Xiping Daogong (西平悼公)
Family name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... :	Zhang Zhang (surname) Zhang is among the most common Chinese surnames. In the 1990 edition of Guinness Book of Records, it was listed as the world's most common surname, with over 100 million people worldwide with this surname. It was also ranked third in the People's Republic of China by the Chinese Academy of...  (張; zhāng)
Given name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... :	Tianxi (天錫, tiān xí)
Posthumous name Posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life... :	Dao (悼, daò) literary meaning: "fearful"

Zhang Tianxi (張天錫) (346–406), original courtesy name Gongchungu (公純嘏), later Chungu (純嘏), nickname Duhuo (獨活), formally Duke Dao of Xiping (西平悼公), was the last ruler of the Chinese

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

 state Former Liang

Former Liang

The Former Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin dynasty in China. It was founded by the Zhang family of the Han Chinese...

. He was the youngest son of Zhang Jun

Zhang Jun (Former Liang)

Zhang Jun , courtesy name Gongting , formally Duke Zhongcheng of Xiping or Duke Wen of Xiping was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...

 (Duke Zhongcheng), and he seized the throne from his nephew Zhang Xuanjing

Zhang Xuanjing

Zhang Xuanjing , courtesy name Yuan'an , formally Duke Jingdao of Xiping or Duke Chong of Xiping was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...

 (Duke Jingdao) in 363. During his reign, he claimed vassal status with regard to both Jin Dynasty (265-420)

Jìn Dynasty (265-420)

The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...

 and Former Qin

Former Qin

The Former Qin was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Founded by the Fu family of the Di ethnicity, it completed the unification of North China in 376. Its capital had been Xi'an up to the death of the ruler Fu Jiān. Despite its name, the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than...

, but eventually, under Former Qin pressure to completely submit, he tried to resist militarily, but could not and surrendered in 376, ending Former Liang. He became a Former Qin official (with the title Marquess of Guiyi (歸義侯)), but after Former Qin's failed attempt to conquer Jin in 383 at the Battle of Fei River

Battle of Fei River

The Battle of Fei River or “Feishui” was a battle in 383, where Fu Jiān of the Di Former Qin Empire was decisively defeated by the numerically inferior Jin army of Eastern Jin....

, he fled to Jin. Although the Jin imperial government was not happy about some of his actions as the ruler of Former Liang (including his vacillation and his use of an era name), it recognized how his ancestors had long formally held out as a Jin vassal, and Emperor Xiaowu

Emperor Xiaowu of Jin

Emperor Xiaowu of Jin , personal name Sima Yao , courtesy name Changming , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China...

 restored him to the title of Duke of Xiping. He died in 406, 30 years after his state was destroyed.

Early life

Zhang Tianxi was born in 346, the same year that his father Zhang Jun

Zhang Jun (Former Liang)

Zhang Jun , courtesy name Gongting , formally Duke Zhongcheng of Xiping or Duke Wen of Xiping was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...

 died, and it is not known whether he was born before or after his father's death. His mother was Zhang Jun's concubine Lady Liu

Princess Dowager Liu

Princess Dowager Liu was a princess dowager of the Chinese state Former Liang. She was a concubine of Zhang Jun and the mother of his youngest son, Zhang Tianxi ....

 (but see her article on confusion about his mother's identity).

Not much is known about Zhang Tianxi's early life other than that in 354, when his older brother Zhang Zuo

Zhang Zuo

Zhang Zuo , courtesy name Taibo , formally Prince Wei of Liang was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...

 formally broke away from Jin

Jìn Dynasty (265-420)

The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...

, Zhang Zuo created him the Marquess of Changning. Sometime either during Zhang Zuo's reign or that of his nephew Zhang Xuanjing

Zhang Xuanjing

Zhang Xuanjing , courtesy name Yuan'an , formally Duke Jingdao of Xiping or Duke Chong of Xiping was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...

, who became ruler after the violent and arbitrary Zhang Zuo was overthrown in 355, Zhang Tianxi visited the Jin capital Jiankang

Jiankang

Jiankang was the capital city of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Dynasties. Its walls are extant ruins in the modern municipal region of Nanjing.-History:...

, and it was this time that his non-standard, three-character courtesy name Gongchungu was apparently joked about, so he dropped the initial character "Gong" and made it Chungu.

As Zhang Xuanjing's regent

The young Zhang Xuanjing went through a progression of regent

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

s. In 361, the capable regent Song Hun

Song Hun

Song Hun was a regent of the Chinese state Former Liang.During the reign of the violent and capricious Zhang Zuo, Song Hun served as a general, even though he constantly feared Zhang Zuo, because his older brother Song Xiu had previously had a conflict with Zhang Zuo...

 died and was replaced by his brother Song Cheng (宋澄), who was then overthrown in a coup later that year by the general Zhang Yong (張邕). Zhang Yong and Zhang Tianxi then served as co-regents.

After becoming regent, Zhang Yong became arrogant, sexually immoral, and dictatorial, and he often executed officials, causing the nobles and the officials to be fearful. Zhang Tianxi's assistants Liu Su (劉肅), comparing Zhang Yong to Zhang Zuo, persuaded him that he needed to act against Zhang Yong, and later in 361, Zhang Tianxi had Liu Su and another assistant, Zhao Baiju (趙白駒) attempt to assassinate Zhang Yong, but failed. Zhang Yong then gathered his troops and attacked Zhang Tianxi, but Zhang Tianxi persuaded Zhang Yong's troops that he was avenging the Song clan and that Zhang Yong's next move was going to be to slaughtered the royal Zhang clan. Zhang's forces, hearing this, abandoned him, and Zhang Yong committed suicide. His clan was slaughtered, and Zhang Tianxi became sole regent. Zhang Tianxi ended the practice of using Emperor Min of Jin

Emperor Min of Jin

Emperor Min of Jin, Simplified Chinese character 晋愍帝, Traditional Chinese character 晉愍帝, Pinyin. Jìn Mǐndì, Wade-Giles Chin Min-ti , personal name Sima Ye , courtesy name Yanqi , was an emperor of the Jin Dynasty and the last of the Western Jin Dynasty.Emperor Min surrendered in 316 to Liu Yao, a...

's era name Jianxing and instead started using the current era name of Jin Dynasty (at the time, Emperor Ai

Emperor Ai of Jin

Emperor Ai of Jin , personal name Sima Pi , courtesy name Qianling , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty . During his brief reign, the actual powers were largely in the hands of his granduncle Sima Yu the Prince of Kuaiji, and the paramount general Huan Wen...

's Shengping), to show even greater affinity with Jin.

In 363, Princess Dowager Ma, Zhang Xuanjing's grandmother and the mother of Zhang Tianxi's older brother Zhang Chonghua

Zhang Chonghua

Zhang Chonghua , courtesy name Tailin , formally Duke Jinglie of Xiping or Duke Huan of Xiping was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...

 (Duke Jinglie) died, and Zhang Xuanjing honored his mother Lady Guo

Princess Dowager Guo

Princess Dowager Guo was a princess dowager of the Chinese state Former Liang. She was Zhang Chonghua 's concubine and likely the mother of Zhang Xuanjing ....

 as princess dowager. She became concerned that Zhang Tianxi was acting dictatorally, and she conspired with the high level official Zhang Qin (張欽) to kill Zhang Tianxi, but the news leaked, and Zhang Qin and other conspirators were put to death. Zhang Xuanjing became fearful and offered to yield the throne to Zhang Tianxi, but Zhang Tianxi refused. A month later, however, he had Liu Su lead soldiers into the palace to assassinate the 13-year-old Zhang Xuanjing, but claimed that Zhang Xuanjing died of an illness. Zhang Tianxi took the throne himself. He honored his mother Lady Liu as princess dowager, and he immediately sought out an official Jin commission as the Duke of Xiping, and released the Jin messenger Yu Gui (俞歸), who had been detained by Zhang Chonghua in 347 after offending him by refusing to grant him the Prince of Liang title that he wanted.

Reign

Zhang Tianxi's reign was regarded as one that was filled by arbitrariness, as he apparently allowed Liu Su, Zhao Baiju, and other trusted followers, none of whom was older than 20-years-old at the time of his ascension, govern as they wished. (He himself was 17 when he became duke.) He even formally adopted Liu and Liang Jing (梁景) as his own sons, even though they were around the same age as he. The experienced generals were largely offended at this development, and they did not dare to openly defy him but did not have sense of loyalty to him.

In 364, Fu Jiān

Fu Jian

Fu Jian may refer to:* Fú Jiàn , founding emperor of Former Qin, posthumous name Emperor Jingming* Fú Jiān , ruler of Former Qin, posthumous name Emperor Xuanzhao-See also:...

, the emperor of Former Qin

Former Qin

The Former Qin was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Founded by the Fu family of the Di ethnicity, it completed the unification of North China in 376. Its capital had been Xi'an up to the death of the ruler Fu Jiān. Despite its name, the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than...

, conferred on Zhang Tianxi the same Jin-conferred titles that he had claimed, and Zhang Tianxi did not refuse, implicitly submitting as a vassal to Former Qin. Late in 366, however, he sent messengers to the borders with Former Qin, declaring an end to the states' relations.

Later that year, Li Yan (李儼), a warlord who had occupied Longxi Commandery (隴西, roughly modern Dingxi

Dingxi

-Geography and climate:Dingxi City is located in central Gansu province, 98 km east of Lanzhou, giving it the nickname the "eastern gateway". The Wei River, a tributary of the Yellow River flows through the district and provides it with the majority of its water. Dingxi is semi-arid, with little...

, Gansu

Gansu

' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...

) and become a Former Qin vassal but who had also maintained contact with Former Liang, formally declared independence and cut off relations with Former Qin and Former Liang, occupying the commanderies around him. In early 367, Zhang Tianxi personally attacked Li and took a number of cities from him. Li became fearful and apologized to Former Qin, seeking assistance. The Former Qin prime minister Wang Meng led a force to try to relieve Li's capital Fuhan (枹罕, in modern Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture

Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture

Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture is in Western China's Gansu Province, south of the capital, Lanzhou. It is an autonomous prefecture for the Muslim Hui people, a large Chinese ethnic group. It also includes two autonomous counties for other Muslim groups, namely Dongxiang, Salar, and...

, Gansu

Gansu

' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...

), and Wang and Zhang's forces came to a stalemate at Fuhan. Wang proposed a compromise—that Zhang would be allowed to capture Li's people and bring them back to his domain, while Wang would be allowed to carry Li east. Zhang Tianxi accepted, and a major confrontation with Former Qin was averted.

In 371, after having destroyed Former Yan

Former Yan

The Former Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin Dynasty -created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Juan would...

 in 370, Fu Jiān sent messengers Liang Shu (梁殊) and Yan Fu (閻負) to Former Liang, along with the previously captured Former Liang general Yin Ju (陰據) and a letter from Wang Meng, in which Wang tried to intimidate Zhang Tianxi into submission. Impressed with Former Qin's show of force, Zhang Tianxi became fearful and apologized, again submitting himself as a Former Qin vassal. Later that year, however, fearful that Former Qin had based large number of troops at his borders, he built an altar west of the capital Guzang (姑臧, in modern Wuwei, Gansu

Gansu

' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...

) and had his subordinates pledge an oath both to himself and to Jin, and then tried to petition the paramount Jin general Huan Wen

Huan Wen

Huan Wen , courtesy name Yuanzi , formally Duke Xuanwu of Nan Commandery , was a general of the Jin Dynasty...

 to jointly attack Former Qin with him. (Huan's reaction is unknown, but no campaign was actually carried out.)

Under Former Qin threat, however, Zhang Tianxi became more obsessed with drinking and women than before, ignoring the duties of state. He also deposed his first heir apparent

Heir apparent

An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....

, Zhang Dahuai (張大懷) and made the son of his favorite concubine Consort Jiao, Zhang Dayu (張大豫), heir apparent. During one illness, he told two other favorite concubines, Consorts Yuan and Xue, that they should remember how much he favored them. When he fell very ill and appeared to be on the verge of death, they therefore committed suicide. He later recovered and buried them with honor.

In 376, Fu Jiān decided to try to conquer or to intimidate Zhang Tianxi into complete submission. He sent a major force of 130,000 men, commanded by the general Gou Chang (苟萇) to head toward Zhang Tianxi's domain, but ahead of the force sent Yan and Liang again to try to persuade Zhang Tianxi to completely submit and visit the Former Qin capital Chang'an

Chang'an

Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...

 for an official visit. Zhang Tianxi, believing that he would never be released if he went to Chang'an, decided to resist, and he cruelly executed Yan and Liang by ordering his officials to fire arrows at them, declaring, "If you cannot hit them, then you are showing you are not of the same heart as mine." He sent the experienced general Ma Jian (馬建) to resist, but Ma, who had already been unhappy about Zhang Tianxi's rule, surrendered to Former Qin forces. The other armies that Zhang Tianxi sent were all defeated by Former Liang forces, and the last one commanded by Chang Ju (常據) was annihilated. Zhang Tianxi himself tried to lead an army to resist, but uprisings in Guzang started as soon as he tried to leave Guzang. He became fearful and returned to Guzang and then surrendered. Former Liang was at its end.

After the fall of Former Liang

Fu Jiān spared Zhang Tianxi and gave him a mid-level government post, creating him the Marquess of Guiyi. (Before the campaign started, Fu Jiān had also started building a mansion for Zhang in Chang'an, and by the time that Zhang surrendered, the mansion was complete.)

In 383, Zhang was attending to Fu Jiān when Former Qin forces, trying to destroy Jin, was defeated by Jin forces at the Battle of Fei River

Battle of Fei River

The Battle of Fei River or “Feishui” was a battle in 383, where Fu Jiān of the Di Former Qin Empire was decisively defeated by the numerically inferior Jin army of Eastern Jin....

. Zhang took this opportunity to flee to Jin along with the captured Jin generals Zhu Xu (朱序) and Xu Yuanxi (徐元喜). (His son Zhang Dayu, who was unable to flee with him, later tried to reestablish Former Liang, but was defeated and killed by Later Liang

Later Liang

The Later Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It was founded by the Lü family of the Di ethnicity.All rulers of the Later Liang proclaimed themselves "Heavenly Prince" ....

's founder Lü Guang

Lü Guang

Lü Guang , courtesy name Shiming , formally Emperor Yiwu of Liang , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Di state Later Liang...

 in 387.) Emperor Xiaowu of Jin

Emperor Xiaowu of Jin

Emperor Xiaowu of Jin , personal name Sima Yao , courtesy name Changming , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China...

 made him a mid-level official and restored him to the title of Duke of Xiping, remembering his ancestors' loyalty. He became known for his literary skills, but the Jin officials largely disrespected him for losing his state and being captured by Former Qin. At some point, his mental state began to deteriorate (perhaps under Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

 or some other illness that afflicted the mind) and was no longer given important posts. By the time that Sima Yuanxian

Sima Yuanxian

Sima Yuanxian , formally Heir Apparent Zhong of Kuaiji , was briefly a regent of Jin Dynasty , during the reign of his developmentally-disabled cousin Emperor An....

, the cousin of Emperor An

Emperor An of Jin

Emperor An of Jin , personal name Sima Dezong , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. He was described as so developmentally disabled that he was unable to speak, clothe himself, or be able to express whether he was hungry or full...

, was in power (about 390s) he often summoned Zhang to make fun of him, but did consider Zhang's poverty and made him a commandery governor. Later, after Huan Xuan

Huan Xuan

Huan Xuan , courtesy name Jingdao , nickname Lingbao , formally Emperor Wudao of Chu , was a Jin Dynasty warlord who briefly took over the imperial throne from Emperor An of Jin and declared his own state of Chu in 403, but was defeated by an uprising led by the general Liu Yu in 404 and killed...

 overthrew Sima Yuanxian, he wanted to use Zhang's family reputation for military purposes, and he gave Zhang the title of governor of Liang Province (涼州, modern central and western Gansu

Gansu

' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...

, Former Liang's domain, but which Jin did not control at the time). Zhang died in 406.

Personal information

• Father
  • Zhang Jun
    Zhang Jun (Former Liang)
    Zhang Jun , courtesy name Gongting , formally Duke Zhongcheng of Xiping or Duke Wen of Xiping was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...
    
     (Duke Zhongcheng)
• Mother
  • Lady Liu
    Princess Dowager Liu
    Princess Dowager Liu was a princess dowager of the Chinese state Former Liang. She was a concubine of Zhang Jun and the mother of his youngest son, Zhang Tianxi ....
    
     (but see article on her on confusion with regard to his mother's identity)
• Wife
  • Unclear whether he had one; historical accounts did not state that he had one but appeared to imply that he did, but no identity was ever given
• Major Concubines
  • Consort Jiao, mother of Heir Apparent Dayu
  • Consort Yuan (committed suicide when he was ill)
  • Consort Xue (committed suicide when he was ill)
• Children
  • Zhang Dahuai (張大懷), initially the heir apparent
    Heir apparent
    An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
    
     (created 367), later demoted to Duke of Gaochang
  • Zhang Dayu (張大豫), the second heir apparent, claimed title of Governor of Liang in 386, killed by Lü Guang
    Lü Guang
    Lü Guang , courtesy name Shiming , formally Emperor Yiwu of Liang , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Di state Later Liang...
    
     of Later Liang
    Later Liang
    The Later Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It was founded by the Lü family of the Di ethnicity.All rulers of the Later Liang proclaimed themselves "Heavenly Prince" ....
    
    387