Chen Tang (), born in

Jining Jining () is a former capital of Shandong. Is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the no ...

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 ...

, was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty. He was famous for his battle against Zhizhi in 36 BC during the Han–Xiongnu War.

Battle of Zhizhi

At approximately 36 BC, the governor of the

Western Regions The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in prese ...

was Gan Yanshou. His deputy commander, Chen Tang claimed that Zhizhi was planning to build up a great empire and proposed a pre-emptive attack. Gan Yanshou objected; but he soon fell ill, and while he was incapacitated Chen Tang forged an edict in Yanshou's name and mobilized the army. Gan Yanshou was forced to yield. All this was done without the Emperor's permission. An army of 40,000 Han and Hu troops (' 'Hu" here is a loose term for non-Chinese) assembled. It marched west on both sides of the

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, Ch ...

, reunited near

Kashgar Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...

and moved across Kangju territory reaching the western shore of

Lake Balkhash Lake Balkhash, also spelt Lake Balqash (, , ), is a lake in southeastern Kazakhstan, one of the largest lakes in Asia and the 15th largest in the world. It is located in the eastern part of Central Asia and sits in the Balkhash-Alakol Basin, ...

. At this point a party of several thousand Kangju cavalrymen, returning from a raid on

Wusun The Wusun ( ) were an ancient semi-Eurasian nomads, nomadic Eurasian Steppe, steppe people of unknown origin mentioned in Chinese people, Chinese records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. The Wusun originally l ...

, stumbled onto the rear of the Chinese army, attacked it, and made off with a large quantity of food and weapons. Chen Tang sent his Hu troops back and defeated the Kangju, killing 460 of them and freeing 470 Wusun captives. 1,518 Xiongnu died, including Zhizhi and Zhizhi's wives. 145 were captured and well over 1,000 surrendered. The soldiers were allowed to keep their booty and the surrendered Xiongnu were distributed to the fifteen kingdoms that participated in the battle. The following spring Gan Yanshou and Chen Tang arrived at

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 ...

and presented

Emperor Yuan of Han Emperor Yuan of Han, personal name Liu Shi (劉奭; 75 BC – 8 July 33 BC), was an Emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty. He reigned from 48 BC to 33 BC. Emperor Yuan promoted Confucianism as the official creed of the Chinese go ...

with Zhizhi's severed head. It was displayed on the city wall for ten days and then buried. Zhizhi was the only Xiongnu Chanyu killed by the Chinese.

Quotes

He is famous for the quotes: "夫胡兵五而当汉兵一". A single soldier of Han is equivalent to five Northern barbarian soldiers. "宜县头槁街蛮夷邸间，以示万里。明犯强汉者，虽远必诛". We have decapitated the king of the barbarians in the battle. His head should be hung up high in between the buildings where the barbarians live in order to display Han Empire’s power, to show them that no matter how far away, whoever dares to violate the mighty Han will be put to death.

Children

* Chen Fen Pohu hou

References

1st-century BC Chinese people Han dynasty generals People from Jining {{china-mil-bio-stub