Zhangsun Shunde (), titled Duke of Pi, was a general and officer in early

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

. He is one of 24 honored founding officials of Tang Dynasty at Lingyan Pavilion, and also a distant relative to

Zhangsun Wuji Zhangsun Wuji (; died 659), courtesy name Fuji (輔機), formally the Duke of Zhao, was a Chinese politician who served as a chancellor in the early Tang dynasty. He was Empress Zhangsun's brother, which made him a brother-in-law of Emperor Tai ...

and

Empress Zhangsun Empress Zhangsun (長孫皇后, personal name unknown, presumably Wugou (無垢) (15 March 601 – 28 July 636), formally Empress Wendeshunsheng (文德順聖皇后, literally "the civil, virtuous, serene, and holy empress") or, in short, Empre ...

. They share a common ancestor, Zhangsun Zhi (Prince Wenxuan of Shangdang in Northern Wei dynasty), 5 generations ago for Zhangsun Wuji and Empress Zhangsun, and 4 generations ago for Zhangsun Shunde. Zhangsun Shunde was born in a sinicized

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into th ...

clan. His grandfather Zhangsun Shiliang was the prefectural governor of Qinzhou in

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 a ...

dynasty, and his father Zhangsun Kai was a grand general and high-ranked official in Sui Dynasty. Zhangsun Shunde served as a lieutenant commander in the Right Guard during Emperor Yang of Sui's reign. In 612, Emperor Yang launched a massive 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 mos ...

and Zhangsun Shunde was drafted as a low-ranked commander. Zhangsun Shunde refused to go, and thus fled to Taiyuan and secretly became a subordinate to

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 ...

, who later rebelled against Sui in 617, and established

in 618. During the rebellion, Zhangsun Shunde made major contributions, including breaking through Huoyi and

Linfen Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976, ...

, defeating the Sui general Qutu Tong, and occupying Shaan County. Later, he was given the title Duke of Xue, and appointed to Grand General of Left Brave Guard. In 627, he was found guilty in corruption.

Emperor Taizong of Tang 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 ...

gave him some warmings by embarrassing him publicly with sarcastic rewards. Later in the same year, he was unintentionally involved in a coup led by his friend Li Xiaochang, the Prince of Yi'an. As a result, he was removed from his office and deprived of all his titles and ranks. One year later,

Yuwen Shiji Yuwen Shiji (died 642), courtesy name Renren, formally Duke Zong of Ying, was a Chinese monarch and politician of the Sui and Tang dynasties, serving as a chancellor, as ''Shizhong'' (侍中) (625–626) and ''Zhongshu Ling'' (中書令) (626� ...

visited him, and then told Emperor Taizong that he was sad and drunk in his residence. Emperor Taizong had pity on him and restored his ranks. He was then appointed to be the prefectural governor of

Zezhou Zezhou County () is a county in the southeast of Shanxi province, China, bordering Henan province to the south. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jincheng Jincheng is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Sh ...

. During his term, he returned farmlands that were illegally occupied or expropriated by his predecessors to peasants. However, not long after that he was involved in some other law cases and removed from his position again. Then, his daughter died, which made him slide into a depression. He died shortly after. In 639, he was posthumously rewarded the title Duke of Pi. New Book of Tang:贞观十三年，封邳国公。

References

631 deaths 565 births Tang dynasty generals Transition from Sui to Tang {{China-mil-bio-stub