Taizu (太祖) | 24 Histories

Overview

The translated histories identify Taizu as a ruler. This record brings together 18 passages from 6 chapters across 2 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Taizu	太祖	Taizu
Title	Founder
Title	Founder	太祖
Title	Liang founder	梁祖	Liang Zu
Title	Liang Taizu	梁太祖	Liang Taizu
Title	Taizu	太祖	Taizu
Temple	Taizu	太祖	Taizu

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Male

Sex: male
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:016:s0177, jiuwudaishi:017:s0224, jiuwudaishi:139:s0007
Sex: male
Strongly inferred · jiuwudaishi:020:s0162, jiuwudaishi:144:s0017, xinwudaishi:010:s0137

Roles

Ruler

Life and dates

Death

Manner: assassination · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 乾化二年 · Western Year: AD 912
Explicit · xinwudaishi:010:s0137
Date Context: Source Date: Text: 乾化二年六月五日 · Western Year: AD 912 · Manner: died / 崩
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:139:s0060, jiuwudaishi:139:s0058, jiuwudaishi:139:s0051
Manner: assassinated · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 太祖遇弑 · Western Year: AD 912
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:020:s0167

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: 開平二年十一月 · Regnal Year: 2 · Month: 11 · Western Year: AD 908
Explicit event contextual date · jiuwudaishi:017:s0224, jiuwudaishi:017:s0228
Source Date: Text: 天祐三年春 · Regnal Year: 3 · Western Year: AD 906
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:016:s0187
Source Date: Text: 乾化二年 · Western Year: AD 912
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:139:s0051, jiuwudaishi:139:s0058, jiuwudaishi:139:s0060, xinwudaishi:010:s0137
Source Date: Text: 乾化元年 · Western Year: AD 911
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:139:s0007
Source Date: Text: 二年春 · Western Year: AD 908
Explicit event contextual date · jiuwudaishi:144:s0024
Source Date: Text: 太祖初鎮宣武 · Western Year: AD 883
Explicit event contextual date · jiuwudaishi:016:s0178
Source Date: Text: 太祖受禪 · Western Year: AD 907
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:016:s0191, jiuwudaishi:020:s0162
Source Date: Text: 太祖遇弑 · Western Year: AD 912
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:020:s0167
Source Date: Text: 梁開平初 · Western Year: AD 907
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:144:s0017
Source Date: Text: 開平二年 · Western Year: AD 908
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:139:s0057
Source Date: Text: 開平四年 · Western Year: AD 910
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:139:s0039

Family

Immediate source-linked family. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select a person to open their record.

Child of Illustrious Ancestor Emperor Wen Mu (烈祖文穆皇帝)
Kinship Term: Illustrious Ancestor / 烈祖 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: son · Object Role: father · Line: paternal

Career and standing

Label: demoted Kou Yanqing to middle-rank general of the Left Guard / 責授左衛中郎將 · Action: demoted · Authority Person Id: Taizu (太祖) · Other Person Id: Kou Yanqing (寇彥卿) · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 太祖受禪後歲餘餘後 · Western Interval: Start: AD 908 · End: AD 912
Explicit event contextual date · jiuwudaishi:020:s0162, jiuwudaishi:020:s0163, jiuwudaishi:020:s0164
Action: received-mandate · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 太祖受禪 · Western Year: AD 907
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:020:s0162
Label: received the abdication / 受禪 · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 太祖受禪 · Western Year: AD 907
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:016:s0191
Label: accepted abdication / 受禪 · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 梁開平初 · Western Year: AD 907
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:144:s0017

Places and affiliations

Label: Later Liang / 後梁 · Relation: ruled
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:020:s0162
Label: Later Liang / 後梁 · Relation: served
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:016:s0191
Label: Later Liang / 梁 · Relation: ruled
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:144:s0017
Label: Tang / 唐 · Relation: served
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:016:s0178, jiuwudaishi:016:s0187
Polity: Later Liang / 梁 · Relation: ruled
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:139:s0007, xinwudaishi:010:s0137
Place: Wei / 魏 · Relation: entered · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 天祐三年春 · Regnal Year: 3 · Western Year: AD 906
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:016:s0187
Place: Xuanwu / 宣武 · Relation: held · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 太祖初鎮宣武 · Western Year: AD 883
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:016:s0178

Works and attributed material

Kind: edict · Role: author · Other Person Ids: Ma Yin (馬殷), Gao Jichang (高季昌)
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:017:s0224

Events and relationships

Kind: political · Role: victim · Action: assassinated · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 乾化二年 · Western Year: AD 912
Explicit · xinwudaishi:010:s0137
Kind: political · Role: victim · Action: assassinated · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 太祖遇弑 · Western Year: AD 912
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:020:s0167
Kind: ritual · Role: sovereign · Action: avoided main hall in plain robes after solar eclipse omen · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 乾化元年正月丙戌朔 · Western Year: AD 911
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:139:s0008
Kind: omen-response · Role: sovereign · Action: detested remonstrators' citation of Han Gaozu eclipse omen · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 乾化元年 · Western Year: AD 911
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:139:s0008
Kind: ritual · Role: ruler · Action: established-ancestral-temple · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 梁開平初 · Western Year: AD 907
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:144:s0017
Kind: military · Role: commander · Action: executed-guard-army · Place: Wei / 魏 · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 天祐三年春 · Regnal Year: 3 · Western Year: AD 906
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:016:s0187
Kind: military · Role: issuer-of-orders · Action: ordered-campaign · Counterpart Person Ids: Ma Yin (馬殷), Gao Jichang (高季昌), Ni Kefu (倪可福)
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:017:s0224
Kind: ritual · Role: ruler · Action: prepared-suburban-sacrifice · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 二年春 · Western Year: AD 908
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:144:s0024
Kind: political · Role: sovereign · Action: received-mandate · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 太祖受禪 · Western Year: AD 907
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:020:s0162
Relation: patron-of · Person Id: Kou Yanqing (寇彥卿)
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:020:s0162, jiuwudaishi:020:s0164, jiuwudaishi:020:s0167

Assessments and attributes

Assessment: heroically suspicious lord · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:016:s0196

Source notes

Historicity: historical
Explicit · jiuwudaishi:020:s0162, jiuwudaishi:139:s0007, xinwudaishi:010:s0137

References in the histories

Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 16Volume 16 Book of Later Liang 16: Biographies 6: Ge Congzhou, Xie Yanzhang, He Zhen, Zhang Guiba, Zhang Guihou, Zhang Guibian · 5 passages

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始與兄歸霸、歸厚同歸於太祖，得署為牙校。 At first he and his elder brothers Guiba and Guihou together gave allegiance to the Founder, and he was appointed a guard officer.

時太祖初鎮宣武，屢命歸弁結好於近境，頗得行人之儀。 When the Founder first held Xuanwu, he repeatedly ordered Guibian to knit good relations with the nearby borders, and he quite obtained the travelers' courtesy.

天祐三年春，太祖入魏誅牙軍，魏之郡邑多叛，歸弁與諸將等分布攻討，封境悉平。 Tianyou 3 spring he helped pacify Wei after the guard massacre.

而歸弁於高唐攻賊太猛，飛矢中於臆，太祖嘉之，命賜鞍勒馬一匹、金帶一條。 Wounded storming Gaotang he won a horse and gold belt from the Founder.

太祖受禪，改滑州長劍指揮使。 At the abdication he commanded Huazhou long-sword troops.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 17Volume 17 Book of Later Liang 17: Biographies 7: Cheng Rui, Du Hong, Tian Yun, Zhao Kuangning, Zhang Ji, Lei Man · 1 passage

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太祖詔湖南節度使馬殷、荊南節度使高季昌練精兵五千，遣將倪可福統之，下澧州，與潭兵合。 The Founder ordered Ma Yin and Gao Jichang to send five thousand elite troops under Ni Kefu to take Li and join the Tan army.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 20Volume 20 Book of Later Liang 20: Biographies 10: Xie Tong, Si Maye, Liu Han, Wang Jinrao, Gao Shao, Ma Sixun, Zhang Cunjin, Kou Yanqing · 3 passages

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太祖受禪，為華州節度使，加檢校太保。 When the Founder received the mandate, he became military commissioner of Huazhou with Acting Grand Guardian.

一日，過天津橋，有老人誤衝其趨道者，排之，落橋而斃，為御史府所彈，太祖不得已，責授左衛中郎將。 Once on Tianjin Bridge an old man blundered into his path; Yanqing shoved him off the bridge to his death; the censors impeached him, and the Founder reluctantly demoted him to middle-rank general of the Left Guard.

及太祖遇弑，彥卿追感舊恩，圖御容以奠之。 After the Founder was murdered, Yanqing painted his portrait and made offerings in memory of old kindness.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 139Volume 139: Treatises 1 Astronomy · 6 passages

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梁太祖乾化元年，正月丙戌朔，日有蝕之。 In the first year of Qianhua under Liang Taizu, on the new moon of the first month (bingxu), the sun was eclipsed.

時言事諸臣，多引漢高祖末年日蝕於歲首，太祖甚惡之，於是素服避正殿，百官各守本司。 The remonstrating ministers of the day mostly invoked the solar eclipse at the year's opening in the closing years of Han Gaozu; Taizu took this as a very bad omen, put on undyed robes, withdrew from the main audience hall, and ordered every official to remain at his post.

梁太祖開平四年，十二月十四日夜，先是，司天奏：「是日月蝕，不宜用兵。」 In the fourth year of Kaiping under Liang Taizu, on the night of the fourteenth of the twelfth month, the astronomical office had reported in advance: "A lunar eclipse is due; troops should not be deployed."

◎彗孛梁太祖乾化二年，四月甲戌夜，彗見於靈臺之西。 Comets and Broom Stars. In the second year of Qianhua under Liang Taizu, on the night of jiaxu in the fourth month, a comet appeared west of the Observatory Terrace.

◎五星淩犯梁太祖開平二年，正月乙亥，歲星犯月。 Encroachments of the Five Planets. In the second year of Kaiping under Liang Taizu, on yihai of the first month Jupiter crossed the moon's path.

其年六月五日，帝崩。 That year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, the emperor died.