Deng Chuna (; died 894),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Chongyun (), was a warlord in the late

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

China, who controlled

Wu'an Circuit Wu'an Circuit was a circuit of China during the Tang dynasty. It was formed by the expansion and renaming of the Qinhua Circuit. See also * Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of Chi ...

(武安, headquartered in modern

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

) as its military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

'') from 893 to 894, when he was defeated and killed by Liu Jianfeng, who took over the circuit.

Background and service under
Min Xu Min Xu (閔勗) (d. 886), courtesy name Gongjin (公謹), was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who controlled a substantial part, as well as Tan Prefecture (in modern Changsha, Hunan), the capital of Hunan Circuit (湖南), first ...

It is not known when Deng Chuna was born, but it is known that he was from Shao Prefecture (邵州, in modern

Shaoyang Shaoyang (), formerly named Baoqing (Paoking) (), is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Hunan province, China, bordering Guangxi to the south. It has a history of 2500 years and remains an important commercial and transportation city in Huna ...

). In his youth, he became a soldier under

Min Xu Min Xu (閔勗) (d. 886), courtesy name Gongjin (公謹), was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who controlled a substantial part, as well as Tan Prefecture (in modern Changsha, Hunan), the capital of Hunan Circuit (湖南), first ...

, an officer from Jiangxi Circuit (江西, headquartered in modern

Nanchang Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

), on a deployment to Annan (安南, i.e., modern northern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

).''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

'', vol. 186. In 881, when Min and his soldiers were returning from Annan, they went through Tan Prefecture (in modern

), and Min expelled the governor of Hunan Circuit (湖南, headquartered at Tan Prefecture) and took over the circuit. Min thereafter claimed the title of acting governor and made Deng the prefect of Shao Prefecture.

Takeover of
Wu'an Wu'an is a county-level city in the southwest of Hebei Province, China, bordering Shanxi Province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Handan. History People's Republic In August 1949, Wu'an was one of thr ...

In 886, when Tan Prefecture was under attack by

Zhou Yue Zhou Yue (周岳) (died 893), courtesy name Junzhao (峻昭), was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who controlled Wu'an Circuit (武安, headquartered in modern Changsha, Hunan) from 886 to 893. Background and takeover of Heng ...

the prefect of Heng Prefecture (衡州, in modern

Hengyang Hengyang (; ) is the second largest city of Hunan Province, China. It straddles the Xiang River about south of the provincial capital of Changsha. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Its total population was 6,645,243 inhabitants, whom 1,290,715 ...

), Min Xu welcomed one Huang Hao (), an officer under

Qin Zongquan Qin Zongquan (; died April 1, 889) was a Chinese military general, monarch, politician, rebel, and warlord during the Tang Dynasty. He was later a claimant to the imperial throne, in competition with Emperor Xizong of Tang and, later, Emperor Xiz ...

, who had declared himself emperor of a new state centered around Cai Prefecture (蔡州, in modern

Zhumadian Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of An ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

), to help him defend against Zhou's attack. Once inside the city walls of Tan Prefecture, however, Huang assassinated Min. Zhou subsequently defeated and killed Huang, and took over the circuit (which had been renamed Qinhua Circuit by that point), eventually being commissioned as its military governor (''

'').''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 256. Hearing of Min's death and blaming Zhou for it, Deng Chuna mourned Min bitterly, and stated to his officers:''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 259. The officers agreed with him. He trained his forces for seven years, and, in 893, in alliance with

Lei Man Lei Man (雷滿) (died 901), courtesy name Bingren (秉仁), was a warlord late in the Chinese Tang Dynasty, who seized control of Lang Prefecture (朗州, in modern Changde, Hunan) in 881 and controlled it and the surrounding region (which was mad ...

the prefect of Lang Prefecture (朗州, in modern

Changde Changde ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi City, Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent ...

), attacked Tan Prefecture. He captured it and executed Zhou, claiming for himself the title of acting military governor of

(as Qinhua had been renamed Wu'an by that point). In spring 894, then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong commissioned him full military governor.

Defeat and Death

However, later that year, an army commanded by Liu Jianfeng and

Ma Yin Ma Yin (; c. 853 – December 2, 930), courtesy name Batu (霸圖), formally King Wumu of Chu (楚武穆王), was Chinese military general and politician who became the first ruler of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Chu and the o ...

approached Wu'an. Deng sent his officers Jiang Xun () and Deng Jichong () with the Shao Prefecture troops to resist the attack at Longhui Pass (龍回關, in modern Shaoyang). Ma persuaded Jiang and Deng Jichong that Liu's success was prophesied and irresistible, and they disbanded their army. Ma took over the uniforms they wore and headed directly for Tan Prefecture. The Tan Prefecture defense forces, believing that these were soldiers from Shao Prefecture, took no precautions. Ma marched directly into the city and the circuit headquarters, capturing Deng Chuna, who was holding a feast, and executed him, allowing Liu to take over the circuit.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 186. * ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', vol. 259. {{DEFAULTSORT:Deng, Chuna 9th-century births 894 deaths Politicians from Shaoyang Tang dynasty jiedushi of Wu'an Circuit Executed people from Hunan Tang dynasty politicians from Hunan People executed by the Tang dynasty by decapitation Executed Tang dynasty people 9th-century executions by the Tang dynasty Tang dynasty generals from Hunan

Background and service under Min Xu Min Xu (閔勗) (d. 886), courtesy name Gongjin (公謹), was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who controlled a substantial part, as well as Tan Prefecture (in modern Changsha, Hunan), the capital of Hunan Circuit (湖南), first ...

Takeover of Wu'an Wu'an is a county-level city in the southwest of Hebei Province, China, bordering Shanxi Province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Handan. History People's Republic In August 1949, Wu'an was one of thr ...

Defeat and Death

Notes and references

Background and service under
Min Xu Min Xu (閔勗) (d. 886), courtesy name Gongjin (公謹), was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who controlled a substantial part, as well as Tan Prefecture (in modern Changsha, Hunan), the capital of Hunan Circuit (湖南), first ...

Takeover of
Wu'an Wu'an is a county-level city in the southwest of Hebei Province, China, bordering Shanxi Province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Handan. History People's Republic In August 1949, Wu'an was one of thr ...