Sun Sheng (Southern Tang)
Sun Sheng (孫晟) (died December 21, 956
Background
It is not known when Sun Sheng was born (under the name of Sun Feng), but it is known that he was from Gaomi. He was also known as Sun Ji at one point, but later came to be named Sun Sheng. In his young days, he was said to be studious and capable of writing, particularly at poetry.[3]
Also, during his youth, Sun passed the imperial examinations in the Jinshi class. (It is unclear whether this was in the late Tang dynasty or early in its successor state Later Liang.) At that time, however, the intelligentsia at then-capital Luoyang favored men who paid attention to details and appearance, and Sun did not pay attention to such things, and therefore was not regarded highly. He thus left the capital scene and journeyed to Mount Lu to become a Taoist monk at Jianji Temple (簡寂宮). However, his custom of hanging up a portrait of the Tang poet Jia Dao and offering sacrifices to the portrait caused fellow monks to believe that he was a sorcerer, and they chased him out of the temple. He then changed back into the robes of a scholar, and went north to Later Liang's northern rival Jin, meeting Jin's prince Li Cunxu at Zhen Prefecture (鎮州, in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), although it was not stated whether Li gave him any positions in the government at that time.[3]
During Later Tang
In 923, Li Cunxu claimed imperial title of a new Later Tang, and shortly after destroyed Later Liang and took over its territory. One of the chancellors he commissioned for his new imperial government was Doulu Ge.[4] Doulu had long known of Sun Sheng's capability, and he retained Sun to serve as a secretary to him, and Sun later received the title of Zhuzuo Zuolang (著作佐郎), as an assistant editor at the Palace Library.[3]
As of 927, by which time Li Cunxu had died and been succeeded by his adoptive brother
Sun, meanwhile, abandoned his wife and children, and hid himself in the region. Li Siyuan's chief of staff An Chonghui hated him for encouraging Zhu's rebellion, and therefore put out reward posters for his arrest, but could not have him arrested, and therefore slaughtered his family. Sun fled to Zhengyang (正陽, on the border of modern Fuyang and Lu'an, Anhui), on the border between Later Tang and Wu. Before he could cross the Huai River into Wu territory, however, he was intercepted by suspicious Later Tang border guards. He sat on the bank of the Huai and acted crazy by grabbing his clothes and eating the fleas thereon, so the guards ignored him. He thereafter crossed the river into Wu territory.[3]
During Wu
Upon entering Wu territory, Sun Sheng was taken in by the Wu military governor of Fengguo Circuit (奉國, headquartered in modern Lu'an), Liu Jin (劉金). For reasons not explained in history, Sun pretended to be unable to speak when Liu spoke with him. However, one day, when Sun went to pray at the temple of the
At that time, Xu was trying to gather all kinds of talented people to serve on his staff and was glad to have Sun added to his staff.[3][5] It was said that Sun spoke with a stutter, but once he had a chance to talk with people further, he communicated effectively and persuasively. Xu favored him greatly and had him be in charge of drafting Xu's orders. Xu also consulted him secretly on Xu's plans to eventually take over the Wu throne, and each time they spoke, they spoke for over two hours, but Sun was able to keep secrets and not reveal what Xu was talking with him about.[3] In 932, when Xu established a Lixian Hall at his headquarters with collections of books, where he would often spoke with his advisors, Sun and Chen Jue were frequent visitors to the hall.[6]
During Southern Tang
During Li Bian's reign
In 937, Wu's final emperor
I, Sun Sheng, am only a foolish scholar from east of the
Taihang Mountains. My writing is not as good as yours, Lord. My humor is not as good as yours, Lord. My trickery is not as good as yours, Lord. But the Master made you, Lord, a friend to the Prince of Qi in order to ask you to guide him with kindness and righteousness, not to spend time in entertainment and games with him. Even though I am not capable, your capabilities are enough to bring the state into danger.
When Li Bian fell ill and then shortly after died in 943, Sun was concerned that Feng and his associates would become powerful, and therefore considered claiming that Li Bian left a will naming his wife
During Li Jing's reign
After Li Jing took the throne, at the urging of his younger brother Li Jingda (李景達), who apparently did not like Sun Sheng, Sun was sent away from the imperial administration to serve as the military governor of Yongtai Circuit (永泰, headquartered in modern Anqing, Anhui). It was said that Sun governed the circuit's army with strict discipline.[3] In 944, when the official Xiao Yan (蕭儼) offended Li Jing by comparing his palace to that of the Chen dynasty's last emperor Chen Shubao, Li Jing had Xiao exiled to Yongtai's capital Shu Prefecture (舒州). Sun subsequently sent guards to put Xiao under strict guard. Xiao met him and rebuked him for doing so, while pointing out that Sun himself had nearly disrupted the proper imperial succession. Sun, humbled, withdrew the guards.[10] At one point, two soldiers at Yongtai, apparently resenting Sun for his discipline, entered headquarters and wanted to assassinate Sun. However, Sun happened to be not at the headquarters at that time, so they assassinated the officer Li Jianchong (李建崇) and then escaped. As a result of this incident, Sun was demoted to be the minister of palace supplies (光祿卿, Guanglu Qing). However, Li Jing, who had respected Sun, did not further punish him, and later made him You Puye (右僕射, one of the heads of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng)).[3][11]
In 952, Li Jing named Sun, along with Feng Yanji and Xu Jingyun (徐景運), chancellors with the designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事). When hearing of this, Sun, who had long disrespected Feng, made the comment, "Is it that gold goblets and jade bowls are going to contain dog feces?"[12]
At the time that Sun, Feng, and Xu became chancellors, Southern Tang had just destroyed its southwestern neighbor
During the more than two decades that Sun served under Li Bian and Li Jing, he accumulated great wealth. It was said that each time at dinner, Sun did not use dinner tables; rather, he had his servant girls each hold a vessel of food and surround him (and perhaps dinner guests), calling them "fleshy dining tables." The rich people of the Southern Tang realm much imitated this style.[3]
By 956, Southern Tang was under serious attack by its northern neighbor
After Sun and Wang arrived at Guo's camp — with Guo then sieging the major Southern Tang border city of Shou Prefecture (壽州, in modern Lu'an), Guo had Sun taken to just outside Shou's walls to show him to Shou's defender Liu Renzhan (劉仁瞻) the military governor of Qinghuai Circuit (清淮, i.e., the circuit formerly named Fengguo), to try to persuade Liu to surrender. When Liu saw Sun, he bowed in his armor. Sun, however, stated to him, "You, sir, had received great grace from the state. You shall not open your gates to welcome the bandits [(i.e., the Later Zhou army)]." When Guo heard what happened, he was angry with Sun, but Sun stated to him, "I, your subject, is a chancellor of Tang. How can I teach a military governor to defect?" Guo thus did not punish him.[1]
However, the terms that Li Deming and Zhong, and later Sun and Wang, offered Guo on their emperor's behalf, was not sufficient enticing to Guo, with his generals repeatedly prevailing over Southern Tang forces, causing him to want to take control of all of Southern Tang territory north of the
Subsequently, Southern Tang forces, under the overall command of the general Zhu Yuan (朱元), made many gains on their counterattack, taking back several prefectures that Later Zhou forces had taken. Guo decided to return to his capital Kaifeng to reorganize his attack, while leaving the matters of the front to his generals, one of which was his cousin Li Chongjin (the son of the sister of his adoptive father, Later Zhou's founding emperor Guo Wei). Guo took Sun and Zhong with him back to Kaifeng, and initially treated them with respect. However, news came that Li Jing had tried to entice Li Chongjin into rebelling against Later Zhou by sending him letters that were much accusatory against Guo — letters that Li Chongjin then submitted to Guo. (Sun had previously, in his attempts to try to persuade Guo to accept peace, claimed that Li Jing was very respectful and fearful of Guo.) Seeing the letters, Guo angrily confronted Sun and accused him of lying. Sun did not beg for his life, instead responding with dignity and asking for death. Guo then asked Sun to give him secrets of the Southern Tang state, and Sun refused. When Guo subsequently had his general Cao Han (曹翰) again ask Sun to do so, Sun also refused Cao's overtures. Cao then stated to Sun, "The Emperor issued an edict, granting death to you, Lord Chancellor." Hearing of this, Sun's expression did not change. He asked for his shoes and dressed in formality, bowing to the south (toward Southern Tang), stating, "I, your subject, now will repay the state with my death." He was then killed, as were over 100 of his attendants. Guo then exiled Zhong. However, he then regretted killing the faithful Sun and recalled Zhong.[1] Meanwhile, hearing of Sun's death, Li Jing wept, and gave him the posthumous honors of Taifu (太傅) and Duke of Lu, and he gave much wealth to Sun's family.[3]
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d e Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 293.
- ^ Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms, vol. 27.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 272.
- ^ a b c Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 276.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 277.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 281.
- ^ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 282.
- ^ History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 134.
- ^ a b c Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 283.
- ^ The Spring and Autumn Annals actually indicated that he was made Zuo Puye (左僕射), and while the two Puyes were coequals, the Zuo Puye has slightly greater precedence than You Puye. However, the Zizhi Tongjian 's account (see below) that Sun was You Puye (and that Feng Yanji was Zuo Puye) was more consistent with later events.
- ^ a b Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 290.
- ^ a b Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 291.
- Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms, vol. 27.
- Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 276, 277, 283, 290, 291, 293.