Tian Ji'an (781 or 782– September 21, 812),
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 ...
Kui and formally the Prince of Yanmen, was a general of the
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 ...
, who, as 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 ...
''), ruled Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern
Handan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...
,
Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
) in a ''de facto'' independent manner from the imperial regime.
Background
Tian Ji'an was born in 781 or 782, during the reign of
Emperor Dezong of Tang
Emperor Dezong of Tang (27 May 742According to Li Kuo's biography in the ''Old Book of Tang'', he was born on the ''guisi'' day in the 4th month of the 1st year of the ''Tianbao'' era of Tang Xuanzong's reign. This date corresponds to 27 May 74 ...
. At that time, his father
Tian Xu was an officer under Tian Xu's cousin
Tian Yue, the military governor of Weibo Circuit, who governed the circuit semi-independently from the imperial regime. (Tian Xu's father
Tian Chengsi had been the first military governor of Weibo, but chose Tian Yue to be his successor rather than any of his sons.) Tian Ji'an was Tian Xu's third son, and was born of a mother of lowly birth.
[''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 141.] After Tian Xu assassinated Tian Yue and succeeded him in 784, Emperor Dezong gave Tian Xu his daughter Princess Jiacheng in marriage in 785. As she had no son of her own, she adopted Tian Ji'an as her son. He was thus made the deputy military governor and Tian Xu's designated successor. When Tian Xu died suddenly in 796, the Weibo soldiers supported Tian Ji'an as acting military governor, and Emperor Dezong made him military governor later in the year. Tian Ji'an also inherited Tian Xu's title as
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
of
Yanmen
Yanmen Pass, also known by its Chinese name Yanmenguan and as Xixingguan, is a mountain pass which includes three fortified gatehouses along the Great Wall of China. The area was a strategic choke point in ancient and medieval China, contro ...
.
[
]
As jiedushi
In 806, Tian Ji'an was further given the honorary 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 ...
designation of ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (). It was said that in Tian's youth, his behavior was curbed in by Princess Jiacheng's sternness, and that while he was not capable, he followed the rites and the laws. After Princess Jiacheng died, however, he lost self-control, and he spent his time on polo
Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...
, hunting, and pleasure.[
In 809, after the death of Wang Shizhen the military governor of neighboring Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern ]Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang; Mandarin: ; formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang is the capital and most populous city of China's Hebei Province. A prefecture-level city southwest of Beijing, it administers eight districts, three county-le ...
, Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
), Emperor Dezong's grandson Emperor Xianzong
Emperor Xianzong of Tang (4 March to 1 April 778''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 14. – 14 February 820; r. 805 – 820), personal name Li Chun, né Li Chun (), was an emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty. He was the eldest son of Emperor Shunzong, ...
, then emperor, was taking a harder line against the circuits acting as semi-independent states, and for months he refused to approve the succession of Wang Shizhen's son Wang Chengzong. Emperor Xianzong finally agreed after Wang Chengzong agreed to allow two of Chengde's prefectures, De (德州, in modern Dezhou
Dezhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei ...
, 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 Di (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 ...
) be separated into a different circuit under imperial control, to be named Baoxin Circuit (保信, to be headquartered at De Prefecture). He made Xue Changchao () the prefect of De Prefecture, whose wife was from the Wang clan, the military governor of the new circuit. However, when Tian received news of this in advance of the news arriving at Chengde, he informed Wang Chengzong that Xue had betrayed him. In response, Wang Chengzong had Xue arrested and refused to submit the two prefectures.[''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 238.]
Emperor Xianzong thereafter ordered a campaign against Chengde, and with the main imperial forces—the Shence Army
The Shence Army () was a military formation of the Tang dynasty established in 754 by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Based in Chang'an, it formed the core of the Imperial Guards, an elite military formation responsible for protecting the emperor. The ...
(), commanded by the eunuch
A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, 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 2 ...
Tutu Chengcui—set to arrive in Weibo's vicinity, Tian was summoning his officers to discuss how to react—fearing that if the imperial forces were successful against Chengde, Weibo would be next. An officer stepped out and advocated a preemptive attack against the Shence Army, and Tian was ready to agree. However, at that time, Tan Zhong (), an emissary from Liu Ji the military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
), happened to be at Weibo, and he, trying to dissuade Tian from acting against imperial troops, pointing out if Weibo were in fact able to defeat the Shence Army, Emperor Xianzong would surely concentrate his attack on Weibo. Instead, Tan suggested, Weibo should enter into a secret agreement with Chengde whereas Weibo would launch a false attack on Chengde and capture a county to outwardly show Emperor Xianzong that he was not rebelling against imperial authority. Tian agreed with Tan, and in a pre-arranged attack captured Chengde's Tangyang County (堂陽, in modern Xingtai
Xingtai ( zh, s= , t=邢臺, p=Xíngtái , w=Hsing2-tʻai2), formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of and administers 4 districts, 2 coun ...
, Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
).[
Meanwhile, it was said that by this point, Tian was cruel. On one occasion, when his secretary Qiu Jiang () had a dispute with another staff member of Tian's, Hou Zang (), Qiu drew Tian's anger, and Tian initially had Qiu demoted to be a county sheriff. He then recalled Qiu but dug a large hole on Qiu's way back, and when Qiu reached the hole, he ordered that Qiu be thrown into the hole and buried alive.][ Meanwhile, one of his officers, Tian Xing, a distant relative (Tian Xing's father Tian Tingjie () was a cousin of Tian Chengsi's), was favored by the soldiers and often tried to advise him to correct his behavior. Tian Ji'an believed Tian Xing to be a threat and sent him out of the headquarters to serve as the defender of Linqing (臨清, in modern Xingtai). He also considered executing Tian Xing, and Tian Xing, in order to escape death, pretended to suffer paralysis in his limbs. Meanwhile, in 812, Tian Ji'an himself fell ill from a stroke, and his wife Lady Yuan summoned the officers and named his 10-year-old son Tian Huaijian deputy military governor.][ (Tian Ji'an had at least three other sons, Tian Huaili (), Tian Huaixun (), and Tian Huairang (); it appeared from 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 ...
'' that Tian Huaijian was the oldest,[ although 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 ...
'' actually suggested, although did not explicitly state, that Tian Huaijian was the youngest.[''New Book of Tang'', vol. 210.]) Tian Ji'an soon died and was given posthumous honors. With Emperor Xianzong refusing to approve Tian Huaijian's succession, the soldiers supported Tian Xing and overthrew Tian Huaijian in a coup.[
]
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
* ''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 ...
''
vol. 141
* ''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. 210
* ''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 ...
'', vols. 235
__NOTOC__
Year 235 ( CCXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Quintianus (or, less frequently, year 988 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 2 ...
, 237
Year 237 (Roman numerals, CCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Perpetuus and Felix (or, less frequently, year 990 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...
, 238
__NOTOC__
Year 238 ( CCXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pius and Pontianus (or, less frequently, year 991 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 238 ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tian, Jian
780s births
812 deaths
Tang dynasty jiedushi of Weibo Circuit
Tang dynasty nonimperial princes
Tang dynasty generals from Hebei
Politicians from Handan