Li Congyan
(
李從?
) (898
[1]
? November 26, 946
[2]
[3]
), ne
Li Jiyan
(
李繼?
) (name changed 926), formally the
Prince of Qi
(
岐王
), was a son and the heir of
Li Maozhen
, the only ruler of the
Chinese
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
state
Qi
. After Li Maozhen submitted to
Later Tang
and died shortly after, he continued to control the former Qi territory, as a Later Tang vassal, and subsequently served as a general for both Later Tang and its successor state
Later Jin
.
Background
[
edit
]
Li Jiyan was born in 898, during the reign of
Emperor Zhaozong of Tang
. He was the oldest son of both his father
Li Maozhen
[1]
and his mother (Li Maozhen's wife)
Lady Liu
.
[4]
On account of his birth, even before he went through the
rite of passage
, he received the titles of deputy commander of the army at Peng Prefecture (彭州, in modern
Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture
,
Sichuan
) and commander of the guard corps at his father's Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern
Baoji
,
Shaanxi
). In the middle of Emperor Zhaozong's
Tianfu
era (901?904), he was made the acting military governor of Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern
Pingliang
,
Gansu
).
[1]
During Qi
[
edit
]
Probably after Tang's fall in 906, Li Maozhen, who was still using Tang's
era name
to signify his refusal to submit to
Zhu Quanzhong
(who had forced Emperor Zhaozong's son and successor
Emperor Ai
to yield the throne to him, establishing
Later Liang
as its emperor), but was effectively exercising imperial powers as the Prince of
Qi
,
[5]
gave Li Jiyan the honorary title of
Kaifu Yitong Sansi
(
開府儀同三司
), acting
Taiwei
(
太尉
), and military governor of Zhangyi, as well as of the troops originating from the
Western Regions
(
Xiyu
); he also gave Li Jiyan the honorary chancellor designation of
Shizhong
(
侍中
). In his youth, he was said to be intelligent, good at penmanship, soft in disposition, but lacking in integrity.
[1]
During Later Tang
[
edit
]
During Li Cunxu's reign
[
edit
]
In 923, Later Liang was conquered by
Li Cunxu
the emperor of
Later Tang
(whose predecessor state,
Jin
, was a nominal ally of Qi's, as it too had also refused to recognize Later Liang). Li Maozhen initially sent an emissary to Li Cunxu's court, then temporarily at the former Later Liang capital
Daliang
, to congratulate him, but his letter to Li Cunxu did not show any signs of submission to Later Tang, and spoke in terms that considered himself an uncle. (That was because when both Li Maozhen and Li Cunxu's father
Li Keyong
the Prince of Jin were adopted into the Tang imperial clan of
Li
, they were adopted in at the same generation.) However, when Li Cunxu shortly after moved the capital to
Luoyang
, closer to Qi territory,
[6]
Li Maozhen became fearful that he would become Li Cunxu's next target, and therefore, in 924, sent Li Jiyan to Luoyang to pay homage to Li Cunxu, and this time formally submitted as a subject. Li Cunxu welcomed Li Jiyan and treated him well, and while he accepted Li Maozhen's submission as a subject, he was respectful in his edicts to Li Maozhen, referring Li Maozhen only as the Prince of Qi and not by name.
[7]
Li Jiyan, while at Luoyang, offered many gifts to Li Cunxu's favorite concubine (soon to be empress, but not yet at that time),
Lady Liu
, and the popular opinion at that time blamed him for wickedness.
[1]
Li Cunxu bestowed the greater honorary chancellor designation of
Zhongshu Ling
(
中書令
) on him, and sent him back to Li Maozhen.
[7]
After Li Jiyan returned to Fengxiang, he reported to his father Li Maozhen of the great strengths that the Later Tang army had. Li Maozhen became more fearful, and submitted respectful petitions asking to be treated as an ordinary subject (i.e., not to have the great respect given to him by Li Cunxu). Li Cunxu continued to refer to him in respectful terms, and later in the year, created him the Prince of Qin. Li Maozhen died shortly after, and left a petition to Li Cunxu asking that Li Jiyan be put in charge of Fengxiang. Li Cunxu thereafter made Li Jiyan the military governor of Fengxiang.
[7]
When Li Cunxu launched a major attack on Later Tang's southwestern neighbor
Former Shu
in 925, commanded nominally by his son
Li Jiji
the Prince of Wei and actually by the major general
Guo Chongtao
, Li Jiyan was put in charge of supplying the army, and it was said that he exhausted the storage of Fengxiang in order to do so.
[7]
He subsequently accompanied the Later Tang army in its destruction of Former Shu. In spring 926, in anticipation of returning with the army, Li Jiji sent Li Jiyan and the official Li Yan (
李嚴
) in escorting Former Shu's emperor
Wang Zongyan
toward Luoyang. When they reached Fengxiang, however, the eunuch monitor Chai Chonghou (
柴重厚
) refused to return the seal and banner of the Fengxiang military governorship to him, and ordered him to report to Luoyang, thus (for the time being) ending his family's hold on Fengxiang.
[8]
During Li Siyuan's reign
[
edit
]
Meanwhile, though, Guo Chongtao had been killed on Empress Liu's orders, and soon later so was Guo's ally,
Li Jilin
, because Empress Liu and Li Cunxu suspected them of acting in concert against the emperor. This caused the collapse of the army morale and the rise of many mutinies.
[8]
In summer 926, Li Cunxu himself was killed in a mutiny at Luoyang. His adoptive brother
Li Siyuan
, who had earlier rebelled against him as well, quickly arrived at Luoyang and claimed imperial title. Upon hearing this, Li Jiyan returned to Fengxiang and apparently was able to take control of the circuit back without further resistance. Believing that Chai had improperly blocked Li Jiyan, Li Siyuan ordered Chai's death.
[9]
As Chai, in his brief time in control of the circuit, did not cause any harm to the people or the army of the circuit, however, Li Jiyan submitted a petition asking that Chai's life be spared. While this petition was not granted, popular opinion at the time much praised him.
[1]
Later in the year, Li Siyuan issued an edict praising Li Jiyan and his family for their contributions, and bestowed a new name of Congyan on him (to bring Li Congyan into the same generational character as his own sons); Li Congyan's younger brothers Li Jichang (
李繼昶
) and Li Jizhao (李繼照 or 李繼昭) were also given the names of Congchang and Congzhao, respectively.
[1]
[9]
In 927, there was an episode where
Meng Zhixiang
the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern
Chengdu
,
Sichuan
, formed from the main part of former Former Shu territory), who had married a cousin of Li Cunxu's and who was by that point in a strained relationship with Li Siyuan's imperial government, killed Li Yan, who was then serving as an imperial army monitor at Xichuan. Upon hearing of Meng's killing of Li Yan, Li Congyan detained Meng's wife Grand Princess Qionghua and Meng's son
Meng Renzan
, who Meng Zhixiang had sent for from Luoyang, at Fengxiang; he then submitted a petition requesting instructions on what to do with them. Li Siyuan ordered that he release them to allow them to go on to Xichuan.
[9]
In 930, when Li Siyuan was readying to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, Li Congyan went to Luoyang to attend to him during the ceremony. After the ceremony was completed, Li Siyuan moved him to Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered at Daliang).
[10]
In 933, he again went to pay homage to Li Siyuan, and was thereafter made the military governor of Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern
Tai'an
,
Shandong
).
[1]
During Li Conghou's and Li Congke's reigns
[
edit
]
Li Siyuan died in 933 and was succeeded as emperor by his son
Li Conghou
the Prince of Song. The imperial government, however, was dominated by his chief of staff
Zhu Hongzhao
and the chancellor
Feng Yun
, who were suspicious of Li Conghou's adoptive older brother
Li Congke
the Prince of Lu, who was then the military governor of Fengxiang, and brother-in-law
Shi Jingtang
, who was then the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern
Taiyuan
,
Shandong
).
[11]
Not wanting Shi to stay at Hedong for too long, in spring 934, they issued a series of transfer orders ? transferring
Fan Yanguang
the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern
Shijiazhuang
,
Hebei
) to Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern
Handan
,
Hebei
), Shi from Hedong to Chengde, and Li Congke from Fengxiang to Hedong. Li Congke viewed these moves as aimed at
him
, however, and rebelled. To finance his rebellion, he seized the assets that Li Congyan still had at Fengxiang, to supply his army. He soon defeated the imperial army sent against him, and aimed toward Luoyang. As he was set to depart from Fengxiang, the people of the circuit gathered around him and requested that he return Li Congyan to Fengxiang, and he promised that he would. When soon thereafter he entered Luoyang and Li Conghou was then killed in flight, he became emperor. He then transferred Li Congyan from Tianping back to Fengxiang.
[12]
He also created Li Congyan the Duke of Qin.
[1]
During Later Jin
[
edit
]
In 936, Shi Jingtang rose in rebellion against Li Congke and, with aid from the
Khitan Empire
's
Emperor Taizong
, overthrew Later Tang and established himself as the emperor of a new
Later Jin
.
[13]
Li Congyan continued to serve as the military governor of Fengxiang under Shi, and Shi created him the Prince of Qin, and then the Prince of Qi.
[1]
During his rule, Li Congyan was described to be favoring civilian officials and not military officers, and while he was lenient to the farmers, he was strict with the soldiers, leading to much resentment among his soldiers. In 938, there was an incident where soldiers he sent to patrol the western border mutinied once they exited Fengxiang's capital Fengxiang Municipality, and reentered the city to pillage it. Li Congyan launched his own guards to counterattack, defeating them. The mutineers fled east, wanting to submit accusations against him to Shi. When they reached Zhenguo Circuit (?國, headquartered in modern
Weinan
,
Shaanxi
), however,
Zhang Yanze
the military governor of Zhenguo attacked and slaughtered them.
[14]
After Shi Jingtang's death and succession by his nephew
Shi Chonggui
, Li Congyan received the additional honorary title of acting
Taibao
(
太保
). He died in 946, while still serving as the military governor of Fengxiang.
[1]
Notes and references
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
History of the Five Dynasties
,
vol. 132
.
- ^
History of the Five Dynasties
,
vol. 85
.
- ^
Academia Sinica
Chinese-Western Calendar Converter
.
- ^
Examination and Explanation of the Tombstone Text of Lady Liu, Wife of Li Maozhen, Wife of Tang's Prince of Qin
.
- ^
Zizhi Tongjian
,
vol. 266
.
- ^
Zizhi Tongjian
,
vol. 272
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Zizhi Tongjian
,
vol. 273
.
- ^
a
b
Zizhi Tongjian
,
vol. 274
.
- ^
a
b
c
Zizhi Tongjian
,
vol. 275
.
- ^
Zizhi Tongjian
,
vol. 277
.
- ^
Zizhi Tongjian
,
vol. 278
.
- ^
Zizhi Tongjian
,
vol. 279
.
- ^
Zizhi Tongjian
,
vol. 280
.
- ^
Zizhi Tongjian
,
vol. 281
.