Tang Jian (579–656),

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 ...

Maoyue, posthumously known as Duke Xiang of Ju, was a Chinese official who lived in the early

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 ...

and rose to prominence during the reign of Emperor Taizong.

Family

Tang Jian's grandfather, Tang Yong (), was the chancellor of

Northern Qi dynasty Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

. His family had a close friendship for generations with the Li family, the imperial family of the

; Tang Jian's father, Tang Jiàn (), was a close ally of Emperor Gaozu (Li Yuan), the founder of the Tang dynasty. Tang Jian was born in Jinyang (), which is present-day

Taiyuan Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...

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 ...

. Tang Jian had three sons: * Tang Shanshi () * Tang Heshang () * Tang Guan ()

Service under Emperor Taizong

Tang Jian played an important diplomatic role in erasing the

Eastern Tujue The Eastern Turkic Khaganate ( zh, t=東突厥, p=Dōng Tūjué or Dōng Tújué) was a Turkic peoples, Turkic khaganate formed as a result of the internecine wars in the beginning of the 7th century (AD 581–603) after the First Turkic Kh ...

's power over East Asia. He was sent by Emperor Taizong to meet the Khan of the Eastern Tujue. His main task was to persuade

Jiali Khan Illig Qaghan (Old Turkic: ; ; died 13 February 634), born Ashina Duobi (), posthumous name Prince Huang of Guiyi (歸義荒王), was the last qaghan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. Background He was a son of Yami Qaghan and his Tuyuhun wife ...

to surrender. Around the same time, the Tang army led by Li Jing attacked the Eastern Tujue by surprise, defeated them, and captured Jiali Khan.

References

Historic records: *

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 ...

; Volume 58, ''The Biography of Tang Jian''. *

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 ...

; Volume 89, ''The Biography of Tang Jian''. Cultural relics: * ''The Epitaph of Tang Jian'' () * ''The Epitaph of Tang Heshang'' () {{DEFAULTSORT:Tang Jian 579 births 656 deaths Tang dynasty diplomats Tang dynasty generals at war against Xueyantuo Transition from Sui to Tang