Wang Jingwu (王敬武) (d. 889) 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 ...

dynasty

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 ruled Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern

Weifang Weifang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao to the east, and looks out to the L ...

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 ...

) as its 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", ...

'') from 882 to 889.

Background and seizure of Pinglu

It is not known when Wang Jingwu was born, but it is known that he was from Qing Prefecture (青州, in modern

, the capital of Pinglu Circuit) and that he served as an officer under An Shiru () the military governor of Pinglu. In 881 or 882, there was an agrarian rebellion in the region of Qing and Di (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 ...

) Prefectures, and An sent him to suppress it.''

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. 187. After he returned to Qing, he expelled An and claimed the title of acting military governor. Thereafter, turning away from his allegiance to the then-reigning Tang emperor Emperor Xizong, he sought and received a commission from

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 ...

, who had several months earlier captured the Tang 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 ...

, forced 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 ...

, and declared his own state of Qi as its emperor.''

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. 255. Wanting to turn Wang Jingwu's allegiance back to Tang, the Tang

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 Wang Duo () (died 884), courtesy name Zhaofan (), formally the Duke of Jin (), was a Chinese politician of the medieval Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Yizong and Emperor Yizong's son Emperor Xizong. After th ...

, who was in charge of the operations against Huang, sent the imperial official Zhang Jun to try to persuade Wang Jingwu and bestow the commission of acting military governor. When Zhang arrived at Pinglu, Wang Jingwu initially refused to meet him. When Wang eventually met with Zhang, Zhang rebuked him, and further used a speech to turn the soldiers' opinions toward loyalty to Tang. The soldiers' opinions affected Wang, and Wang decided to accept the Tang commission and sent troops to aid Wang Duo's campaign. Wang Duo subsequently made him military governor. After Tang forces recaptured Chang'an, Wang Jingwu was given the honorary chancellor designation of ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' () and the honorary title of acting ''Taiwei'' (太尉, 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 ...

Death and succession

Wang Jingwu died in 889 and was succeeded by his 15-year-old son

Wang Shifan Wang Shifan () (874 – July 10, 908)''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 258.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 266.

. Initially, his subordinate Zhang Chan () refused to accept Wang Shifan as Wang Jingwu's successor, and the imperial government also tried to make the senior general

Cui Anqian Cui Anqian (崔安潛), courtesy name Jinzhi (進之), was an official and general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, who was a participant in Tang's campaigns against the agrarian rebels Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao. Background and early career It ...

the new military governor. By 890, however, Wang Shifan had defeated Zhang and Zhang's ally Lu Hong (), and Cui fled back to Chang'an, allowing Wang Shifan to take control.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 258.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 187. * ''

'', vols.

255 __NOTOC__ Year 255 ( CCLV) was a common 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 Valerianus and Gallienus (or, less frequently, year 1008 '' ...

258 Year 258 ( CCLVIII) 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 Tuscus and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 1011 ''Ab urbe condit ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang Jingwu 9th-century births 889 deaths Politicians from Weifang Tang dynasty jiedushi of Pinglu Circuit Qi (Huang Chao) Tang dynasty politicians from Shandong Tang dynasty generals from Shandong