Shi Xiong () (died 848?''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...

'', 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 ...

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

, 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 ...

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 Adminis ...

, Shanxi).

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, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

), 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'', 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 Q ...

and Wang Zhixing.'' Old Book of Tang'', 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, and 0 ...

). 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) 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 homop ...

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 ...

tribes subsequently raided the region west of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

(i.e., modern northern

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

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

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

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

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 ...

), 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 pop ...

, Shanxi), continuing to be under Liu Mian, who was then the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi). 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, who had previously married Huigu's Chongde Khan 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 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 Sha ...

). 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, ...

, Shanxi) 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 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 and He Hongjing — 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 S ...

, 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 th ...

). 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, 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 accord ...

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

Notes and references

* '' Old Book of Tang'', vol. 161. * '' New Book of Tang'', vol. 171. * ''

'', vols. 243, 244, 246,

247 __NOTOC__ Year 247 (Roman numerals, CCXLVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Severus (or, less frequent ...

, 248. {{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