Shen Faxing (died AD 620) was an official of the Chinese

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

who, after Emperor Yang was killed in a coup led by the general

Yuwen Huaji Yuwen Huaji (; died March 22, 619) was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician of the Sui dynasty who, in 618, led a coup against and murdered Emperor Yang of Sui. He subsequently declared Emperor Yang's nephew Yang Hao emperor and ...

in 618, seized the area of present-day

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

and southern

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 ...

and declared himself the king of Liang (). He was defeated by Li Zitong (Emperor of Wu) in 620 and, believing that he was doomed, committed suicide by jumping into a river.

Background and initial uprising

Shen Faxing was from Hu province (, roughly modern

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...

). His father Shen Ke () was a Chen general who served all five of Chen's emperors until his death in 582 at the age of 73,(后主即位，以疾改授散骑常侍、特进、金紫光禄大夫。其年卒，时年七十四。) ''Chen Shu'', vol.12. Chen Shubao ascended the throne in Feb 582. with the title of Marquess of Dongxing (东兴县侯). After Shen Ke's death, Shen Faxing inherited his father's title, but Chen was destroyed by the Sui in 589. As of 618, Shen Faxing was serving as the governor of Wuxing Commandery (), the new name for Chen's Hu province, under Emperor Yang. He was on a campaign against the agrarian rebel leader Lou Shigan () when news came that Emperor Yang had been killed at Jiangdu (, 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, ...

) in a coup led by the general

. Shen therefore, claiming that he was attacking Yuwen, gathered the troops of the region (more than 60,000 men), and occupied more than 10 commanderies, including such cities as Yuhang (, in modern

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

), Piling (, in modern

Changzhou Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhen ...

), and Danyang (, in modern

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

). He declared himself the grand commandant of Jiangnan (the lands south of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

) and exercised imperial powers. In the fall of 618, Shen sent messengers to declare his submission to the Sui emperor Yang Tong, Emperor Yang's grandson, then at the eastern capital

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

, but he declared for himself the exceedingly-honored titles of commander of the armed forces, grand secretary, and Duke of Tianmen, and there is no record of Yang Tong accepting his submission or granting him those offices.

King of Liang

By fall 619, with Sui having fallen earlier in the year after the general

Wang Shichong Wang Shichong (; 567– August 621), courtesy name Xingman (行滿), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician during the Sui dynasty who deposed Sui's last emperor Yang Tong and briefly ruled as the emperor of a succeeding state ...

forced Yang Tong to yield the throne and then established the new state of Zheng, Shen Faxing, believing that he could easily pacify the region south of the

Huai River The Huai River, formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in East China, about long with a drainage area of . It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze River, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

, declared himself the king of Liang (perhaps evoking the

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () or Xiao Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was pre ...

) and set his capital at Piling. His governmental organization largely followed the Chen dynasty's model. However, it was said that Shen was cruel and only knew how to suppress dissent by massacres, and that whenever his soldiers had even small faults, they were beheaded, and therefore his subordinates despised him. Meanwhile, rivaling Shen for the control of the region were the agrarian leader Du Fuwei at Liyang (, in modern

Chaohu Chaohu () is a county-level city of Anhui Province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei. Situated on the northeast and southeast shores of Lake Chao, from which the city was named, Chaohu is under the adm ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

); the Sui official Chen Leng () at Jiangdu; and the agrarian leader Li Zitong at Hailing (, in modern Taizhou, Jiangsu). In the fall of 619, Li was besieging Chen at Jiangling and Chen sought help from both Shen and Du. Shen sent his son Shen Guan () with an army to assist Chen, along with Du. However, Li tricked Shen Guan and Du into attacking each other, and neither was able to assist Chen. Li was able to capture Jiangdu, and then defeated Shen Guan in battle. Both Shen Guan and Du withdrew, and Li took over the Jiangdu region.

Defeat and death

In 620, Li Zitong, who had by then claimed the title of Emperor of Wu, crossed the Yangtze and captured Shen's key city Jingkou (, in modern

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and ...

). When Shen sent his official Jiang Yuanchao () against Li, Li defeated and killed Jiang. Shen abandoned Piling and fled to Wu Commandery (roughly modern

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

). Piling and Danyang fell into Li's hands. However, as Li was attacking Shen, Du Fuwei, who had by that point submitted to the

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 ...

and was given the imperial surname Li (and therefore was known as Li Fuwei), sent his generals Fu Gongshi, Kan Leng (), and Wang Xiongdan () to attack Li Zitong, defeating him. Li Zitong's food supplies ran out, and he abandoned Jiangdu and initially fled to Jingkou, but subsequently abandoned Jingkou as well and attacked Shen. Shen, with several hundred men, abandoned Wu Commandery and fled. A local agrarian leader, Wenren Sui'an (), sent his general Ye Xiaobian () to welcome Shen and escort him. Shen initially accepted, but on the way regretted the decision and considered assassinating Ye and fleeing toward Kuaiji (present-day

Shaoxing Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou, Zhejiang, Taizhou to the south ...

). When Ye realized this plot, Shen felt that he was trapped, and he jumped into a river to drown. Li Zitong took over the remainder of his territory, roughly modern

Era name

* ''Yánkāng'' () 619-620

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shen, Faxing Chen dynasty people Sui dynasty generals Sui dynasty government officials Tang dynasty people Chinese princes 620 deaths 7th-century Chinese monarchs Suicides by drowning in China Politicians from Huzhou Year of birth unknown Generals from Zhejiang Transition from Sui to Tang Suicides in China People from Deqing County, Zhejiang