Liu Jishu (劉季述) (died January 24, 901''

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.

Academia Sinica Academia Sinica (AS, ; zh, t=中央研究院) is the national academy of the Taiwan, Republic of China. It is headquartered in Nangang District, Taipei, Nangang, Taipei. Founded in Nanjing, the academy supports research activities in mathemat ...

br>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter
) was a

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 ...

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, as a powerful commander of the Shence Armies, briefly deposed Emperor Zhaozong in 900 and replaced Emperor Zhaozong with Emperor Zhaozong's son Li Yu, Prince of De, but was soon killed in a countercoup, allowing Emperor Zhaozong to return to the throne.

Background

It is not known when or where Liu Jishu was born. It was said that he was not a prominent eunuch early in his career, but was gradually promoted during the reigns of Emperor Xizong and Emperor Xizong's brother and successor Emperor Zhaozong, eventually becoming one of the directors of palace communications (''

Shumishi Shumishi (), or shumi, was an official title in imperial China important in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the Liao dynasty, the Song dynasty and the Jin dynasty (1115–1234). ''Shumishi'' managed the Bureau of Military Affairs () ...

'') and then one of the commanders (中尉) of the Shence Armies.''

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. 208. However, the main sources on his rise — the ''

'' and the ''

'' — disagree with each other (and somewhat internally) as to his career progression and actions. The ''

'' referred to Liu Jishu as the commander of the Right Shence Army in 888, at the time of Emperor Xizong's death and Emperor Zhaozong's ascension to the throne (which was supported by Yang Fuguang),''

'', vol. 257. but then referred to him as acting director of palace communications in 897, further stating that he cooperated with the warlord Han Jian the military governor of Zhenguo Circuit (鎮國, headquartered in modern

Weinan Weinan ( zh, s=渭南 , p=Wèinán) is a prefecture-level city in east-Guanzhong, central Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, northwest China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provinc ...

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 ...

) when Emperor Zhaozong was at Zhenguo's capital Hua Prefecture (華州) when Han, over Emperor Zhaozong's protest, killed 11 imperial princes whom Emperor Zhaozong had put in command of some of the imperial forces. Emperor Zhaozong was then at Hua Prefecture after fleeing the imperial 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 ...

with his court after coming under attack by the warlord

Li Maozhen Li Maozhen (; 856 – May 17, 924), born Song Wentong (), courtesy name Zhengchen (), formally Prince Zhongjing of Qin (), was the only ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Qi (901–924). He had become a powerful ...

the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern

Baoji Baoji ( zh, s= , t= , p=Bǎojī; ) is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a ...

).''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 261. According to the ''New Book of Tang'', however, it appeared that Liu was director of palace communications when Emperor Zhaozong, at the instigation of 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 ...

Cui Yin Cui Yin (崔胤) (854''New Book of Tang'', :zh:s:新唐書/卷223下, vol. 223, part 2. – February 1, 904''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷264, vol. 264.Academia Sinica]Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Chuixiu (垂休), ...

, killed the commanders of the Shence Armies Zhu Daobi (朱道弼) and Jing Wuxiu (景務脩) in 900 and replaced them with Liu and Wang Zhongxian (王仲先) — whereas the ''Zizhi Tongjian'' referred to Zhu and Jing, at their deaths, as directors of palace communications. Regardless, it appeared that by late 900, when Emperor Zhaozong had returned to Chang'an after making peace with Li Maozhen, Liu and Wang were the commanders of the Shence Armies and in enmity with Cui over Cui's role in instigating Zhu's and Jing's deaths.

Removal of Emperor Zhaozong

It was said that Emperor Zhaozong's mood became unpredictable and depressed after his return from Hua Prefecture, and he was often drunk. His attendants became fearful of him. Liu Jishu, in response, began plotting with Wang Zhongxian, as well as the directors of palace communications Wang Yanfan (王彥範) and Xue Qiwo (薛齊偓), to overthrow him and replace him with his son, the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

Li Yu, Prince of De. The eunuchs' plot was put into action after, one night late in 900, Emperor Zhaozong, in a drunken rage, killed several eunuch attendants and

ladies in waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but o ...

. Liu, hearing of the incident, went to confront Cui Yin the next morning, arguing that Emperor Zhaozong was no longer fit to be emperor. Cui, fearing that Liu would kill him, did not dare to openly oppose Liu. Liu drafted a petition that he then forced Cui and other imperial officials to sign, asking Emperor Zhaozong briefly transfer imperial authorities to the Crown Prince; he and Wang Zhongxian then took Shence Army soldiers to enter the palace to confront Emperor Zhaozong. Emperor Zhaozong initially resisted the eunuchs' attempt to remove him, but his wife Empress He, fearful that the eunuchs would kill him, persuaded him to yield to the eunuchs and turn the imperial seals over to them. Liu and Wang escorted Emperor Zhaozong to Shaoyang Pavilion (少陽院) and put him under house arrest here; Liu went as far as rebuking the emperor for not following his advice on many prior occasions, using a silver cane to draw lines on the ground to count off the times. He then had Li Yu escorted to the palace, had his name changed to Li Zhen, and declared him emperor. Emperor Zhaozong was declared

Retired Emperor A Retired Emperor may refer to: *Taishang Huang of China *Daijō Tennō of Japan *Taesangwang T'aesangwang () and the related title T'aesanghwang () are titles used at various points in History of Korea, Korean history for retired king or emper ...

and Empress He Retired Empress. With Liu in power, he executed Emperor Zhaozong's younger brother Li Yi (李倚) the Prince of Mu, as well as the attendants and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

monks that Emperor Zhaozong favored. He also considered killing Cui, but was fearful of a violent reaction by Cui's 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 ...

), only removing Cui from his secondary post as director of the salt and iron monopolies. Cui, meanwhile, was in secret communications with Zhu, thinking of ways to restore Emperor Zhaozong. Liu also tried to communicate with Zhu, sending his adoptive son Liu Xidu (劉希度) and another eunuch, Li Fengben (李奉本), to Xuanwu's capital Daliang, offering to let him take over the Tang throne. Zhu was initially unsure of what to do, but the advice of his staff member Li Zhen (not to be confused with the prince-emperor), Zhu put Liu Xidu and Li Fengben under arrest and sent his staff member Jiang Xuanhui (蔣玄暉) to Chang'an to confer with Cui. Cui was, at the same time, trying to undermine the eunuchs by persuading Shence Army officers to turn against the eunuchs. He persuaded Sun Dezhao (孫德昭) to work with him to restore the emperor. Sun then persuaded fellow officers Dong Yanbi (董彥弼) and Zhou Chenghui (周承誨) to join the plot as well. On

lunar new year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...

's day in 901, Sun assassinated Wang Zhongxian and went to Shaoyang Pavilion to free Emperor Zhaozong and Empress He. Meanwhile, Zhou captured Liu and Wang Yanfan and took them to the emperor's presence. Before Emperor Zhaozong could interrogate them, however, Liu and Wang Yanfan were battered to death by the soldiers. Xue committed suicide by jumping into a well. The four eunuchs' family members were slaughtered.

Notes and references

* ''

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. 184. * ''

'', vol. 208. * ''

'', vols.

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'') ...

261 __NOTOC__ Year 261 (Roman numerals, CCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Taurus (or, less frequently, year 1014 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

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 ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Jishu 9th-century births 901 deaths Tang dynasty eunuchs People executed by the Tang dynasty 10th-century executions People executed by blunt trauma