Wang Kai (王鍇),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Zhanxiang (鱣祥), was a

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 ...

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 ...

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period

Former Shu Great Shu ( zh, c=大蜀, p=Dàshǔ), known in historiography as the Former Shu ( zh, c=前蜀, p=Qiánshǔ, links=no) or occasionally Wang Shu (王蜀), was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and ...

state.

Background

It is not known when or where Wang Kai was born. It is known that he served as an emissary of

Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (March 31, 867 – September 22, 904), né Li Jie, name later changed to Li Min and again to Li Ye, was the penultimate emperor of China's Tang dynasty. He reigned from 888 to 904 (although he was briefly deposed by the ...

during the ''Tianfu'' era (901–904) to Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

) late in 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 thereafter remained in Xichuan, which was then ruled by Wang Jian.''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang dynasty and before the reunification of China ...

'' (十國春秋)
vol. 41

During Former Shu

After the Tang dynasty fell in 907 and Wang Jian declared himself emperor of a new Shu state (known historically as

) over his domain (as its Emperor Gaozu), Wang Kai became an imperial scholar (翰林學士, ''Hanlin Xueshi''). He later became the deputy chief imperial censor (御史中丞, ''Yushi Zhongcheng''). In 909, Wang Jian made him ''Zhongshu Shilang'' (中書侍郎), the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''), and gave him the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事), making him a

.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 267. In 911, when Wang Jian built a new palace and issued an edict ordering the collection of books, Wang Kai submitted a petition praising the effort and outlining how many emperors in history have used various efforts to collect and encouraged the reading of books. In 912, Wang Kai was removed from his chancellor position and made the minister of defense (兵部尚書, ''Bingbu Shangshu''), but in 913 was restored to the chancellor and ''Zhongshu Shilang'' positions.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 268. During the subsequent reign of Wang Jian's son

Wang Zongyan Wang Yan () (899–926), né Wang Zongyan (王宗衍), courtesy name Huayuan (化源), also known in historiography as Houzhu of Former Shu (前蜀後主; "last lord of Former Shu"), later posthumously created the Duke of Shunzheng (順正公) by ...

, Wang Kai served as chancellor with

Yu Chuansu Yu Chuansu (庾傳素) was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Former Shu, serving two terms as chancellor. During Wang Jian's reign It is not known when Yu Chuansu was born or what his familial origins were. ...

. At that time, Wang Yan's associates Han Zhao (韓昭) and Pan Zaiying (潘在迎) led Wang Yan to spend much of his time in frivolous activities, and it was said that Wang Kai, Yu, and most other officials did little to try to change Wang Yan's ways.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 272. Indeed, even after a very expensive trip that Wang Yan took to Lang Prefecture (閬州, in modern

Langzhong Langzhong (formerly known as Paoning) is a county-level city in northeastern Sichuan province, China, located on the middle reaches of the Jialing River. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Nanchong. Langzhong has a total ...

), after which many officials did submit petitions urging against such trips in the future, Wang Kai said nothing and did not resign in protest. When a major invasion from

Later Tang Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four ...

led to Wang Yan's surrender and Former Shu's fall in 925, Wang Yan had the imperial scholar Li Hao draft the surrender petition (to Later Tang's emperor

Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang (), personal name Li Cunxu (), nickname Yazi (), stage name Li Tianxia (), was the second ruling prince of the Jin (Later Tang precursor), Former Jin dynasty (r. 908–923) who later became the founding Emperor ...

) and Wang Kai draft the surrender letter (to Emperor Zhuangzong's son

Li Jiji Li Jiji (李繼岌) (died May 28, 926''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷275, vol. 275.Academia Sinica]Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), formally the Prince of Wei (魏王), nickname Hege (和哥), was an imperial prince of the History of ...

the Prince of Wei, who was formally the commander of the Later Tang invasion army).''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷274, vol. 274.

After Former Shu

Emperor Zhuangzong initially promised Wang Yan that he would be created an honorable title, and Li Jiji subsequently sent Wang Yan and a large group of Former Shu officials on their way to the Later Tang 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 ...

in 926. However, after the Later Tang realm began to be embroiled in a large number of rebellions (over the army's dissatisfaction over Emperor Zhuangzong for not giving soldiers sufficient rewards and over his killing of the generals Guo Chongtao and Li Jilin), Emperor Zhuangzong initially ordered Wang Yan to halt at

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 ...

, and then put him and his family to death. The Former Shu officials, by order, continued to proceed to Luoyang, but by the time they reached Luoyang, Emperor Zhuangzong himself had been killed in a mutiny at Luoyang and succeeded by his adoptive brother Emperor Mingzong. Emperor Mingzong commissioned many former Former Shu officials to be regional officials,''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 275. and Wang Kai was made a prefectural prefect. Wang Kai and a number of former Former Shu officials subsequently submitted a petition urging for the proper burial of Wang Yan's body, and for this they were praised by people. (Wang Yan was eventually properly buried in 928 due to efforts by Wang Jian's distant nephew Wang Zongshou (王宗壽).)''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 276. The rest of Wang Kai's career, and his death date, are not known. However, it is known that Wang Kai had a large collection of rare books at home, and that he himself had written lengthy commentaries. He was also well known for his

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

and studiousness.

Notes and references

* ''

'' (十國春秋)
vol. 41
* ''

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 ...

'', vols.

267 __NOTOC__ Year 267 ( CCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Paternus and Arcesilaus (or, less frequently, year 1020 ''Ab urbe condita''). The d ...

268 __NOTOC__ Year 268 (Roman numerals, CCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Paternus and Egnatius (or, less frequently, the year 1021 ''Ab urbe ...

272 __NOTOC__ Year 272 ( CCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Postumius and Veldumnianus (or, less frequently, year 1025 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominati ...

274 Year 274 (Roman numerals, CCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelianus and Capitolinus (or, less frequently, year 1027 ''Ab urbe condita''). The d ...

275 __NOTOC__ Year 275 ( CCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelianus and Marcellinus (or, less frequently, year 1028 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominat ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Kai 9th-century births 10th-century deaths Tang dynasty government officials Former Shu chancellors Later Tang government officials Tang dynasty calligraphers Former Shu calligraphers Later Tang calligraphers Former Shu essayists Later Tang essayists