Gu Yanlang
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Gu Yanlang (顧彥朗) (d. 891) was a warlord late in the Chinese
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 ...
who controlled Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern
Mianyang Mianyang ( zh, s=绵阳, t=綿陽, w=Mien2-yang2, p=Miányáng; Sichuanese Pinyin, Sichuanese romanization: ''Mien-iang''; formerly known as Mienchow, zh, t=綿州, p=Mianzhou, links=no; Sichuanese romanization: ''Miencheo''; ) is the second lar ...
,
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 ...
) from 887 to his death in 891 as its 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 ...
'').


Background

It is not known when Gu Yanlang was born. According to his biography in the ''
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 ...
'', he was from Feng Prefecture (豐州, in modern
Bayan Nur Bayannur or Bayannao'er ( zh, c=巴彦淖尔市, p=bāyànnàoěr; ''Bayannaɣur qota'', Mongolian Cyrillic Баяннуур хот) is a prefecture-level city in western Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. Until 1 December 2003, the ...
,
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...
). Both he and his younger brother
Gu Yanhui Gu Yanhui (顧彥暉) (d. November 16, 897Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter
served as junior officers at Tiande (天德, in modern Bayan Nur). The defender of Tiande, Cai Jing (蔡京), considered both of them to have appearances that indicated that they would be later successful, and therefore had his son give them money. During the subsequent major agrarian rebellion led by Huang Chao, Gu Yanlang and Gu Yanhui served in the campaign against Huang and participated in Tang's recapture 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 Huang. Gu Yanlang was subsequently made a general of the imperial guards.''
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. 186.


As military governor

In 887, then-reigning Emperor Xizong made Gu Yanlang the military governor of Dongchuan Circuit.''
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 ...
'', vol. 256.
When he reached Jianmen (劍門, in modern
Guangyuan Guangyuan ( zh, s= , t=廣元 , p=Guǎngyuán , w=Kuang-yüan) is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province, China, bordering the provinces of Shaanxi to the northeast and Gansu to the northwest. Guangyuan City is located on the northern edge ...
,
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 ...
) on the way to his post, the subordinates of Chen Jingxuan the military governor of neighboring Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern
Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...
,
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 ...
) seized the staff that Emperor Xizong bestowed on him and refused him entry toward Dongchuan, and he was forced to stay at Li Prefecture (利州, in modern Guangyuan) for some time. Only after further negotiations by imperial emissaries did Chen allow Gu to report to Dongchuan. Once he got there, he made his brother Gu Yanhui the prefect of Han Prefecture (漢州, in modern
Deyang Deyang ( zh, s=德阳 , t=德陽 , p=Déyáng) is a prefecture-level city of Sichuan province, China. Deyang is a largely industrial city, with companies such as China National Erzhong Group and Dongfang Electric having major operations there. The ...
,
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 ...
). Meanwhile, a former colleague of Gu Yanlang's in the imperial guards corps, Wang Jian, had seized Lang Prefecture (閬州, in modern
Nanchong Nanchong ( zh, c=南充 , p=Nánchōng , w=Nan-ch'ung; Sichuanese: lan2cong1) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of Sichuan province, China, with an area of . At the 2020 census it was home to 5,607,565 people, of whom 1,936,534 liv ...
,
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 ...
) and claimed the title of prefect, and was sending the troops under him to raid the nearby regions. Gu feared Wang's potential raids, and therefore frequently sent emissaries to Wang to affirm their friendship and to give Wang gifts; as a result, Wang did not raid Dongchuan. Chen became apprehensive that Gu and Wang might join their forces and attack Xichuan. Chen's brother, the former paramount
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 ...
Tian Lingzi Tian Lingzi (田令孜) (died 893), courtesy name Zhongze (仲則), formally the Duke of Jin (晉公), was a powerful eunuch during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang. During most of Emperor Xizong's reign, he had a stranglehold on power due to h ...
, who had previously adopted Wang as a son, suggested that he would be able to summon Wang to serve under Chen. Chen agreed, and Tian subsequently wrote a letter inviting Wang to serve under Chen. Wang, receiving Tian's summons, initially indicated that he agreed, and he left his family at Dongchuan's capital Zi Prefecture (梓州) with Gu, while he himself headed toward Xichuan's capital
Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...
. However, while Wang was on his way, Chen's subordinate Li Ai (李乂) persuaded Chen that Wang could not be trusted, and Chen tried to stop Wang. Wang, however, would not stop, and he defeated officers Chen sent to stop him and proceeded to Chengdu. Gu then launched an army under Gu Yanhui's command to aid Wang. They put Chengdu under siege, but could not capture it, so they lifted the siege.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 257. Wang, however, continued the campaign against Chen, and he raided and seized a number of prefectures of Xichuan Circuit. After Emperor Xizong died in 888 and was succeeded by his brother Emperor Zhaozong—who had despised Tian—Wang submitted a petition to Emperor Zhaozong that argued that Chen and Tian were renegades against imperial rule and that the imperial government should launch a campaign against them, and Gu joined Wang's petition as well. Emperor Zhaozong thereafter commissioned the
chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Wei Zhaodu as the new military governor of Xichuan and summoned Chen back to Chang'an to serve as a general of the imperial guards. When Chen refused, Emperor Zhaozong declared a general campaign against Chen, with Wei in command and Gu, Wang, and
Yang Shouliang Yang Shouliang (楊守亮) (d. 892), né Zi Liang (訾亮), was a warlord late in the Chinese Tang dynasty, who controlled Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi) from 887 to 892. He was initially an agraria ...
the military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern
Hanzhong Hanzhong ( zh, s= , t= , l=middle of the Han River (Hubei), Han River; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in Southern Shaanxi, the southwest of Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gans ...
,
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 ...
) serving as Wei's deputies. The campaign lasted for years. By 891, Chen was in a desperate state, but the imperial government's resources had become drained due to a recent defeat in a campaign against another warlord,
Li Keyong Li Keyong ( zh , c = 李克用 , p = Lǐ Kèyòng ) (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 the Prince of Jin ( zh, t=晉王, p=Jìn Wáng), which would becom ...
the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern
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 ...
). Emperor Zhaozong decided to end the campaign against Chen; he issued an edict restoring Chen's offices and ordering Gu and Wang to withdraw their troops. Wang, however, saw that Chen was near defeat, and he intimidated Wei into returning to Chang'an and leaving him in command of the operations. Chen and Tian surrendered, and Wang became the military governor of Xichuan. Soon thereafter, Gu died, and Gu Yanhui took over as the acting military governor of Dongchuan.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 258. His son Gu Zaixun (顾在珣) would later become a close associate of Wang Jian's son Wang Zongyan—the second emperor of
Former Shu Great Shu ( zh, c=大蜀, p=Dàshǔ), known in historiography as the Former Shu ( zh, c=前蜀, p=Qiánshǔ, links=no) or occasionally Wang Shu (王蜀), was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and ...
, which Wang Jian founded—and serve as Prefect of Jia Prefecture (嘉州).''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 274.


Notes and references

* ''
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. 186. * ''
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.
256 Year 256 ( CCLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Claudius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, year 1009 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 256 for this y ...
,
257 __NOTOC__ Year 257 (Roman numerals, CCLVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerianus and Gallienus (or, less frequently, year 1010 ''Ab urbe condita'') ...
, 258. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gu, Yanlang 9th-century births 891 deaths People from Bayannur Tang dynasty jiedushi of Dongchuan Circuit Tang dynasty generals from Inner Mongolia