China's Southern Tang Dynasty, 937-976

Johannes L. Kurz

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781138657229
• eBook ISBN: 9781136809552
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Histoire
• Subtopic: Histoire de la Chine

The Southern Tang was one of China's minor dynasties and one of the great states in China in the tenth century. Although often regarded as one of several states preceding the much better known Song dynasty (960-1279), the Southern Tang dynasty was in fact the key state in this period, preserving cultural values and artefacts from the former great Tang dynasty (618-907) which were to form the basis of Song rule, and thereby presenting the Song with a direct link to the Tang and it traditions.

Drawing mainly on primary Chinese sources, this is the first book in English to provide a comprehensive overview of the Southern Tang, and full coverage of military, cultural and political history in the period. It focuses on a successful, albeit short-lived, attempt to set up an independent regional state in the modern provinces of Jiangxi and Jiangsu, and establishes the Southern Tang dynasty in its own right. It follows the rise of the Southern Tang state to become the predominant claimant of the Tang heritage and the expansionist policies of the second ruler culminating in the occupation and annexation of the two of the Southern Tang's neighbours, Min (Fujian) and Chu (Hunan). Finally the narrative describes the decline of the dynasty under its last ruler, the famous poet Li Yu, and its ultimate surrender to the Song dynasty.

1 The state of Wu

After the Huang Chao rebellion (874–884), which rocked the Chinese Empire to its very foundations, and prior to the demise of the Tang dynasty in 907, regional commanders had already gained various degrees of autonomy from the increasingly weak Tang court in Chang’an. In what historians of the Song dynasty came to label the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten States, the empire was divided largely into two parts. In the north, the heartland of Chinese culture, five dynasties succeeded each other until 960. South of the Yangzi, the situation was quite different, as the topography favoured the creation of a number of states that existed simultaneously, the last of which only surrendered to the Song in 978.

One of the most successful regional warlords during the last decades of the Tang was Yang Xingmi (852–905). Coming from very humble origins, Yang had become a soldier and risen through the ranks to the position of prefect of Luzhou (in modern-day Anhui) in 883. After Gao Pian (c. 822–887), the governor of the Huainan region, had been murdered in 887, Yang Xingmi, in the ensuing fight for possession of Huainan, gained the upper hand against his main opponent Sun Ru (?–892). His position was bolstered by the court, which appointed him surveillance commissioner ¹ of Xuanzhou, an important city in Jiangnan that Yang had taken in the same year. The seizure of Xuanzhou set him on a course of confrontation with Zhong Zhuan (?–906), who had taken advantage of the Huang Chao rebellion to set himself up in Jiangnan. After he had finally beaten Sun Ru in 892, Yang made Guangling (Yangzhou) his headquarters, receiving the title of governor of Huainan, as well as an honorary appointment as grand mentor of the Tang emperor. ² In the following years, he expanded his power throughout Jiangnan and inevitably clashed with Qian Liu (852–932), who, at the time, held sway over part of the Yangzi delta and territories in the region of modern-day Zhejiang province.

Upon Yang Xingmi’s death in 905, the territory of the state that came eventually to be known as Wu comprised, basically, the larger regions of Huainan and Jiangnan, or roughly the modern-day provinces of south Anhui, Jiangsu and Jiangxi, as well as parts of Hubei, and a total of twenty-nine prefectures. The northernmost town was Haizhou (near modern-day Lianyungang, in Jiangsu), and the southernmost city was Qianzhou (modern-day Ganzhou, in Jiangxi). The most important city in the west was Ezhou (in the vicinity of modern-day Wuhan, in Hubei), and the most important city in the east, for its strategic location on the Grand Canal, was Changzhou.

The Huai River in the north was a natural border and defence against incursions from the north, and the south was relatively well protected by the mountain ranges that separate southern Jiangxi from the states of Chu in Hunan, Southern Han in Guangdong and Min in Fujian. The border with the state of Wuyue roughly followed the Huaiyu mountain range.

The Yangzi and its tributaries and canals in the northern part of the Wu territory provided easy access to the western and eastern areas, while the Gan River network in the south facilitated intraregional traffic.

The borders in the west, south and east remained relatively stable until towards the end of the Southern Tang dynasty. The real concern for the Wu, as well as the Southern Tang, dynasties was always the state of Wuyue to the east, as well as the dynasties that succeeded each other north of the Huai River.

The major grain cultivated then and now in Anhui, Jiangsu and Jiangxi is rice, and one of the more important natural resources found in all three provinces is copper. Because of their warm climate, the regions of Huainan and Jiangnan were ideal for the growing of mulberry trees, whose leaves are the staple food of the silkworm.

In 905, Yang Xingmi was succeeded by his eldest son, Yang Wo (885–908). Yang Wo was responsible for the seizure of Jiangxi in 907, which, until this time, had been in the hands of Zhong Zhuan and his son. During his short reign, Yang Wo had to deal with incursions by the rulers of Wuyue and Chu, as well as the newly established dynasty in the north, the Later Liang, the first of the Five Dynasties.

The new ruler of Wu did not submit to the emperor of the Later Liang, whom he regarded as a usurper, and made that evident by continuing the last reign title of the Tang, ‘Heavenly assistance’ (Tianyou), instead of adopting the Later Liang reign title ‘Peace initiated’ (Kaiping).

Yang Wo’s tenure was threatened from the start because two of his father’s commanders, Xu Wen (862–927) and Zhang Hao, agreed to take over power from the Yang family. The two military officials had control over the army, and Yang Wo had always been suspicious of them. From the scarce evidence surviving, it appears that either Xu and Zhang would strike at Yang, or Yang would take decisive action against Xu and Zhang. Originally, Xu and Zhang had agreed to split the territory between themselves and submit to Later Liang rule. After they had murdered Yang Wo, however, Zhang Hao wanted to become ruler of the territory of Wu. This displeased Xu Wen, who feared to be murdered by Zhang. He enquired about the best course of action from Yan Keqiu (?–930), his advisor, who explained that Zhang Hao did not possess the qualities needed to become ruler. When Zhang Hao tried to force the leading officials into accepting his accession to the throne, Yan Keqiu stopped him by pointing out that the ministers of the Yang family surely would follow him, but that they would be more pleased if another Yang family member were appointed king. A young ruler could be more easily manipulated by Zhang, and Yang Xingmi’s officials would find this arrangement more suitable. Thus, Yang Longyan was chosen as the new ruler of Wu. Yang Longyan was the second son of Yang Xingmi and, at the time of his accession to the throne, was about nine years old. Soon after this, the relationship between Xu Wen and Zhang Hao deteriorated considerably. Li Chengsi, a close friend of Zhang Hao, suspected that Yan Keqiu was a partisan of Xu Wen, for he had spoiled Zhang’s plan to send Xu Wen away from the capital. Therefore, he talked Zhang into sending some robbers to break into Yan Keqiu’s residence to kill him, but instead they only looted the place, without murdering Yan. This incident con vinced Yan that he should give his support to Xu Wen, whom he immediately advised to get rid of Zhang. Consequently, Zhang and his followers were put to death. As Xu Wen had wisely left it to Zhang and his men to murder Yang Wo, he now appeared to the people as the upright avenger of a regicide. With this, the peaceful reconstruction of the territories under the control of Wu started.

Xu Wen’s adopted son, Xu Zhigao, the future first emperor of the Southern Tang, was in his early teens at the time of Xu Wen’s ascent.

The early childhood years of Xu Zhigao are obscure. All sources agree that he was born in Pengcheng, in the district of Xuzhou in modern-day Jiangsu province, to a commoner named Li Rong and his wife, Liu, on 7 January 889. ³ The newborn received the ‘milk name’ Pengnu. As for his father, Li Rong, there exist two different narratives. Most sources say that he left his family because he was unreliable and loved to roam the countryside following his interests in Buddhism and Daoism. This, together with his frequent disappearances, earned him the ambiguous nickname Li, ‘Who follows the way’, among the people who knew him.

In a text from the early eleventh century, Li Rong is depicted as a sword for hire and a local strongman. When Yang Xingmi rose to prominence in Huainan in the 890s, he joined a band of pirates who devastated the region around Haozhou on the Huai River, in modern-day Anhui, and Liangxian in Henan. When Yang Xingmi heard about these actions, he led an army against Li Rong, defeated him and took him prisoner. Yang wanted the whole family of Li Rong executed, but a monk in Haozhou, who was an acquaintance of Yang, begged for the life of the young son of Li Rong and asked to raise him as a Buddhist monk.

The majority of historical texts record that his paternal uncle, Li Qiu, rescued the young boy and his mother and brought them to Haozhou. ⁴ Soon after their arrival, the mother died, and the boy was given shelter at the Kaiyuan monastery in Haozhou. ⁵ In an alternative description of events, an older sister of the little boy, who had become a Buddhist nun, had made the acquaintance of Li, the wife of Xu Wen. As Li had the same surname as the boy, she asked her husband to adopt the boy. ⁶

This contradicts the story as told in other texts, in which Yang Xingmi, passing through Haozhou in 895, noticed the remarkable physical appearance of the boy and therefore adopted him as his son. As his own sons disliked the idea of an orphan becoming their brother, Yang asked his general, Xu Wen, to take care of the boy. ⁷ The day before Yang’s request, Xu Wen is said to have dreamed of several tens of yellow dragons swimming in the water. He caught one of them and then woke up. ⁸

Li cared very much about the boy and raised him like her own child. ⁹ The boy received the family name Xu and the given name Zhigao. ¹⁰

Once, Xu Zhigao accompanied Xu Wen on a military campaign, but, as he did not follow orders, Xu Wen drove him away with a cane. Xu Zhigao nevertheless returned to the Xu residence. This made Xu Wen pity the boy and like him even more. As Xu Zhigao was a precocious boy at the age of nine, and as his siblings were all much younger, he was made the head of the household when his adopted father was away on duty.

When his brothers were older, they liked to go hunting on horseback in their spare time, whereas Xu Zhigao, apart from practising archery, studied characters and accounting. ¹¹ As Xu Wen doubted his military abilities, Zhigao often asked for military appointments to gain experience and, being of quick comprehension, he swiftly rose through the ranks to become division commander.

After he had come of age, he married the daughter of the prefect of Shengzhou, Wang Rong. When Xu Wen once fell ill, it was Xu Zhigao and his wife who looked after him the whole time, while his adopted brothers did not take much notice of their father’s illness. Xu Wen was moved to say: ‘Alas, even though you are from a different family, I have no one who is closer to me.’ ¹² Shortly afterwards, Xu Zhigao’s wife died, and he grieved a long time for her before he took the maid of his late wife as his main consort.

Table 1.1 Adopted brothers of Xu Zhigao

Xu Zhixun1 (?–918), oldest son of Xu Wen

Xu Zhixun2 (?–934), second son of Xu Wen

Xu Zhihui, third son of Xu Wen

Xu Zhijian (?–931), fourth son of Xu Wen

Xu Zhizheng (?–after 943), fifth son of Xu Wen

Xu Zhi’e (?–939), sixth son of Xu Wen^13

This girl, with the family name Song, had lost her parents as well and, as a child, had drifted among the military, where she had been found by Wang Rong, who brought her home and made her a servant. ¹⁴ Later, she became a maidservant of Xu Zhigao’s first wife, Wang. ¹⁵ After the latter had passed away, Xu Wen suggested elevating the status of Song to main wife, as she had already borne a son, the future emperor Yuanzong. Xu Wen, accordingly, conferred noble titles on Song. ¹⁶ Because of their shared experiences and fates, Xu Zhigao and his second wife were very close.

According to the relevant sources, Xu Zhigao had an impressive appearance. He was tall, with a wide forehead and a prominent nose. His voice was clear and loud, and people found it hard to keep up with him because of his stride. A physiognomist observing Xu Zhigao once noticed that he had ‘a dragon’s stride and a tiger’s step’, which certainly were the attributes of a leader. ¹⁷

He served Xu Wen with devotion, and it was this attitude that had impressed Yang Xingmi, who remarked once that, among the sons of all his generals, none surpassed Xu Zhigao. ¹⁸

In the summer of 909, when he was about twenty years old, Xu Zhigao was transferred to be defence commissioner of Shengzhou and concurrent commander of the war junks. This unit was stationed at Shengzhou.

One year later, in 910, Xu Zhigao was promoted to deputy commissioner of Shengzhou and, in this capacity, was responsible for the administration of the prefecture. A chance to earn more merits and experience was presented to Xu Zhigao when Li Yu and a few other, highly decorated officers of Yang Xingmi rebelled in early 912. They had been watching the rise of Xu Wen to power very closely and had been envious of his career, which took him from lowly company commander to head of the government.

In 912, Xu Jie (861–937), on a mission to Wuyue, passed through Xuanzhou. He handed an order from Xu Wen to Li Yu, summoning him to court to pay his respects to the new king, Yang Longyan. Li Yu initially agreed to comply, but, when Xu Jie continued by saying that if he did not attend people would accuse him of rebellion, he became angry and refused to obey. He addressed Xu Jie: ‘You say that I rebel, but killing the Director of the Chancellery (i.e. Xu Wen) is not an act of sedition!’ After Xu Jie had transmitted this answer to Xu Wen, Xu Wen ordered Li Yu to be replaced, as a punishment for his disobedience. He thereupon dispatched his general, Chai Zaiyong (?–935), with a detachment of troops to make sure that Wang Tan, the newly appointed prefect of Xuanzhou, was installed there. In this campaign, Xu Zhigao served as Chai Zaiyong’s deputy. As Li Yu was not permitting anyone to enter Xuanzhou, Chai Zaiyong att...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Dynasties
• Abbreviations
• 1. The state of Wu
• 2. The founding of the Southern Tang and the reign of Li Bian
• 3. The reign of Li Jing
• 4. The reign of Li Yu and the decline of the Southern Tang
• 5. Epilogue
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index