Han Yunzhong () (814–874), né Han Junxiong (), was a general of the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

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 seized control of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

) in a mutiny and subsequently ruled it 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 ...

'') in ''de facto'' independence from the imperial government.

Background

Han Junxiong was born in 814, during the reign of

Emperor Xianzong Emperor Xianzong of Tang (4 March to 1 April 778''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 14. – 14 February 820; r. 805 – 820), personal name Li Chun, né Li Chun (), was an emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty. He was the eldest son of Emperor Shunzong, ...

. His family was from Wei Prefecture (魏州, in modern

), the capital of Weibo Circuit. His father Han Guochang () was a long-time officer in the Weibo army under the military governor He Hongjing. Because of his heritage, Han Junxiong started serving in the military in his youth, and subsequently served in a campaign in 833–834, during the reign of Emperor Xianzong's grandson Emperor Wuzong, with his father Han Guochang, where He Hongjing joined the imperial forces in attacking Liu Zhen, who had seized neighboring Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern

Changzhi Changzhi ( zh, s=长治) is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the northeast and east, respectively. Historically, the city was one of the 36 administrative areas ( ...

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 ...

) without imperial sanction.''

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 ...

'', vol. 181.

Seizure of Weibo Circuit

By 870, during the reign of Emperor Wuzong's cousin Emperor Yizong, He Hongjing's son

He Quanhao He Quanhao () (839-870) was a general of the Chinese Tang dynasty, who ruled Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei) as its military governor (''jiedushi'') in ''de facto'' independence from the imperial government from 866 to ...

was the military governor. He Quanhao was harsh in his discipline, and at that time, there were rumors that He Quanhao was set to reduce the food and clothing stipends for the soldiers. The soldiers mutinied, and He Quanhao was killed in flight. The soldiers supported Han Junxiong as their leader. With Wang Jingchong the military governor of neighboring Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang; Mandarin: ; formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang is the capital and most populous city of China's Hebei Province. A prefecture-level city southwest of Beijing, it administers eight districts, three county-le ...

) supporting the request, Emperor Yizong commissioned Han as the acting military governor,''

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. 252. with Emperor Yizong's son Li Yan the Prince of Pu nominally serving as military governor. In 871, Han was officially commissioned as full military governor. In 873, Emperor Yizong died, and Li Yan succeeded him (as Emperor Xizong). Emperor Xizong, upon ascending the throne, commissioned a number of military governors with honorary

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 ...

designations, and Han was given the honorary designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (). Emperor Xizong also gave him a new personal name, Yunzhong (meaning "fair"). In 874, Han Yunzhong died. The soldiers supported his son Han Jian, who was then deputy military governor, as his successor, and Emperor Xizong subsequently approved.

Commemoration

* Han Family Tombs (), a monumental complex at the graves Han Yunzhong and his relatives. The complex includes a pair of giant tortoise-borne stelae (reminiscent of those at

Shou Qiu Shou Qiu () is a historical site on the eastern outskirts of the city of Qufu in Shandong Province, China. According to the legend, Shou Qiu is the birthplace of the Yellow Emperor. Shou Qiu itself is today marked only by a pyramidal monument, ...

) and other assorted statuary, in the

spirit way A sacred way, spirit way, spirit road, spirit path, etc. (, ''shéndào'') is the ornate road leading to a Chinese tomb of a major dignitary. The sacred way is lined on both sides by a succession of statues, pillars, and stelae. The statues alo ...

tradition. It is on the national list of major historical and cultural sites. The complex is located near in Shandong's

Shen County Shen County (), or Shenxian, is a county of western Shandong province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan to the south and southwest and Hebei to the west. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Liaoc ...

, near Liangpiying Village () of Dongduzhuang Town ().韩王墓
(Tombs of Princes Han).

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 181. * ''

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. 210. * ''

'', vol. 252. {{DEFAULTSORT:Han, Yunzhong 814 births 874 deaths Tang dynasty jiedushi of Weibo Circuit Politicians from Handan Tang dynasty generals from Hebei