Wen Jiao
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Wen Jiao (溫嶠) (288 – 6 June 329),
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 ...
Taizhen (太真), formally Duke Zhongwu of Shi'an (始安忠武公), was a Chinese military general and politician during the Jin dynasty. He was best known for his role in putting down two rebellions, led by Wang Dun and Su Jun respectively, which threatened the existence of the Eastern Jin.


Family

Wen Jiao's father Wen Dan (溫澹) was a commandery governor, and his uncle Wen Xian (溫羨) was an early Jin prime minister. His maternal aunt was the wife of the general
Liu Kun Liu Kun (; born December 1956) is a Chinese politician and the current Minister of Finance. Previously he served as director of Budgetary Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress, Vice-Minister of Finance, and vice-governor of Guan ...
, who for years tried in vain to stop
Han Zhao The Han Zhao (; 304–329 AD), or Former Zhao (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Xiongnu people during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of Chinese history. In Chinese historiography, it was given two conditional state titles, the Northern ...
forces from seizing Bing Province (并州, modern central and northern
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 ...
) from Jin.


Biography


Duan Pidi affiliation

In 317, after Emperor Min had been captured by Han Zhao, Liu Kun, who had then lost Bing Province and was at the headquarters of
Duan Pidi Duan Pidi ( 312–321) was a Duan-Xianbei chieftain during the Jin dynasty (266–420) and Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was the brother of chieftain, Duan Jilujuan, and served as his general in Jin's war with the Han Zhao state. After Jilujuan ...
, the governor of You Province (幽州, modern
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
, and northern
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
), commissioned Wen Jiao to head to
Jiankang Jiankang (), or Jianye (), as it was originally called, was capital city of the Eastern Wu (229–265 and 266–280 CE), the Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) and the Southern Dynasties (420–552), including the Chen dynasty (557–589 CE). Its walls ...
to offer
Sima Rui Emperor Yuan of Jin (; 276 – 3 January 323), personal name Sima Rui (司馬睿), courtesy name Jingwen (景文), was an emperor of the Jin dynasty and the first emperor of the Eastern Jin. His reign saw the steady gradual loss of Jin territor ...
the Prince of Langye a petition to assume imperial title. Although his mother Lady Cui tried to stop him from leaving, he went anyway. Once Wen arrived in Jiankang, many of the Jin officials in the provisional capital, including
Wang Dao Wang Dao (; 276 – 7 September 339), courtesy name Maohong (茂弘), formally Duke Wenxian of Shixing (始興文獻公), was a Chinese politician during the Jin dynasty who played an important role in the administrations of Emperor Yuan, Empe ...
, Zhou Yi (周顗), and
Yu Liang Yu Liang (庾亮; 289 – 14 February 340), courtesy name Yuangui (元規), formally Marquess Wenkang of Duting (都亭文康侯), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Jin dynasty who impressed many with his knowledge but whose inab ...
were impressed by his talents and sought to befriend him. He sought to return north, but Sima Rui ordered him to stay. When Liu Kun was killed by Duan in 318 (after Duan became concerned that Liu, whose son Liu Qun (劉羣) had been captured by his rival for the Duan tribal leadership,
Duan Mopei Duan may refer to: * Duan (surname), a Chinese surname ** Duan dynasty, the ruling dynasty of the Dali Kingdom * Duan tribe, pre-state tribe during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China * Duan language, spoken on the Laotian–Vietnamese border * ...
(段末柸), might betray him to rescue Liu Qun), Wen, having heard that his mother Lady Cui had also died in the interim, again sought to return north, but Sima Rui, who had by now taken the imperial title (as Emperor Yuan), ordered him to stay and further ordered him to serve in his administration. He became a friend and a trusted advisor of the
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 ...
, Emperor Yuan's son
Sima Shao Emperor Ming of Jin (; 299 – 18 October 325,According to Sima Shao's biography in ''Book of Jin'', he died aged 27 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''wuzi'' day in the leap month of the 3rd year of the ''Taining'' era of his reign. This corres ...
. When the warlord
Wang Dun Wang Dun () (266 – after 8 August 324According to Sima Shao's biography in ''Book of Jin'', Wang Dun died shortly after the ''renshen'' day of the 7th month of the 2nd year of the ''Taining'' era of Shao's reign; the date corresponds to 8 Aug 3 ...
resisted Emperor Yuan and captured the capital Jiankang in 322, it was Wen who stopped Crown Prince Shao from taking the risky maneuver of engaging in a final confrontation with Wang. As the years went by, Wen became known for being a good judge of talent.


Advisor to Emperor Ming

After Emperor Yuan died in 323, Crown Prince Shao took the throne as Emperor Ming. He continued to consult Wen on many important matters, and Wang Dun sought to stop that by forcing Wen to become an assistant of his. Once Wen arrived at Wang's camp, he pretended to submit to Wang, flattering him and giving him many practical suggestions. Wang came to believe he had won Wen over and, in 324, as he grew ill and pondered his next move, he sent Wen back to Jiankang as its mayor, so that Wen could watch the emperor's move. Instead, Wen revealed Wang's illness and plans to Emperor Ming, which helped lead to Wang's forces' defeat when they attacked the capital later that year.


Yu Liang

After Emperor Ming died in 325, his will left a number of high level officials in charge of his four-year-old son Emperor Cheng's administration. However, Yu Liang, as the brother of Empress Dowager Yu, was the actual
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 ...
. His youthful arrogance quickly offended the generals
Su Jun Su Jun (), courtesy name Zigao () (before 294 – 13 November 328) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Jin Dynasty whose rebellion against Emperor Cheng's regent Yu Liang was initially successful, allowing him to take over the ...
, Zu Yue (祖約), and
Tao Kan Tao Kan () (259 – 30 July 334According to Emperor Cheng's biography in ''Book of Jin'', Tao Kan died on the ''yimao'' day of the 6th month of the 9th year of the ''Xianhe'' era of his reign. This corresponds to 30 Jul 334 on the Julian calendar. ...
, and he therefore in 326 made Wen the governor of the key Jiang Province (江州, modern
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 ...
), to defend against possible military rebellions. Later, when Su became sufficiently angered by Yu that he rebelled in 327, Wen wanted to immediately come to Yu's aid, but Yu, overly confident that he could defeat Su and further concerned about Tao (whose Jing Province (荊州, modern
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 ...
) was to Wen's west), declined. However, in early 328, it became clear that the imperial forces in the capital were in trouble, as Su defeated every single force that stood in his way. Wen quickly headed toward Jiankang notwithstanding Yu's reservations, but could not get to Jiankang before the capital fell to Su. Yu was forced to flee, and Emperor Cheng and his mother Empress Dowager Yu were captured. Empress Dowager Yu soon died from distress. Yu joined Wen, and they considered how they could defeat Su. Wen's cousin Wen Chong (溫充) suggested that they offer the title of the supreme commander to Tao, and they did so. However, Tao was still resentful of Yu and therefore initially refused. Eventually, however, after his anger was over, he accepted, and he, Wen, and Yu combined their forces and headed east to Jiankang. In winter 328, during a battle with Su, Su was killed, and they subsequently defeated the remnants of Su's army in 329. For his contributions, Wen was created the Duke of Shi'an.


Death

Jiankang having been heavily damaged during the war (and the palace having been burnt during the war), Wen considered moving the capital to Yuzhang (豫章, in modern
Nanchang Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...
,
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 ...
), but after Wang Dao opposed, noting that Jiankang was in a better position to monitor the northern defenses against Later Zhao, Wen agreed to keep the capital at Jiankang. Most officials requested that he stay in Jiankang to serve as regent, but Wen, believing that Emperor Ming had intended that Wang Dao serve in that role, declined and, after leaving all of his supplies with Wang, set out to return to Jiang Province. On the way, however, he suffered problems with his tooth or teeth, and after having it/them pulled, suffered a stroke and died.(峤先有齿疾,至是拔之,因中风,至镇未旬而卒...) ''Jin Shu'', vol. 67 He was buried at Yuzhang. The imperial government, because of his great contributions, considered building a magnificent tomb for him north of Emperor Ming's tomb, but Tao noted that Wen himself was thrifty in his own spendings and would not have wanted the government to expend effort for money for such a tomb, and so the proposal was not carried out.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wen, Jiao 288 births 329 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) generals Jin dynasty (266–420) politicians