Yin Jiao (), better known by his

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 ...

Kaishan (), titled Duke Jie of Xun, was a general and officer in Sui and

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

dynasties of China. Because of his remarkable contributions during the unification wars of Tang dynasty, Yin Kaishan was listed as one of 24 founding officials of the Tang Dynasty honored on the

Lingyan Pavilion Lingyan Pavilion () was a small tower beside Sanqing Hall () in the southwest of Taiji Palace (), Chang'an, the capital of the Tang dynasty. Its location in modern China is roughly in the north of Xi'an, Shaanxi. The original 24 On 23 March 643, d ...

In history

Yin Kaishan became popular at a young age because of his outstanding skills in writing and calligraphy. He served as the county magistrate in Taigu and Shi'ai counties during the

Sui Dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

. When

Li Yuan Emperor Gaozu of Tang (7 April 566 – 25 June 635, born Li Yuan, courtesy name Shude) was the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-da ...

, the later Emperor Gaozu of Tang, rebelled against Sui Dynasty in Jinyang in 617, Yin Kaishan joined the rebellion force. Li Yuan appointed him to be the assistant in the grand general's office. Soon after that, Yin Kaishan took part in the

Battle of Huoyi The Battle of Huoyi (霍邑之戰; Wade–Giles: Huo-i) was fought in China on 8 September 617, between the forces of the rebel Duke of Tang, Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, and the army of the ruling Sui dynasty. Li Yuan, with an army of around ...

, the key battle that secured Li Yuan's success in establishing the

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 ...

. Yin Kaishan also took part in campaigns against

Xue Ju Xue Ju () (died 618), formally Emperor Wu (武皇帝, "Martial"), was the founding emperor of a short-lived state of Qin at the end of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty, whose state was eventually destroyed by the Tang Dynasty. He rose against Su ...

, a warlord based in

Jincheng Jincheng is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi province, China, bordering Henan province to the south and southeast. It is an industrial city in an area where coal mining is an important industry. The entire city has a population ...

, and

Liu Wuzhou Liu Wuzhou (劉武周; died 622?) was a rebel leader who rose against the rule of the Chinese Sui Dynasty late in the dynasty's history, and he took imperial style—although it was not completely clear whether the title he took was khan or '' ...

, a warlord based in northern

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 ...

. During the battle against Xue Ju, Yin Kaishan was defeated because he underestimated the enemy and did not obey the order from

Li Shimin Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...

, the chief general of Tang in this campaign. Yin was demoted after the battle due to his fault. However, in the next

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

against Xue Ju's son

Xue Renguo Xue Rengao (; died 618), also known as Xue Renguo (),The '' Old Book of Tang'' and the '' New Book of Tang'' both gave his name as Xue Rengao, but the ''Zizhi Tongjian'' gave his name as Xue Renguo. was an emperor of the short-lived state of Qi ...

, Yin Kaishan made major contributions, so he was promoted back to his old position after the war. In the campaign against Liu Wuzhou, Yin Kaishan led a key force of Tang during the Battle of Meiliangchuan. Yin Kaishan assisted

Qin Shubao Qin Qiong (died 638), courtesy name Shubao, better known as Qin Shubao, was a Chinese general who lived in the early Tang dynasty of China. Along with Yuchi Gong, he continues to be worshipped in China as a door god. He is also known by his post ...

in the battle and forced

Yuchi Jingde Yuchi Gong (尉遲恭) or Yuchi Rong (尉遲融) (585 – 25 December 658), courtesy name Jingde (敬德), also known by his posthumous name Duke Zhongwu of E, was a prominent general who lived in the early Tang dynasty. Yuchi Jingde and another ...

, a top warrior serving for Liu Wuzhou, to surrender to Tang. In 619, Yin Kaishan was appointed to be the Minister in the Ministry of Personnel. Then, he joined the campaign led by

against

Wang Shichong Wang Shichong (; 567– August 621), courtesy name Xingman (行滿), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician during the Sui dynasty who deposed Sui's last emperor Yang Tong and briefly ruled as the emperor of a succeeding state ...

and

Dou Jiande Dou Jiande (; 573 – 3 August 621) was a leader of the agrarian rebels who rose against the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui near the end of the Chinese Sui dynasty. Generally considered the kindest and most able of the agrarian rebel leaders ...

, the two most powerful rivals of Tang dynasty at that time. After the

Battle of Hulao The Battle of Hulao () or Battle of Sishui (汜水之戰, Wade–Giles: Ssŭ Shui), on 28 May 621 was the main and final battle of the Luoyang–Hulao campaign between the rival Tang, Zheng, and Xia regimes during the transition from Sui to Tan ...

, Tang dynasty captured both Wang and Dou. Yin Kaishan was given a title of Duke of Xun by

Emperor Gaozu of Tang Emperor Gaozu of Tang (7 April 566 – 25 June 635, born Li Yuan, courtesy name Shude) was the founding emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-day ...

after the campaign to award his contributions. In 622, Yin Kaishan died on the way to

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 ...

to fight against the rebel

Liu Heita Liu Heita () (died 623) was an agrarian rebel leader during China's transition period from Sui Dynasty to Tang Dynasty, who initially successively served under Hao Xiaode (), Li Mi, and Wang Shichong. He eventually followed Dou Jiande the Prin ...

In popular culture

In folk stories, Yin Kaishan was regarded as one of the four guards (the other three being

Liu Hongji Liu Hongji (), titled Duke Xiang of Kui, was a general and officer in early Tang Dynasty of China. He was listed as one of 24 honored founding officials of the Tang Dynasty at Lingyan Pavilion. In history Liu Hongji is son of Liu Sheng, a gover ...

, Duan Zhixuan and Ma Sanbao) to protect

when he was the Prince of Qin. During the campaign against

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

, Yin Kaishan and the other three guards were killed by

Yeon Gaesomun Yeon GaesomunSome Chinese and Korean sources stated that his surname was Yeongae () and personal name was Somun (), but the majority of sources suggest a one-syllable surname and a three-syllable personal name. (594–666) was a powerful militar ...

in the battle at Fenghuang Mountain. In the classic novel ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popu ...

'' by

Wu Cheng'en Wu Cheng'en (, c. 1500–1582Shi Changyu (1999). "Introduction." in trans. W.J.F. Jenner, ''Journey to the West'', volume 1. Seventh Edition. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. pp. 1–22. or 1505–1580), courtesy name Ruzhong (), was a Chines ...

, the monk

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

was said to be the son of Yin Wenjiao, who was Yin Kaishan's daughter.

Family

Yin Kaishan is a descendant of the Yin clan from Chen Prefecture, which was one of the powerful clans in

Southern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

. Great great grandfather: *Yin Ren: A general under the Prince of Yuzhang in

Southern Qi Qi, known in historiography as the Southern Qi ( or ) or Xiao Qi (), was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the second of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It followed the Liu Song dynasty and was succeede ...

dynasty Great-grandfather: *Yin Gaoming: An officer in the Ministry of Wars in the

Liang Dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...

Grandfather: *Yin Buhai: The officer of Board of Agriculture in Chen Dynasty, and also a famous artist Granduncles: *Yin Bu'ning: A high-ranked officer during the Liang and Chen dynasties *Yin Buyi *Yin Buzhan *Yin Buqi Father: *Yin Sengshou: an imperial secretary of the

Son: Yin Kaishan did not have any sons. However, his nephew Yin Yuan was considered as his son after the formal adoption to succeed his title of nobility.''Jin Shi Lu'' by Zhao Mingcheng in

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

: 唐殷元，吏部尚书峤弟之子，峤无子，以元嗣。

References

622 deaths 6th-century births Tang dynasty generals Sui dynasty generals Transition from Sui to Tang {{China-mil-bio-stub