Su Jian (蘇檢) (died March 6, 903''

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. 264.

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...

br>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter
),

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 ...

Shengyong (聖用),''

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. 7

/ref> was an official of the History of China, Chinese

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 ...

, serving briefly as

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 ...

from 902 to 903, while Emperor Zhaozong was under the physical control of the warlord

Li Maozhen Li Maozhen (; 856 – May 17, 924), born Song Wentong (), courtesy name Zhengchen (), formally Prince Zhongjing of Qin (), was the only ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Qi (901–924). He had become a powerful wa ...

the 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 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 ...

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 ...

) and Li's

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 ...

allies, led by

Han Quanhui Han Quanhui (韓全誨) (died February 6, 903''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 263.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter) was a eunuch late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. The struggles by the eunuchs, led by him, against the chancellor ...

. After Li Maozhen was forced to surrender Emperor Zhaozong to another warlord,

Zhu Quanzhong 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 ...

, the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

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 ...

), Su was forced to commit suicide.

Background

Little is known about Su Jian's family background, as he did not have a biography in either of the official histories of the

, the ''

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 ...

'' and the ''

'', and it is not known when or where he was born. According to the table of the

s' family trees in the ''New Book of Tang'', Su's family was described as "from Wugong". His grandfather was named Su Tiao (蘇迢), and his father was named Su Meng (蘇蒙); neither was listed with any official titles. Little is also known about Su's early career. According to the biography of Su's chancellor colleague

Lu Guangqi Lu Guangqi (盧光啟) (died March 6, 903''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 264.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Zizhong (子忠), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor from 90 ...

in the ''New Book of Tang'', Su had, at one point, served as the prefect of Yang Prefecture (洋州, 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 ...

).''New Book of Tang'', vol. 182. When, in late 901, then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong was forcibly taken by the

s led by

to Fengxiang, then ruled by the eunuchs' ally

, with most of the imperial officials remaining at 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 ...

,''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 262. Su and another prefect,

Wei Yifan Wei Yifan (韋貽範) (died December 16, 902Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Chuixian (垂憲), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor in 902, while Emperor Zhaozong w ...

, went to Fengxiang. Su was thereafter made ''Zhongshu Sheren'' (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''), while, at Li's recommendation, Wei was made a chancellor.

As chancellor

In spring 902, apparently at Li Maozhen's recommendation, Wei Yifan was made chancellor, even though the commission came at Emperor Zhaozong's disgust.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 263. However, several months later, Wei's mother died, and he had to leave governmental service to observe a mourning period. The eunuchs initially wanted the imperial scholar

Yao Ji Yao Ji (姚洎), formally the Marquess of Wuxing (吳興侯), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang dynasty and its successor state Later Liang of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Later ...

to be made chancellor, but Yao declined the commission at the advice of his imperial scholar colleague

Han Wo Han Wo ( – ) was a Chinese poet of the late Tang dynasty and the Min state. His courtesy name was Zhiyao, or possibly Zhiguang or Zhiyuan, and his art name was Yushan-Qiaoren. He was a native of Jingzhao, in or near the capital Chang'an. An ...

, who cited the likelihood of eventual retaliation by

, the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit, who had by that point put Fengxiang Circuit's capital Fengxiang Municipality under siege to try to take the emperor from Li. With Yao having declined the commission, Li and the eunuchs feared that Emperor Zhaozong might take this opportunity to commission someone he himself wanted, so they recommended Su. Soon thereafter, Su was made the deputy minister of public works (工部侍郎, ''Gongbu Shilang'') and chancellor, with the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事). Su remained an ally of Li's thereafter, and when Emperor Zhaozong then initially declined Li's recommendation to return Wei to chancellorship, it was to Su that Li lodged his complaint. (Wei was eventually restored to chancellorship anyway.) Su wanted Han to join him as chancellor and made much effort to persuade Li and the eunuchs to agree; however, Han, in harsh terms, pointed out to Su that he and Wei had absolutely no accomplishments as chancellors and that he would be ashamed to receive such a commission, particularly given the dire conditions that Fengxiang was in then, under Zhu's siege. With food supplies running out and the residents of Fengxiang resorting to cannibalism, in 903, Li sued for peace, agreeing to surrender the emperor to Zhu. As part of his arrangement to try to maintain some form of connection with the emperor, Li had his son Li Jikan (李繼侃) marry Princess Pingyuan, the daughter of Emperor Zhaozong and Empress He, while Emperor Zhaozong's son Li Mi (李秘) the Prince of Jing married Su's daughter. Li thereafter surrendered the emperor to Zhu; subsequently, Zhu and his chancellor ally

Cui Yin Cui Yin (崔胤) (854'' New Book of Tang'', vol. 223, part 2.-February 1, 904''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 264. Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Chuixiu (垂休), nickname Zilang (緇郎), formally the Duke of Wei (� ...

carried out a massacre of the eunuchs and escorted the emperor back to Chang'an. At Emperor Zhaozong's instruction, Zhu also wrote Li Maozhen and demanded the return of Princess Pingyuan; Li Maozhen was forced to return her as well. There was no historical mention as to whether Li Mi and Su's daughter remained married. Su accompanied the emperor back to Chang'an. However, soon thereafter, apparently at Cui's instigation, Su and Lu Guangqi (who was also commissioned at Fengxiang) were forced to commit suicide.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Su, Jian 9th-century births 903 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Zhaozong of Tang People executed by the Tang dynasty Forced suicides of Chinese people Executed Tang dynasty people 10th-century executions