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Xue Wenjie (薛文傑) (died 934) was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Min. He was a close associate of Min's emperor Wang Lin (Emperor Huizong), by flattering the emperor and finding creative, if cruel, methods to extract funds from the people for the emperor's use. In 934, the angry soldiers refused to fight troops of Min's invading rival Wu unless Xue were surrendered to them. After Xue was given to them, they killed him and ate his flesh. == Coming to power == Historical records did not indicate when Xue Wenjie was born or what his geographical origins were. What it did indicate was that at one point, he became the commander of the middle army of Fujian (i.e., the state of Min). His personality was said to be dextrous and wicked. As then-Min emperor Wang Lin favored luxurious living, Xue ingratiated himself with the emperor by collecting much material goods for the emperor. Wang thus made him the director of budget (國計使, ''Guojishi'') and closely associated with him.〔''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 278.〕 It was said that the tactics Xue engaged to collect wealth for the emperor was this: he would secretly collect evidence of crimes committed by rich people in the populace; he would then arrest them and confiscate their wealth. This included pounding the arrestees on both their chests and backs, and using heated copper to burn them. In 933, there was a time when a powerful local man of Jian Prefecture (建州, in modern Nanping, Fujian), Wu Guang (吳光), went to Min's capital Changle (長樂, in modern Fuzhou, Fujian) to pay homage to the emperor. As Xue wanted to confiscate Wu Guang's wealth, he began to secretly look for evidence of crimes to use against Wu Guang. Wu Guang found out, and he led his followers, over 10,000, in defecting to Min's northwestern neighbor Wu.〔 Xue was apparently later made Wang's chief of staff (''Shumishi''), for he was referred to by that office later in the year. He was at that time advising Wang to find some ways to reduce the power of the members of the imperial Wang clan. As a result, Wang's nephew Wang Jitu (王繼圖) became incensed and considered a rebellion. Wang Jitu's plot was discovered, and Wang Jitu and some 1,000 followers were executed.〔 As Wang Lin was superstitious, he favored a number of sorcerers, including one Sheng Tao (盛韜). Xue further encouraged Wang in this behavior, stating to Wang, "Your Imperial Majesty has many wicked subjects among your officials. Unless you inquire of this from the ghosts and the gods, you cannot know this. Sheng Tao is good at communicating with the ghosts, and you should let him look into this." Wang agreed. Xue then used this method to eliminate a more senior political rival, fellow chief of staff Wu Xu (吳勗). At that time, Wu was ill, so Xue went to see him, stating to him, "As the Master believed that you, Lord, have been long ill, he is considering removing you from this position. I, your servant, told him that you, Lord, is merely having minor headaches and would soon be healed. If the Master sends emissaries to see you, do not tell him that your illness is anything but headaches." Wu believed him. The next day, Xue had Sheng inform Wang, "I have seen Prince Chongxun (a local deity) ) of the North Temple try Wu Xu for treason, and he punished Wu by using a golden hammer to pound copper nails into Wu's brain." When Wang told this to Xue, Xue responded, "It might not be believable. It would be good to send emissaries to ask about this." When Wang's emissaries arrived at Wu's mansion, Wu told them that he was suffering from headaches. Wang, now believing in Sheng's vision, arrested Wu and allowed Xue and the jailers to torture him. Wu, unable to stand the torture, confessed. Wu, his wife, and his children were executed. It was said that this incident made the people more incensed with Xue.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Xue Wenjie」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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