Tian Lingzi (田令孜)

Overview

Tian Lingzi was an eunuch.

PeriodSui and Tang

IdentityHistorical · Male

Roles

Found in

Life and dates

Death

AD 889 龍紀元年
Starved to death in prison
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 60, 63

Attested activity

AD 884 上源之難
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 55, passage 102
AD 880 to AD 885 中官田令孜募新軍五十四都
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 54, passage 71
AD 878 乾符五年
Dated from the passage context · New Book of Tang 184, passages 190, 202
AD 874 乾符初
Dated from the passage context · New Book of Tang 52, passages 250-251
AD 881 to AD 884 僖宗在蜀時
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 15, passage 9
AD 885 光启元年
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 4, passage 51

Show 7 more source-backed claims

AD 887 光啟三年
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 22, 24-25
AD 886 光啟二年
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 55, passage 153
AD 885 光啟初
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 16-17
AD 880 唐季
Directly stated · History of Yuan 204, passage 70
AD 881 to AD 885 復光死
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 14
AD 888 昭宗即位
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 50, 55
AD 889 龍紀元年
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 59-60, 63

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Parent of Wang Jian (王建)
adoptive son 假子 · Adoptive parentage · AD 881 to AD 885 復光死
father and son 父子 · Claimed parentage
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 14, 22, 25, 51, 54
Parent of Han Jian (韓建)
adoptive son 假子 · Adoptive parentage · AD 881 to AD 885 復光死
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 14
Parent of Zhang Zao (張造)
adoptive son 假子 · Adoptive parentage · AD 881 to AD 885 復光死
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 14
Parent of Li Shitai (李師泰)
adoptive son 假子 · Adoptive parentage · AD 881 to AD 885 復光死
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 14
Parent of Jin Hui (晉暉)
adoptive son 假子 · Adoptive parentage · AD 881 to AD 885 復光死
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 14

Key source chapters

Career and standing

eunuch 中官
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 52, passage 251
eunuch 宦者
Directly stated · New History of the Five Dynasties 4, passage 51
Army Inspector 觀軍容
AD 884 上源之難 · Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 55, passage 102
military supervisor 監軍事
AD 889 龍紀元年 · Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 59, 63
Army Rong Commissioner 軍容使
Held
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 15, passage 9
Shence Army Commandant 神策中尉
Held
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 52, passage 251

Show 3 more source-backed claims

military supervisor of Xichuan 西川監軍
AD 885 光啟初 · Requested · At Xichuan 西川
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 16
Abused power
Powerful favorite
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 52, passage 251
imprisoned 下獄
AD 889 龍紀元年 · Imprisoned
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 60, 63

Places and affiliations

Polity Tang 唐 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 15, passage 9; Old History of the Five Dynasties 55, passage 102; Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 14; New Book of Tang 54, passage 71
Polity Tang 唐 · Relation Served
Strongly inferred · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 51, 59
Organization Shence Army 神策 · Relation Officer of
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 52, passage 251

Works and attributed material

AD 887 光啟三年
Speech · Speaker · With Chen Jingxuan (陳敬瑄) · Direct quotation
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 22-23
return Two Ponds to the Salt and Iron Commissioner
Proposal · Author
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 54, passage 71
Speech · Speaker · With Wang Jian (王建)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 50, 53

Events and relationships

Accused of corresponding with Fengxiang then imprisoned and starved
Legal · Accused · At Fengxiang 鳳翔
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 60, 63
Brought Shu commander tally and seal into Wang Jian camp
Political · Surrendering officer · With Wang Jian (王建)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 55
Called to Wang Jian from the Chengdu wall
Diplomatic · Speaker · With Wang Jian (王建) · At Chengdu 成都
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 50
Lodged and comforted Chengsi and asked him to convey facts to the Martial Emperor and seek temporary reconciliation
AD 884 上源之難 · Diplomatic · Host · With Li Chengsi (李承嗣), Martial Emperor (武皇)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 55, passage 102
Pressed tax levies ever more urgently
Fiscal · Enforcer
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 52, passage 251
Raised fifty four new army commands
Military · Eunuch
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 54, passage 71

Show 5 more source-backed claims

Secretly enticed Han Jian
Political · Recruiter · With Han Jian (韓建)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 15, passage 9
Sent letter
AD 887 光啟三年 · Diplomatic · Summoner · With Wang Jian (王建)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 24
The false edict claimed he coerced the imperial carriage into exile
AD 886 光啟二年 · Political · Accused
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 55, passage 153
Urged return of Two Ponds to salt commissioner
Political · Proposer · With Wang Chongrong (王重榮) · Outcome Wang Chongrong refused and rebelled
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 54, passage 71
Commissioner of Army Supervision 觀軍容使
Relation Predecessor of · Person Fu Gong (楊復恭)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 16

Assessments and attributes

Item Shu commander tally and seal 蜀帥符印 · Relation Surrendered · With Wang Jian (王建)
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passage 55

Source notes

Historicity historical
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 14, 50; History of Yuan 204, passage 70
accused of exchanging letters with Fengxiang / secretly attaching himself to Fengxiang
At Fengxiang 鳳翔
Directly stated · Old History of the Five Dynasties 136, passages 60, 63

References in the histories

Search passages

History

23 passages

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 15Volume 15 Book of Later Liang 15: Biographies 5: Han Jian, Li Hanzhi, Feng Xingxi, Sun Dezhao, Zhao Keyu, Zhang Shensi · 1 passage

Open chapter

唐軍容使田令孜密遣人誘建，啖以厚利，建時懼為宴宏所並，乃率所部歸行在，令孜補為神策都校、金吾將軍，出為潼關防禦使兼華州刺史。 Tian Lingzi lured Jian away from Yan Hong with rich promises. Fearing that Yan Hong would absorb him, Jian led his troops back to the traveling court, where Lingzi appointed him Shence column commander and Golden Guard general, then sent him out as Tong Pass defense commissioner and concurrently prefect of Huazhou.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 55Volume 55 Book of Later Tang 31: Biographies 7: Kang Junli, Xue Zhiqin, Shi Jiantang, Li Chengsi, Shi Yan, Gai Yu, Yi Guang, Li Chengxun, Shi Jingrong · 2 passages

Open chapter

觀軍容田令孜館而慰諭，令達情於武皇，姑務葉和，仍授以左散騎常侍。 Army Inspector Tian Lingzi received him, offered comfort, and asked him to convey the facts to the Martial Emperor while seeking a temporary reconciliation. Chengsi was also appointed Left Regular Attendant.

太祖燔偽詔，械其使，馳檄喻諸鎮曰：「今月二十日，得襄王偽詔及朱玫文字，云：『田令孜脅遷鑾駕，播越梁、洋，行至半塗，六軍變擾，遂至蒼黃而晏駕，不知弑逆者何人。 The Founder burned the false edict, put the envoy in fetters, and sent a rapid proclamation to the commands: "On the twentieth of this month I received the false edict of the Prince of Xiang and documents from Zhu Mei stating: 'Tian Lingzi coerced the removal of the imperial carriage into exile in Liang and Yang. Halfway on the road the Six Armies mutinied, and the emperor died in sudden confusion. No one knows who murdered him.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 136Volume 136: Biographies of Usurpers 3: Wang Jian, Meng Zhixiang · 15 passages

Open chapter

分其兵為五都，仍以舊校主之，即晉暉、李師泰、張造與二建也，因號曰隨駕五都，田令孜皆錄為假子。 Their force was split into five commands under their former officers—Jin Hui, Li Shitai, Zhang Zao, and the two Jians—and was styled the Five Commands of the Imperial Escort. Tian Lingzi took them all as his adoptive sons.

光啟初，從僖宗再幸興元，令孜懼逼，求為西川監軍，楊復恭代為觀軍容使。 Early in the Guangqi reign, Wang Jian again accompanied Emperor Xizong to Xingyuan. Tian Lingzi, fearing pressure at court, asked to become military supervisor in Xichuan, and Yang Fugong replaced him as Commissioner of Army Supervision.

建等素為令孜所厚，復恭懼不附己，乃出五將為郡守，以建為壁州刺史。 Wang Jian and the others had long been favored by Tian Lingzi. Yang Fugong feared they would not side with him, so he posted the five generals as prefects, making Wang Jian prefect of Bi.

西川節度使陳敬瑄憂其膠固，謀於監軍田令孜，曰：「王八，吾子也，彼無他腸，作賊山南，實進退無歸故也。 Chen Jingxuan, military governor of Xichuan, worried about Wang Jian's entrenched position and consulted the military supervisor Tian Lingzi. "Wang the Eighth is my adopted son," he said. "He has no other designs. He turned bandit in Shannan only because he had nowhere else to go.

建大喜，遣使謂彥朗曰：「監軍阿父遣信見招，仆欲諸成都省阿父，因依陳太師得一大郡，是所願也。」 Wang Jian was delighted and sent an envoy to Gu Yanlang: "My adoptive father the military supervisor has summoned me. I mean to go to Chengdu to see him and, with Grand Mentor Chen's backing, win a major prefecture—that is what I want."

建軍吏報曰：「閬州司徒比寄東川，而軍容太師使者繼召，今復拒絕，何也？ Wang Jian's officer answered: "Your Minister of Langzhou lately left his family in Dongchuan's care, and the Army Supervisor Grand Mentor's envoys summoned him repeatedly. Why refuse him now?

司徒不惜改轅而東，來北省太師，反為拒絕，慮顧梓州復相嫌間，謂我何心故也。 He did not hesitate to turn east and come north to see the Grand Mentor, only to be turned away. He fears Gu Yanlang at Zizhou will take offense again and wonder what we mean by this.