Zheng Changtu (鄭昌圖) (died April 6, 887?

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...

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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. 63
.''

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. 256.According to the table of chancellors in the ''New Book of Tang'',

Xiao Gou Xiao Gou () (died April 6, 887Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''New Book of Tang''vol. 63.), courtesy name Desheng (得聖), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of the Emperor X ...

and

Pei Che Pei Che (裴澈) (died April 6, 887 Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter'' New Book of Tang''vol. 63.), courtesy name Shenyuan (深源), was an official of the late Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor ...

died on April 6, 887, and according to the ''Zizhi Tongjian'', Xiao, Pei, and Zheng were ordered to die in the same edict issued by Emperor Xizong. It thus appears that Zheng was killed on the same day, but that is not completely clear.),

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 ...

Guangye (光業), was an official 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 ...

. He served as 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 ...

in the administration of the pretender Li Yun, who claimed the throne in competition with Emperor Xizong. After the deaths of Li Yun and Li Yun's main proponent,

Zhu Mei Zhu Mei () (died January 7, 887 Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 256.) was a warlord of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. Disillusioned with Emperor Xizong and the powerful eunuch Tian Lingzi, he tried ...

, Zheng was executed for his service under Li Yun.

Background

It is not known when Zheng Changtu was born. His family claimed ancestry from the ruling house of the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

state

Zheng Zheng may refer to: *Zheng (surname), Chinese surname (鄭, 郑, ''Zhèng'') *Zheng County, former name of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan, China *Guzheng (), a Chinese zither with bridges *Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC), emperor of the Qin Dynasty, ...

, and a number of

s came from the line, including his granduncle

Zheng Yuqing Zheng Yuqing (鄭餘慶) (746 – January 2, 821), courtesy name Juye (居業), formally Duke Zhen of Yingyang (滎陽貞公), was a Chinese politician, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Dezong and Emperor Dezong's grandson Emper ...

and Zheng Yuqing's grandson (Zheng Changtu's second cousin)

Zheng Congdang Zheng Congdang (鄭從讜) (died 887?''New Book of Tang''vol. 63.), courtesy name Zhengqiu (正求), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, twice serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xizong. Background and early caree ...

. Zheng Changtu's grandfather Zheng Juzhan (鄭具瞻) served as a county sheriff, while his father Zheng Juan (鄭涓) served as the 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 Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

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 ...

).''New Book of Tang'', vol. 75

Known service during Emperor Xizong's reign

As of spring 882, Zheng Changtu was serving as ''Zhongshu Sheren'' (中書舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''), in the administration of Emperor Xizong, who had fled 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 ...

from the 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 ...

in light of the attack that the major agrarian rebel

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 ...

launched on Chang'an late in 880. (After Huang took Chang'an, he declared himself emperor of a new state of Qi.) In spring 882, when the senior chancellor

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 ...

was put in overall command of the Tang operations against Huang, Wang retained a large number of imperial officials to serve on his staff, including Zheng, who was made Wang's chief of staff in Wang's capacity as 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 ...

).''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 254. As of late 882, Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern

Changzhi Changzhi () is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the northeast and east, respectively. Historically, the city was one of the 36 administrative areas (see Administrat ...

) had been going through much turmoil — as the officer Cheng Lin (成麟) had killed the military governor Gao Xun (高潯) in a mutiny in 881 and was in turn killed by another officer,

Meng Fangli Meng Fangli () (died July 2, 889) was a warlord in the late Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who, from 881 to 889, controlled all or part of Zhaoyi Circuit () — the headquarters of which he moved from Lu Prefecture (潞州, in modern Changzhi, Shanxi ...

. The people of Zhaoyi then asked the eunuch monitor Wu Quanxu (吳全勗) to act as military governor, but Meng rejected this (claiming that a eunuch should not be a governor) and put Wu under house arrest, instead claiming that he wanted the imperial government to send a replacement. Wang sent Zheng to temporarily act as military governor. The imperial government then commissioned Wang Hui to serve as Zhaoyi's military governor. Wang, however, knowing that Meng had full control of three of Zhaoyi's five prefectures (i.e., the ones east of the

Taihang Mountains The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of . The principal peak is ...

), believed that he would not be actually able to exercise control, and so declined the commission. The circuit was then instead given to Zheng, although Zheng left his post just three months later, leaving Meng in control.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 255.

Participation in Li Yun's administration

In 885, by which time Huang Chao had been defeated and Emperor Xizong had returned to Chang'an, the powerful

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

Tian Lingzi Tian Lingzi (田令孜) (died 893), courtesy name Zhongze (仲則), formally the Duke of Jin (晉公), was a powerful eunuch during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang. During most of Emperor Xizong's reign, he had a stranglehold on power due to hi ...

, who dominated Emperor Xizong's administration, offended the warlord

Wang Chongrong Wang Chongrong (王重榮) (died July 6, 887Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 257.), formally the Prince of Langye (瑯琊王), was a warlord of the late Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who controlled Hezhon ...

the military governor of Hezhong Circuit (河中, headquartered in modern

Yuncheng, Shanxi Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...

) and then tried to transfer Wang. Wang resisted, and he and his ally

Li Keyong Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...

the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern

) subsequently defeated the armies of Tian and Tian's allies

the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...

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 ...

) and

Li Changfu Li Changfu (李昌符) (d. July 24, 887Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 19, part 2) was a warlord of the late Tang dynasty, who ruled Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi) f ...

the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern

Baoji () is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a population of 3,321,853 accordin ...

) and approached Chang'an. Tian took Emperor Xizong and initially fled to Fengxiang, and then to Xingyuan (興元, 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 ...

). Most imperial officials, including the chancellors

and

, followed Emperor Xizong to Fengxiang, but, disillusioned with the influence that Tian had on him, did not follow him to Xingyuan. Zhu was also disillusioned with Emperor Xizong, and resolved to support Emperor Xizong's distant relative Li Yun the Prince of Xiang as the new emperor. He first forced the imperial officials at Fengxiang to support Li Yun as

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 he tried to get Xiao to write the text of the petition of support. When Xiao declined (claiming that his writing abilities had deteriorated), Zheng Changtu, who was then the deputy minister of defense (兵部侍郎, ''Bingbu Shilang'') and the director of taxation, did so. Subsequently, after the imperial officials escorted Li Yun back to Chang'an, claiming regent authorities, made Zheng chancellor ''de facto'' with the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事).

Death

Zhu Mei sent his officer

Wang Xingyu Wang Xingyu () (d. 895) was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who controlled Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi) from 887 to his death in 895. At his prime, he and his ally Li Maozhen the military g ...

to try to capture Xingyuan and seize Emperor Xizong. However, Wang Xingyu was unable to advance against Emperor Xizong's forces and feared that Zhu would punish him. Further, he was enticed by the declaration issued by the eunuch

Yang Fugong Yang Fugong (楊復恭) (died 894), courtesy name Zike (子恪), formally the Duke of Wei (魏公), was a Chinese eunuch and military general during the Tang Dynasty, playing key roles in the imperial administrations of Emperor Xizong and Empero ...

, who had succeeded Tian as the commander of the Shence Armies (神策軍) by this point, that anyone who killed Zhu would be given Jingnan Circuit. He therefore made a surprise return to Chang'an and ambushed and killed Zhu. The city was thrown into disarray. Pei Che and Zheng Changtu, along with 200 imperial officials, escorted Li Yun and fled to Hezhong. Wang Chongrong initially feigned to welcome Li Yun, but then seized and killed him. He put Pei and Zheng under arrest. In early 887, Wang Chongrong prepared to deliver Pei and Zheng to Emperor Xizong. Emperor Xizong, however, issued an edict that they should be put to death wherever the edict was received, and so they were executed at Qishan (岐山, in modern Baoji).

Notes and references

* ''

'', vols. 254, 255, 256. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Changtu 9th-century births 887 deaths Chancellors under Li Yun People executed by the Tang dynasty by decapitation Executed Tang dynasty people 9th-century executions