An Jincang () (? - 711) was a

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 ...

court official responsible for saving the life of Li Dan, the future emperor. A native of

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 ...

, he was employed in the Court of Sacrificial Worship under the Empress

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was List of rulers of China#Tang dynasty, Empress of China from 660 to 705, ruling first through others and later in her own right. She ruled as queen consort , empress consort th ...

. When charges of treason were brought against the heir apparent Li Dan (future

Emperor Ruizong of Tang Emperor Ruizong of Tang (22 June 662 – 13 July 716), personal name Li Dan, also known at times during his life as Li Xulun, Li Lun, Wu Lun, and Wu Dan, was the fifth and ninth emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty. He was the eighth son of Emp ...

), he loudly protested that the latter was innocent; and in token of good faith seized a knife and ripped up his own belly so that his bowels hung down to the ground. It was with difficulty that his life was saved; the Empress, however, was convinced of his loyalty, and Li Dan was left in peace. His name was subsequently carved upon

Mount Tai Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...

and

Mount Hua Mount Hua () is a mountain located near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi Province, about east of Xi'an. It is the "Western Mountain" of the Five Great Mountains of China and has a long history of religious significance. Originally classified as ...

, and he was canonized as Zhong 忠. An Jincang is depicted in the

Wu Shuang Pu ''Wu Shuang Pu'' () is a book of woodcut prints, first printed in 1694, early on in the Qing dynasty. This book contains the biographies and imagined portraits of 40 notable heroes and heroines from the Han dynasty to the Song dynasty, all ac ...

(無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang. The illustrations for this 17thC book were widespread and reused, including in porcelain.

References

External links

*
An Jincang
on the site of

Baidu Baike Baidu Baike (; zh, c= 百度百科, p=Bǎidù Bǎikē, l=Baidu Encyclopedia, also known as Baidu Wiki) is a semi-regulated Chinese-language collaborative online encyclopedia owned by the Chinese technology company Baidu. Modelled after Wiki ...

Sogdian people Tang dynasty government officials 711 deaths Year of birth missing Politicians from Luoyang Tang dynasty people Deified Chinese men {{china-bio-stub