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 ...
Deshen (), formally the Duke of Huaiyang (), was an official and general 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 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 ...
Emperor Xianzong
Emperor Xianzong of Tang (4 March to 1 April 778''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 14. – 14 February 820; r. 805 – 820), personal name Li Chun, né Li Chun (), was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Emperor Shunzon ...
.
Background
Yuan Zi was born in 739, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. His family was from Cai Prefecture (蔡州, in modern
Zhumadian
Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of An ...
,
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 ...
).''
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 ...
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
officials, including
Yuan An
Yuan An (袁安) (died 9 April 92), courtesy name Shaogong (邵公), was a Chinese politician. At the Han Dynasty courts of Emperor Zhang and Emperor He, Yuan was regarded as the founder of the powerful Yuan clan of Runan, one of the leading a ...
(who, however, was not a direct ancestor), with direct descendance through a line of officials of Han,
Jin Dynasty (266–420)
The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...
,
Liu Song
Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...
,
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 ...
,
Northern Zhou
Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...
,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
. His grandfather Yuan Zhixuan () served as a prefectural official, while his father Yuan Chu () served as a county magistrate. http://www.sidneyluo.net/a/a17/table/form82.htm ''New Book of Tang'', vol. 74]
Yuan Zi was said to be studious in his youth, and as his brother-in-law Yuan Jie (元結, note different surname) was already a prefectural prefect who had a good reputation, he lived with Yuan Jie while he studied. He interpreted the ancient works well, and Yuan Jie respected him.''Old Book of Tang'' vol. 185, part 2 He later lived as a guest in the region of Jing Prefecture (荊州, in modern
Jingzhou
Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...
,
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
) and Ying Prefecture (郢州, in modern
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
,
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
) and taught students.
During Emperor Dezong's reign
Early in the ''Jianzhong'' era (780-783) of Emperor Xuanzong's great-grandson Emperor Dezong, the official Zhao Zan () recommended Yuan Zi as a
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
with abilities, and he was made a ''Xiaoshulang'' (), a scribe at the
Palace Library
The Palace Library (; in Vietnam: 秘書所, ''Bí thư sở'') was a central government agency in monarchical China, Korea, and Vietnam generally in charge of maintaining and archiving the collection of the monarch's documents.
China
The off ...
. Yuan later served on the staffs of the generals Zhang Boyi () and He Shigan (). On one occasion, one of his subordinates was falsely accused of embezzlement, but Yuan was able to discover that the accusations were false and get him released. When the deputy chief imperial censor Wei Tao () heard of this, he recommended Yuan to be an imperial censor with the title ''Shiyushi'' (). Yuan later served as ''Gongbu Yuanwailang'' (), a low-level official at the ministry of public works (工部, ''Gongbu'').
In 794,
Nanzhao
Nanzhao (, also spelled Nanchao, ) was a dynastic kingdom that flourished in what is now southern China and northern Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries. It was centered on present-day Yunnan in China.
History
Origins
Nanzha ...
, which had previously been a Tang vassal but which had been a Tufan vassal for some time, reestablished a relationship with Tang based on communications between the Tang general
Wei Gao
Wei Gao (韋皋) (745 – September 13, 805), courtesy name Chengwu (城武), formally Prince Zhongwu of Nankang (南康忠武王), was a general of the Tang dynasty of China. He was a long-time (from 785 to 805) military governor (''Jiedushi'') o ...
and its king Yimouxun (), and Yimouxun offered Nanzhao's maps and local produce as tributes, and submitted the seal that Tufan's king had awarded him.''
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. 235. Emperor Dezong sought an appropriate emissary to visit Nanzhao, and many officials found excuses to decline due to the length of the journey, but Yuan did not decline, causing Emperor Dezong to give him much praise. Emperor Dezong made him ''Cibu Langzhong'' (), a supervisorial official at the ministry of rites (禮部, ''Lǐbu''), and sent him to Nanzhao as an emissary. Yuan, under Emperor Dezong's direction, bestowed a new Tang seal on Yimouxun. After his return, he was made ''Jianyi Daifu'' (), and then was made ''Shangshu You Cheng'' (), one of the secretaries general of the executive bureau of government (尚書省, ''Shangshu Sheng'') and was put in charge of selecting officials at the ministry of civil service affairs (吏部, ''Lìbu'', note different tone than the ministry of rites). He wrote a five-volume work, the ''Yunnan Ji'' (), about his journey.
Yuan was later made the prefect of Hua Prefecture (華州, in modern
Weinan
Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of Shan ...
,
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 ...
), as well as the defender of
Tong Pass
Tongguan or Tong Pass, was a former mountain pass and fortress located south of the confluence of the Wei and Yellow Rivers, in today's Tongguan County, Shaanxi, China. It was an important chokepoint, protecting Xi'an and the surrounding Guanzho ...
and the commander of the Zhenguo Army (). His governance was said to be simple and lenient. When people came from other prefectures and wanted to settle in Hua Prefecture, Yuan gave them land and allowed them to settle. The people loved him for his mercy. However, it was also said that he did not punish people for crimes, and whenever he caught thieves, he would often release them or allow them to simply pay back what they stole. He was later recalled to Chang'an to be a general of the imperial guards, and when he was about to leave, the people of the prefecture tried to stop him on the road to prevent him from leaving. His successor Yang Yuling () had to publicly declare, "I, Yang Yuling, would not dare to alter the policies set by Lord Yuan." The people bowed to Yuan and allowed him to leave.
During Emperor Shunzong and Emperor Xianzong's reigns
Emperor Dezong died in 805 and was succeeded by his severely ill son Emperor Shunzong. Several months later, however, with Emperor Shunzong's illness, his son and
crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
, and Yuan Zi was made ''Zhongshu Shilang'' (), the deputy head of the legislative bureau (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''). He was also given the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (), making him a
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 ...
, along with
Du Huangchang Du Huangchang (杜黃裳) (738 or 739Du Huangchang's biographies in the ''Old Book of Tang'' and ''New Book of Tang'' disagree as to his age at death — the ''Old Book of Tang'' gave his age at death as 70, while the ''New Book of Tang'' gave it as ...
. Emperor Shunzong soon passed the throne to Li Chun, who took the throne as Emperor Xianzong. Yuan continued to serve as chancellor.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 236.
Soon thereafter, Wei Gao died, and his deputy Liu Pi seized control of the circuit that Wei governed, Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern
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 ...
,
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 ...
), requesting to be allowed to succeed Wei. Emperor Xianzong initially refused, and he sent Yuan on a mission to try to persuade Liu to submit to a new commander, as the surveyor of Xichuan and two other neighboring circuits, Dongchuan (東川, headquartered in modern
Mianyang
Mianyang (; formerly known as Mienchow) is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Located in north-central Sichuan covering an area of consisting of Jiangyou, a county-level city, five counties, and thre ...
,
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 ...
) and Shannan West (山南西道, headquartered 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 ...
,
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 ...
). He then made Yuan the new 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 Xichuan Circuit and tried to summon Liu to Chang'an to serve as imperial attendant. Liu refused and prepared to resist imperial forces. Yuan, fearing Liu, did not dare to try to advance to Xichuan, and Emperor Xianzong, angry over Yuan's fear, demoted him to be the prefect of Ji Prefecture (吉州, in modern
Ji'an
Ji'an () is a prefecture-level city situated in the central region of Jiangxi province of the People's Republic of China while bordering Hunan province to the west. It has an area of and as of the 2020 census, had a population of 4,469,176, of ...
,
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
).
Soon thereafter, however, Yuan was repromoted to be the military governor of Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern
Anyang
Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively.
It had a ...
,
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 ...
). While there, the people were so appreciate of him that, although he was still alive, built a shrine dedicated to him. He was later recalled to Chang'an to serve as the minister of census (戶部尚書, ''Hubu Shangshu''), and later served as the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern
Xiangfan
Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...
,
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
). In 814, Emperor Xianzong swapped his post with Yan Shou () the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou).''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 239.
As of 816, Emperor Xianzong was waging a campaign against
Wu Yuanji Wu Yuanji (吳元濟) (783''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 145. or 793''New Book of Tang'', vol. 214. – December 12, 817Xiao Mian
Xiao Mian (; died March 16, 842''Old Book of Tang'', :zh:s:舊唐書/卷18上, vol. 18, part 1.), courtesy name Siqian (思謙), formally the Duke of Xu (徐公), was a Chinese politician during the Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor of the Tan ...
and Qian Hui () had been removed from their offices due to their opposition to the campaign, and he became fearful. When he reached Chang'an, instead of his originally intended advice, he instead informed Emperor Xianzong that he believed that Wu could be defeated, and Emperor Xianzong allowed him to return to Jingnan. Soon thereafter, with the commander of the forces against Wu, Gao Xiayu (), having no success against Wu, Emperor Xianzong made Yuan the military governor of Zhangyi, briefly carving out three prefectures of Shannan East Circuit (Tang (唐州, in modern Zhumadian), Sui (隨州, in modern Suizhou,
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
), and Deng (鄧州, in modern
Nanyang
Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to:
Written as 南洋 (Southern Ocean)
* Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea
;China
* Nanyang Fleet, Qing ...
,
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 ...
)) to serve as his territory and headquartering the circuit at Tang Prefecture. Once Yuan arrived at Tang Prefecture, however, he stopped all of the scouting activities and incursions into Wu's territory, and when Wu attacked his military outpost Xinxingza () and put it under siege, Yuan wrote Wu in abject language requesting that he lift the siege. Emperor Xianzong was displeased when he heard this, and he had Li Su replace Yuan around the new year 817. Yuan was demoted to be the prefect of Fu Prefecture (撫州, in modern
Fuzhou, Jiangxi
Fuzhou (,), also known as Gandong (), is a prefecture-level city in the northeastern part of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China.
Fuzhou is located to the south of the provincial capital Nanchang, bordered in the east by Fujian Province ...
), but was soon made the governor (觀察使, ''Guanchashi'') of Hunan Circuit (湖南, headquartered in modern
Changsha
Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...
,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
). He died in 818, while still serving at Hunan, and was given posthumous honors.
Notes and references
* ''
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
239
__NOTOC__
Year 239 ( CCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gordianus and Aviola (or, less frequently, year 992 ''A ...