Lei Yanwei (雷彥威) was a warlord of the late

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 controlled Wuzhen Circuit (武貞, headquartered in modern

Changde Changde (; Traditional Chinese characters, traditional Chinese: 常德區 ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. Changde, known as "Wuling" in ancient times, is located on the west side of Do ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

) 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 ...

'') from his father

Lei Man Lei Man (雷滿) (died 901), courtesy name Bingren (秉仁), was a warlord late in the Chinese Tang dynasty, who seized control of Lang Prefecture (朗州, in modern Changde, Hunan) in 881 and controlled it and the surrounding region (which was mad ...

's death in 901 to his overthrow by his younger brother Lei Yangong, probably in 903.

Background

The first historical reference in traditional sources to Lei Yanwei was in 901, when his father Lei Man died, while serving as the military governor of Wuzhen. Upon Lei Man's death, Lei Yanwei claimed the title of 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. 262.

As jiedushi of Wuzhen

By 903, he was referred to as full military governor. In 903,

Du Hong Du Hong (杜洪) (died 905) was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang dynasty, who controlled Wuchang Circuit (武昌, headquartered in modern Wuhan, Hubei) from 886 to 905. In 905, he was defeated and captured by Yang Xingmi, who executed ...

, the military governor of nearby Wuchang Circuit (武昌, headquartered in modern

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

) came under the attack of Li Shenfu, a general under

Yang Xingmi Yang Xingmi (; 852'' Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms''vol. 1 – December 24, 905Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 265.), né Yang Xingmin (楊行愍, name changed 886), courtesy name Huayu ...

the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern

Yangzhou Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

). Du sought aid from his ally

Zhu Quanzhong Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...

the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

). Zhu sent his general Han Qing () to aid Du, but apparently judging that his army was not enough to save Du, also elicited aid from Lei Yanwei, as well as

Cheng Rui Cheng Rui (成汭 died June 10, 903''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 264.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), adoptive name Guo Yu (郭禹 used until c. 888), formally the Prince of Shanggu (上谷王), was a warlord late in the Chines ...

the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern

Jingzhou Jingzhou ( zh, s=, c=荆州, t=, p=Jīngzhōu) is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the Seventh National Population Censu ...

) and

Ma Yin Ma Yin (; c. 853 – December 2, 930), courtesy name Batu (霸圖), also known by his posthumous name as the King Wumu of Chu (楚武穆王), was a Chinese military general and politician who became the founding ruler of the Chinese Ma Chu dynas ...

the military governor of Wu'an Circuit (武安, headquartered in modern

Changsha Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the ...

). Cheng, who was allied with Zhu as well, launched a large fleet and headed for Wuchang, intending to save Du. However, after he departed from Jingnan's capital Jiangling Municipality, Lei sent his officer Ouyang Si () to rendezvous with Ma's officer Xu Dexun, and together, they sacked Jiangling, capturing its population and wealth. This destroyed the morale of Cheng's soldiers, and Cheng was subsequently defeated by Li and committed suicide by drowning.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 264. Lei apparently took over Jiangling for some time,''

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. and continuing the practice of his father Lei Man, often pillaged the nearby circuits, such that it was said that the region between Jiangling and Wuchang's capital E Prefecture () was depleted of people. However, soon thereafter, Lei Yanwei's younger brother Lei Yangong rose against him and, in alliance with

Zhao Kuangning Zhao Kuangning (趙匡凝), courtesy name Guangyi (光儀), formally the Prince of Chu (楚王), was a warlord late in the Chinese Tang dynasty, who ruled Zhongyi Circuit (忠義, headquartered in modern Xiangyang, Hubei) as its military governor ...

the military governor of Zhongyi Circuit (忠義, headquartered in modern

Xiangyang Xiangyang is the second-largest prefecture-level city by population in northwestern Hubei province, China. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River (Hanshui), Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city n ...

), expelled him from Jiangling. That was the last historical reference to Lei Yanwei, and it is not clear based on the traditional sources where he went or what occurred to him afterwards. (As Lei Yangong himself was set to have taken control of Jiangling, and then was expelled by Zhao's brother Zhao Kuangming later in 903, Lei Yangong's rebellion against Lei Yanwei must be in 903 as well.)

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 186. * ''

'', vols.

262 __NOTOC__ Year 262 ( CCLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Faustianus (or, less frequently, year 1015 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomina ...

264 __NOTOC__ Year 264 (Roman numerals, CCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Saturninus (or, less frequently, year 1017 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lei, Yanwei 9th-century births 10th-century deaths Tang dynasty jiedushi of Wuzhen Circuit Tang dynasty generals from Hunan