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 ...
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
dynasty
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 ...
, who, as 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", ...
'') of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern
Handan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...
,
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
), ruled the circuit in ''de facto'' independence from the imperial government.
Background
It is not known when He Jintao was born, but it is known that his family was originally from Ling Prefecture (靈州, in modern
Yinchuan
Yinchuan (, ; ) is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 Chinese census, and its built- ...
,
Ningxia
Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in ...
). His great-grandfather He Xiaowu () and grandfather He Jun () both served as officers at Ling Prefecture. His father He Mo () served as an officer at Xia Prefecture (夏州, in modern
Yulin, Shaanxi
Yulin () is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi to the east, and Ningxia to the west. It has an administrative area of and as of the 2020 Chinese census had a po ...
).''
Old Book of Tang
The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
Eventually, He Jintao settled in Weibo's capital Wei Prefecture (), and came to serve in the Weibo army, under the then-military governor
Tian Hongzheng
Tian Hongzheng () (764 – August 29, 821), né Tian Xing (), courtesy name Andao (), formally Duke Zhongmin of Yi (), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Tang Dynasty. Under his governance, Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered i ...
, who was obedient to the imperial government.As Tian served as the military governor of Weibo from 812 to 820, He Jintao's service under him must have been during those years. In a campaign that Tian waged against
Wang Chengzong
Wang Chengzong () (died 820) was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty who served a military governor (''Jiedushi'') of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei). He, like his grandfather Wang Wujun and father Wang ...
, the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern
Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang (; ; Mandarin: ), formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and most populous city of China’s North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about southwest of Beijin ...
,
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
), when Wang was resisting the imperial government, there was a night when Weibo forces conducted a night raid against Chengde's capital Heng Prefecture (). Wang responded by sending an officer in an iron mask, commanding 1,000 cavalry soldiers, to counterattack against the Weibo forces. He Jintao engaged the Chengde cavalry soldiers and defeated them, almost capturing the officer in the iron mask, causing much apprehension among the Chengde soldiers. After a subsequent campaign that Tian conducted against
Li Shidao
Li Shidao (; died March 8, 819''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 241.) was a Chinese military general and politician of the medieval Chinese Tang dynasty, who, as the successor to his brother Li Shigu, ruled Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern ...
the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern
Tai'an
Tai'an () is a prefecture-level city in Western Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China. Centered on Mount Tai, the city borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east, Linyi to the southeast, Liaocheng to ...
,
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
), in which He Jintao made contributions, He Jintao was given the honorary imperial censor title of ''Shiyushi'' ().''
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 ...
Seizure of Weibo Circuit and service as military governor
By 829, He Jintao was serving under Shi Xiancheng, who was ruling Weibo in ''de facto'' independence from the imperial government. However, at that time, imperial forces were close to defeating the rebel general
Li Tongjie Li Tongjie (李同捷) (died June 1, 829Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter. '', who controlled the neighboring Henghai Circuit (橫海, headquartered in modern
Cangzhou
Cangzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. At the 2020 census, Cangzhou's built-up (''or metro'') area made of Yunhe, Xinhua districts and Cang County largely being conurbated had a populatio ...
,
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
), and Shi became apprehensive. Under the advice of his son Shi Xiaozhang (), Shi Xiancheng offered to surrender control of Weibo to the imperial government and requested another command elsewhere. The reigning Emperor Wenzong reacted by commissioning Shi Xiancheng as the military governor of Hezhong Circuit (河中, headquartered in modern
Yuncheng
Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...
,
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
), and Li Ting () the military governor of Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern
Anyang
Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively.
It had a ...
,
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 ...
) as the military governor of Weibo. He also carved out three of Weibo's six prefectures — Xiang (相州, in modern Anyang), Wei (衛州, in modern
Xinxiang
Xinxiang ( ; postal: Sinsiang) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, China.
It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to its southwest, Kaifeng to its southeast, Hebi and Anyang to its north, Jiaozuo to its west, and the ...
,
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 ...
, note different characters than the capital of Weibo), and Chan (澶州, in modern Anyang) — to create a new circuit, for Shi Xiaozhang to serve as military governor of.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 244.
Thereafter, Shi Xiancheng prepared to depart Wei Prefecture. It was said that he stripped the headquarters and circuit treasury of its treasures, ready to take them to Hezhong, and this angered the soldiers. The soldiers mutinied and killed Shi Xiancheng, and they supported He Jintao to be their leader. When Li Ting subsequently arrived at Wei Prefecture, He Jintao refused to let him enter, and subsequently made a surprise attack, defeating him. At that time, the imperial treasury was drained, and the imperial government, judging that it could not defeat He Jintao, capitulated and made He Jintao the military governor of Weibo, and further returned Xiang, Wei, and Chan prefectures to Weibo.
It was said that as the military governor of Weibo, He Jintao was favored by his people. He died in 840, and the reigning Emperor Wuzong (Emperor Wenzong's younger brother) allowed his son He Chongshun to inherit the circuit.
Notes and references
* ''
Old Book of Tang
The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
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 ...
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 ...
'', vols.
244
__NOTOC__
Year 244 (Roman numerals, CCXLIV) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tiberius Pollenius Armenius Peregrinus, Arm ...
,
246
__NOTOC__
Year 246 ( CCXLVI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 246th Year of the Common Era ( CE) and Anno Domini ( AD) designations, the 246th year of the 1st millennium, th ...