Li Zaiyi () (July 18, 788 - June 4, 837), né Li Zaiyi (李再義, note different character of his later name),
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 ...
Fanggu (), formally the Prince of Wuwei (), was a general of the
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 ...
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, from 826 to 831, ruled Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
) in ''de facto'' independence from the imperial government as the circuit's 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", ...
''), although he was respectful to Emperor Wenzong and participated in the imperial campaign against the rebel general
Li Tongjie Li Tongjie (李同捷) (died June 1, 829Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter. ''. After he was expelled in a mutiny by Yang Zhicheng, the imperial government continued to commission him as a military governor, and he served at two other circuits subsequently.
Background
Li Zaiyi was born in 788. He was a descendant of
Li Chengqian
Li Chéngqián (李承乾) (618 – 5 January 645), courtesy name Gaoming (高明), formally Prince Min of Hengshan (恆山愍王), was a crown prince of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was Emperor Taizong's oldest son and first crown prince, but was ...
, who was at one point the
crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
of
Emperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...
, and therefore a distant relative to Tang's imperial family. It was said that his ancestors were known for generations for their battlefield prowess and served at You Prefecture (幽州, in modern
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, Lulong Circuit's capital). Li Zaiyi lost his father early, and he spent his days touring with those from his home area not under anyone's orders. Li was said to be strong and capable in wrestling. When then-military governor of Lulong, Liu Ji, saw him, Liu was impressed, and invited him to serve on Liu's guard corps. For his subsequent accomplishments, Li received repeated promotions.''
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 ...
Zhu Kerong Zhu Kerong () (died 826''Old Book of Tang'', :zh:s:舊唐書/卷180, vol. 180.), formally the Prince of Wuxing (), was a military governor (''Jiedushi'') of the History of China, Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who ruled Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headqua ...
and his son Zhu Yanling () were killed in a mutiny. Another faction of soldiers initially supported Zhu Kerong's second son Zhu Yansi to succeed him. Zhu Yansi, however, was said to be cruel, and several months later, Li led another mutiny and killed Zhu Yansi, and further slaughtered the Zhu family. He then submitted a report of Zhu Yansi's crimes to the imperial government. Soon thereafter, Emperor Jingzong commissioned Li as the new military governor.''
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. 243. Li was also created the Prince of Wuwei and bestowed a new name Zaiyi.
As the military governor of Lulong
In 827, the imperial government prepared for a campaign against
Li Tongjie Li Tongjie (李同捷) (died June 1, 829Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter. '', who seized control of 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 ...
) after the death of his father, Li Quanlüe (), who had been military governor, without imperial sanction. Li Zaiyi offered to participate in the imperial campaign, and subsequently, when Emperor Wenzong did declare a general campaign against Li Tongjie, Li Zaiyi was one of the generals mobilized. Li Tongjie, trying to get the other circuits' military governors to speak on his behalf, sent many of his relatives to try to bribe those military governors with money, treasures, and women, but when he sent his nephew with bribes to Lulong, Li Zaiyi arrested his nephew and sent the nephew and the bribe to the capital
Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...
. Thereafter, Li Zaiyi participated in attacking Henghai's capital prefecture Cang Prefecture (). After Li Tongjie surrendered in 829, Li Zaiyi received the honorific
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
title of ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' ().''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 244.
In 830, Xi forces attacked Lulong. Li Zaiyi defeated the Xi forces and captured the chieftain Rujie (); he subsequently sent Rujie to Chang'an.
In 831, when Li Zaiyi was feasting with an imperial emissary, his officer Yang Zhicheng started a mutiny, and Li Zaiyi and his son Li Zhengyuan () were forced to flee to Yi Prefecture (易州, in modern
Baoding
Baoding (), formerly known as Baozhou and Qingyuan, is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2010 census, Baoding City had 11,194,382 inhabitants out of which 2,176,857 lived in the b ...
,
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 ...
) (in neighboring Yiwu Circuit (). Emperor Wenzong initially considered launching an army to reinstate Li Zaiyi, but the chancellor Niu Sengru pointed out that the imperial government had no strength at the time for such a campaign. Emperor Wenzong thus allowed Yang to take over (although, at that time, only naming Yang acting military governor). Meanwhile, when Li Zaiyi arrived in Chang'an from Yi Prefecture, Emperor Wenzong, because Li Zaiyi had been respectful and had participated in the campaign against Henghai, continued to let him carry the title ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'', and further conveyed the title of ''Taibao'' (太保, one of the
Three Excellencies
The Three Ducal Ministers (), also translated as the Three Dukes, Three Excellencies, or the Three Lords, was the collective name for the three highest officials in Ancient China and Imperial China. These posts were abolished by Cao Cao in 208 AD a ...
) on him.
Subsequent career
In summer 831, Emperor Wenzong made Li Zaiyi the military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern
Hanzhong
Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west.
The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as the ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
), as well as the mayor of its capital Xingyuan Municipality (). In 833, he was made the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern
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. ...
,
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 ...
), as well as the mayor of its capital Taiyuan Municipality. It was said that at that time, whenever Tang's ally
Huigu
The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; otk, 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Toquz Oγuz budun, Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic empire that ...
sent emissaries to offer tributes, the emissaries often pillaged the Tang territory they went through. The local governments did not dare to complain, and only reacted by mobilizing security forces. When Li Zaiyi arrived at Hedong, there happened to be a Huigu mission led by the emissary Li Chang () going through Hedong. Li Zaiyi met with Li Chang and stated:
Li Zaiyi then sent away his guards and put only two guards at his headquarters. Li Chang, impressed, did not carry out any hostile actions.
In 834, Yang Zhicheng was himself expelled by his officer Shi Yuanzhong. He fled toward Chang'an, and as he went through Hedong, Li Zaiyi had him battered and wanted to kill him, only stopping after earnest advice from the staffers. Li, however, still killed Yang's wife and followers. Emperor Wenzong did not punish Li, on account of his accomplishments. Li then submitted a petition, accusing Yang of having dug up the tombs of Li's mother and brother to steal the treasures buried with them, and he requested that Yang be executed so that he could take out Yang's heart to sacrifice it to his mother; Emperor Wenzong refused, although subsequently, when Shi sent imperial robes that Yang made to Emperor Wenzong (i.e., as evidence that Yang had imperial pretensions), Emperor Wenzong exiled Yang, and later had him killed in exile.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 245. In 835, Li was given the greater honorary chancellor title of ''Shizhong'' (). When Li's subordinates suggested to Emperor Wenzong that a monument should be erected to commemorate Li's achievements, Emperor Wenzong agreed, and he commissioned the former chancellor Li Cheng to author the text of the monument. However, at that time, Li Zaiyi did not yet have a
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 ...
, which was customary to be used on a monument. Emperor Wenzong thus bestowed the courtesy name of Fanggu on him.''
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. 212.
Around the new year 836, during a plot by Emperor Wenzong, the chancellor Li Xun, and the general
Zheng Zhu
Zheng Zhu (鄭注) (died December 18, 835Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter./ref>''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 245.), probably né Yu Zhu (魚注), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He became a trusted advisor to ...
, to slaughter the powerful
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 ...
s who controlled much of imperial governance (an incident later known as the
Ganlu Incident
The Sweet Dew incident () was a failed coup on December 14, 835 Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 245. by Emperor Wenzong of the Chinese Tang dynasty to seize power from the eunuchs. The emperor p ...
), as part of the plot, Emperor Wenzong recalled Li Zaiyi to Chang'an, while naming the official Wang Fan (), who was an associate of Li Xun's, as the new military governor of Hedong. (This was to enable Wang to have an excuse to mobilize troops at the capital to carry out the plot.) After the plot failed (ending in the deaths of Li Xun, Zheng, and several other chancellors, as well as the other plotters and the virtual house arrest of Emperor Wenzong by the eunuchs), Li Zaiyi was allowed to remain at Hedong. It was said that late in his life, Li Zaiyi was arrogant and cruel. He died in 837 and was given posthumous honors.
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.
243
__NOTOC__
Year 243 ( CCXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Arrianus and Papus (or, less frequently, year 996 '' Ab ...
,
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 ...