Dugu Sun (; ; died July 5, 905''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'', vol. 265.

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...

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),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Yousun (又損),''

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. was an official of the Chinese

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, serving as a

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

during the reigns of Emperor Zhaozong and Emperor Zhaozong's son Emperor Ai, near the end of the dynasty. He was killed in a purge of high-level Tang officials by the warlord

Zhu Quanzhong Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...

the military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (, Old Turkic: Tarduş) or jiedu, was a regional military governor in China; the title was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissi ...

'') of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

), who was then preparing to seize the throne.

Background

It is not known when or where Dugu Sun was born, and not much is known about his earlier career as there was no biography of his in either of the official histories of the

, the ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

'' and the ''

''. It is known, from the table of the

s' family trees in the ''New Book of Tang'', that his family claimed to have been originally descended from

Emperor Guangwu of Han Emperor Guangwu of Han (; 15 January 5 BC29 March AD 57), born Liu Xiu (), courtesy name Wenshu (), was a Chinese monarch. He served as an emperor of the Han dynasty by restoring the dynasty in AD 25, thus founding the Eastern Han dynasty. He ...

, through Emperor Guangwu's son Liu Fu (劉輔) the Prince of Pei, and that a subsequent ancestor, Liu Jinbo (劉進伯), was captured during a campaign against the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

; under this claim, Liu Jinbo's descendants later became the Dugu tribe. Subsequent ancestors of Dugu Sun served as leaders of the Dugu tribe, which eventually became part of

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...

and followed

Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei ((北)魏孝文帝) (October 13, 467 – April 26, 499), personal name Tuoba Hong (拓拔宏), later Yuan Hong (元宏), was an emperor of China's Northern Wei dynasty, reigning from September 20, 471 to April 26, ...

's migration to

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

. Subsequent ancestors served as officials of Northern Wei,

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...

, the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

, and Tang. Dugu Sun's grandfather Dugu Mi (獨孤密) served as a prefectural prefect, while his father Dugu Yun (獨孤雲) served as a deputy minister. Dugu Sun had at least one older brother, Dugu Hui (獨孤回), and at least two younger brothers, Dugu Chi (獨孤遲) and Dugu Xian (獨孤憲).

As chancellor

As of late 903, Dugu Sun was serving as the minister of rites (禮部尚書, ''Libu Shangshu''), when he was made the deputy minister of defence (兵部侍郎, ''Bingbu Shilang'') and chancellor, with the designation of ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事). Soon thereafter, in spring 904, the powerful warlord

the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit, whose troops had the imperial

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

under control, accused the leading chancellor

Cui Yin Cui Yin (崔胤) (854''New Book of Tang'', :zh:s:新唐書/卷223下, vol. 223, part 2. – February 1, 904''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷264, vol. 264.Academia Sinica]Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Chuixiu (垂休), ...

of crimes and had Cui killed, and then had his troops forcibly move then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong, the imperial officials, and the residents of Chang'an to

, to make Luoyang the new capital. As part of the reshuffling of the imperial government after Cui's death, Dugu was put in nominal command of half of the imperial guards (which had previously been all under Cui's command and which Cui was trying to rebuild to counter Zhu's army when Zhu preemptively killed him) and made the director of finances.''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷264, vol. 264.

Removal and death

Later in 904, Zhu assassinated Emperor Zhaozong and replaced him with his son Emperor Ai. At that time, Dugu and the other chancellors Pei Shu and Cui Yuan all were senior officials who came from aristocratic families, and they despised their colleague

Liu Can Liu Can (died September 318( ��兴元年��月，粲治兵于上林，谋讨石勒。以丞相曜为相国、都督中外诸军事，仍镇长安；靳准为大将军、录尚书事。粲常游宴后宫。军国之事，一决于准。准矫诏� ...

for associating with Zhu. By spring 905, Pei had offended Zhu by refusing to commission another associate of Zhu's, Zhang Tingfan (張廷範), as the minister of worship (太常卿, ''Taichang Qing'')—trying to deflect Zhu by stating that Zhang should serve as a military governor rather than be bothered with the responsibilities of minister of worship. Liu thus took the opportunity to accuse Cui and Dugu, as well as Pei, of disrespecting Zhu. Zhu thus had all three removed from chancellor positions; in Dugu's case, he was made the military governor of the remote Jinghai Circuit (靜海, headquartered in modern

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

). With Zhu preparing to seize the throne, Liu and another associate of Zhu's, Li Zhen, argued for a general purge of high-level imperial officials who were from aristocratic families. Zhu agreed, and initially a large number of them were demoted and exiled—in Dugu's case, to be the prefect of Di Prefecture (棣州, in modern

Binzhou Binzhou (, ), formerly Putai, is a prefecture-level city in northern Shandong Province in the People's Republic of China. The city proper sits on the northern bank of the Yellow River, while its administrative area straddles both sides of its ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

), and then to be the census officer of Qiong Prefecture. Soon thereafter, some 30 of these officials—including Dugu, Cui, Pei, fellow former chancellors Lu Yi, Wang Pu, and other officials Zhao Chong (趙崇) and Wang Zan (王贊)—were rounded up at Baima Station (白馬驛, in modern

Anyang Anyang ( zh, s=安阳, t=安陽; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. Geographical coordinates are 35° 41'~ 36° 21' north latitude and 113° 38'~ 114° 59' east longitude. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the eas ...

) and ordered to commit suicide. At Li Zhen's request (as Li Zhen, who was unable to pass the imperial examinations, resented these traditional aristocrats for claiming to be free from taint), Zhu had their bodies thrown into the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

(as Li Zhen put it, to taint them).

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dugu, Sun 9th-century births 905 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Chancellors under Emperor Ai of Tang Tang dynasty jiedushi of Jinghai Circuit Forced suicides of Chinese people People executed by the Tang dynasty 10th-century executions by the Tang dynasty People from Hà Nam province