Yuan · Rebel Marshal and Ming Precursor

Guo Zixing 郭子興

Guō Zǐxīng

Attested AD 1352 - AD 1383

Passages: 50
Chapters: 2
Histories: 1

Overview

Guo Zixing was a rebel Marshal and Ming Precursor.

Life and dates

Death

At buried at Chuzhou 歸葬滁州 · Illness
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 60

Attested activity

AD 1383 十六年
Dated from the passage context · History of Ming 122, passage 71
AD 1370 洪武三年
Dated from the passage context · History of Ming 122, passage 70
AD 1352 至正十二年春
Dated from the passage context · History of Ming 122, passage 10
AD 1353 to AD 1355 郭子興中流言
Dated from the passage context · History of Ming 127, passage 17

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Child of Mother of Guo Zixing
bore 生
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 6
Parent of Consort Hui (惠妃)
daughter 女
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 69
Parent of Eldest Son of Guo Zixing
eldest son 長子
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passages 61-62
Child of Master Guo (郭公)
father 父
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passages 4, 6
Parent of Guo Laoshe (郭老舍)
fourth son 第四子
Uncertain · History of Ming 122, passage 73
Parent of Guo Tianxu (郭天敘)
next son 次
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 62
Parent of Empress Xiaoci Gao (孝慈高皇后)
raised/fostered 所撫 · Foster parentage
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 16
Spouse of Younger Lady Zhang (小張夫人)
second wife 次妻 · Secondary marriage
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 15
Parent of Guo Tianjue (郭天爵)
son 天爵
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 62

Kinship Role male-line heirs · Count 0 · Negated true · line ended after Tianjue
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 68
Kinship Role sons · Count 3
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 61

Key source chapters

Career and standing

knight-errant / chivalrous strongman 任俠
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 8
marshal 元帥
Held
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passages 17, 32
Prince of Chuyang 滁陽王
Posthumously enfeoffed
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 70

Places and affiliations

Polity Id yuan · Relation Rebelled against
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passages 9-10
At Caozhou 曹州 · Relation Ancestral
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 3
At Chuzhou 滁州 · Relation Buried at
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 60
At Dingyuan 定遠 · Relation Associated with
Strongly inferred · History of Ming 122, passage 4
At Haozhou 濠州 · Relation Seized
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 10

Events and relationships

Fell ill and died; buried Chuzhou
Personal · Subject
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 60
Held Haozhou under Yuan siege five months
Military · Defender
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 31
Seized and imprisoned by Zhao Junyong in Deya's house
Political · Victim · With Zhao Junyong (趙均用)
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 27
Seized Haozhou
AD 1352 至正十二年春 · Military · Commander
Dated from the passage context · History of Ming 122, passage 10
Relation Patron of · Person Taizu (太祖)
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 13
Relation Rival of · Person Zhao Junyong (趙均用)
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passages 25, 27

Show 2 more source-backed claims

Relation Rival of · Person Sun Deya (孫德崖)
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passages 19, 27
Relation Ally of · Person Peng Da (彭大)
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 25

Assessments and attributes

Assessment fierce and warlike but obstinate and unforgiving · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passage 39
Assessment Ming enterprise began with his Chuyang brigade; enfeoffment deserved · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · History of Ming 122, passages 155-156

References in the histories

Search passages

History

50 passages

History of Ming, Chapter 122Volume 122 Biographies 10: · 49 passages

郭子興韓林兒 Guo Zixing; Han Lin'er

郭子興 Guo Zixing

郭子興，其先曹州人。 Guo Zixing's forebears were from Caozhou.

生三子，子興其仲出。 She bore three sons; Zixing was the middle son.

會元政亂，子興散家資，椎牛釃酒，與壯士結納。 With the Yuan regime falling into chaos, Zixing spent the family fortune—slaughtering oxen and broaching wine—to win over bold followers.

門者疑其諜，執以告子興。 A sentry took him for a spy, arrested him, and reported to Zixing.

子興奇太祖狀貌，解縛與語，收帳下。 Zixing was struck by the newcomer's striking appearance; he had him unbound, spoke with him, and took him into his service.

子興喜，其次妻小張夫人亦指目太祖曰：「此異人也。」 Zixing was delighted, and his second wife, the younger Lady Zhang, gestured toward the future emperor and said, "This is no ordinary man."

始，子興同起事者孫德崖等四人，與子興而五，各稱元帥不相下。 At first Zixing and four fellow insurgents—Sun Deya among them—together with Zixing made five commanders, each styling himself marshal and refusing to yield to the others.

四人者粗而戇，日剽掠，子興意輕之。 The four were crude and rash, plundering every day; Zixing looked down on them.

四人不悅，合謀傾子興。 The four resented this and plotted together to bring Zixing down.

子興以是多家居不視事。 Zixing therefore spent much of his time at home and neglected command duties.

太祖乘閑說曰：「彼日益合，我益離，久之必為所制。」 When he had a moment alone with Zixing, the future emperor warned, "They are drawing closer together while we drift apart; in time they will control us."

子興不能從也。 Zixing would not heed him.

大有智數，子興與相厚而薄均用。 Peng Da was shrewd and capable; Zixing favored him while slighting Zhao Junyong.

於是德崖等譖諸均用曰：「子興知有彭將軍耳，不知有將軍也。」 Deya and his allies then slandered Zixing to Junyong: "Zixing knows only General Peng—he acts as if you did not exist."

均用怒，乘間執子興，幽諸德崖家。 Enraged, Junyong seized Zixing at an opportune moment and imprisoned him in Deya's house.

太祖自他部歸，大驚，急帥子興二子訴於大。 The future emperor returned from another command, was alarmed, and hurried to Peng Da with Zixing's two sons to appeal for help.

與太祖偕詣德崖家，破械出子興，挾之歸。 He went with the future emperor to Deya's house, broke Zixing's chains, and escorted him back.

圍解，大、均用皆自稱王，而子興及德崖等為元帥如故。 After the siege lifted, Peng Da and Zhao Junyong each proclaimed himself king, while Zixing, Deya, and the others retained the title of marshal.

均用專狠益甚，挾子興攻盱眙、泗州，將害之。 Zhao Junyong grew ever more vicious; he forced Zixing to attack Xuyi and Sizhou, plotting to destroy him in the process.

太祖已取滁，乃遣人說均用曰：「大王窮迫時，郭公開門延納，德至厚也。 By then the future emperor had taken Chuzhou; he sent an envoy to Zhao Junyong: "When you were desperate, Lord Guo welcomed you in—his kindness was profound.

均用聞太祖兵甚盛，心憚之，太祖又使人賂其左右，子興用是得免，乃將其所部萬余就太祖于滁。 Junyong, hearing how strong the future emperor's forces had become, was afraid; the future emperor also bribed his confidants, and Zixing was spared. He then brought his division of more than ten thousand men to join the future emperor at Chuzhou.

子興為人梟悍善鬥，而性悻直少容。 Zixing was fierce and warlike, yet obstinate and unforgiving by nature.

太祖事子興愈謹。 The future emperor served Zixing with ever greater deference.

子興至滁，欲據以自王。 After Zixing arrived at Chuzhou, he wanted to seize it and proclaim himself king.

子興乃已。 Zixing abandoned the plan.

及取和州，子興命太祖統諸將守其地。 After He Prefecture was captured, Zixing put the future emperor in command of the garrison there.

有讒於子興者。 Someone slandered the future emperor to Zixing.

子興夜至和，太祖來謁，子興怒甚，不與語。 Zixing arrived at He by night; when the future emperor came to pay his respects, Zixing was furious and refused to speak with him.

子興默然。 Zixing said nothing.

德崖聞子興至，謀引去。 Hearing that Zixing had arrived, Deya planned to withdraw.

前營已發，德崖方留視後軍，而其軍與子興軍鬥，多死者。 The vanguard had already marched out; Deya had stayed behind with the rearguard, but his troops clashed with Zixing's, and many were killed on both sides.

子興執德崖，太祖亦為德崖軍所執。 Zixing captured Deya, but Deya's men seized the future emperor in turn.

子興聞之，大驚，立遣徐達往代太祖，縱德崖還。 Alarmed, Zixing sent Xu Da to take the future emperor's place as hostage and released Deya.

子興憾德崖甚，將甘心焉，以太祖故強釋之，邑邑不樂。 Zixing hated Deya and was ready to kill him, but released him only for the future emperor's sake—yet he remained bitter and dissatisfied.

子興三子。 Zixing had three sons.

子興死，韓林兒檄天敘為都元帥，張天祐及太祖副之。 After Zixing's death, Han Lin'er appointed Tianxu commander-in-chief, with Zhang Tianyou and the future emperor as his deputies.

天祐，子興婦弟也。 Tianyou was the younger brother of Zixing's wife.

天爵失職怨望，久之謀不利於太祖，誅死，子興後遂絕。 Deposed and resentful, Tianjue eventually plotted against the future emperor and was executed; with him, Zixing's male line ended.

洪武三年追封子興為滁陽王，詔有司建廟，用中牢祀，復其鄰宥氏，世世守王墓。 In Hongwu year 3 (1370), Zixing was posthumously enfeoffed as Prince of Chuyang; the court built a temple and offered the middle sacrifice; the You clan of his neighborhood was restored to guard the tomb in perpetuity.

十六年，太祖手書子興事蹟，命太常丞張來儀文其碑。 In year 16 (1383), the Hongwu Emperor wrote Zixing's life story in his own hand and commissioned Zhang Laiyi, Vice Director of Imperial Sacrifices, to compose the stele inscription.

滁人郭老舍者，宣德中以滁陽王親，朝京師。 A Chu townsman named Guo Laoshe, claiming to be kin to the Prince of Chuyang, presented himself at court during the Xuande reign (1426–1435).

弘治中，有郭琥自言四世祖老舍，滁陽王第四子，予冠帶奉祀。 During Hongzhi (1488–1505), a Guo Hu claimed his fourth-generation ancestor Laoshe was the prince's fourth son and was granted official rank to conduct sacrifices.

禮官言：「滁陽王祀典，太祖所定，曰無後，廟碑昭然，老舍非滁陽王子。」 The Board of Rites ruled: "The Hongwu Emperor established these rites and declared the prince had no heirs; the temple stele is explicit—Laoshe was not his son."

時徐壽輝等起蘄、黃，布王三、孟海馬等起湘、漢，芝麻李起豐、沛，而郭子興亦據濠應之。 Meanwhile Xu Shouhui rose in Qi and Huang, Bu Wangsan and Meng Haima in Xiang and Han, Sesame Li in Feng and Pei, and Guo Zixing seized Haozhou in sympathy.

初，太祖駐和陽，郭子興卒，林兒牒子興子天敘為都元帥，張天祐為右副元帥，太祖為左副元帥。 Early on, while the future emperor was stationed at Heyang, Guo Zixing died; Lin'er issued an edict appointing Zixing's son Tianxu commander-in-chief, Zhang Tianyou right deputy marshal, and the future emperor left deputy marshal.

子興據有濠州，地偏勢弱。 Zixing held Haozhou—a remote post with little strength.

子興之封王祀廟，食報久長，良有以也。 That Zixing was enfeoffed as a prince, given a temple, and honored for generations was well deserved.

History of Ming, Chapter 127Volume 127 Biographies 15: Li Shanzhang, Wang Guangyang · 1 passage

郭子興中流言，疑太祖，稍奪其兵柄。 Guo Zixing, hearing malicious talk, came to doubt the Founding Emperor and little by little withdrew his command.