Sui and Tang · Military Governor

Wang Zhixing 王智興

Attested AD 818

Passages: 16
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

The translated histories identify Wang Zhixing as a general and official. This record brings together 16 passages from 1 chapter across 1 history, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Wang Zhixing	王智興	Wang Zhixing
Courtesy	Kuangjian	匡諫	Kuangjian
Title	Prince of Yanmen	雁門郡王	Yanmen Junwang

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Male

Sex: male
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0059

Roles

General
Official

Life and dates

Death

Statement: died at seventy-nine
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0093

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: 元和十三年 · Regnal Year: 13 · Western Year: AD 818
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0059

Family

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

Parent of Wang Yanshi (王晏實)
Kinship Term: personally reared / 自養之 · Parentage: foster
Parent of Wang Yanping (王晏平)
Kinship Term: son / 子 · Parentage: biological
Parent of Wang Yanzai / Zai (王晏宰 / 王宰)
Kinship Term: son / 子 · Parentage: biological

Kinship Role: sons · Count: 9
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0094

Career and standing

Label: attendant censor / 侍御史 · Action: held
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0071
Label: censor-in-chief / 御史中丞 · Action: held
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0074
Label: Grand Tutor and Prince of Yanmen / 太傅、雁門郡王 · Action: held
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0091
Label: Wuning deputy and Hebei field commander / 武寧軍副使、河北行營諸軍都知兵馬使 · Action: held
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0076
Label: Wuning military governor / 武寧節度使 · Action: held
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0083
Label: Xuzhou special general / 徐特將 · Action: held
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0063
Label: Xuzhou yabing / 徐州牙兵 · Action: held
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0060
Label: Yizhou prefect / 沂州刺史 · Action: held
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0075
Label: Grand Preceptor / 太尉 · Action: posthumously-granted
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0093

Places and affiliations

Place: Wen, Huaizhou / 懷州溫 · Relation: native-of
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0059

Works and attributed material

Kind: battlefield speech about women in camp · Role: speaker · Quoted: true
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0068

Events and relationships

Kind: military · Action: defeated Wang Chaoyan, Yao Hai, Li Shidao forces, and Li Tongjie rebels
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0067
Kind: mutiny · Action: forced the gate at Wuning and killed rivals
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0080
Kind: looting · Action: looted at Yongqiao and expelled Hou Hongdu
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0082
Kind: emergency-report · Action: ran to the capital to report Xuzhou crisis
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0063

Assessments and attributes

Assessment: extorted wealth and curried favor · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0084

Source notes

Historicity: historical
Explicit · xintangshu:172:s0059

References in the histories

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

New Book of Tang, Chapter 172Volume 172 Biographies 97: Yu, Wang, Two Du's, Fan · 16 passages

王智興，字匡諫，懷州溫人。 Wang Zhixing, style name Kuangjian, was from Wen in Huaizhou.

智興能駛步，奉表，不數日至京師告急，德宗出朔方軍五千擊納，解去，自是為徐特將。 Zhixing could run at great speed; he carried a memorial and reached the capital within days to report the crisis. Dezong dispatched five thousand Shuofang troops against Na and lifted the siege; from then on Zhixing was a special general of Xuzhou.

節度使李願遣智興率步騎拒賊。 Military governor Li Yuan sent Zhixing with infantry and cavalry to hold the rebels off.

其將王朝晏方攻沛，智興逆擊，敗之，朝晏脫身保沂州。 His general Wang Chaoyan was besieging Pei when Zhixing counterattacked and routed him; Chaoyan escaped and held Yizhou.

進破姚海兵五萬於豐北，獲美妾三人，智興曰：「軍中有女子，安得不敗？」 He advanced and defeated Yao Hai's fifty thousand men north of Feng, capturing three beautiful concubines. Zhixing said, "With women in the camp, how can an army fail to lose?"

朝晏自沂以輕兵襲沛，夜戰狄丘，復破之。 Chaoyan led light troops from Yi to raid Pei; Zhixing fought him by night at Diqiu and routed him again.

元和十三年，伐師道，智興以步騎八千次胡陵，與忠武軍會，以騎畀其子晏平、晏宰為先鋒，自率軍繼之。 In Yuanhe year 13, campaigning against Shidao, Zhixing encamped eight thousand infantry and cavalry at Huling, joined the Zhongwu army, put his sons Yanping and Yanzai at the head of the cavalry vanguard, and followed with the main force.

屬朝廷用崔群為武寧節度使，群畏智興難制，密請追還京師，未報。 The court had just appointed Cui Qun military governor of Wuning; fearing Zhixing would be hard to control, Qun secretly asked that he be recalled to the capital, but no answer had yet come.

智興還，群遣寮屬迎之，令士季甲而入。 When Zhixing returned, Qun sent staff to welcome him and ordered the troops to enter in full armor.

智興心不悅，因勒兵斬關入，殺異己者十餘輩，然後謁群謝曰：「此軍情也！」 Zhixing took offense, rallied his troops, forced the gate, and killed more than ten rivals before calling on Qun to apologize: "That was the army's doing!"

群乃治裝去，智興以兵衛送還朝； Qun packed to leave; Zhixing escorted him back to the capital under armed guard;

智興由是揫索財賂，交權幸以賈虛名，用度不足，始稅泗口以佐軍須。 Zhixing then extorted wealth, curried favor with powerful courtiers to buy prestige, and when funds ran short began levying taxes at Sikou to pay for his army.

李攻宋州，智興悉銳師出宋西鄙，破之漳口。 When Li attacked Songzhou, Zhixing marched all his best troops to Song's western frontier and defeated him at Zhangkou.

李同捷以滄德叛，智興請悉師三萬賫五月糧討賊，詔拜檢校司徒、同中書門下平章事、滄德行營招撫使。 When Li Tongjie rebelled in Cang-De, Zhixing asked to lead his full force of thirty thousand with five months' rations; the court appointed him acting Minister of Education, Grand Councilor, and pacification commissioner for the Cang-De campaign.

冊拜太傅，封雁門郡王，進兼侍中。 He was enfeoffed as Grand Tutor, created Prince of Yanmen, and promoted to concurrent Palace Attendant.

晏實幼機警，智興自養之，故名與諸父齒。 Yan Shi was quick-witted from boyhood; Zhixing personally reared him, so his name was placed among those of his uncles.