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Zhao Kuangming (趙匡明),
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 ...
Zanyao (讚堯), was a warlord late in 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 ...
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 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 ...
,
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 ...
) from 903 to 905 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 ...
'') and formed a power bloc with his brother
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 ...
,
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 ...
), until both he and his brother were defeated by the major warlord
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 ...
). They both fled, allowing Zhu to absorb their territory.


Background and service under Zhao Kuangning

It is not known when Zhao Kuangming was born. His father
Zhao Deyin Zhao Deyin () (died 892), formally the Prince of Huai'an (), was a warlord late in the History of China, Chinese dynasty Tang dynasty, who initially served as a general under the pretender emperor Qin Zongquan. When Qin neared defeat, Zhao declared ...
had been a general under
Qin Zongquan Qin Zongquan (; died April 1, 889) was a Chinese military general, monarch, politician, rebel, and warlord during the Tang dynasty. He was later a claimant to the imperial throne, in competition with Emperor Xizong of Tang and, later, Emperor Xiz ...
, who was a Tang military governor of Fengguo Circuit (奉國, headquartered in modern
Zhumadian Zhumadian ( zh, s= , t= , p=Zhùmǎdiàn; Postal romanization, postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province of China, province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang, Henan, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to ...
,
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 ...
) but who later submitted to the major agrarian rebel
Huang Chao Huang Chao (835 – July 13, 884) was a wealthy Chinese salt trader and soldier who is primarily known for instigating the Huang Chao Rebellion. In 878, he proclaimed himself emperor and the establishment of a new Qi dynasty. Huang Chao's re ...
and Huang's state of Qi, and, after Huang's defeat, had declared himself emperor of a new state. As part of Zhao Deyin's service under Qin, he captured Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, the later Zhongyi Circuit). Later, knowing that Qin was on the verge of defeat, he submitted to Tang and allied himself with
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 Tang military governor of Xuanwu Circuit. At Zhu's recommendation, Zhao Deyin was allowed to remain as military governor of the circuit, which was then renamed Zhongyi. He later participated in the campaigns that led to Qin's destruction.''
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.
Zhao Kuangming, as a son of Zhao Deyin's, was given the title of literary officer at Jiangling Municipality (江陵, Jingnan's capital) even in his youth. After he reached adulthood, he had military accomplishments and served successively as the prefect of Xiu (繡州, in modern
Guigang Guigang (; Zhuang: ''Gveigangj'') is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangxi in the People's Republic of China. Prior to 1988, it was known as Gui County or Guixian (). Geography and climate Guigang is located in eastern Guangxi. It is locate ...
,
Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...
) and Xia (峽州, in modern
Yichang Yichang ( zh, s= ), Postal Map Romanization, alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. Yichang had a population of 3.92 million people at the 2022 census, making it the third most pop ...
,
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 ...
) Prefectures.'' History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 17. In 892, Zhao Deyin died. Zhao Kuangming's older brother
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 ...
claimed the title of acting military governor of Zhongyi, and was later confirmed by then-ruling Emperor Zhaozong as full military governor. At one point, the major warlord
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 ...
, who had designs on seizing the Tang throne, was rebuffed by Zhao Kuangning when he inquired of Zhao Kuangning's thoughts on the matter. He was angered and sent an army to attack Zhongyi Circuit, but his army was defeated by Zhao Kuangming at Deng Prefecture (鄧州, in modern
Nanyang, Henan Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the n ...
). Thereafter, under the advice of Zhao Kuangming, Zhao Kuangning entered into an alliance with Wang Jian the military governor of 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 ...
).The ''New Book of Tang'' dated this battle to 904 and also indicated that it was before Zhao Kuangming's taking control of Jingnan Circuit; however, since it is clear that Zhao Kuangming took over Jingnan in 903, the dating of 904 would clearly be erroneous.


As ruler of Jingnan

In 903, Zhu Quanzhong's ally
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, attempting to save another ally of Zhu's,
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 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 ...
), was defeated in battle by
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 Tang dynasty. Background It is no ...
, 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 ...
). After Cheng's death, Jiangling was temporarily taken over by the army of 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 ...
), but Zhao Kuangning sent an army to expel the Wuzhen army, and then commissioned Zhao Kuangming as its acting military governor.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 264. Emperor Zhaozong (who was by this point under Zhu's physical control) initially commissioned Zhao Kuangming only as the commander of the Jingnan army (行軍司馬, ''Xingjun Sima'') but gave him the honorary title of acting ''Situ'' (司徒, one of the
Three Excellencies The Three Ducal Ministers (), also translated as the Three Dukes, Three Excellencies, or the Three Lords, was the collective name for the three highest officials in Ancient China and Imperial China. These posts were abolished by Cao Cao in 208 AD a ...
) as well. It was said that at that time, very few warlords were willing to offer tributes to the emperor, but the Zhao brothers regularly did so. By 905, Zhao Kuangming was referred to as full military governor of Jingnan. That year, Zhu, angry that Zhao Kuangning was in alliance with both Wang Jian and Yang, attacked Zhongyi along with his general
Yang Shihou Yang Shihou () (died April 23, 915Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), formally the Prince of Ye (), was a major general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Later Liang, serving as the main obstacle to ...
. They defeated the Zhongyi army, and Zhao Kuangning abandoned Zhongyi and fled to Huainan territory.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 265. Believing that he could not stand by himself, Zhao Kuangming also planned to flee to Huainan. His son Zhao Chenggui () pointed out that if he fled to Huainan as well, Yang might suspect him and Zhao Kuangning given the cumulative strengths of the two brothers in Huainan territory. Zhao Kuangming agreed, and fled to Xichuan instead. Wang Jian treated him as an honored guest and commissioned him as the military governor of Wuxin Circuit (武信, headquartered in modern
Suining Suining ( zh, s=遂宁 , t=遂寧; Sichuanese Pinyin: Xu4nin2; Sichuanese pronunciation: ; zh, p=Sùiníng , w=Sui-ning) is a prefecture-level city of eastern Sichuan province in Southwest China. According to the 2020 census, Suining had a p ...
,
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 ...
). Later, after Wang Jian founded
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 ...
as its emperor, he made Zhao Kuangming the chief judge of the supreme court (大理卿, ''Dali Qing'') and the minister of public works (工部尚書, ''Gongbu Shangshu''). Zhao Kuangming eventually died at the Former Shu capital
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 ...
, but the year is not known.


Notes and references

* ''
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. * '' History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 17. * ''
New History of the Five Dynasties The ''Historical Records of the Five Dynasties'' (''Wudai Shiji'') is a Chinese history book on the Five Dynasties period (907–960), written by the Song dynasty official Ouyang Xiu in private. It was drafted during Ouyang's exile from 1036 t ...
'', 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.
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 ...
,
265 __NOTOC__ Year 265 (Roman numerals, CCLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerianus and Lucillus (or, less frequently, year 1018 ''Ab urbe condita''). Th ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Kuangming 9th-century births 10th-century deaths Tang dynasty jiedushi of Jingnan Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Wuxin Circuit Former Shu government officials People from South Central China