Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong
brothers who served as officials of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty
Zhang Yizhi (張易之; died 20 February 705), formally the Duke of Heng (恆公), nickname Wulang (五郎) and Zhang Changzong (張昌宗; died 20 February 705), formally the Duke of Ye (鄴公), nickname Liulang (六郎), were two brothers who served as officials of Wu Zetian's Wu Zhou dynasty and became very powerful late in her reign. Both brothers were killed in a coup that overthrew Wu Zetian in 705.
Background
It is not known when Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were born. It is known that their father Zhang Xizang (張希臧) had, at one point, served as the census officer of the Tang dynasty's capital prefecture Yong Prefecture (雍州, roughly modern Xi'an, Shaanxi) and was a distant nephew of the chancellor Zhang Xingcheng. Their mother might be Lady Wei or Lady Zang.
As per Tang regulations, Zhang Yizhi, as the son of an official, was able to get into a civil service career himself in his 20s, serving as the imperial director of horses (尚乘奉御, Shangcheng Fengyu). It was said that his skin at that time was white and beautiful and that he was good at singing.
As Wu Zetian's lovers
In 697, Zhang Changzong was referred to Wu Zetian, then ruling with the title of emperor—the only woman in the history of China recognized for doing so—by Wu Zetian's daughter Princess Taiping, to be Wu Zetian's lover. Zhang Changzong further told Wu Zetian that Zhang Yizhi was even more skillful than he was, and so Wu Zetian took Zhang Yizhi as a lover as well. Both were repeatedly promoted—Zhang Yizhi as the deputy minister of military supplies (司衛少卿, Siwei Shaoqing)—and both were said to often put makeup on their faces and dressing in a beautiful manner.
“Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong” enters the record as brothers who served as officials of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Zhang, Yizhi and Changzong can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q55365916. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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