Cheng Rui (成汭) | 24 Histories

Overview

Cheng Rui was a warlord and Military Governor.

IdentityHistorical · Male

Roles

Found in

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Changed name	Guo Yu	郭禹	Guō Yǔ
Alternate name	Guo	郭氏	Guō

Life and dates

Death

AD 901 to AD 904 天復中
Drowned himself in the river · At Yangzi 江
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 24, passage 17
AD 902 天復二年
Drowned himself after his fleet was burned · At Ezhou river 鄂州江
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passages 22, 58
Drowned · At Jun Hill 君山
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 41, passage 40

Attested activity

AD 894 to AD 906 乾寧中至天祐三年
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passages 13, 23
AD 901 to AD 904 天復中
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 24, passages 11-12
AD 880 to AD 907 廣明大亂之後
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 60, passage 70
AD 902 to AD 903 成汭出兵救洪
Dated from the passage context · New History of the Five Dynasties 41, passage 40
AD 903 to AD 903 成汭死
Dated from the passage context · New History of the Five Dynasties 41, passage 67

Key source chapters

Career and standing

Caizhou army officer 蔡州軍校
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passage 6
governor of Jingzhou 鎮荊州
Held · At Jingzhou 荊州
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 24, passage 11
Jingnan military commissioner 荊南節度使
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passage 28
Prince of Shanggu Commandery 上穀郡王
Enfeoffed
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 60, passage 70
Prince of Shanggu 上穀郡王
Enfeoffed
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passage 21
Prince of Shanggu 上穀郡王
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 60, passage 70

Places and affiliations

Polity Jingnan 荊南 · Relation Ruled
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 60, passages 68, 70
At west of the Huai 淮西
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passage 1

Works and attributed material

Prayer · Speaker · Mode direct-speech Speaker Cheng Rui (成汭)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passage 7

Events and relationships

Held great circuit
Political · Warlord · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passage 229
Led naval relief and was defeated
AD 901 to AD 904 天復中 · Military · Commander · At Ezhou 鄂
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 24, passages 12, 16-17

Assessments and attributes

Assessment domineering, violent, boastful, and scorned by discerning men · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passage 12
Assessment held a great circuit in adverse times; lacked power to save the age yet showed loyalty; merit incomplete but intention praiseworthy · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passage 229
stubborn and decisive
Character
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 24, passage 16

Source notes

From Cheng 成 · To Guo 郭 · Reason evading capture
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passages 2, 27
From Guo 郭 · To Cheng 成 · Reason restored original surname
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 17, passages 5, 28, 35, 38

References in the histories

Search passages

History

31 passages

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 · 24 passages

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成汭，淮西人。 Cheng Rui came from west of the Huai.

少年任俠，乘醉殺人，為仇家所捕，因落發為僧，冒姓郭氏。 As a young man he killed someone in a drunken brawl, was hunted by the victim's kin, shaved his head as a monk, and took the surname Guo.

〈（《新唐書》云：入蔡賊中，為賊帥假子，更姓名為郭禹。）〉 (The 《New Book of Tang》 says he joined the Cai rebels as an adopted son and renamed himself Guo Yu.)〉

是時荊州經巨盜之後，居民才一十七家，汭撫輯凋殘，勵精為理，通商訓農，勤於惠養，比及末年，僅及萬戶。 Jingzhou after the great devastations held only seventeen households; Rui rebuilt trade and agriculture until, by his last years, the city neared ten thousand families.

汭性豪暴，事皆意斷，又好自矜伐，騁辯淩人，深為識者所鄙。 Rui was domineering, arrogant in debate, and widely scorned by men of judgment.

汭奏請割隸，唐宰相徐彥若執而不行，汭由是銜之。 Rui asked the court to annex them; Chancellor Xu Yanruo refused, and Rui nursed a grudge.

及彥若出鎮南海，路過江陵，汭雖加延接，而猶怏怏。 When Yanruo passed Jiangling en route to his Nanhai post, Rui received him coldly despite the courtesies.

汭赧然而屈。 Rui flushed and fell silent.

累官至檢校太尉，封上穀郡王。 He rose to honorary Grand Commandant and was made Prince of Shanggu.

楊行密以兵圍鄂州，汭出師以援鄂，淮寇乘之，以火焚其艦，汭投江而死。 When Yang Xingmi besieged Ezhou, Rui sailed to relieve it; the Huainan fleet burned his ships and he drowned himself in the river.

天祐三年夏，太祖以汭歿於王事，上表於唐帝，請為汭立廟於荊門，優詔可之。 Tianyou 3, summer: the Founder had the Tang court approve a temple for Rui at Jingmen, honoring his death in service.

成汭鎮荊南，辟為推官。 When Cheng Rui held Jingnan he made Zhun his investigating officer.

汭嘗仇殺人，懼為吏所捕，改姓郭氏。 After a feud killing he had taken the surname Guo to evade the law.

及為荊南節度使，命準為表，乞歸本姓。 As Jingnan commissioner he had Zhun draft a memorial to restore the name Cheng.

又云：「成為本姓，郭乃冒稱。 It added, "Cheng is my true name; Guo was a borrowed lie.

後因汭生辰，淮南楊行密遣使致禮幣之外，仍貺《初學記》一部。 On Rui's birthday Yang Xingmi sent gifts from Huainan—and added a copy of the 《Elementary Studies》.

準忿然以為不可，謂汭曰：「夫《初學記》，蓋訓童之書爾，今敵國交聘，以此書為貺，得非相輕之甚耶！ Zhun was furious and told Rui, "The 《Elementary Studies》 is a schoolbook for children. An enemy state sends it as a state gift—is that not open contempt?

汭不納，準自歎曰：「若然，見輕敵國，足彰幕府之無人也。 Rui refused. Zhun sighed, "Accept this and we show the enemy our staff has no one with spine.

汭怒其去，潛使人於途中殺之。）〉 Rui, enraged, had him murdered on the road home.)〉

太祖命荊南成汭率荊、襄舟師以赴之。 The Founder ordered Cheng Rui of Jingnan to sail the Jing-Xiang fleet to his aid.

未至夏口，汭敗溺死，淮人遂陷鄂州，洪為其所擒，被害於廣陵市，時唐天復二年也。 Rui drowned in defeat before Xiakou; the Huainan army took Ezhou, seized Hong, and executed him at Guangling market in Tianfu 2.

及成汭敗於鄂州，匡凝表其弟匡明為荊南留後。 After Cheng Rui fell at Ezhou, Kuangning had his brother Kuangming made acting Jingnan commissioner.

成汭之敗，其兄匡凝表為荊南留後。 After Cheng Rui's defeat his brother made him acting Jingnan commissioner.

史臣曰：成汭、鍾、杜、田、朱之流，皆因否運，雄據大藩，雖無濟代之勞，且有勤王之節，功雖不就，誌亦可嘉，若較其誠明，則田頵、延壽斯為優矣。 The historian writes: Cheng Rui, Zhong, Du, Tian, Zhu and the like seized great domains in dark times; they lacked power to save the realm yet showed loyalty to the throne; merit failed but intent deserves praise—of them Tian Yun and Yanshou showed the truest hearts.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 24Volume 24 Book of Later Liang 24: Biographies 14: Li Ting, Lu Ceng, Sun Zhi, Zhang Jun, Zhang Yan, Du Xunhe, Luo Yin, Chou Yin, Duan Shen · 4 passages

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成汭之鎮荊州，辟為掌書記，逾時乃就。 When Cheng Rui took Jingzhou he made Ting his chief secretary; Ting delayed some time before accepting.

天復中，淮寇大舉圍夏口，逼巴陵，太祖患之，飛命成汭率水軍十萬援於鄂。 During Tianfu Huai forces besieged Xiakou and threatened Baling; the Founder was alarmed and ordered Cheng Yan post-haste to Ezhou with a hundred thousand sailors.

汭性剛決，不聽。 Cheng was stubborn and would not heed him.

淮人果乘風縱火，舟盡焚，兵盡溺，汭亦自沈於江，朗人、潭人遂入荊渚，一如所料。 The Huai did ride the wind to burn the fleet; every ship was lost and every man drowned; Cheng drowned himself in the river; Lang and Tan troops then overran Jing—exactly as Ting had foretold.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 60Volume 60 Book of Later Tang 36: Biographies 12: Li Xiji, Wang Jian, Li Jingyi, Lu Rubi, Li Dexiu, Su Xun · 1 passage

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〈（《唐新纂》云：鄭準，士族，未第時，佐荊門上穀蓮幕，飛書走檄，不讓古人，秉直去邪，無慚往哲，考準為成汭書記，汭封上穀郡王。）〉 (New Tang Compendium: Zheng Zhun came from the gentry; before he passed the examinations he served on the lotus-staff of Shanggu at Jingmen, drafting dispatches that matched the ancients and upholding rectitude without shame before the sages of old. He served as secretary to Cheng Rui, who was enfeoffed as Prince of Shanggu.)〉

New History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 41Volume 41 Miscellaneous Biographies 21: Lu Guangchou, Tan Quanbo, Lei Man, Zhong Chuan, Zhao Kuangning · 2 passages

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楊行密攻杜洪於鄂州，荊南成汭出兵救洪，汭戰敗，溺死於君山。 Yang Xingmi besieged Du Hong at Ezhou. Cheng Ru of Jingnan sailed to his aid, was beaten, and drowned off Jun Hill.

是時，成汭死，雷彥恭襲取荊南，匡凝遣其弟匡明逐彥恭，太祖表匡凝荊襄節度使，以匡明為荊南留後。 Cheng Ru was dead and Lei Yan’gong had taken Jingnan. Kuangning sent his brother Kuangming to expel him. Zhu Wen made Kuangning commissioner of Jing-Xiang and Kuangming acting governor of Jingnan.