Wang Yanhan (王延翰)

Overview

Wang Yanhan was a king of Min and Eldest Son of Wang Shenzhi.

IdentityHistorical · Male

Roles

Found in

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal name	Yanhan		Yanhan
Courtesy name	Ziyi	子逸	Zǐyì

Life and dates

Death

AD 926 同光四年十二月
Seized and killed
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 40

Attested activity

AD 926 同光四年二月庚子
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 71, passage 57
AD 926 同光四年三月辛亥
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 71, passage 57
AD 926 天成元年
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 71, passage 65
AD 925 同光三年
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passages 26-27
AD 926 同光四年
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passages 29-30, 32
AD 926 同光四年十二月
Dated from the passage context · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 40

Show 4 more source-backed claims

AD 926 天成元年五月
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 36, passage 54
AD 926 庚子，福建節度副使王延翰奏
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 87
AD 926 癸丑
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 112
AD 926 辛亥
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 132

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Child of Wang Shenzhi (王審知)
father 父 · paternal line
eldest son 長子 · paternal line
Sources vary in certainty · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passages 27-28, 34
Spouse of Lady Cui (崔氏)
wife 妻
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 33
Sibling of Wang Yanjun (王延鈞)
younger brother 弟 · Full siblings · paternal line
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 38

Kinship Role concubines · Quantity numerous
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 34

Key source chapters

Career and standing

military commissioner of the Weiwu Army 威武軍節度使
AD 926 同光四年三月辛亥 · Appointed
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 71, passage 57
military governor 節度使
AD 926 同光四年 · Appointed
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 29
Fujian military commissioner 福建節度使
AD 926 辛亥 · Appointed
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 132
acting Grand Guardian and Grand Councillor 檢校太尉、同平章事
Appointed
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 36, passage 54
acting head of military government 權知軍府事
Appointed
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 87
acting military governor 權知軍府事
AD 926 同光四年二月庚子 · Held
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 71, passage 57

Show 13 more source-backed claims

Fujian deputy commissioner 福建副使
AD 926 同光四年二月庚子 · Held
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 71, passage 57
acting controller of military prefectural affairs 權知軍府事
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 112
Acting Grand Preceptor 檢校太傅
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 132
acting Jiangzhou prefect 守江州刺史
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 132
deputy commissioner 副使
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 112
Fujian circuit overall commander 福建管內都指揮使
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 132
Fujian deputy military commissioner 福建節度副使
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 87
Fuzhou military commissioner and acting Grand Preceptor 福州節度使、檢校太傅
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 36, passage 54
Weiwu military deputy commissioner 威武軍節度副使
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 132
Noted
Could not restrain wife
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 33
Proclaimed
AD 926 同光四年十月 · King
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 32
AD 925 同光三年
Circuit leader
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passages 26-27
AD 926 同光四年十月
King
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 32

Places and affiliations

Min 閩
Relation Ruled
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 71, passage 50
Polity Fujian 福建 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 87
Polity Later Tang 唐 · Relation Acknowledged
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 32
Polity Later Tang 後唐 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 132
Polity Min 閩 · Relation Ruled
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passages 32-33
Polity Min 閩 · Relation Served
Strongly inferred · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 112

Show 1 more source-backed claim

At Min 閩 · Relation Ruled
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 32

Works and attributed material

report of acting as military governor 奏稱權知軍府事
AD 926 同光四年二月庚子 · Memorial · Author
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 71, passage 57
Memorial · Author
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 87
Speech · Speaker · Direct quotation
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 30

Events and relationships

Cited Wuzhu to claim kingship
AD 926 同光四年 · Political · Speaker · With Wuzhu (無諸)
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passages 30, 32
Ended mourning early
Ritual · Mourner · With Wang Shenzhi (王審知)
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 34
Relation Deputy of · Person Wang Shenzhi (王審知)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passage 87

Assessments and attributes

tall and handsome, skin fair as jade
Physical description
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 68, passage 33

Source notes

Historicity historical
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 34, passages 87, 112

References in the histories

Search passages

History

18 passages

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 34Volume 34 Book of Later Tang 10: Zhuangzong Annals 8 · 3 passages

Open chapter

庚子，福建節度副使王延翰奏，節度使王審知委權知軍府事。 On gengzi Wang Yanhan reported Wang Shenzhi had left him in charge of Fujian.

癸丑，湖南馬殷奏，福建節度使王審知疾甚，副使王延翰已權知軍府事，請降旄節。 On guichou Ma Yin of Hunan reported Wang Shenzhi of Fujian gravely ill, Yanhan already running the prefecture, and asked for the commission.

辛亥，以威武軍節度副使、福建管內都指揮使、檢校太傅、守江州刺史王延翰為福建節度使，依前檢校太傅。 On xinhai Wang Yanhan—Weiwu deputy, Fujian commander, acting Grand Preceptor, and acting Jiang prefect—became Fujian commissioner while keeping acting Grand Preceptor.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 36Volume 36 Book of Later Tang 12: Mingzong Annals 2 · 1 passage

Open chapter

甲戌，福州節度使、檢校太傅王延翰加檢校太尉、同平章事。 On jiaxu Wang Yanhan of Fu, acting grand preceptor, became acting grand guardian and Grand Councillor.

New History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 68Volume 68: Hereditary House of Min · 10 passages

Open chapter

子延翰立。 His son Yanhan took the throne.

延翰字子逸，審知長子也。 Yanhan, whose style name was Ziyi, was Shenzhi's eldest son.

同光四年，唐拜延翰節度使。 In the fourth year of Tongguang the Tang court appointed Yanhan military governor of the circuit.

是歲，莊宗遇弒，中國多故，延翰乃取司馬遷《史記》閩越王無諸傳示其將吏曰：「閩，自古王國也，吾今不王，何待之有？」 That year Emperor Zhuangzong was murdered and the empire fell into disorder. Yanhan produced from Sima Qian's Records the biography of Wuzhu, king of ancient Minyue, and showed it to his commanders and officials, saying, "Min has been a kingdom since antiquity. If I do not claim kingship now, how long should I wait?"

十月，延翰建國稱王，而猶稟唐正朔。 In the tenth month Yanhan founded his kingdom and proclaimed himself king, while still observing the Tang reign era in official documents.

延翰為人長大，美皙如玉，其妻崔氏陋而淫，延翰不能制。 Yanhan was tall and handsome, with skin fair as jade. His wife Lady Cui was homely and unchaste, and he could not restrain her.

審知養子建州刺史延稟，本姓周氏，自審知時與延翰不葉。 Shenzhi's adopted son Yanbin, governor of Jianzhou, had been born a Zhou. He and Yanhan had been at odds since Shenzhi's day.

延翰立，以其弟延鈞為泉州刺史，延鈞怒。 After Yanhan came to power he appointed his younger brother Yanjun prefect of Quanzhou, a slight that enraged Yanjun.

十二月，延稟、延鈞皆以兵入，執延翰殺之。 In the twelfth month Yanbin and Yanjun marched in with their armies, seized Yanhan, and put him to death.

初，延稟與鏻之謀殺延翰也，延稟之兵先至，已執延翰而殺之，膽日鏻兵始至，延稟自以養子，推鏻而立之。 When Yanbin and Lin had plotted to kill Yanhan, Yanbin's forces arrived first and had already seized and executed him. Lin's troops came only the following day. As an adopted son, Yanbin deferred and set Lin on the throne.

New History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 71Volume 71: Timeline for the Hereditary Houses of the Ten Kingdoms · 4 passages

Open chapter

王氏世次，曰潮、曰審知、曰延翰、曰璘、曰昶、曰曦、曰延政，凡七主。 The Wang clan succession runs: Chao, Shenzhi, Yanhan, Lin, Chang, Xi, and Yanzheng—seven rulers in all.

又至四年二月庚子，福建副使王延翰奏稱權知軍府事，三月辛亥，遂除延翰威武軍節度使。 Further, in the second month of the fourth year (gengzi day), the Fujian deputy commissioner Wang Yanhan reported that he was acting military governor; in the third month (xinhai day), Yanhan was appointed military commissioner of the Weiwu Army.

以此推之，審知卒當在同光三年十二月，蓋閩去京師遠，明年二月延翰之奏始至京師，理當然也。 From this we infer that Shenzhi died in the twelfth month of the third year of Tongguang; Min lies far from the capital, so Yanhan's report reached the capital only in the second month of the following year—which is only to be expected.

蓋璘以天成元年殺延翰自立，是歲丙戌，至清泰二年乙未，實十年而卒，與《閩王列傳》合，而《舊史》、《九國志》皆繆也。 Lin killed Yanhan and established himself in the first year of Tiancheng (the bingxu year) and died in the second year of Qingtai (the yimao year)—ten years in all, which agrees with the Min Wang Liezhuan; the Old History and the Jiuguo Zhi are mistaken.