夜報至，李從珂被封為潞王。

應順元年（934年），房暠與節度判官韓昭胤、掌書記李專美、牙將宋審虔、孔目官劉延朗共佐李從珂推翻時任皇帝即他的養弟、明宗親子李從厚，成為皇帝。李從珂見冊曰「維應順元年歲次甲午，四月庚午朔。」就回頭看房暠說：「張濛神言甲庚午，不也奇怪嗎！」又令房暠與術士解三珠一珠事，得出結論：「三珠指的是三位皇帝；驢馬沒人驅，指的是失位。」從此房暠愈發被李從珂親信，以巫祝用事，被任為權知樞密院記，五月又被任為宣徽北院使，當月又以宣徽北院使、檢校工部尚書加檢校司空，行左威衛大將軍，仍為宣徽北院使。清泰二年（935年）四月，為左衛上將軍，充宣徽南院使，九月，被任為刑部尚書，充樞密使，與明宗女婿趙延壽為同僚。但劉延朗為宣徽南院使兼樞密副使，相比于房、趙兩位正樞密使，李從珂更聽從劉延朗和樞密直學士薛文遇，房暠的話只被聽取不足三四成。房暠幾乎不提建議，隨勢可否。每每朝廷有大事，如後唐與契丹邊境重鎮、由趙延壽養父趙德鈞管治的盧龍軍和由明宗另一女婿石敬瑭管治的河東軍遣使入奏時，房暠就睡覺。因此事務都由劉延朗決斷。劉延朗趁機向節度使、刺史們索賄，給行賄多的人分配好的任所，將領們因而怨憤于李從珂，李從珂卻不知道。但房暠和端明殿學士給事中李崧、呂琦力諫李從珂，阻止他將石敬瑭遷為天平軍節度使，認為一旦這麼做，石敬瑭將叛，不可。

清泰三年（936年）五月庚寅夜，當時呂琦已不再是端明殿學士，李崧在外，只有薛文遇當值，與李從珂議河東事，趁機說服李從珂，石敬瑭必叛，不如現在就逼他叛了。李從珂同意了，下詔將石敬瑭從河東遷到天平。石敬瑭果然叛亂，在契丹援助下，打敗李從珂派去鎮壓的唐軍，進逼都城洛陽。李從珂舉家自殺，後唐亡。

後晉年間

契丹太宗立石敬瑭為新朝後晉的皇帝。石敬瑭進入洛陽，接管後唐領地。下詔大赦，只將行工部尚書充三司使張延朗、刑部尚書充樞密使劉延皓、劉延朗除外，下令將他們處死。他還另外列出，他認為並未與被他指為以養子身份篡後唐位的李從珂串通一氣的官員中書侍郎平章事馬胤孫、樞密使房暠、宣徽使李專美、河中節度使韓昭胤，將他們罷官，但並不處死。

天福四年（939年），石敬瑭見自己之前罷免的後唐舊臣陷于貧困，任他們官職，其中房暠被任為右驍衛大將軍（《舊五代史》本傳作左驍衛大將軍），但立即命他們致仕，這樣他們就能在不需要回歸政府的情況下領取養老俸祿了。石敬瑭侄石重貴繼位後，開運元年（944年）春，房暠卒于洛陽。

注釋及參考文獻