Shi Xiong () (died 848?''

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. 248.) was a Chinese military general and politician 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 va ...

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 ...

, most known for his participation in two campaigns during the reign of Emperor Wuzong — against the remnants of the

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 e ...

Khanate, and against the warlord Liu Zhen, who controlled Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern

Changzhi Changzhi () is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the northeast and east, respectively. Historically, the city was one of the 36 administrative areas (see Administrat ...

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 ...

Career at Wuning Circuit

It is not known when Shi Xiong was born. He was from Xu Prefecture (徐州, in modern

Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

), and his family was said to be so lowly that nothing was known about its origins. In his youth, he became an officer of Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered at Xu Prefecture), and he was said to be brave and ferocious in battle such that he impressed the entire Wuning army.''

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. 171. While there, he served under successive military governors (''

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", ...

'')

Cui Qun Cui Qun (崔群) (772 – August 30, 832''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 17, part 2.), courtesy name Dunshi (敦詩), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xianzong. Background Cui Qun ...

and

Wang Zhixing Wang Zhixing (758– August 21, 836), Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter./ref>'' Old Book of Tang'', vol. 17, part 2. courtesy name Kuangjian and formally the Prince of Yanmen, was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty ...

.''

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 ...

'', vol. 161. In 827, during the reign of Emperor Wenzong, Wang Zhixing volunteered to participate in an imperial campaign against the warlord

Li Tongjie Li Tongjie (李同捷) (died June 1, 829Academia Sinica
Chinese-Western Calendar Converter. ''

, who controlled 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 ...

). When he attacked Henghai's Di Prefecture (棣州, in modern

Binzhou Binzhou (, ), formerly Putai, is a prefecture-level city in northern Shandong Province in the People's Republic of China. The city proper sits on the northern bank of the Yellow River, while its administrative area straddles both sides of its ...

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 828, he had Shi serve as his forward commander. It was said that the soldiers became so supportive of Shi that they considered overthrowingthe cruel Wang and replacing him with Shi. Fearing this, Wang reported to Emperor Wenzong that Shi, for his battlefield achievements, should be made a prefect. In spring 829, Emperor Wenzong made Shi the prefect of Bi Prefecture (壁州, in modern

Bazhong Bazhong () is a prefecture-level city in north-eastern Sichuan province, China. Its population was 2,712,894 at the 2020 census whom 1,064,766 lived in Bazhou and Enyang urban districts. History Bazhong became a prefecture-level city in 1993. Its ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

). However, as soon as Shi left Xu Prefecture, Wang massacred some 100 officers who were friendly to Shi in the army, and then submitted a petition accusing Shi of plotting a rebellion, demanding Shi's execution. Emperor Wenzong knew that the accusation was false, but did not dare to offend Wang, and so found Shi guilty. However, he did not execute Shi, but instead exiled him to Bai Prefecture (白州, in modern

Yulin, Guangxi Yulin (, ), alternately romanized as Watlam, is one of the fourteen prefecture-level cities of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Its Chinese name was changed in 1956 from the historical name "" (), which is homopho ...

Exile and gradual repromotion

Sometime after Shi Xiong was exiled to Bai Prefecture, he was made the secretary general of Chen Prefecture (陳州, in modern

Zhoukou Zhoukou (; Postal romanization, postal: Chowkow) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Henan province of China, province, China. It borders Zhumadian to the southwest, Xuchang and Luohe to the west, Kaifeng to the northwest, Shangqiu to the north ...

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 ...

). When

Dangxiang The Tangut people ( Tangut: , ''mjɨ nja̱'' or , ''mji dzjwo''; ; ; mn, Тангуд) were a Tibeto-Burman tribal union that founded and inhabited the Western Xia dynasty. The group initially lived under Tuyuhun authority, but later submitted t ...

tribes subsequently raided the region west of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

(i.e., modern northern

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 ...

), Shi was ordered to serve in the army of Zhenwu Circuit (振武, headquartered in modern

Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the capital of Inner Mongolia in the north of the People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrative, economic and cultural center.''The Ne ...

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

) under the military governor Liu Mian (). It was said that while he served with distinction at Zhenwu, Emperor Wenzong did not promote him further in fear of offending Wang Zhixing.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 246.

Campaign against Huigu

In 842, by which time Emperor Wenzong's brother Emperor Wuzong was emperor, remnants of Tang's one-time ally/vassal, the

Khanate, in light of Huigu's defeat at the hands of the

Xiajiasi The Yenisei Kyrgyz ( otk, 𐰶𐰃𐰺𐰴𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Qyrqyz bodun), were an ancient Turkic people who dwelled along the upper Yenisei River in the southern portion of the Minusinsk Depression from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th c ...

, were raiding the Tang northern border regions. When the Huigu remnants under

Wujie Khan Üge Qaghan (烏介可汗) — was the twelfth ruler of Uyghurs. His Uyghur name was probably Üge (). Life He was a younger brother of Zhaoli Qaghan and an uncle of Zhangxin Qaghan.''Tang Huiyao''vol 98/ref> He claimed the qaghanal title after t ...

raided Tiande (天德, in modern

Bayan Nur Bayannur or Bayannao'er (; mn, ''Bayannaɣur qota'', Mongolian Cyrillic Баяннуур хот) is a prefecture-level city in western Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. Until 1 December 2003, the area was called Bayannur League. Ba ...

), the defender of Tiande, Tian Mou (), wanted to engage them, despite the misgivings of the lead

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 ...

Li Deyu Li Deyu (; 787 – January 26, 850Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 174.), courtesy name Wenrao (), formally the Duke of Wei (), was a Chinese poet, politician, and writer during the Tang Dynasty, serv ...

. Li Deyu had known about Shi, from the time that Shi served under Cui Qun (as at that time, Li Deyu was the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

), which neighbored Wuning), and so recommended Shi to be Tian's deputy, to help defend against Huigu raids. In addition to serving as Tian's deputy, Shi was also made the prefect of Shuo Prefecture (朔州, in modern

Shuozhou Shuozhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the northwest. It is situated along the upper reaches of the Fen River. The prefecture as a whole has an area of about and, in 2010, a popu ...

), continuing to be under Liu Mian, who was then 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. ...

). Meanwhile, Liu informed Shi that the reason why Emperor Wuzong did not want to launch a major campaign to wipe out the Huigu remnants was that his aunt

Princess Taihe Princess Taihe (太和公主, personal name unknown), later known as Princess Ding'an (定安公主) or Princess Anding (安定公主), was a princess of the History of China, Chinese Tang Dynasty and a Khatun (empress) of Huigu. She was married t ...

, who had previously married Huigu's

Chongde Khan Chongde Qaghan or Küçlüg Bilge Qaghan was the ninth ruler of Uyghurs. His personal name is not known, therefore he is often referred as his Tang dynasty invested title Chongde (Chinese: 崇德可汗; literally: 'Honoring virtue') which was inves ...

under the ''

heqin ''Heqin'', also known as marriage alliance, refers to the historical practice of Chinese monarchs marrying princesses—usually members of minor branches of the ruling family—to rulers of neighboring states. It was often adopted as an appeaseme ...

'' system of marriage alliance, was being held by Wujie Khan. He thus planned, with Shi, to launch a surprise attack to rescue Princess Taihe. In spring 843, when Wujie Khan was attacking Zhenwu, Liu had Shi and Wang Feng () command the soldiers under 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 ...

chieftain Zhuye Chixin, as well as Qibi () and Tuoba (拓拔, i.e., Dangxiang) tribesmen, to serve as forward troops, while his own army followed. When Shi arrived at Zhenwu, he ascended the city walls and surveyed the Huigu camps, when he saw that there were a group of wagons where the people appeared to be wearing Chinese uniforms of red and green colors and appeared to be

. He sent a spy to those wagons, and the spy found out that the group of wagons were under Princess Taihe and her attendants. Shi informed the princess that he was about to launch an attack, and that the princess should remain calm during the attack and remain where she was. At night, he launched a surprise attack on Wujie Khan's tent, surprising him and causing him to flee. Shi, after killing some 10,000 Huigu people and receiving the surrender of some 20,000 people, escorted Princess Taihe back to Tang territory.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 247. Shi was subsequently made the defender of Tiande.

Campaign against Zhaoyi

Later in 843, Emperor Wuzong launched a campaign against the warlord Liu Zhen, who had taken over Zhaoyi Circuit without imperial sanction after the death of the previous military governor, his adoptive father (and biological uncle)

Liu Congjian Liu Congjian () (803–843''New Book of Tang'', vol. 214.), formally the Duke of Pei (), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Tang Dynasty who is most known for his term as the military governor (''Jiedushi'') of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭 ...

. Emperor Wuzong mobilized the circuits around Zhaoyi, and initially, Li Yanzuo () the military governor of Wuning was set to command the forces of Hezhong Circuit (河中, headquartered in modern

Yuncheng, Shanxi 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 ...

). However, Li Yanzuo angered Li Deyu and Emperor Wuzong by proceeding slowly to the front, by suggesting that Zhaoyi not be attacked, and by requesting additional troops. Emperor Wuzong issued an edict rebuking Li Yanzuo and making Shi Xiong his deputy, planning to have Shi replace Li Yanzuo once Shi arrived. Once Shi arrived at the front, he was made the military governor of the Hezhong army. His orders were that he should advance toward Zhaoyi's capital Lu Prefecture () through Jishi (冀氏, in modern

Linfen Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976,4 ...

) but try to cut off a possible surprise attack by stationing troops at Yicheng (翼城, in modern Linfen as well). It was said that the day after Shi's taking over for Li Yuanzuo, he took his troops over Wuling (烏嶺, in modern Linfen as well) and defeating Zhaoyi soldiers at five camps. At that time, the other imperial generals attacking the two western prefectures of Zhaoyi — Wang Zhixing's son

Wang Zai Wang Zai (), né Wang Yanzai (), was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, most well known for his participation in Emperor Wuzong's campaign against the warlord Liu Zhen, who ruled Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Sha ...

and Liu Mian — were both said to be hesitating in their attacks, and Shi's report of victory thus raised the spirit of Emperor Wuzong, who awarded Shi with silk. Shi distributed the silk to the soldiers and only kept a nominal amount for himself, and so it was said that the soldiers appreciated him and fought hard for him. It was also said that Li Deyu urged him to fight on by pointing out that if Liu Zhen surrendered to Wang Zai — which Wang had suggested was something that Liu was considering — then Shi would be without major accomplishments. In spring 844, Shi was made the military governor of Hezhong, as well as the mayor of its capital Hezhong Municipality. In fall 844, after the three Zhaoyi prefectures east of the

Taihang Mountains The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of . The principal peak is ...

surrendered to

Wang Yuankui Wang Yuankui (; 812–854'' New Book of Tang'', vol. 211.These dates are per Wang Yuankui's biography in the ''New Book of Tang''. The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' indicated that Wang's death was reported to the imperial government in spring 855 and did not ...

and

He Hongjing He Hongjing () (806?/807?-865?/866?The traditional historical sources indicated that He Hongjing died in 866 and did not indicate a birthdate. See ''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 19, part 1 and ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 250. However, according to the ...

— semi-independent warlords who at the time were obeying imperial orders — Liu's officer Guo Yi () killed Liu and his family and surrendered. Guo expected to be made military governor, either of Zhaoyi or of another circuit, as Emperor Wuzong's prior edicts had promised of someone who would kill Liu. However, Emperor Wuzong and Li Deyu found Guo and his coconspirators untrustworthy, and therefore planned to arrest them. They had Shi take 7,000 men to Lu Prefecture (as there was a prophecy during Liu Congjian's governance that Shi would arrive with 7,000 men). When Shi arrived, he used the ruse that he would distribute commissions for Guo and the other officers at a meeting that night, to lure them to the meeting. Once they arrived at the meeting, Shi arrested them and delivered them 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 ...

, where they were executed. Shi also exhumed Liu Congjian's body to have it publicly displayed and then cut into pieces. Subsequently, Shi was transferred to be the military governor of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern

Jiaozuo Jiaozuo ( ; postal: Tsiaotso) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Henan province, China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the south, Xinxiang to the east, Jiyuan to the ...

). He was also given the honorary title of acting ''Sikong'' (司空, 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 ...

After campaign against Zhaoyi

In 845, when Zhaoyi soldiers mutinied against the new military governor, Lu Jun (), Emperor Wuzong ordered Shi Xiong, Wang Zai (then the military governor of Hedong), and Wei Gongfu () the military governor of Hezhong to launch their troops to cut off potential escape routes of the mutineers, but after Lu was subsequently able to persuade the mutineers to surrender, Shi, Wang, and Wei stood down. After Emperor Wuzong's death in 846 and succession by his uncle

Emperor Xuānzong Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (July 27, 810 – September 7, 859) (reigned April 25, 846 – September 7, 859) was an emperor in the latter part of the Tang dynasty of China. Personally named Li Yi, later renamed Li Chen (), and known before his rei ...

, Shi was made the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern

Baoji () is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a population of 3,321,853 accordin ...

). It was said, though, because of what had occurred between Wang Zhixing and Shi, as well as Shi's accomplishments during the Zhaoyi campaign, that Wang Zai despised him and found occasions to defame him. After Li Deyu lost power early in Emperor Xuānzong's reign, Shi thus lost his command. In 848, Shi visited the imperial government and recited his accomplishments at Heishan (i.e., the battle that saved Princess Taihe) and Wuling. He requested a command for himself to live out his old age. However, the chancellor

Bai Minzhong Bai Minzhong (白敏中) (792–861), courtesy name Yonghui (用誨), formally Duke Chou of Taiyuan (太原醜公), was a Chinese politician of the Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Xuānzong and Emperor Xuānzong's ...

, believing that Shi was part of Li Deyu's faction, refused, stating that he had already been sufficiently repaid for his accomplishments with three commands. Instead, Shi was only made a general of the imperial guards with no real authority.''

Bo Yang Bo Yang (; 7 March 1920 – 29 April 2008), sometimes also erroneously called Bai Yang, was a Chinese historian, novelist, philosopher, poet, and politician based in Taiwan. He is also regarded as a social critic. According to his own memoir, t ...

Edition of the Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 60 48 Shi was said to die in anger afterwards.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 161. * ''

'', vol. 171. * ''

'', vols.

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shi, Xiong 848 deaths Tang dynasty generals from Jiangsu Tang dynasty jiedushi of Hezhong Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Heyang Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Fengxiang Circuit Tang dynasty politicians from Jiangsu Mayors of Yuncheng Politicians from Xuzhou Year of birth unknown