Zhao Ying (; 885 – June 8, 951''

Old History of the Five Dynasties The ''Old History of the Five Dynasties'' ( zh, t=舊五代史, pinyin=, p=Jiù Wǔdài Shǐ) was an official history mainly focusing on Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Five Dynasties era (907–960), which controlled much of northern C ...

'', vol. 89.''

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. 290.),

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 ...

Yuanhui (), was a Chinese historian, military general, and politician 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

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 ...

and Later Jin states, 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 Later Jin.

Background

Zhao Ying was born in 885, during the reign of

Emperor Xizong of Tang Emperor Xizong of Tang (June 8, 862 – April 20, 888), né Li Yan, later name changed to Li Xuan (, changed 873), was an emperor of China's Tang dynasty. He reigned from 873 to 888. He was the fifth son of his predecessor Emperor Yizong and ...

. His family was from Huayin (華陰, 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 ...

). His great-grandfather Zhao Pu () and grandfather Zhao Ru () each had minor official careers — Zhao Pu reached the office of county secretary general, albeit of a major county (Jiangdu (江都, 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 ...

)) and Zhao Ru reached the office of ''Zhengzi'' (), an assistant copyeditor at the

Palace Library The Palace Library (; in Vietnam: 秘書所, ''Bí thư sở'') was a central government agency in Imperial and monarchical China, Korea, and Vietnam generally in charge of maintaining and archiving the collection of the monarch's documents. C ...

. Zhao Ying's father Zhao Juhui () was a farmer, probably at the ancestral home at Huayin. Zhao Ying himself was said to be handsome and careful. During the middle of the ''Longde'' era (921–923) of 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 ...

's successor state Later Liang dynasty, Zhao Ying entered official service, as a secretary to the Later Liang general

Kang Yanxiao Kang Yanxiao () (died 926), known as Li Shaochen () from 923 to 926, was a Chinese military general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period states Later Liang and Later Tang. It was his defection from Later Liang to Later Tang in 92 ...

During Later Tang

During the ''Tongguang'' era (923–926) of the subsequent

, Kang Yanxiao, who then carried the name of Li Shaochen (bestowed by the emperor

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

), 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 Baoyi Circuit (保義, headquartered in modern

Sanmenxia Sanmenxia ( zh, s= , t= , p=Sānménxiá; Postal romanization, postal: Sanmenhsia) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Henan, Henan Province, China. The westernmost prefecture-level city in Henan, Sanmenxia borders Luoyang to the east, Nanya ...

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 ...

), and Zhao Ying continued to serve under him. When Li Shaochen served on Li Cunxu's campaign to destroy Later Tang's southwestern neighbor

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 ...

, Zhao remained at Baoyi. Subsequently, after Li Cunxu was killed in a mutiny at the 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 ...

and was succeeded by his adoptive brother

Li Siyuan Li Siyuan (李嗣源, later changed to Li Dan (李亶)) (10 October 867 – 15 December 933), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (後唐明宗), was the second emperor of the Later Tang dynasty of China, reign ...

, Li Siyuan's son-in-law

Shi Jingtang Shi Jingtang ( zh, 石敬瑭; 30 March 892 – 28 July 942''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 283.), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Gaozu of Later Jin (), was the founding emperor of the Later Jin dynasty of China during the Five Dynas ...

was made the acting military governor of Baoyi. Zhao, as a member of Li Shaochen's old staff, greeted him, and it was said that they became like old friends immediately. Shi thus had him serve as a secretary. Thereafter, wherever Shi's posting changed, Zhao followed him, and he frequently served as Shi's liaison to the imperial government. When Shi was made the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern

Taiyuan Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

), he served as Shi's assistant. In 936, then-emperor

Li Congke Li Congke ( zh, s=李从珂, t=李從珂, p=Lǐ Cóngkē) (11 February 885 – 11 January 937), also known in historiography as the Last Emperor of Later Tang (), Deposed Emperor of Later Tang (), Wang Congke () (particularly during the succee ...

(Li Siyuan's adoptive son), who had long suspected Shi of plotting rebellion, decided to test Shi by issuing an edict moving him to Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern

Tai'an Tai'an () is a prefecture-level city in Western Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China. Centered on Mount Tai, the city borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east, Linyi to the southeast, Liaocheng ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

). Shi, fearing that this was a trap, convened his key staff members asked for their opinions on what to do. Zhao advocated that he report to Tianping. However, several other key staff members, including

Liu Zhiyuan Liu Zhiyuan () (March 4, 895 – March 10, 948), later changed to Liu Gao (), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Gaozu of Later Han (), was the founding Emperor of China, emperor of the Shatuo-led Chinese Later Han (Five Dynasties), Lat ...

and

Sang Weihan Sang Weihan (桑維翰) (898''Old History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 89. – January 12, 947''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 285.Emperor Taizong of Later Tang's northern rival, the Khitan Empire. A Later Tang army, under the command of

Zhang Jingda Zhang Jingda (張敬達; died December 25, 936''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 280.Academia Sinica Chinese- ...

, soon put Hedong's capital

under siege, but Emperor Taizong thereafter arrived with a Khitan relief army, and crushed Zhang's army. He declared Shi the emperor of a new Later Jin.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 280.

During Later Jin

During Shi Jingtang's reign

Shi Jingtang commissioned a number of key officials for his new imperial government. As part of these commissions, Zhao Ying was made the chief imperial scholar (翰林學士承旨, ''Hanlin Xueshi Chengzhi'') and deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, ''Hubu Shilang''), to be in charge of the Hedong headquarters. Subsequently, after Zhang Jingda's deputy

Yang Guangyuan Yang Guangyuan (; died January 21, 945''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 284.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), né Atan (), later known as Yang Tang () before changing his name to Guangyuan, courtesy name Deming (), formally the Prince ...

assassinated Zhang and surrendered the Later Tang army to the joint Khitan/Later Jin army, As Shi and Emperor Taizong prepared to advance south toward Luoyang, Shi commissioned Zhao and Sang Weihan as

s (同中書門下平章事, ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi''), with Zhao also receiving the additional title of ''Menxia Shilang'' () and Sang ''Zhongshu Shilang'' (). Zhao was also put in charge of editing the imperial histories. After the joint Khitan/Later Jin forces then forced the surrender of the Later Tang general

Zhao Dejun Zhao Dejun () (died 937), né Zhao Xingshi (), known as Li Shaobin () during the reign of Li Cunxu, formally the Prince of Beiping (), was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Later Tang (and Later Tang's predecess ...

, whose army was the only major obstacle remaining between their army and Luoyang, at Lu Prefecture (潞州, in modern

Changzhi Changzhi ( zh, s=长治) is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the northeast and east, respectively. Historically, the city was one of the 36 administrative areas ( ...

), Emperor Taizong decided to remain at Lu while letting Shi take Luoyang himself, to avoid overly alarming the ethnic

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

. As they departed from each other, Emperor Taizong commented to Shi, "Liu Zhiyuan, Zhao Ying, and Sang Weihan are all great contributors to your establishment of the empire. Do not abandon them unless they had major faults." As Shi approached Luoyang, Li Congke, finding the situation hopeless, committed suicide with his family, ending Later Tang and allowing Later Jin to take over its territory. After Shi entered Luoyang, he sent Zhao as a special emissary to the Khitan court to thank Emperor Taizong. Upon Zhao's return from the Khitan court, he was given the additional titles of ''Guanglu Daifu'' () and minister of civil service affairs (吏部尚書, ''Libu Shangshu''); he was also put in charge of taxation. It was said that, as chancellor, Zhao was humble and paid attention to promoting capable junior officials. In particular, in his role as lead editor of the imperial histories, he commissioned many capable historians to collect the previously lost Tang records. It was said that Zhao had a hand in some 200 volumes of the consequently completed ''

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 ...

'', as well as correcting and supplementing the missing parts of the imperial chronicles of various Tang emperors. In 939, there was a time when Shi bestowed honorary chancellor titles on both Liu and Shi's brother-in-law

Du Chongwei Du Chongwei () (died March 13, 948''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 287.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), known as Du Wei () during the reign of Shi Chonggui, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Five Dynasties and Ten ...

, on the same edict. Liu was insulted (as he considered himself to have had great achievement in battle, while Du was receiving the honors on account of his being the emperor's brother-in-law), and therefore repeatedly declined. In anger over what he saw as Liu's defiance, Shi considered removing Liu from his offices entirely. It was Zhao who spoke on Liu's behalf — pointing out that when Zhang initially attacked Taiyuan, he did so with overwhelming force, and that it was through Liu's efforts that Taiyuan did not fall, until Emperor Taizong could arrive with a relief force. Shi thus relented and did not remove Liu; rather, he sent the imperial scholar He Ning to see Liu, to express his displeasure. Liu thereafter accepted the title.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282. In 942, Shi bestowed on Zhao the greater chancellor title ''Shizhong'' ().''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 283.

During Shi Chonggui's reign

Shi Jingtang died later in 942 and was succeeded by his nephew

Shi Chonggui Shi Chonggui () (914 – 10 July 974Shi Chonggui's epitaph indicate that he died of illness at the age of 61 (by East Asian reckoning) on the 18th day of the 6th month of the 6th year of the ''Bao'ning'' era of the reign of Emperor Jingzong of Li ...

. Zhao Ying initially continued to serve as chancellor, but in spring 943 was sent out of then-capital

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 ...

to serve as the military governor of Jinchang Circuit (晉昌, headquartered in modern

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

), still carrying the ''Zhongshu Ling'' title as an honorary chancellor title. (Sang Weihan, who had been serving as the military governor of Jinchang, was recalled to serve as chancellor.) At that time, there was a major locust infestation that affected Later Jin territory. Zhao ordered that those who were able to capture and kill locusts would be given the equal amount of weight in grain. By doing so, those who were hungry were fed, and there was much praise for him in and near the circuit. Sometime thereafter, he was moved to be the military governor of Kuangguo Circuit (匡國, headquartered in modern Weinan). About a year after that, he was recalled to Kaifeng to serve as its mayor. By 945, Shi Chonggui's brother-in-law Feng Yu, who was then his chief of staff (along with Sang), and the general Li Yantao (), had become powerful as close associates of the emperor. They disliked Sang, and believed that Zhao was more easily controllable. They thus persuaded Shi to remove Sang from the chancellorship and make Sang the mayor of Kaifeng. Zhao was returned to chancellorship, still with the title ''Zhongshu Ling''.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 285. Instead of the friendly relations that Shi Jingtang had with the Khitan (whose state had been renamed Liao by this point), Shi Chonggui took a confrontational stance, and the two states were constantly at war. In 946, Liao's Emperor Taizong laid a trap for Later Jin, by having his major general

Zhao Yanshou Zhao Yanshou (; died November 10, 948''History of Liao'', vol. 5.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), né Liu Yanshou (), formally the Prince of Wei (), was a Chinese military general, monarch, poet, and politician. He served as ...

(Zhao Dejun's son) "secretly" send emissaries to Later Jin, offering to submit to Later Jin, asking for a major Later Jin army to be launched to support him (who was then in command at Liao's Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

), which Shi Jingtang had ceded to Liao). Shi Chonggui's chiefs of staffs Feng and Li Song believed Zhao Yanshou, and prepared a large army to be launched under the command of Du Chongwei (whose name had been changed to Du Wei by that point, to observe the

naming taboo A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly ...

for Shi Chonggui), with

Li Shouzhen Li Shouzhen (; died 17 August 949''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 288.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter) was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states Later J ...

serving as Du's deputy. Zhao Ying found the ambitious and ungrateful Du unsuitable, secretly stating to Feng and Li Song: Zhao Ying was not listened to, however. The army, under Du's command, was soon launched, but fell into a trap laid by Emperor Taizong as soon as it entered Liao territory, and, on its subsequent withdrawal, became surrounded by Emperor Taizong's army at Zhongdu Bridge (中度橋, in modern

Baoding Baoding is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2020 census, Baoding City had 11,544,036 inhabitants, of which 2,549,787 lived in the metropolitan area made of 4 out of 5 urban distri ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

). After Emperor Taizong (falsely) promised Du that he would make Du the emperor of China to replace Shi Chonggui, Du surrendered. Emperor Taizong then advanced south toward Kaifeng. Believing Kaifeng to be defenseless (as nearly the entire Later Jin imperial army was under Du's command and surrendered with him), Shi surrendered, ending Later Jin.

During Liao

Once he entered Kaifeng, Emperor Taizong claimed to be the emperor of China as well. He sent Shi Chonggui and his household north into exile, deep into Liao proper, at Huanglong (黃龍, in modern

Changchun Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

), and had Zhao Ying, Feng Yu, and Li Yantao accompany them. (However, it appeared, based on subsequent events, that Zhao stopped once he reached Lulong's capital You Prefecture (), and did not actually accompany Shi and his household to Huanglong.)''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 286. After Emperor Taizong died later in the year and was succeeded by his nephew Emperor Shizong, who effectively withdrew from the former Later Jin territory (which was then taken over by Liu Zhiyuan, who declared himself emperor of a new state of

Later Han Later Han (後漢) may refer to two dynastic states in imperial China: *Eastern Han (25–220), the second period of the Han dynasty, also called Later Han * Later Han (947–951), a dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period See al ...

,''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 287. Emperor Shizong gave Zhao the honorary title ''Taizi Taibao'' (). Zhao's activities in the subsequent years were not well-described in history. Meanwhile, his mansion at Kaifeng (as with the mansions of all high-level officials that Emperor Taizong took to Liao territory, which Liu awarded to his key followers) was seized by Liu and given to Liu's general

Guo Wei Guo Wei () (10 September 904 – 22 February 954According to Guo Wei's biography in "Old Histories of the Five Dynasties", he died between 9am and 11 am on the ''renchen'' day of the 1st month of the 1st year of the ''Xiande'' era of his reig ...

. Guo summoned Zhao's son Zhao Yize () and offered back all the secondary properties associated with the mansion to Zhao Yize, along with a cash payment for the mansion. Zhao Yize, apprehensive of the powerful Guo, initially declined, but Guo insisted on his accepting. Zhao Ying heard of this and became grateful to Guo. By 951, Later Han had fallen (save for Hedong Circuit, which was controlled by Liu Zhiyuan's younger brother

Liu Chong Liu Min () ( 895 – 954), named Liu Chong () before 951,, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Northern Han, was the founding emperor of the Northern Han dynasty of China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He ...

, who declared himself emperor of Later Han, but whose state was considered by traditional historians to be the separate state of

Northern Han The Northern Han ( zh, t=北漢, s=北汉, p=Běi Hàn) was a dynastic state of China and one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was founded by Liu Min (Emperor Shizu) as a continuation of the Later Ha ...

), and Guo had founded

Later Zhou Zhou, known as the Later Zhou (; ) in historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty and the last of the Five Dynasties that controlled most of northern China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Founded by Guo Wei ...

in succeeding it. He sent his official Tian Min () as an emissary to the Liao court (apparently to try to dissuade Liao from aiding Liu Chong). When Tian reached You, he saw Zhao Ying. Zhao, emotional over being able to see a Han Chinese official, stated: He bowed toward the south, and broke down in tears. Not too long after, he fell ill. He made a request to Emperor Shizong that after his death, his body may be returned to Later Zhou territory for burial, to allow his spirit to return home. Emperor Shizong, taking mercy on him, agreed. Zhao Ying died shortly after. After his death, Emperor Shizong had his son Zhao Yicong () and other family members, as well as a Liao general, escort his casket to Kaifeng. Guo was greatly saddened, and gave him posthumous honors. Guo also awarded Zhao's sons silk to finance a proper burial at his old house in Huayin.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 89. * ''

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. 56. * ''

'', vols. 280,

282 Year 282 ( CCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 1035 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 282 for th ...

283 Year 283 ( CCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carus and Carinus (or, less frequently, year 1036 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 283 for this y ...

285 The year 285 ( CCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the "Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Aurelius" (or, less frequently, "year 1038 ''Ab urbe condita''"). The denomin ...

, 286. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Ying 885 births 951 deaths 10th-century Chinese historians Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms diplomats Generals from Shaanxi Historians from Shaanxi Politicians from Weinan Later Liang (Five Dynasties) people Later Tang government officials Later Jin (Five Dynasties) chancellors Later Jin (Five Dynasties) historians Later Jin (Five Dynasties) jiedushi Kuangguo jiedushi Liao dynasty government officials Mayors of Kaifeng Writers from Weinan