Li Cunzhang (李存璋) (died 922) was a military general in

imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

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 ...

, and later the Jin territory in the ensuing

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

after Tang's collapse. He served the

Shatuo The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit SartZuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, I ...

leaders

Li Keyong Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...

— who adopted him as a son — and Li Keyong's biological son and successor

Li Cunxu Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang (), personal name Li Cunxu (), nickname Yazi (), stage name Li Tianxia (), was the ruling prince of the Former Jin dynasty (r. 908–923) and later became the founding emperor of the Later Tang dynasty (r. 923� ...

. He originally joined

along with

Kang Junli Kang Junli () (847–894) was a military general in imperial China's Tang Dynasty, serving the Shatuo leader Li Keyong. He was eventually killed by Li Keyong for speaking ill of the already deceased Li Cunxiao, with whom he did not get along. ...

and Xue Zhiqin (薛志勤). After many battles, first against the rebel

Huang Chao Huang Chao (835 – July 13, 884) was a Chinese smuggler, soldier, and rebel, and is most well known for being the leader of a major rebellion that severely weakened the Tang dynasty. Huang was a Salt in Chinese history, salt smuggler before ...

and later against

Zhu Wen Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...

, he was eventually named commissioner of the Army of Righteous Sons (義兒軍使). When Li Keyong fell seriously ill, Li Cunzhang supported

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

Zhang Chengye Zhang Chengye (張承業) (846'' History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 72. – November 23, 922''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 271.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), né Kang (康), courtesy name Jiyuan (繼元), was an importan ...

and others in installing Li Keyong's son

as his successor. The new Prince of Jin named Li Cunzhang commissioner of armed forces (馬步軍使) in Hedong (河東; roughly modern

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 ...

) in charge or reorganizing the unregulated troops. Li Cunzhang imposed strict law in all military matters and disciplined the troops. When Li Cunxu fought against Liu Xun in 915, the Later Liang sent an army to attack Jin's capital of

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

, but Li Cunzhang defended the city well. He was promoted defense commissioner (防禦使) and later the

military governor A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

of Datong Command (大同軍).

References

* * * * {{cite book, last=Sima Guang, author-link=Sima Guang, year=1086, title=

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 ...

''(資治通鑑)'', trans-title=Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, ref={{harvid, ''Zizhi Tongjian'' 922 deaths Jin (Later Tang precursor) jiedushi of Datong Circuit Tang dynasty generals from Shanxi Politicians from Datong Year of birth unknown Jin (Later Tang precursor) people born during Tang 10th-century Chinese adoptees 9th-century Chinese adoptees