Zhao Yin (, died 881),''

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. 19, part 2.

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 ...

Dayin (大隱), formally the Count of Tianshui (天水伯), was an official of 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 ...

, serving as 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 ...

during the reigns of Emperor Yizong and Emperor Yizong's son Emperor Xizong.

Background and early career

It is not known when Zhao Yin was born. His family was from Fengtian (奉天, in modern

Xianyang Xianyang ( zh, s=咸阳 , p=Xiányáng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now int ...

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 ...

), a town that belonged to Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the region of the

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 ...

).''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 178. Several of his male-line ancestors served as county magistrates during Tang.''

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. 73. When Emperor Dezong was forced to flee to Fengtian in 783 after soldiers mutinied against him at Chang'an and supported the general

Zhu Ci Zhu Ci (; 742–784) was a Chinese military general, monarch, and rebel during the Tang dynasty. He initially served as military governor (''Jiedushi'') of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing), but later became a general ...

as their ruler instead, Zhu put Fengtian under siege, and Zhao Yin's grandfather Zhao Zhi () led his household servants and guests in assisting Fengtian's defense. As a result, after Zhu's rebellion was suppressed, Zhao Zhi entered the imperial government and eventually served as the 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 ...

'') of Lingnan Circuit (嶺南, headquartered in modern

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

) until his death. Zhao Yin's father Zhao Cunyue () served on the staff of the former

Li Jiang when Li served as the military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern

Hanzhong Hanzhong ( zh, s= , t= , l=middle of the Han River (Hubei), Han River; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in Southern Shaanxi, the southwest of Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gans ...

), and when the soldiers mutinied against Li in 830, Zhao Cunyue tried to assist Li in fighting off the mutineers, but was killed by the mutineers with Li.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 244. Zhao Yin had at least one younger brother, Zhao Zhi (). Zhao Yin, who was said to be filially pious, was greatly saddened by his father's death, and he spent more than a decade thereafter studying near his father's tomb, not submitting himself for the

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

s. During this time, the household was said to be poor, and he and Zhao Zhi, who had a loving brotherly relationship, farmed to support their mother. During the ''Huichang'' era (841-847) of Emperor Dezong's great-great-grandson Emperor Wuzong, some friends of Zhao Cunyue's became powerful officials, and they urged Zhao Yin to enter official service; only then did Zhao Yin do so, and he served as an assistant to various officials. In 849, by which time Emperor Wuzong's uncle Emperor Xuānzong was emperor, Zhao passed the imperial examinations in the ''Jinshi'' class. (His brother Zhao Zhi would do so eventually as well.) He served at various posts as prefectural prefect, supervisory official, imperial attendant, and eventually the administrator of Henan Municipality (河南, i.e., the region of the Tang 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 ...

). He would later serve as deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, ''Hubu Shilang'') and then the deputy minister of defense (兵部侍郎, ''Bingbu Shilang''), also serving as the director of the salt and iron monopolies.

Chancellorship

In 872, by which time Zhao Yin was referred to as deputy minister of justice (刑部侍郎, ''Xingbu Shilang'') and director of taxation, then-reigning Emperor Yizong (Emperor Xuānzong's son) gave him the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (), making him a chancellor ''de facto'', as well as deputy minister of census.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 252. He was later made ''Zhongshu Shilang'' (), the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng''), as well as the minister of rites (禮部尚書, ''Libu Shangshu''), with the additional honorific title of ''Tejin'' (); he was also created the Count of Tianshui. It was said that Zhao Yin was humble despite his high position, and after imperial gatherings, when he and Zhao Zhi would return home, they would change into civilian clothing and attend to their mother as if they were ordinary citizens. One birthday of Emperor Yizong's, when Emperor Yizong held a feast at Ci'en Temple (), Zhao Yin accompanied his mother to the feast, and after the chancellors led the imperial officials in bowing to the emperor, he returned to his mother's side to attend to her, an action that the other officials found to be a demonstration of filial piety. (Eventually, this would become precedent for the future chancellors Cui Yanzhao and Zhang Jun, whose mothers were also alive at the time that they would be chancellors, at imperial feasts.)''New Book of Tang'', vol. 182. Emperor Yizong died in 873 and was succeeded by his young son Emperor Xizong. In 874, Zhao Yin was relieved of his chancellor position and sent out of Chang'an to serve as the military governor of Zhenhai Circuit (鎮海, headquartered 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 ...

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 ...

), still carrying the ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' title as an honorific title.

After chancellorship

In 875, after some 69 officers of Zhenhai Circuit had battlefield accomplishments, Zhao Yin gave them honorific titles, but no increases in food or clothing stipends. This displeased them, who appealed the lack of increase, but their appeals were denied. They, thereafter, under the leadership of Wang Ying, rebelled and pillaged the region. As a result of what was considered mishandling of the situation by Zhao, he was relieved from his post and given the largely ceremonial post of minister of worship (太常卿, ''Taichang Qing''). Later, early in the ''Guangming'' era (880-881), he was served as minister of civil service affairs (吏部尚書, ''Libu Shangshu''). He died in 881 and was given posthumous honors by Emperor Xizong. (As, by that time, Emperor Xizong had fled Chang'an and was en route to

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 ...

due to the attack by the agrarian rebel Huang Chao, who established his own state of Qi as its emperor, it appeared likely that Zhao had fled the capital with Emperor Xizong and died on the way.) His sons Zhao Guangfeng, Zhao Guangyi, and Zhao Guangyin would all eventually serve in the imperial government in the final years of Tang dynasty and in the succeeding Later Liang, with Zhao Guangfeng serving as a chancellor for Later Liang; Zhao Guangyi would eventually serve as a chancellor for the secessionist state of

Southern Han Southern Han ( zh , t = 南漢 , p = Nán Hàn , j=Naam4 Hon3; 917–971), officially Han ( zh , t = 漢 , links=no), originally Yue ( zh , c = 越 , links=no), was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms that existed during the ...

, while Zhao Guangyin would serve as a chancellor during the succeeding

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 ...

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 178. * ''

'', vol. 182. * ''

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. 252. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Yin 881 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Yizong of Tang Chancellors under Emperor Xizong of Tang Tang dynasty jiedushi of Zhenhai Circuit Mayors of Luoyang Year of birth unknown