Zhang Ping (Sixteen Kingdoms)
Zhang Ping | |
|---|---|
| 張平 | |
.jpg) Zhang Ping's territory as of 350 AD | |
| Grand General (大將軍) | |
| In office 351–357 | |
| Monarch | Fu Jiàn/Fu Sheng/Fu Jiān |
| Inspector of Bingzhou (并州刺史) | |
| In office 352–? | |
| Monarch | Murong Jun |
| Inspector of Bingzhou (并州刺史) | |
| In office 357–358 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Mu of Jin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown Yu County, Hebei |
| Died | 361 |
| Children | Zhang Ci (adopted son) |
Zhang Ping (died 361) was a warlord during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of China. He was initially the Inspector of Bingzhou under the Later Zhao dynasty who later gained autonomy over the province following the decline of the state at the start of the 350s. He wavered his loyalty between Former Qin, Former Yan and the Eastern Jin dynasties until he was able to muster the strength to briefly compete with the Former Qin and Former Yan as a rival state in 357. That year, he went to war with Fu Jiān (Emperor Xuanzhao of Former Qin) but was decisively defeated and forced back into submission. Shortly after his defeat, Zhang surrendered to the Former Yan. In 361, Zhang Ping rebelled against the Former Yan over a territorial dispute but was killed by invading Former Qin forces in the process.
Life
[edit]Background
[edit]Zhang Ping was a native of Dai Commandery in Youzhou. He served as a subordinate general under Shi Hu in Later Zhao and was eventually appointed as Inspector of Bingzhou.[1] Zhang Ping had an adopted son he named Zhang Ci, whose family name was initially Gong (弓). Ping loved Ci at first for his exceptional physical strength. One day, however, Ping discovered that one of his concubines was having an affair with Ci. After Ping confronted and severely scolded him, Ci swore to never do such a thing again by becoming a eunuch.[2]
As a vassal lord
[edit]Later Zhao entered a period of rapid decline in 349 due to internal conflicts within the ruling Shi clan. This resulted in Ran Min's establishment of Wei in 350 and the destruction of Zhao in 351. Zhang Ping was serving as Zhao's Inspector of Bingzhou during this period. In 350, he received the surrender of Zhao Ke (趙幷), a native of Dai Commandery who rebelled against Former Yan and brought with him 300 households to him.[3]
Zhang Ping sought to maintain his power over Bingzhou. He, as well as contemporary Zhao generals, Li Li (李歷) and Gao Chang (高昌), planned to do so by appearing as neutral as possible, accepting offices from different states wherever they saw fit.[4] In 351, while Zhao was still in existence, Zhang Ping submitted to Fu Jiàn (note the different pinyin) of Former Qin, who appointed him Grand General and Governor of Jizhou. After Ran Min's defeat in 352, an influx of Zhao generals surrendered to Former Yan and received positions from Murong Jun. Zhang Ping joined the trend and became Yan's Inspector of Bingzhou.[5] However, some time later, he went back to Qin and retained his previous offices.
In 356, the roving Qiang warlord, Yao Xiang invaded the Hedong region (河東; around present-day Shanxi) and captured Xiangling (襄陵: in present-day Sui County, Henan) from Qin. Qin's emperor, Fu Sheng, ordered Zhang Ping to campaign against him. After Zhang Ping routed Yao Xiang, Xiang used bribes and modest words to appease Zhang. Zhang opened up to Xiang, and the two were said to have formed a bond as close as brothers. After swearing an oath of brotherhood, they withdrew their troops away from one another.[6]
State establishment and invasion of Former Qin
[edit]By 357, Zhang's territory encompassed the commanderies of Xinxing (新興; around present-day Xinzhou, Shanxi), Yanmen, Xihe, Taiyuan, Shangdang, and Shang. Under him, he had 300 fortified places as well as more than a hundred thousand households, both of Han Chinese and tribal ethnicities. Looking to start a state to rival Qin and Yan, he began appointing his own Generals Who Conquer and Generals Who Guard. In July 357, Zhang Ping sent his envoys to submit to the Jin dynasty and was appointed Inspector of Bingzhou.[7] Later in October, he invaded Former Qin and plundered their territory.[8]
The recently crowned Heavenly King of Qin, Fu Jiān, first responded by stationing Fu Liu (苻柳) at Puban (蒲阪, in modern-day Yuncheng, Shanxi) to defend against Zhang Ping. In January 358, Jin's Administrator of Shangdang, Feng Yang (馮鴦), allied himself with Zhang Ping but soon left to join Yan instead. Fu Jiān personally led his troops to face Zhang Ping. Fu Jiān's general, Deng Qiang, commanded the vanguard and brought 5,000 cavalries to Fenshang. Zhang Ping sent Zhang Ci to fight Deng Qiang, and the two battled for ten days, with neither side getting the upper hand.[9]
In March 358, Fu Jiān arrived at Tongbi (銅壁, in modern-day Tongchuan, Shaanxi), and Zhang Ping brought his entire army to face him there. During the battle, Zhang Ci rode into the enemy lines several times while shouting. Fu Jiān had to ask for someone to stop Zhang Ci, and in the end, Fu Jian's general, Lü Guang, was able to bring him down with his spear, allowing Deng Qiang to capture him. Zhang Ci's capture shook Zhang Ping's army to the point of collapse. Terrified, Zhang Ping quickly offered his surrender to Fu Jiān. He was accepted back, reappointed as General of the Right and allowed to remain in Bingzhou while Zhang Ci was taken in to be one of Fu Jiān's own generals. Fu Jiān also relocated more than 3,000 households from Zhang Ping's domain to Chang'an.[10]
Final years and death
[edit]Zhang Ping did not remain with Qin for long. Just months later in 358, Former Yan sent their generals to campaign against Zhang Ping, Li Li and Gao Chang, who had all previously submitted to Yan but later went over to Qin and Jin. Murong Jun commissioned for Murong Ping to attack Zhang Ping in Bingzhou. Zhang Ping's generals, Zhuge Xiang (諸葛驤), Su Xiang (蘇象), Qiao Shu (喬庶) and Shi Xian (石賢) quickly surrendered, and 138 of the fortified areas in Zhang Ping's territory capitulated during the invasion. Zhang Ping fled to Pingyang (平陽, in modern Linfen, Shanxi) with 3,000 soldiers, where he submitted back to Yan.[11]
For the next three years, Zhang Ping remained as a Yan vassal. In 361, the people of Pingyang, which was a part of Zhang Ping's domain, surrendered to Yan, so Yan appointed their own Administrator and Protector for the commandery, Duan Gang (段剛) and Han Bao (韓苞). In late 361, Zhang Ping retaliated by attacking Pingyang, killing both Duan and Han. He then attacked Yanmen and killed the Yan Administrator, Dan Nan (單男). However, soon after, Qin attacked Zhang Ping, so Ping asked Yan for forgiveness and requested them to send him reinforcements. Yan could no longer trust him at this point and did nothing to help him. In the end, Zhang Ping was killed, and his forces were wiped out by Qin.[12]
Anecdote
[edit]An anecdote from the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms tells that Zhang Ping owned a dog he named Feiyan (飛燕) which had the shape of a small donkey. One night, Feiyan suddenly climbed onto the roof of a government office and made a voice that sounded like Zhang Ping. Zhang Ping was left greatly disturbed by the incident. Afterwards, Zhang Ping's power declined due to defeats to Qin and Yan.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ (張平代郡人...初, 仕石虎為部將。) Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Volume 42
- ^ (又《前秦錄》曰：張蚝〈音刺。〉本姓弓，上黨泫氏人也。膂力過人，能却曳牛走，張平愛而子之。淫于平妾，知而責之。蚝慚，割陰以自誓，遂爲閹人。堅甚寵之，常侍左右，終爲名將。所在有殊功，稱鄧羌、張蚝「萬人敵」也。) Taiping Yulan, Volume 386
- ^ (八月，代郡人趙榼帥三百餘家叛燕，歸趙幷州刺史張平。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 98
- ^ (趙之亡也，其將張平、李歷、高昌皆遣使降燕，已而降晉，又降秦，各受爵位，欲中立以自固) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 100
- ^ (故趙將擁兵據州郡者，各遣使降燕；燕王俊以王擢為益州刺史，夔逸為秦州刺史，張平為并州刺史，李歷為兗州刺史，高昌為安西將軍，劉寧為車騎將軍。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 99
- ^ (遣使拜襄官爵，襄不受，斬其使者，焚所送章策，寇掠河東。生怒，命其大將軍張平討之。襄乃卑辭厚幣與平結為兄弟，平更與襄通和。) Book of Jin, Volume 112
- ^ (秋七月，苻堅將張平以幷州降，遂以爲幷州刺史。) Book of Jin, Volume 8
- ^ (張平據新興、雁門、西河、太原、上黨、上郡之地，壁壘三百餘，夷、夏十餘萬戶，拜置征鎮，欲與燕、秦為敵國。冬，十月，平寇略秦境，秦王堅以晉公柳都督並、冀州諸軍事，加并州牧，鎮蒲阪以御之。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 100
- ^ (秦王堅自將討張平，以鄧羌為前鋒督護，帥騎五千，軍於汾上；平使養子蚝御之。蚝多力趫捷，能曳牛卻走；城無高下，皆可超越。與羌相持旬餘，莫能相勝。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 100
- ^ (三月，堅至銅壁，平盡眾出戰，蚝單馬大呼，出入秦陳者四、五。堅募人生致之，鷹揚將軍呂光刺蚝，中之，鄧羌擒蚝以獻，平眾大潰。平懼，請降。堅拜平右將軍，以蚝為虎賁中郎將。蚝，本姓弓，上黨人也，堅寵待甚厚，常置左右。秦人稱鄧羌、張蚝皆萬人敵。光，婆樓之子也。堅徙張平部民三千餘戶於長安。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 100
- ^ (燕主俊使司徒評討張平於并州，司空陽騖討高昌於東燕，樂安王臧討李歷於濮。陽騖攻昌別將於黎陽，不拔。歷奔滎陽，其眾皆降。并州壁壘百餘降於燕，俊以右僕射悅綰為并州刺史以撫之。平所署征西將軍諸葛驤等帥壁壘百三十八降於燕，俊皆復其官爵。平帥眾三千奔平陽，復請降於燕。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 100
- ^ (張平襲燕平陽，殺段剛、韓苞；又攻雁門，殺太守單男。既而為秦所攻，平復謝罪於燕以求救。燕人以平反覆，弗救也，平遂為秦所滅。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 101
- ^ (養一狗名曰飛燕, 形若小驢。忽夜上廳事屋上行, 行聲如平常。平甚惡之。) Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Volume 42
- Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). Book of Jin (Jin Shu).
- Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian.
- Cui, Hong (501-522). Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms (Shiliuguo Chunqiu)