Lei Yanwei (雷彥威) was a warlord late

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

dynasty

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, who controlled Wuzhen Circuit (武貞, headquartered in modern

Changde Changde ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi City, Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

) as its military governor (''

Jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

'') 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 made ...

's death in 901 to his overthrow by his younger brother

Lei Yangong Lei Yangong () was a Chinese warlord who controlled Wuzhen Circuit (武貞, headquartered in modern-day Changde, Hunan) as its military governor (''Jiedushi'') from about 903 to 908, late in the Tang dynasty and early in the subsequent Five Dynastie ...

, 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The first historical reference in traditional sources to Lei Yanwei was in 901, when his father Lei Man died, while serving as the military governor of Wuzhen.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 ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', 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 h ...

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

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

) came under the attack of

Li Shenfu Li Shenfu () (died 904) was a general who served under the major warlord Yang Xingmi the military governor (''Jiedushi'') of Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. Background ...

, 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 Huayuan ...

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

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

). 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 () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

). 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 Chinese ...

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

Jingzhou Jingzhou () 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 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

) and

Ma Yin Ma Yin (; c. 853 – December 2, 930), courtesy name Batu (霸圖), formally King Wumu of Chu (楚武穆王), was Chinese military general and politician who became the first ruler of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Chu and the o ...

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

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...

). 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 Xu Dexun () was a key general and official during the reign of Ma Yin, the founding ruler of the Ma Chu dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of Chinese history. During the Tang Dynasty It is not known when or where 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

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 a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

), 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 (Roman numerals, CCLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Faustianus (or, less fre ...

264 __NOTOC__ Year 264 ( CCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) 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 '' ...

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