Wang Chongying () (d. February 12, 895''

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. 260.) was a warlord late in 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 ...

who was known for his successive rules of Shanguo Circuit (陝虢, headquartered in modern Sanmenxia,

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 ...

) and Huguo Circuit (護國, headquartered in modern Yuncheng,

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 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", ...

'').

Background

It is not known when Wang Chongying was born, and the official histories differ as to where his family was from — according to 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 ...

'', Hezhong Municipality (河中, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi),''

'', vol. 182. and according to the ''

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 ...

'',

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. ...

Municipality.''

'', vol. 187. His father Wang Zong () was a successful military officer who reached the position of prefect of Yan Prefecture (鹽州, in modern Yulin, Shaanxi). Because of his father's contributions, both Wang Chongying and his younger brother

Wang Chongrong Wang Chongrong (王重榮) (died July 6, 887Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 257.), formally the Prince of Langye (瑯琊王), was a warlord of the late Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who controlled Hezhong ...

served in the military as well, and both were known for their fierce fighting ability. Wang Chongying had at least one other brother, Wang Chongjian (), who was older than Wang Chongrong and Wang Chongying.

Early career

At one point, Wang Chongying served as the prefect of Fen Prefecture (汾州, in modern Linfen,

). By 882 — by which point Wang Chongrong had taken over Hezhong Circuit (河中, headquartered at Hezhong Municipality) as its military governor and by which time the imperial 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 ...

had fallen to the major agrarian 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 ...

, forcing then-reigning Emperor Xizong to flee to

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

— Wang Chongying was serving as the governor (觀察使, ''Guanchashi'') of Shanguo Circuit. That year, when Emperor Xizong put the

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 ...

Wang Duo in command of the operations against Huang (who had declared himself emperor of a new state of Qi), Wang Chongying was put in charge of supplying Wang Duo's army. After Tang forces defeated Qi forces in 883 and forced Huang to abandon Chang'an, Shanguo was made into a circuit that had a military governor, and Wang Chongying was made its military governor. In 885, Emperor Xizong bestowed the honorary chancellor designation of ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' () on him.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 256.

At Huguo Circuit

By 887, Wang Chongrong had grown harsh in his governance of Hezhong Circuit''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 257. — which by that point had been renamed Huguo Circuit. When he humiliated the officer Chang Xingru (), Chang started a mutiny and killed him. Chang then requested that Wang Chongying succeed Wang Chongrong, a request that Emperor Xizong granted. Emperor Xizong also made Wang Chongying's son

Wang Gong Wang Gong () (d. 899) was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who controlled Baoyi Circuit (保義, headquartered in modern Sanmenxia, Henan) from 887, when he succeeded his father Wang Chongying, to his death in 899. Background ...

the acting military governor of Shanguo. After Wang Chongying arrived in Huguo and took office, he arrested Chang and put Chang to death. In 888, faced with the repeated pillaging by Li Hanzhi the military governor of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo,

), Wang Chongying persuaded Li's ally Zhang Quanyi the mayor of Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

region) to turn against Li; Zhang ambushed Li's headquarters at Heyang Circuit's capital Heyang successfully, forcing Li to flee, and thereafter took over the circuit. In 891, Emperor Xizong's brother and successor Emperor Zhaozong bestowed the greater honorary chancellor title of ''Zhongshu Ling'' () on Wang Chongying.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 258. Wang Chongying died in 895. The soldiers supported Wang Chongrong's adoptive son Wang Ke — who was the biological son of Wang Chongjian's and therefore biological nephew to both Wang Chongrong and Wang Chongying — to succeed him, but Wang Gong, who had by that point become military governor of Shanguo, which had been renamed Baoyi (), also wished to have Huguo, leading to a succession struggle between them. Emperor Zhaozong, with Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern

), who was also Wang Ke's father-in-law, backing Wang Ke's claim, made Wang Ke military governor of Huguo.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 182. * ''

'', vol. 187. * ''

'', vols.

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chongying, Wang 9th-century births 895 deaths Tang dynasty jiedushi of Baoyi Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Hezhong Circuit