Yu Chao'en (魚朝恩; 722 – April 10, 770), formally the Duke of Han (韓公), was a Chinese eunuch, military general, and politician during 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 ...
. He was powerful early during the reign of
Emperor Daizong and was feared by others, including
chancellors. At the urging of the chancellor
Yuan Zai, Emperor Daizong secretly executed him at a meeting in 770, although Emperor Daizong publicly claimed that he committed suicide.
Background
Yu Chao'en was born in 722, during the reign of
Emperor Xuanzong. His family was from Lu Prefecture (瀘州, in modern
Luzhou
Luzhou ( zh, s=泸州, p=Lúzhōu; Sichuanese Pinyin: Nu2zou1; Minjiang dialect, Luzhou dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city located in the southeast of Sichuan Province, China. It is also known as the "Liquor City" (). It was named Jiangyang () ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
). Late in Emperor Xuanzong's ''Tianbao'' (742–756) era, Yu was an
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 ...
attached to the examination bureau of government (門下省, ''Menxia Sheng''). It was said that he was intelligent and was capable both in publicly announcing imperial edicts and in accounting.
During Emperor Suzong's reign
Early in the ''Zhide'' (756–758) era of Emperor Xuanzong's son and successor
Emperor Suzong, during which Emperor Suzong was occupied with trying to suppress the rebel state
Yan, Yu Chao'en was often commissioned to serve as a monitor of the armies, including serving as monitor of the army of Li Guangjin (李光進) during the recapturing of the capital
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 ...
from Yan forces in 757. For his contributions to the campaign, he was put in charge of the eunuch bureau (內侍省, ''Neishi Sheng'') and given a general title. Subsequently, after Tang forces recaptured the eastern capital
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 ...
(which served as Yan's capital), forcing the Yan emperor
An Qingxu to flee to
Yecheng, nine Tang military governors (''
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 ...
'') put Yecheng under siege. The two most prominent generals of the nine were
Guo Ziyi and
Li Guangbi (Li Guangjin's brother), and as Emperor Suzong did not want to force one to submit to the command of the other, he did not commission a supreme commander; rather, he made Yu the monitor of the armies. It was said that Yu was jealous of Guo and often submitted reports criticizing Guo, but that Guo defused the tension by being humble with Yu.
In 759, the Yan general
Shi Siming, who had briefly submitted to Tang but then rose again against Tang, attacked Tang forces at Yecheng and, while not achieving a victory, caused the Tang forces to collapse by themselves. He subsequently killed An Qingxu and took over the Yan throne. Meanwhile, Yu blamed the collapse on Guo, and as a result, Li Guangbi was put in command of the armies. Shi Siming subsequently attacked Luoyang and captured it. After a failed attempt by Tang forces to capture Luoyang, instigated by Yu and opposed by Li Guangbi, Shi tried to attack west toward Chang'an, but was repelled by the general Wei Boyu (衛伯玉), who was under Yu's command, at Shan Prefecture (陝州, in modern
Sanmenxia
Sanmenxia ( zh, s= , t= , p=Sānménxiá; Postal romanization, postal: Sanmenhsia) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Henan, Henan Province, China. The westernmost prefecture-level city in Henan, Sanmenxia borders Luoyang to the east, Nanya ...
,
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 ...
). After a joint Tang and
Huige
The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; , Tang dynasty, Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic peoples, Turkic empire that existed for about a century between the mi ...
army recaptured Luoyang in 762, Yu stationed his elite
Shence Army to Bian Prefecture (汴州, 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 ...
). For his contributions in this battle, he was created the Duke of Fengyi. Later in 762, he moved back to Shan Prefecture.
During Emperor Daizong's reign
Also in 762, Emperor Suzong died and was succeeded by his son
Emperor Daizong. In 763, when the
Tibetan Empire
The Tibetan Empire (,) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. It expanded further under the 38th king, Trisong De ...
launched a sudden attack against Chang'an, Emperor Daizong was forced to flee to Shan Prefecture. When he fled, very few
imperial guard soldiers accompanied him, and it was not until Yu Chao'en met him at Huayin (華陰, in modern
Weinan
Weinan ( zh, s=渭南 , p=Wèinán) is a prefecture-level city in east-Guanzhong, central Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, northwest China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provinc ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
) that he was protected by an army. Emperor Daizong gave Yu the title of monitor of troops over the entire realm (天下觀軍容宣慰處置使, ''Tianxia Guanjunrong Xuanwei Chuzhishi''). After Emperor Xuanzong's return to Chang'an later in the year, Yu continued to be in command of the Shence Army and was greatly favored by Emperor Daizong, receiving much wealth. He was also permitted to enter and leave the palace as he wished. As the generals under his command continued to achieve important victories, particularly in the subsequent conflict against the rebellious general
Pugu Huai'en, he considered himself capable in military command. As he considered himself learned in the
Confucian classics
The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian traditi ...
as well and was capable of writing. In 765, during an attack by Pugu's forces, aligned with the
Uyghur Khaganate and the Tibetan Empire, Yu tried to use his soldiers to coerce the imperial officials into concurring with moving the capital to Hezhong (河中, in modern
Yuncheng
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 ...
,
Shanxi
Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...
), but when an official named Liu publicly denounced the plan even with Yu's soldiers surrounding him, Yu abandoned the plan.
Also in 765, Yu, because he believed himself capable in literary matters, was made the acting principal of the imperial university (國子監, ''Guozijian''). He was also created the Duke of Zheng. Under him, the imperial university, which had been destroyed during the
An Lushan Rebellion, was rebuilt. In 766, when the university's construction was completed, Yu personally lectured about the ''
I Ching
The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...
'', tried to satirize the chancellors by talking about how a ''
ding'' (a large cooking vessel often used to symbolize chancellorship) would overturn if imbalanced. The chancellor
Wang Jin, was visibly incensed, but the more powerful
Yuan Zai remained calm and pleasant, leading Yu to comment, "It is common for the target to get angry, but one who remains smiling needs to be paid attention to even more carefully."
[''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 224.] Yuan, however, was secretly resentful. Yu continued to be the principal of the university until 768, despite opposition by the official
Chang Gun that a eunuch should not head the university.
In 767, Yu donated his mansion outside Chang'an to be rebuilt into a
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
temple dedicated to Emperor Daizong's deceased mother Consort Wu. As she was posthumously honored Empress Zhangjing, the temple was named Zhangjing Temple. The temple was said to be so luxuriously built that the wood in Chang'an was not enough, and several imperial pavilions had to be torn down so that the wood could be reused, and many officials and generals were required to donate their own houses for wood. In 768, he was created the Duke of Han. That year, at the anniversary of Consort Wu's death, Yu held a feast in her honor—at which he openly talked about how the chancellors were incompetent and should yield their seats. The chancellors did not dare to respond, but the junior officials Xiangli Zao (相里造) and Li Kan (李衎) responded and rebuked Yu, causing him to be displeased and to adjourn the feast early. Late in the year, Guo Ziyi's father's tomb was opened by
grave robbers, but it was commonly believed that, because Yu disliked Guo immensely, that he was responsible for instigating it, and thus, when Guo subsequently arrived in the capital, there was anticipation that Guo would react violently. Guo defused the tension by stating that his soldiers have themselves robbed many graves, and that this must have been divine retribution.
[ In 769, when Emperor Daizong had Yu escort Guo on a tour of Zhangjing Temple, Yuan tried to exploit the tension between the two by having Guo's subordinates falsely warning Guo that Yu was set to kill him during the tour. Guo refused to take precautions and told Yu about the rumors, defusing the tension between the two.
Meanwhile, several things caused Emperor Daizong to begin to be pleased with Yu. Yu was beginning to expect Emperor Daizong to accept every suggestion of his, and on one occasion, when Emperor Daizong did not, Yu stated, "Is there anything in this realm that I cannot decide?" Yu's young adoptive son Yu Linghui (魚令徽) was then serving as a eunuch inside the palace, and he wore the green robe for sixth and seventh rank officials. On an occasion, he had an argument with his colleagues, and he told Yu Chao'en about the argument. Yu Chao'en met Emperor Daizong the next day and stated, "My son's rank is too low, and his colleagues look down on him. Please let him wear a purple robe.][A purple robe was for an official of the third rank or above. See the '']Bo Yang
Bo Yang ( zh , t = 柏楊 , s = 柏杨 , p = Bó Yáng ; 7 March 1920 – 29 April 2008), sometimes also erroneously called Bai Yang, was a Chinese people, Chinese historian, novelist, philosopher, poet based in Taiwan. He is also regarded as a ...
Edition of the Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 54 70" Even before Emperor Daizong could respond, the officials nearby, following Yu Chao'en's cue, already brought out a purple robe and put it on Yu Linghui. Yu Linghui bowed to thank Emperor Daizong, who smiled and responded, "This child now has a purple robe. He should be happy." However, he was internally displeased about how the incident went. Yuan saw that Emperor Daizong was becoming displeased with Yu, and therefore suggested to Emperor Daizong to eliminate Yu. They began to plot together. Yuan began to bribe two close associates of Yu's; Zhou Hao (周皓) the commander of the imperial guard archery corps, and Huangfu Wen (皇甫溫) the military governor of Shan Circuit (headquartered in modern Sanmenxia). Zhou and Huangfu became associates of Yuan's, and from this point on, Yuan and Emperor Daizong were able to anticipate Yu's moves.
In spring 770, at Yuan's suggestion, Emperor Daizong carried out several moves that were intending to be preludes to eliminating Yu—moving the general Li Baoyu from being 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 Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji) to Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern Xi'an
Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
, Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
, to the southwest of Chang'an), while moving Huangfu, then the military governor of Shan Circuit (headquartered in modern Sanmenxia) to Fengxiang—while allaying Yu's suspicions by transferring control of four counties near Chang'an to the imperial guards, under Yu's command. (Yuan's intent was that, as Huangfu arrived in Chang'an, to use his soldiers against Yu.) Soon, when Huangfu arrived in Chang'an, Yuan laid a trap for Yu with Huangfu's and Zhou's soldiers, and at a secret meeting between Emperor Daizong and Yu, Yuan and Emperor Daizong acted and killed Yu. Emperor Daizong then issued a public rebuke of Yu and then claimed that, when Yu received the rebuke, he committed suicide. Emperor Daizong still had him buried with honors, at imperial expense.
Notes and references
* ''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. 184
* ''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. 207
* ''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. 220, 221
__NOTOC__
Year 221 ( CCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gratus and Vitellius (or, less frequently, year 974 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 221 ...
, 222
__NOTOC__
Year 222 ( CCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antoninus and Severus (or, less frequently, year 975 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomi ...
, 223, 224.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Chao En
722 births
770 deaths
People of An Lushan Rebellion
Politicians from Luzhou
Tang dynasty eunuchs
Tang dynasty generals from Sichuan