Qin and Han · General and Official

Zhang Zong 張宗

First attested AD 9; died AD 59

Passages: 18
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Zhang Zong was a general and Official.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Courtesy name	Zhujun	諸君	Zhūjūn

Life and dates

Death

AD 59 永平二年
Died in office
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 26

Attested activity

AD 32 八年
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 22
AD 40 十六年
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 24
AD 30 建武六年
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 21
AD 59 永平二年
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 26
AD 9 to AD 23 王莽時
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 2

Family

vulnerable family 親弱
Kinship Role dependent kin · Quantity unspecified
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 10

Career and standing

Grand Palace Grandee 太中大夫
AD 30 建武六年 · Appointed
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 21
lieutenant general 偏將軍
AD 23 to AD 25 更始 · Appointed
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 3
Metropolitan Commandant 京輔都尉
Appointed
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 20
township aide of Yangquan 陽泉鄉佐
AD 9 to AD 23 王莽時 · Held
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 2
messenger (yezhе) 謁者
Held
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 23
Commandant of Henan 河南都尉
Promoted
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 20

Show 2 more source-backed claims

lieutenant general 偏將軍
AD 23 to AD 25 鄧禹西征 · Recommended
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 6
Chancellor of Langya 琅邪相
Transferred
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 25

Places and affiliations

Eastern Han 東漢
Relation Served
Strongly inferred · Book of Later Han 43, passage 20
At Luyang, Nanyang 南陽魯陽
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 1
AD 23 to AD 25 更始政亂
At Anyi 安邑 · Relation Resided as guest
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 4

Works and attributed material

Speech · Speaker · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passages 9, 11-13

Events and relationships

Defeated camps
Military · Commander · With Feng Yi (馮異) · At Guanzhong 關中
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 20
Defended
Military · Rear guard · At Xunyi 栒邑 · Counterparts Red Eyebrows
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passages 14-15, 18
Night assault
Military · Raider · At Chang'an 長安
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 19
Submitted to
Military · Submittee · With Deng Yu (鄧禹) · At Hedong 河東
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 5
Suppressed bandits
AD 32 八年 · Military · Commander · At Sangzhong, Yingchuan 潁川桑中
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 22
Suppressed bandits
AD 40 十六年 · Military · Commander · At Langya and Beihai 琅邪北海
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 24

Show 1 more source-backed claim

Suppressed bandits
Military · Commander · At Qing and Ji 青冀
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 23

Assessments and attributes

Assessment severe and harsh administration; dared to execute · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 25
spear through shoulder blade; struck by arrows; nearly died
Wound
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 43, passage 19

References in the histories

Search passages

History

18 passages

Book of Later Han, Chapter 43Volume 38: Biographies of Zhang, Fa, Teng, Feng, Du, Yang · 18 passages

張宗字諸君，南陽魯陽人也。 Zhang Zong, styled Zhujun, came from Luyang in Nanyang commandery.

會莽敗，義兵起，宗乃率陽泉民三四百人起兵略地，西至長安，更始以宗為偏將軍。 After Wang Mang fell and loyal forces rose, Zong rallied three or four hundred men from Yangquan, took the field to seize ground, and marched west to Chang'an, where the Gengshi Emperor named him lieutenant general.

宗見更始政亂，因將家屬客安邑。 Seeing the Gengshi regime unravel, he moved his household and settled as a guest in Anyi.

及大司徒鄧禹西征，定河東，宗詣禹自歸。 When Grand Minister of Education Deng Yu marched west and secured Hedong, Zong presented himself to Yu and placed himself under his command.

禹聞宗素多權謀，乃表為偏將軍。 Yu knew Zong for his resourcefulness and recommended him for the rank of lieutenant general.

宗獨不肯探，曰：「死生有命，張宗豈辭難就逸乎！」 Only Zong refused. "Fortune fixes life and death," he said; "should Zhang Zong shrink from danger and chase comfort?"

禹歎息謂曰：「將軍有親弱在營，奈何不顧？」 Yu sighed and said, "You have vulnerable family in the camp—how can you ignore them?"

宗曰：「愚聞一卒畢力，百人不當； Zong replied, "They say one rank-and-file soldier fighting with everything he has can hold off a hundred;

宗今擁兵數千，以承大威，何遽其必敗乎！」 I lead thousands under your command—why assume we are doomed?"

諸營既引兵，宗方勒厲軍士，堅壘壁，以死當之。 After the other camps marched off, Zong rallied his men, shored up the fortifications, and held the line as if his life were the stake.

禹到前縣，議曰：「以張將軍之眾，當百萬之師，猶以小雪投沸湯，雖欲戮力，其埶不全也。」 Yu reached the next county and told his staff, "Pitting Zhang's detachment against a horde in the millions is like tossing a flake of snow into a cauldron—however hard they fight, they cannot survive it."

乃遣步騎二千人反還迎宗。 So he dispatched two thousand foot and horse to double back and bring Zong in.

宗引兵始發，而赤眉卒至，宗與戰，卻之，乃得歸營，於是諸將服其勇。 Zong had barely started his march when the Red Eyebrows struck; he engaged them, threw them back, and rejoined the main camp, and the other generals stood in awe of his bravery.

及還到長安，宗夜將銳士入城襲赤眉，中矛貫胛，又轉攻諸營保，為流矢所激，皆幾至於死。 Back in Chang'an he led an elite night raid into the city against the Red Eyebrows; a spear ran through his shoulder blade. He went on to assault enemy stockades and was raked by stray arrows—more than once he nearly died.

及鄧禹徵還，光武以宗為京輔都尉，將突騎與征西大將軍馮異共擊關中諸營保，破之，遷河南都尉。 After Deng Yu was withdrawn, Emperor Guangwu named Zong commandant of the capital districts; with Feng Yi, the western expedition commander, he rode against the fortified camps of Guanzhong, broke them, and was promoted to commandant of Henan.

八年，潁川桑中盜賊群起，宗將兵擊定之。 In year 8 bandit gangs sprang up around Sangzhong in Yingchuan; Zong took troops and suppressed them.

後青、冀盜賊屯聚山澤，宗以謁者督諸郡兵討平之。 Later, when outlaws from Qingzhou and Ji province holed up in the hills and marshes, Zong, holding the office of messenger, coordinated county levies and stamped them out.

十六年，琅邪、北海盜賊復起，宗督二郡兵討之，乃設方略，明購賞，皆悉破散，於是沛、楚、東海、臨淮群賊懼其威武，相捕斬者數千人，青、徐震慄。 In year 16 unrest flared again in Langya and Beihai; Zong commanded both commanderies' forces, laid out a clear strategy and generous bounties, and scattered every band. Across Pei, Chu, Donghai, and Linhuai the gangs quailed at his reputation—rival factions turned on one another and claimed thousands of heads—and Qingzhou and Xuzhou shook with fear.