Taizu of Liang (太祖)

Overview

Taizu of Liang was a Founder and emperor of Later Liang.

Life and dates

Death

AD 912 the next year; Taizu was murdered
Murdered · Responsible Person Id Yougui (友珪)
Dated from the passage context · New History of the Five Dynasties 23, passages 19, 33

Attested activity

AD 883 to AD 912 from Zhonghe 3 activity through his murder
Dated from the passage context · New History of the Five Dynasties 23, passages 19, 96

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Parent of Yougui (友珪)
father 父
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 23, passage 33
Parent of Liang princess married into Wei (梁女)
Liang princess 梁女
Strongly inferred · New History of the Five Dynasties 23, passage 145
Parent of Youzhen (友貞)
son 均王
Strongly inferred · New History of the Five Dynasties 23, passage 33
Parent of Zhu Youning (朱友寧)
son 子
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 23, passages 41, 45

Career and standing

Acceded as emperor of Later Liang
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 23, passage 74

Places and affiliations

Polity Later Liang · Relation Ruler of
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 23, passage 4

Works and attributed material

Han Qing and Li Si’an disregarded Jingren as an outsider and disobeyed him.
Speech · Speaker · Speaker Taizu of Liang (太祖) · With Wang Jingren (王景仁), Han Qin (韓勍), Li Si'an (李思安) · Mode direct-quotation Speaker Taizu of Liang (太祖)
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 23, passage 127
With Wang Maozhang as his general, pacifying the realm would not be difficult.
Speech · Speaker · Speaker Taizu of Liang (太祖) · Mode direct-quotation Speaker Taizu of Liang (太祖)
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 23, passages 46, 48

Events and relationships

Attacked Zhao Kuangning and directed campaigns in Zhao and Yan
Military · Commander · With Zhao Kuangning (趙匡凝)
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 23, passages 6, 12, 15-16

References in the histories

Search passages

History

44 passages

New History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 23Volume 23 Later Liang Biographies 3: Yang Shihou, Wang Jingren, He Gui, Wang Tan, Ma Sixun, Wang Qianyu, Xie Yanzhang · 44 passages

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師厚在晉，無所知名，後以罪奔於梁，太祖以為宣武軍押衙、曹州刺史。 Shihou made no name in Jin. Later he fled to Liang for a crime, and Taizu of Liang made him yabing of the Xuanwu army and prefect of Cao.

太祖攻趙匡凝於襄陽，遣師厚為先鋒。 Taizu of Liang struck Zhao Kuangning at Xiangyang and put Shihou in the van.

是時，梁兵攻趙久無功，太祖病臥洛陽，少間，乃自將北擊趙。 Liang had besieged Zhao for months without result. Taizu lay sick at Luoyang; when he rallied slightly he marched north in person against Zhao.

師厚從太祖至洹水，夜行迷失道，明旦，次魏縣，聞敵將至，梁兵潰亂不可止，久之無敵，乃定。 Shihou followed Taizu to Huanshui. A night march went wrong; at dawn they halted at Wei county. Word came that enemy commanders were near, and the Liang host dissolved in panic—only after a long wait, with no foe in sight, did they steady.

已而太祖疾作，乃還。 Soon Taizu’s sickness returned and he turned back.

明年少間，而晉軍攻燕，燕王劉守光求援於梁，太祖為之擊趙以牽晉，屯於龍花，遣師厚攻棗強，三月不能下。 The next year, barely recovered, he learned that Jin was attacking Yan and that Prince Liu Shouguang had begged Liang for help. Taizu hit Zhao to pin Jin, camped at Longhua, and sent Shihou against Zaoqiang—which held out three months.

太祖怒，自往督兵戰，乃破，屠之，進圍蓚縣。 Taizu came in fury to direct the assault himself. The city fell and was put to the sword; the army then moved to besiege Zhuo county.

晉史建瑭以輕兵夜擊梁軍，梁軍大擾，太祖與師厚皆棄輜重南走。 Shi Jiantang of Jin hit the Liang camp at night with light troops. The army broke in uproar; Taizu and Shihou cast off their baggage and fled south.

太祖還東都，師厚留屯魏州。 Taizu went back to the eastern capital; Shihou stayed at Weizhou.

明年，太祖遇弒，友珪自立，師厚乘間殺魏牙將潘晏、臧延範等，逐出節度使羅周翰，友珪因以師厚為天雄軍節度使。 The next year Taizu was murdered and Yougui seized the throne. Shihou took the chance to kill the Wei garrison officers Pan Yan and Zang Yanfan, drive out the military governor Luo Zhouhan, and Yougui made him military governor of Tianxiong.

自太祖與晉戰河北，師厚常為招討使，悉領梁之勁兵。 Ever since Taizu’s wars with Jin in Hebei, Shihou had served as pacification commissioner and commanded Liang’s finest troops.