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 ...
Guangyuan (), 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 va ...
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 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 ...
It is not known when Zheng Yanchang was born. His family was part of the Zheng clan known as the "Northern Ancestor" branch and traced its line 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, ...
; its ancestors also included officials of
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 ...
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 ...
,
Later Zhao
The Later Zhao (; 319–351) was a dynasty of the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity. The Jie were most likely a Yeniseian people and spoke next to Chinese one of the Yeniseian languages.Vov ...
,
Former Yan
The Former Yan (; 337–370) was a dynastic state ruled by the Xianbei during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.
Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin dynasty-created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, ...
and/or
Later Yan
Yan, known in historiography as the Later Yan (; 384 – 407 or 409) was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xianbei people, located in modern-day northeast China, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms.
All rulers of the Later Yan declared them ...
,
Northern Wei
Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...
,
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 ...
, 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 ...
. Of Zheng Yanchang's closer relatives was his third 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 career ...
, who was 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 ...
during the reign of Emperor Xizong. (Zheng Congdang's grandfather
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 ...
was a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xizong's great-great-grandfather Emperor Dezong.) However, Zheng Yanchang's own immediate ancestors did not appear to be particularly prominent—as his great-grandfather Zheng Shen () was a county sheriff and his grandfather Zheng Zezhi () was an imperial guard officer, although his father Zheng Yi () was a prefectural prefect. He had at least one older brother, Zheng Yunsheng (), and one younger brother, Zheng Yanji ().''
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. 75.
Zheng Yanchang passed the
imperial examination
The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...
s late in the ''Jinshi'' () class late in the ''Xiantong'' era (861–874) of Emperor Xizong's father Emperor Yizong. He later became an imperial censor with the title ''Jiancha Yushi'' ().''New Book of Tang'', vol. 182.
Service under Zheng Tian and subsequent career
When the former chancellor
Zheng Tian
Zheng Tian (, 821?''New Book of Tang'', vol. 185./825?''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 178.–883?), courtesy name Taiwen (), formally Duke Wenzhao of Xingyang (), was a chancellor of late Tang Dynasty, serving two terms as chancellor during the rei ...
(not related to Zheng Yanchang) became 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 Fengxiang Circuit (, 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 ...
,
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 ...
) during the reign of Emperor Xizong, probably in 879,''New Book of Tang'', vol. 185. he invited Zheng Yanchang to serve on his staff. After 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 ...
attacked the imperial 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 880, forcing Emperor Xizong to flee 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 ...
, Emperor Xizong left Zheng Tian in command of the remaining Tang forces in the capital region. Zheng Tian put Zheng Yanchang in charge of the logistics of supplying the soldiers with food, as well as issuing orders to the armies to comfort them.
After Zheng Tian later joined Emperor Xizong's administration-in-flight at Chengdu as chancellor again, in 882,''
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. 254. Zheng Tian had Zheng Yanchang made (), a low-level official at the ministry of civil service affairs (, ), as well as an imperial scholar (, ). Later (it is unclear whether Zheng Tian was still chancellor by this point), Zheng Yanchang was made the deputy minister of defense (, ), the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (, i.e., the Chang'an region), and the acting director of finances (, ).
Chancellorship and after chancellorship
In 892, by which time Emperor Xizong had died and been succeeded by his brother Emperor Zhaozong, Zheng Yanchang, who was then the minister of census (, ), was made (), the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government (, ), and a chancellor with the designation ().''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 259. He was then also made the minister of justice (, ). His service as chancellor was said to be undistinguished. In 893, when the warlord
Li Maozhen
Li Maozhen (; 856 – May 17, 924), born Song Wentong (), courtesy name Zhengchen (), formally Prince Zhongjing of Qin (), was the only ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Qi (901–924). He had become a powerful wa ...
the military governor of Fengxiang tried to foster protests at Chang'an against Emperor Zhaozong's planned campaign against him, the protest crowd surrounded Zheng and fellow chancellor Cui Zhaowei on one occasion and attacked them, forcing them to take refuge in people's houses.
In 894, Zheng was removed from his chancellorship and made (), one of the heads of the executive bureau (, ), as he was ill. He subsequently died—with his biography in the ''
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 ...
'' implying that the death was shortly after his removal, but giving no dates.
Notes and references
* ''
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 ...