Zhang Anshi (; died 62 BCE),

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 ...

Ziru (子孺), was a Chinese politician of the

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 ...

. He was a son of

Zhang Tang Zhang Tang (traditional Chinese: 張湯; simplified Chinese: 张汤; pinyin: Zhāng Tāng; died 116 BC) was a Chinese politician of the Western Han dynasty under Emperor Wu. He and his colleague, Gongsun Hong were Legalist bureaucrats. Backgroun ...

. He was a precocious student who attracted attention in a famous incident. During an Imperial progress, to which he was attached in a subordinate capacity, three boxes of books were missing. However, he was able to repeat the contents of each so accurately that upon the recovery of the books, they were found to tally exactly with his description. Emperor Wu immediately appointed him to high office; Emperor Wu promoted him further after Zhang Tang's death. He played a part in deposing Liu He as emperor, and subsequently rose under Emperor Xuan to be President of the Board of War, in succession to

Huo Guang Huo Guang (; died 68 BC), courtesy name Zimeng (子孟), was a Chinese military general and politician who served as the dominant state official of the Western Han dynasty from 87 BCE until his death in 68 BCE. The younger half-brother of the re ...

. After his death, his posthumous title was "Marquis Jing" (敬侯). Zhang Anshi was well known to be cautious in both his mannerisms and how he is perceived by others. As the President of the Board of War, he came to know that Emperor Xuan had promoted his son Yanshou. Anshi then attempted to resign his position, but was refused by Emperor Xuan. Later, he advised Yanshou to leave the capital and become an official elsewhere, as he worried that with both father and son in high positions within the capital, they would become targets. Zhang Anshi's elder brother Zhang He was close to Emperor Wu's first crown prince

Liu Ju Liu Ju (; 128–91 BC), formally known as Crown Prince Wei (衛太子) and posthumously as Crown Prince Li (戾太子, literally "the Unrepentant Crown Prince", where Li is an unflattering name) was a Western Han Dynasty crown prince. He was the ...

. With Liu Ju's suicide after his failed rebellion, Zhang He was implicated and sentenced to death. Anshi pleaded for clemency; He's sentence was commuted to castration. Anshi's youngest son Pengzu was then given to He and regarded as He's heir.

References

{{ChineseBioDict, Chang An-shih Year of birth unknown 62 BC deaths Han dynasty politicians