Meng Zhixiang

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Meng Zhixiang was born in 874, the first year of Qianfu under Emperor Xizong of Tang, in Longgang, Xingzhou. Historical sources contain little about his family background. It is known that when young he gained the appreciation of Li Keyong, Prince of Jin, who appointed him Left Training Commissioner. Meng married Princess Qionghua, daughter of Li Kerang, becoming Li Keyong's nephew-in-law; another account identifies her as Li Keyong's daughter. The Five Dynasties Institutional Compendium records: “The Martial Emperor's eldest daughter, Princess Qionghua, was married to Meng Zhixiang and was granted her title in the twelfth month of the third year of Tongguang.” The New History of the Five Dynasties, in Meng's biography, says: “When Zhixiang reached adulthood, the Prince of Jin married to him the daughter of his younger brother Kerang and made him Left Training Commissioner.” The marriage created a close connection with Li Keyong's family and laid the basis for Meng's later rise within the Jin and Later Tang regimes.

Service under Later Tang

In 908, the fifth year of Tianyou, Li Keyong died and his eldest son Li Cunxu succeeded as Prince of Jin. Li Cunxu appointed Meng Zhixiang Inner-Gate Commissioner. The office was close to the prince and important, but several previous holders had been killed after giving offense. Meng became fearful and asked to be reassigned. Li Cunxu made him Commander of Infantry and Cavalry and ordered him to recommend a successor. Meng recommended Guo Chongtao, earning Guo's gratitude and laying the foundation for Guo's later recommendation that Meng be sent to govern Xichuan.

In 923, the first year of Later Tang's Tongguang era, Li Cunxu proclaimed himself emperor and founded Later Tang as Emperor Zhuangzong. After destroying Later Liang, he made Luoyang the capital, elevated Taiyuan Prefecture to the Northern Capital, and appointed Meng Zhixiang its defender and Administrator of Taiyuan. Taiyuan was the place from which Li Cunxu's dynasty had risen, and Meng's appointment demonstrates the weight he carried within the Later Tang government.

In 925, the third year of Tongguang, Emperor Zhuangzong appointed Guo Chongtao campaign commissioner and sent him with the Prince of Wei, Li Jiji, to attack Former Shu. Before leaving, Guo recommended Meng Zhixiang to the emperor as the best person to govern Xichuan after the conquest. Former Shu soon fell, and Zhuangzong appointed Meng Administrator of Chengdu and military governor of Jiannan Xichuan Circuit. Meng traveled to Luoyang to take leave of the emperor before assuming office. Li Cunxu held a large banquet for him, and the two conversed happily. Zhuangzong told him: “I have heard that Guo Chongtao harbors disloyal intentions. When you reach Chengdu, kill him for me.” Meng replied: “Guo Chongtao is a meritorious minister of the state and should not be killed. When I reach Chengdu, I will observe him; if he has no disloyal intention, I will send him back.” The source presents this response as displaying both political judgment and sympathy for a meritorious official.

Establishing Independent Power in Shu

In 926, the fourth year of Tongguang, Meng Zhixiang arrived at Chengdu, but Guo Chongtao had already been unjustly killed. Soon afterward Li Jiji began the eastward return march to Luoyang. His vanguard commander Kang Yanxiao rebelled on the route and captured Hanzhou, present-day Guanghan in Sichuan. Meng immediately sent Li Renhan to join Ren Huan and Dong Zhang in suppressing the rebellion. They captured and killed Kang Yanxiao and accepted the surrender of his subordinates Li Zhao, Hou Hongshi, and others. In the fourth month of the same year, Emperor Zhuangzong was killed in the Xingjiaomen uprising, and Li Jiji was also killed at Weinan. Li Siyuan, an adopted son of Li Keyong, was then enthroned as Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang.

After Mingzong took the throne, Meng gradually began planning independent rule in Shu. He trained troops, expanded his forces, and created units with names such as Yisheng, Dingyuan, Xiaorui, Yining, and Feizhao, placing them under trusted commanders including Li Renhan, Zhao Tingyin, and Zhang Ye. At the same time, conflict with the Later Tang court steadily intensified. Chancellor Ren Huan first appointed Zhao Jiliang, Director of the Court of Imperial Carriages, as commissioner for the Three Sichuan regions and ordered him to press Meng for two million strings of remaining reward money owed to the court. Meng was furious, refused the command, and detained Zhao Jiliang in Chengdu. Later, Privy Commissioner An Chonghui appointed Li Yan, Commissioner of the Reception Office, as military monitor of Xichuan in an effort to strengthen central control. In the first month of 927, the second year of Tiancheng, Li Yan reached Chengdu. Meng held a banquet for him, denounced him at the table, and ordered guest officer Wang Yanzhu to seize and execute him. Emperor Mingzong was unable to punish Meng, but the conflict had become irreconcilable.

Struggle for the Two Sichuan Circuits

In 929, the fourth year of Tiancheng, An Chonghui appointed Xia Luqi military governor of Wuxin Circuit, Li Renju military governor of Baoning Circuit, and Wu Qianyu Prefect of Mianzhou, placing them over prefectures within the territories of the two Sichuan circuits. Wu Qianyu was An Chonghui's cousin and Li Renju had long been hostile to Dong Zhang, military governor of Dongchuan. Both Meng Zhixiang and Dong Zhang became deeply alarmed and concluded that the court was preparing to attack them. Dong sent an envoy proposing a marriage alliance with Meng. Following Zhao Jiliang's advice, Meng accepted and allied with Dong against the court.

In the ninth month of 930, the first year of Changxing, Dong Zhang openly rebelled against Later Tang, captured Langzhou, present-day Langzhong in Sichuan, and seized and killed Li Renju. Meng Zhixiang soon raised troops in support. Emperor Mingzong issued an edict stripping Meng of his titles and ordered Shi Jingtang, military governor of Tianxiong Circuit, to lead a punitive expedition against Xichuan. Meng sent Li Renhan, Zhang Ye, Zhao Tingyin, and others to join Dong Zhang in attacking Suizhou, and separately ordered Zhang Wu to advance through the Three Gorges against Yuzhou. In the eleventh month, after Jianmen fell, Dong Zhang sent an urgent request to Xichuan for help, and Meng detached Zhao Tingyin to reinforce him. Yet after taking Jianmen, the Tang forces halted at Jianzhou. Meng was delighted: “If the Tang army had hurried directly toward Dongchuan, it would certainly have relieved Suizhou, and then both circuits would have been in serious danger. Now that it no longer advances, there is nothing to fear.” In the twelfth month, Shi Jingtang fought Zhao Tingyin at Jianmen and was badly defeated before withdrawing.

In the first month of 931, the second year of Changxing, Li Renhan captured Suizhou and Xia Luqi killed himself. Shi Jingtang withdrew, while Li Yanke, Prefect of Lizhou, and An Chongruan, Prefect of Kuizhou, abandoned their cities and fled. Soon afterward An Chonghui was killed on charges that included alienating Meng Zhixiang and Dong Zhang. Emperor Mingzong sent Su Yuan and other Xichuan liaison officials west to conciliate Meng and informed him that his family members remaining in Luoyang were safe. Learning that his family was unharmed, Meng wished to invite Dong Zhang to apologize jointly to the court. Dong refused, believing Meng had betrayed him. Meng sent envoys three times, all rejected, and then dispatched observation secretary Li Hao to explain the advantages and dangers. Dong Zhang, enraged, insulted Li Hao, after which Li Hao urged Meng to attack Dong.

Founding Later Shu and Proclaiming Himself Emperor

In 932, the third year of Changxing, Dong Zhang attacked Meng Zhixiang first and captured Hanzhou. Meng personally led Zhao Tingyin and others to meet him, and the two armies faced each other at Jiju Bridge. During the battle the subordinate commander Zhang Shoujin surrendered to the Xichuan army, and Meng seized the opportunity to defeat Dong decisively. Dong fled to Zizhou, present-day Santai in Sichuan, but was killed in a mutiny; his son Dong Guangsi also hanged himself. Meng annexed Dongchuan and thereby controlled both Sichuan circuits.

In 933, the fourth year of Changxing, Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang appointed Meng Acting Defender-in-chief and concurrently Secretariat Director and military governor of both Jiannan circuits, and enfeoffed him as Prince of Shu. In the first month of 934, the first year of Yingshun, Meng proclaimed himself emperor at Chengdu and founded Later Shu. In the fourth month he adopted Mingde as his era name. After only seven months on the throne he became seriously ill, and before his death placed his fifth son Meng Chang in charge of the government. When Meng Zhixiang died, the court kept the death secret. Wang Chuhui and Zhao Jiliang enthroned Meng Chang before announcing the mourning. Meng Zhixiang died at the age of sixty-one, received the temple name Gaozu and the posthumous name Emperor Wenwu Shengde Yinglie Mingxiao, and was buried in Heling Mausoleum.

In his youth Meng Zhixiang was married into the family of the prince of Jin, Li Keyong, taking Li Kerang's daughter, the princess Qionghua, to wife. When Li Keyong died in 908 and his eldest son Li Cunxu succeeded as prince of Jin, Meng Zhixiang was made commissioner of the inner gate. Since his predecessors in that office had mostly been put to death for their offenses, he asked for another post; Li Cunxu made him commander of the horse and foot guards and asked him to name his own successor, and Meng Zhixiang recommended Guo Chongtao, who remained grateful to him. That friendship decided the fate of Shu a dozen years later: in 925, when the Later Tang made war on the Former Shu and Guo Chongtao was appointed to command, he told the Zhuangzong emperor before leaving that no one was better fitted than Meng Zhixiang to hold Western Sichuan once Shu was taken; and so, as soon as the Former Shu fell, Meng Zhixiang was appointed governor of Chengdu and acting military commissioner of Jiannan West.

Before taking up the post he hurried to Luoyang, where the emperor feasted him lavishly, talked over old times as the wine went round, and privately told him that Guo Chongtao was said to harbor disloyal designs and that he should kill him on reaching Chengdu. Meng Zhixiang answered that Guo Chongtao was an old and meritorious servant of the state and ought not to be suspected, that he would first observe conditions in Shu and send him back to court if he found no disaffection. In the first month of 926 he reached Chengdu, and Guo Chongtao had already been unjustly killed in the army. Soon after, when the prince of Wei, Li Jijian, marched east, his vanguard commander Kang Yanxiao rebelled and took Hanzhou; Meng Zhixiang sent his general Li Renhan with the troops of Ren Huan and Dong Zhang to defeat him, taking his commanders Li Zhao and Hou Hongshi and several thousand men into his own service. When the Zhuangzong emperor was murdered, the prince of Wei died on the road home and the Mingzong emperor came to the throne, Meng Zhixiang trained troops and secretly conceived the ambition of making himself king of Shu, adding the Yisheng, Dingyuan, Xiaorui, Yining and Feizhao corps, more than seventy thousand men, under Li Renhan, Zhao Tingyin and Zhang Ye.

His hold on Shu was in large part a long tug of war with the court over money and appointments. When Li Jijian's army went home, Meng Zhixiang had raised six million strings of cash from the rich men of Chengdu and the old ministers of the Former Shu to reward the troops, using four million and leaving two million; the chancellor Ren Huan, who had served in Sichuan, knew the sum exactly. In the sixth month of 926, when Meng Zhixiang was given the title of attendant gentleman and the superintendence of the taxes of both Sichuan, the court pressed him for the remaining two million strings. He refused in anger to obey, and kept the envoy Zhao Jiliang in Chengdu. The next year, when the court moved to tighten its hold by restoring a military supervisor in Western Sichuan — alone among the garrisons — Meng Zhixiang, furious, said that Li Yan meant to win another reputation by destroying Shu, and led his army to the frontier to receive him in the hope of frightening him off. In the first month of 927 Li Yan reached Chengdu, produced an edict in the middle of the banquet ordering Meng Zhixiang to kill the former supervisor Jiao Yanbin; Meng Zhixiang refused, asked him by what right he came when every garrison had abolished the office, and had Wang Yanzhu seize and behead him. The Mingzong emperor, unable to press the matter, turned to kindness instead, sending an envoy to reassure him and returning the princess Qionghua and Meng Zhixiang's son Meng Chang to Chengdu; Meng Zhixiang asked that Zhao Jiliang be made deputy commissioner, and consulted him on every matter great and small. In 928, when the court transferred Zhao Jiliang elsewhere, Meng Zhixiang hid the edict, memorialized for his retention, and on being refused sent his general Lei Tinglu to Luoyang to argue the case again and again until the emperor gave way.

In the Changxing years the relationship broke down altogether. The court ordered Meng Zhixiang to send troops; he and the military commissioner of Eastern Sichuan, Dong Zhang, jointly refused, and the court sent Shi Jingtang with a great army against them, which could not force the defiles and withdrew. Meng Zhixiang and Dong Zhang then fell out with each other, and in 932 they came to blows; Meng Zhixiang defeated Dong Zhang, annexed Eastern Sichuan, and held both Sichuan. In 933 he was made prince of Shu, and in the following year, 934, he took the imperial title at Chengdu with the dynastic name Shu and the era name Mingde — the Later Shu of the histories — and died in the seventh month of that year at sixty-one, succeeded by his son Meng Chang. That a Later Tang governor of Taiyuan and acting commissioner of Western Sichuan became the founding ruler of a separatist state is a textbook illustration of the passage from suspicion to open war between the garrisons and the center in the Five Dynasties: the court held them in check with supervisors, demands for military funds and transfers of subordinates, and the garrisons answered by detaining envoys, concealing edicts and appointing their own officials, until the matter came to arms.

Several aspects of Meng Zhixiang's rule in Shu deserve note. One was finance and supply: he held the taxes of both Sichuan and levied and withheld them at will, time and again failing to answer the court's demands for the remaining military funds, making control of revenue the true foundation of his separatism. Another was the reunion of his family: unable to press the matter of Li Yan's killing, the Mingzong emperor bound him by kindness instead, sending the princess Qionghua and Meng Chang back from Fengxiang to Chengdu, so that he was rid of a hostage's fears. A third was his staff: Zhao Jiliang served long as deputy commissioner and was consulted on every matter great and small, while Li Renhan, Zhao Tingyin and Zhang Ye commanded the newly raised corps, forming the core group with which the Later Shu was founded.

Judgments of Meng Zhixiang generally dwell on what he typifies among the garrisons of the Five Dynasties. He was no rough soldier risen from the ranks, but a man who entered the core of power through marriage and staff office, who held Western Sichuan on Guo Chongtao's single recommendation and made himself independent by the wealth and natural defenses of the two Sichuan. In his drive for separatism, every step — the establishment of a military supervisor, the demand for the balance of the army fund, the transfer of his deputy — became a test of the relation between center and province. After his death his son Meng Chang ruled for more than thirty years, keeping a relatively settled order centered on Chengdu until the Later Shu was destroyed by the Song in 965. The books and monuments it left, such as the stone classics cut in the Guangzheng years, were long esteemed.

Meng Zhixiang's passage from a Later Tang regional official to the founding ruler of the Later Shu kept pace with the court's suspicion of him: An Chonghui, doubting his loyalty, restored the office of military supervisor; Ren Huan, knowing the balance of the army fund in Shu, pressed for its remittance; and the transfer of Zhao Jiliang struck directly at his control of appointments — all of it driving him step by step toward independence. His government in the two Sichuan had a practical side as well: taxes were ordered, troops raised, trusted men made governors of prefectures, so that the Chengdu plain kept up its farming and trade amid the disorders of the Five Dynasties. Song historians, surveying the states of the Ten Kingdoms, often called the Later Shu one whose land was defensible and whose people were prosperous; that foundation was in fact laid in Meng Zhixiang's generation.

The Later Shu's later fortunes show that the foundations Meng Zhixiang laid were not firm. His son Meng Chang reigned more than thirty years, sending tribute and professing vassalage to the Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han and Later Zhou in turn, while holding his own behind the defiles of Sichuan and the wealth of the Chengdu plain; long at peace, the state accumulated an unusual richness of books and monuments among the Ten Kingdoms. Such reliance on terrain and wealth could not last: in 965 the Song armies came south from the north, the Later Shu court failed to organize an effective defense beyond the Jianmen pass, Meng Chang surrendered and Sichuan passed to the Song. Looking back to its beginnings, Meng Zhixiang entered office through marriage and staff service, held Western Sichuan on a single recommendation, and made himself independent by revenue and natural defense — the whole anatomy of the relation between province and center in the Five Dynasties.

Major Activities

Political Activity

Meng Zhixiang's political career can be divided into two broad stages. In the first, as a senior Later Tang official, he served in important posts including Inner-Gate Commissioner, Commander of Infantry and Cavalry, Defender of the Northern Capital, and Administrator of Taiyuan, making him a major figure in Later Tang. In the second, after being sent to Xichuan, he gradually moved toward regional independence. He first allied with Dong Zhang of Dongchuan against the court, then absorbed Dongchuan and finally established Later Shu. The source characterizes his political methods as experienced and well timed: he could wait patiently when necessary but act decisively when an opportunity appeared. During his government of Xichuan, he reduced taxes and developed production, laying foundations for the stability of Later Shu.

Military Activity

Meng Zhixiang also achieved considerable military success. Soon after arriving in Xichuan, he sent troops to suppress Kang Yanxiao's rebellion and accepted the surrender of Kang's subordinates. As his independence grew, he created the Yisheng, Dingyuan, Xiaorui, Yining, Feizhao, and other units, building a personal military force of more than 70,000 men. In confrontation with the Later Tang court, he directed campaigns effectively: Li Renhan captured Suizhou, Zhao Tingyin defeated Shi Jingtang at Jianmen, and the Later Tang invasion was repelled. In his final struggle with Dong Zhang, Meng personally led his army and won decisively at Jiju Bridge, allowing him to annex Dongchuan.

Diplomatic Strategy

Meng Zhixiang was skilled at shifting alliances. He formed a marriage alliance with Dong Zhang and jointly opposed the Later Tang court, while also exploiting internal conflict within the Later Tang government. After An Chonghui was killed, Meng moved toward reconciliation with the court and gained political breathing room. His detention of Zhao Jiliang and execution of Li Yan demonstrated a hard line, but he could compromise at an appropriate moment, displaying considerable political calculation.

Places Associated with His Life

Meng Zhixiang's life centered mainly on northern China—Xingzhou, Taiyuan, and Luoyang—and on Chengdu in the southwest. He grew up in Xingzhou and later served the Li Keyong and Li Cunxu regimes, spending a long period in Taiyuan. In 925, the third year of Tongguang, he was ordered to govern Xichuan and thereafter used Chengdu as his base until he proclaimed himself emperor and died there.

Personal Relations

• Li Keyong: father-in-law or uncle-in-law; Prince of Jin and early patron of Meng Zhixiang
• Li Kerang: father-in-law according to one account; younger brother of Li Keyong
• Li Cunxu: brother-in-law, according to the family relationships described in the source; later Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang
• Empress Li, Princess Qionghua: wife; described as Li Keyong's eldest daughter or, in another account, Li Kerang's daughter
• Consort Li: concubine, formerly a concubine of Li Cunxu before his enthronement; mother of Meng Chang
• Meng Chang: fifth son, later ruler of Later Shu
• Meng Yifan and Meng Yiyong: sons of Princess Fuqing, died young
• Meng Yiju, Meng Yiye, Meng Renyi, Meng Renzhi, Meng Renyu, Meng Rencao: sons
• Princess Chonghua Meng Jiuzhu, Princess Yuqing Meng Yanyi, Princess Jinxian, Princess Lanying: daughters
• Guo Chongtao: recommended by Meng to succeed him as Inner-Gate Commissioner; later repaid the favor by recommending Meng to govern Xichuan
• Zhao Jiliang: detained by Meng and later became an important adviser and chancellor of Later Shu
• Li Hao: observation secretary who urged Meng to attack Dong Zhang
• Li Keyong: Prince of Jin and Meng's early lord
• Li Cunxu: Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang, whom Meng served in the first part of his career
• Li Siyuan: Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang; his relationship with Meng shifted between confrontation and compromise
• An Chonghui: Later Tang privy commissioner and Meng's principal political enemy
• Dong Zhang: military governor of Dongchuan; first allied with Meng and later broke with him before being defeated
• Li Yan: Later Tang monitor sent to Xichuan and executed by Meng
• Shi Jingtang: Later Tang commander sent against Xichuan, whose campaign was defeated by Meng's forces

Historical Assessment

Five Dynasties / Contemporary

• Emperor Mingzong Li Siyuan of Later Tang adopted a conciliatory policy toward Meng, sending envoys to reassure him that his family was safe. The source treats this as evidence that the court respected Meng's strength and did not wish for a complete break. (Zizhi Tongjian)
• Before leaving on campaign, Guo Chongtao recommended Meng to Emperor Zhuangzong for the governorship of Xichuan, saying that “there is no one like Meng Zhixiang,” showing considerable contemporary recognition of his ability. (New History of the Five Dynasties)
• Dong Zhang accused Meng of betraying him and insulted Meng's envoy, showing that contemporaries could also view Meng as a calculating politician difficult to trust. (New History of the Five Dynasties)

Song and Yuan Periods

• Xue Juzheng's Old History of the Five Dynasties placed Meng Zhixiang among the biographies of “usurping and illegitimate rulers,” treating him as a regional claimant while also recording his administrative achievements in Shu in factual terms.
• Ouyang Xiu's New History of the Five Dynasties created a hereditary house section for Later Shu and gives detailed attention to Meng's “secret intention to rule Shu.” It comments that “Zhixiang in Shu may be said to have obtained the advantage of strategic position.”
• Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian gives detailed accounts of Meng's political contest with the Later Tang court and treats his political and military ability in a largely factual manner.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Wang Fuzhi's Reading the Comprehensive Mirror was broadly critical of regional rulers of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and regarded figures such as Meng as “holding strategic terrain and securing themselves in order to steal a time of peace,” while also acknowledging that they could protect their territories and populations and spare Shu from warfare.
• Qing discussions in Notes on the Twenty-Two Histories analyze the political structure of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and present Meng's separation of Xichuan as a phenomenon emerging naturally from the era's disorder.

Modern Assessments

• Modern historians generally evaluate Meng Zhixiang within the political structure of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms as the founder of Later Shu, whose separation of Xichuan brought the region a period of relative stability.
• Some scholars argue that Meng's rise reflects the contest between regional military power and the central government in the Five Dynasties and was a continuation of the late-Tang pattern of military-governor autonomy.
• Meng's tomb and the artifacts excavated from it provide material evidence for research on burial customs and architectural styles of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.