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125-549: The name Shanxi means 'west of the mountains', a reference to its location west of the Taihang Mountains . Shanxi borders Hebei to the east, Henan to the south, Shaanxi to the west and Inner Mongolia to the north. Shanxi's terrain is characterised by a plateau bounded partly by mountain ranges. Shanxi's culture is largely dominated by the ethnic Han majority, who make up over 99% of its population. Jin Chinese

250-694: A Han Chinese ancestry despite the Shatuo origin. Under the Old History of the Five Dynasties account, his great-great-grandfather, whose name was given as Shi Jing ( 石璟 ), followed the Shatuo chieftain Zhuye Zhiyi ( 朱邪執宜 ) in submitting to Tang , and was settled, along with the rest of the Shatuo people under Zhuye, in Tang territory. Shi Jingtang's father Nieliji ( 臬捩雞 ), who was referred to by

375-544: A continental monsoon climate, and is rather arid. Average January temperatures are below 0 °C, while average July temperatures are around 21–26 °C. Winters are long, dry, and cold, while summer is warm and humid. Spring is extremely dry and prone to dust storms. Shanxi is one of the sunniest parts of China; early summer heat waves are common. Annual precipitation averages around 350 to 700 millimetres (14 to 28 in), with 60% of it concentrated between June and August. Major cities: The outline of Shanxi's territory

500-550: A center for trade and banking. The " Shanxi merchants " were once synonymous with wealth. The well-preserved city and UNESCO World Heritage Site Pingyao shows many signs of its economic importance during the Qing dynasty. With the collapse of the Qing dynasty , Shanxi became part of the newly established Republic of China . From 1911 to 1949, during the period of the Republic of China's period of rule over Mainland China , Shanxi

625-639: A declaration calling for Li Congke, whom he claimed to be an inappropriate person to be emperor as merely an adoptive son, to abdicate the throne and pass it to Li Siyuan's youngest biological son Li Congyi the Prince of Xu. Li Congke, in anger, stripped Shi of his titles and declared a general campaign against Shi. He also arrested Shi's sons, as well as his younger brother Shi Jingde ( 石敬德 ), and put them to death. Shi's cousin Shi Jingwei ( 石敬威 ) committed suicide. Li Congke commissioned Zhang Jingda to lead

750-442: A declaration in which he called on Shi to renounce the peace agreement with Liao and attack it to recapture the territories and peoples that Liao had previously captured, but was not yet openly breaking with Shi. In response, Shi, under Sang Weihan's advice, headed to Guangjin—since then renamed back to Yedu—to prepare for a potential campaign against An Chongrong. Anticipating that An Congjin might rebel when he left Daliang, Shi, under

875-553: A final act of desperation, Liang set fire to the prison and committed suicide as the entire compound burned to the ground. Soon after the Chinese Communist Revolution , Mao Zedong assigned Kang Sheng to carry out land reform in Shanxi. Kang encouraged the populace to have numerous farmers from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds denounced as "landlords," beaten, arrested, and executed. In some areas of

1000-485: A major part of Shanxi's economy. Shanxi possesses 260 billion metric tons of known coal deposits, about a third of China's total. As a result, Shanxi is a leading producer of coal in China and has more coal companies than any other province, with an annual production exceeding 300 million metric tonnes. The Datong ( 大同 ), Ningwu ( 宁武 ), Xishan ( 西山 ), Hedong ( 河东 ), Qinshui ( 沁水 ), and Huoxi ( 霍西 ) coalfields are some of

1125-474: A modern curriculum and infrastructure of Chinese medicine achieved limited success, but much of the teaching and publication that this school of medicine produced was limited to the area around Taiyuan: by 1949 three of the seven government-run hospitals were in the city. In 1934 the province produced a ten-year-plan that envisaged employing a hygiene worker in every village, but the Japanese invasion in 1937 and

1250-541: A number of officers still loyal to him, and committed suicide by immolation on Xuanwu Tower ( 玄武樓 ) inside the palace. Shi subsequently entered Luoyang and assumed control over the Later Tang realm. The local military governors throughout the Later Tang realm initially all formally submitted to Shi Jingtang. Among them was Fan Yanguang, who, however, felt insecure in his position as the military governor of Tianxiong, and who also had ambitions to be emperor, and therefore

1375-444: A precarious spot – because it was obvious that he was initially intending on supporting Li Conghou and because of the long-standing, if latent, rivalry between him and Li Congke while both served under Li Siyuan. He remained at Luoyang for the funeral of his father-in-law Li Siyuan, and after the funeral, did not dare to personally bring up the idea of returning to Hedong. Empress Dowager Cao and her daughter, Shi's wife, who by this point

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1500-603: A primary-school education and taught domestic skills. After National Revolutionary Army military victories in the 1925 generated great interest in Shanxi for the Kuomintang 's ideology, including women's rights , Yan allowed girls to enroll in middle school and college, where they promptly formed a women's association. Yan attempted to eradicate the custom of foot binding , threatening to sentence men who married women with bound feet, and mothers who bound their daughters' feet, to hard labor in state-run factories. He discouraged

1625-561: A relatively high level of public order and security. Yan went to great lengths to eradicate social traditions which he considered antiquated. He insisted that all men in Shanxi abandon their Qing-era queues, giving police instructions to clip off the queues of anyone still wearing them. In one instance, Yan lured people into theatres in order to have his police systematically cut the hair of the audience. He attempted to combat widespread female illiteracy by creating in each district at least one vocational school in which peasant girls could be given

1750-499: A small force of 6,000 men to hold off the entire Japanese army. A representative of the Japanese Army, speaking of the final defense of Taiyuan , said that "nowhere in China have the Chinese fought so obstinately". The Japanese suffered 30,000 dead and an equal number wounded in their effort to take northern Shanxi. A Japanese study found that the battles of Pingxingguan, Xinkou, and Taiyuan were responsible for over half of all

1875-537: A width of 385 km (239 mi) from east to west, with a total area of 156,700 km (60,500 sq mi), accounting for 1.6% of the country's total area. Shanxi is divided into eleven prefecture-level divisions : all prefecture-level cities : The 11 prefecture-level cities of Shanxi are subdivided into 118 county-level divisions (23 districts , 11 county-level cities , and 84 counties ). Those are in turn divided into 1388 township-level divisions (561 towns , 634 townships , and 193 subdistricts ). At

2000-601: Is Mount Xiaowutai (2,882 metres (9,455 feet)). The Taihang's eastern peak is Mount Cangyan in Hebei; Baishi Mountain forms its northern tip. The Taihang Mountains were formed during the Jurassic . Brown forest and Cinnamon soils are found here. The name of Shanxi Province , meaning "west of the mountains", derives from its location west of the Taihang Mountains. The name of Shandong Province (east of

2125-593: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Shi Jingtang Shi Jingtang ( Chinese : 石敬瑭 ; 30 March 892 – 28 July 942 ), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Gaozu of Later Jin ( 後晉高祖 ), was the founding emperor of the Later Jin dynasty of China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period , reigning from 936 until his death. Shi was an ethnic Shatuo and

2250-428: Is a parallelogram that runs from southwest to northeast. It is a typical mountain plateau widely covered by loess . The terrain is high in the northeast and low in the southwest. The interior of the plateau is undulating, the valleys are vertical and horizontal, and the types of landforms are complex and diverse. There are mountains, hills, terraces, plains, and rivers. The area of mountains and hills accounts for 80.1% of

2375-633: Is also known for having by far the largest number of historic buildings among all Chinese provinces, by possessing over 70% of China's surviving buildings built during or predating the Song dynasty . Also notable are the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, which date back over 1500 years. In the Spring and Autumn period ( c.  770  – c.  481 BC ), the state of Jin was located in what

2500-508: Is considered by some linguists to be a distinct language from Mandarin and its geographical range covers most of Shanxi. Both Jin and Mandarin are spoken in Shanxi. Shanxi is a leading producer of coal in China , possessing roughly a third of China's total coal deposits. Nevertheless, Shanxi's GDP per capita remains below the national average. The province hosts the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center . The province

2625-439: Is from north to south and from basin to high mountain. The annual precipitation in the whole province is between 358 and 621 mm, and the seasonal distribution is uneven. In June–August, the precipitation is relatively concentrated, accounting for about 60% of the annual precipitation, and the precipitation distribution in the province is greatly affected by the terrain. The province has a length of 682 km (424 mi) and

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2750-461: Is not only a close relative, but had also shared all difficulties of mine when we grew up. Now I am the Son of Heaven; who else can I depend on but Master Shi?" (Shi, and his supporters, would later claim that at this time, Li Congke also made a personal promise to him that he would never be moved away from Hedong for the rest of his life, although historical records, besides Shi's later claim, do not state

2875-525: Is now Shanxi. It underwent a three-way split into the states of Han , Zhao , and Wei in 403 BC, a traditional date sometimes taken as the start of the Warring States period ( c.  473  – 221 BC). By 221 BC, all of these states had fallen to the state of Qin , which established the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). The Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220) ruled Shanxi as

3000-412: Is possible that decades of Yan's socialist indoctrination may have prepared the people of Shanxi for Communist rule. After the death of Mao, the experiment was discontinued, and most peasants reverted to private farming under post-Maoist economic reforms . Shanxi is located on a plateau made up of higher ground to the east ( Taihang Mountains ) and the west ( Lüliang Mountains ) and a series of valleys in

3125-533: The Khitans destroyed Later Jin, the third. Finally, when the fifth of the Five Dynasties ( Later Zhou ) emerged, the jiedushi of Hedong at the time, Liu Chong , rebelled and established an independent state called Northern Han , one of the Ten Kingdoms, in what is now northern and central Shanxi. Shi Jingtang , founder of the Later Jin , the third of the Five Dynasties, ceded a piece of northern China to

3250-658: The Khitans in return for military assistance. This territory, called the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun , included a part of northern Shanxi. The ceded territory became a major problem for the Song dynasty's defense against the Khitans for the next 100 years because it lay south of the Great Wall . The later Zhou , the last dynasty of the Five Dynasties period was founded by Guo Wei , a Han Chinese, who served as

3375-718: The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) which were of the same land area and borders as the previous Hedong Commandery of the Tang dynasty. During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Shanxi extended north beyond the Great Wall to include parts of Inner Mongolia , including what is now the city of Hohhot , and overlapped with the jurisdiction of the Eight Banners and the Guihua Tümed banner in that area. For centuries, Shanxi served as

3500-699: The Song dynasty and the Liao dynasty . Later the Southern Song dynasty abandoned all of North China , including Shanxi, to the Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234) in 1127 after the Jingkang Incident of the Jin-Song wars . The Mongol Yuan dynasty administered China into provinces but did not establish Shanxi as a province. Shanxi only gained its present name and approximate borders during

3625-681: The province of Bingzhou . During the invasion of northern nomads in the Sixteen Kingdoms period (304–439), several regimes including the Later Zhao , Former Yan , Former Qin , and Later Yan continuously controlled Shanxi. They were followed by Northern Wei (386–534), a Xianbei kingdom, which had one of its earlier capitals at present-day Datong in northern Shanxi, and which went on to rule nearly all of northern China. The Tang dynasty (618–907) originated in Taiyuan. During

3750-717: The Assistant Military Commissioner at the court of the Later Han which was ruled by Shatuo Turks . He founded his dynasty by launching a military coup against the Turkic Later Han Emperor however, his newly established dynasty was short-lived and was conquered by the Song dynasty in 960. In the early years of the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), the sixteen ceded prefectures continued to be an area of contention between

3875-503: The Communists in Shanxi until he was finally trapped in the massively fortified city of Taiyuan. For six months Liang put up a fierce resistance, leading both Yan's remaining Republic of China Army forces and his thousands of Japanese mercenaries. When Communist troops finally broke into the city and began to occupy large sections of it, Liang barricaded himself inside a large, fortified prison complex filled with Communist prisoners. In

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4000-507: The Dongchuan and Xichuan armies. When Li Siyuan subsequently sent An to the front to monitor the campaign, Shi took the opportunity to write to Li Siyuan, explaining his misgivings from the campaign, and Li Siyuan began to be convinced. Li Siyuan subsequently forced An into retirement and then killed An, and then recalled Shi's army (although Shi already began to retreat before receiving the retreat orders). Li Siyuan subsequently again made him

4125-468: The Eighth Route Army and continued to advance towards Yan's capital. The lack of attention directed at their forces gave the Communists time to recruit and propagandize among the local peasant populations (who generally welcomed Communist forces enthusiastically) and to organize a network of militia units, local guerrilla bands and popular mass organizations. Genuine Communist efforts to resist

4250-591: The Han Chinese name Shi Shaoyong ( 石紹雍 ), was said to be a successful general under Zhuye Zhiyi's grandson Li Keyong , who was an important late-Tang warlord, and Li Keyong's son Li Cunxu , who ruled the independent state of Jin after Tang's fall. The other official history for the period, the New History of the Five Dynasties , apparently was skeptical of this account of Shi Jingtang's ancestry, and instead merely gave Nieliji's name, further stating that it

4375-489: The Japanese "special forces" under Yan totaled 15,000 troops, plus an officer corps that was distributed throughout Yan's army. These numbers were reduced to 10,000 after serious American efforts to repatriate the Japanese were partially successful. Yan's Japanese army was instrumental in helping him to retain control of most of northern Shanxi during much of the subsequent Chinese Civil War , but by 1949 casualties had reduced

4500-418: The Japanese gave them the authority to carry out sweeping and radical social and economic reforms, mostly related to land and wealth redistribution, which they defended by labeling those who resisted as Hanjian . Communist efforts to resist the Japanese also won over Shanxi's small population of patriotic intellectuals, and conservative fears of resisting them effectively gave the Communists unlimited access to

4625-465: The Japanese into his service in the manner that he did, he retained both the extensive industrial complex around Taiyuan and virtually all of the managerial and technical personnel employed by the Japanese to run it. Yan was so successful in convincing surrendered Japanese to work for him that, as word spread to other areas of north China, Japanese soldiers from those areas began to converge on Taiyuan to serve his government and army. At its greatest strength

4750-645: The Japanese. During the Battle of Xinkou , the Chinese defenders resisted the efforts of Japan's elite Itakagi Division for over a month, despite Japanese advantages in artillery and air support. By the end of October 1937, Japan's losses were four times greater than those suffered at Pingxingguan, and the Itakagi Division was close to defeat. Contemporary Communist accounts called the battle "the most fierce in North China", while Japanese accounts called

4875-771: The Khitan; and that a certain amount of money be given to the Khitan each year. The chancellor Zhang Yanlang supported their proposal. However, another imperial scholar, Xue Wenyu ( 薛文遇 ) opposed, believing that it was likely to lead to the Khitans' asking for Li Congke's daughter in marriage, which Xue considered humiliating. Li Congke therefore put a stop to the proposal and demoted Lü. In summer 936, at Xue's suggestion, Li Congke issued an edict moving Shi from Hedong to Tianping. Shi, in fear, convened his staff members and considered what to do next. Zhao Ying advocated reporting to Tianping, but Liu Zhiyuan and Sang Weihan advocated resistance. Accepting Liu and Sang's suggestion, Shi issued

5000-685: The Later Jin officials and commoners to both feel humiliated, but was also credited by historians as what preserved the peace between Later Jin and Liao during his reign. In summer 940, when Shi Jingtang tried to have Li Jinquan the military governor of Anyuan Circuit (安遠 headquartered in modern Xiaogan , Hubei ) replaced by the general Ma Quanjie ( 馬全節 ), Li rebelled and submitted to Later Jin's southeastern neighbor Southern Tang . Southern Tang's emperor Li Bian commissioned his general Li Chengyu ( 李承裕 ) to aid Li Jinquan—but with instructions not to try to retain possession of Anyuan; rather, Li Chengyu

5125-422: The Later Tang remnants there. Eventually, Zhang's deputy Yang Guangyuan assassinated him and surrendered to Khitan/Later Jin. Emperor Taizong gave the Later Tang army to Shi, and they jointly prepared to head south toward Luoyang. They engaged Zhao's army at Tuanbo Valley (團柏谷, in modern Taiyuan), crushing it. Zhao fled to Lu Prefecture (潞州, in modern Changzhi , Shanxi ) and, believing he could not hold it against

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5250-523: The Nationalists or the Japanese. He then negotiated a secret anti-Japanese " United Front " with the Communists in October 1936 and invited them to establish operations in Shanxi. Yan, under the slogan "resistance against the enemy and defense of the soil", attempted to recruit young, patriotic intellectuals to his government in order to organize a local resistance to the threat of Japanese invasion. By

5375-542: The Taihang Mountains. The Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan high-speed railway crosses under the Taihang Mountains via the Taihang Tunnel , which, at almost 28 kilometres (17 mi), is the third longest railway tunnel in China. Many references to this range in “Fanshen” by William Hinton, with their significance in the Chinese Socialist revolution. This article related to a mountain or hill in China

5500-408: The Tang dynasty and after, present day Shanxi was called Hédōng ( 河東 ), or "east of the (Yellow) river". Empress Wu Zetian , one of China's only female rulers, was born in Shanxi in 624. During the first part of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960), Shanxi supplied rulers of three of the Five Dynasties. Among the Ten Kingdoms, it was the only one located in northern China. Shanxi

5625-641: The United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. The mining-related companies include Daqin Railway Co. Ltd., which runs one of the busiest and most technologically advanced railways in China, connecting Datong and Qinhuangdao exclusively for coal shipping. The revenue of Daqin Railway Co. Ltd. is among the highest among Shanxi companies due to its export of coal to Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Shanxi's nominal GDP in 2011

5750-636: The Western medical personnel he met with to discuss how to suppress the epidemic inspired him to modernize and improve Shanxi's medical infrastructure which he began by funding the Research Society for the Advancement of Chinese Medicine, based in Taiyuan, in 1921. Highly unusual in China at the time, the school had a four-year curriculum and included courses in both Chinese and Western Medicine. The main skills that Yan hoped physicians trained at

5875-521: The advancing Communists. The People's Liberation Army , depending largely on their reinforcements of artillery, launched a major assault on April 20, 1949, and succeeded in taking all positions surrounding Taiyuan by April 22. A subsequent appeal to the defenders to surrender was refused. On the morning of April 22, 1949, the PLA bombarded Taiyuan with 1,300 pieces of artillery and breached the city's walls, initiating bloody street-to-street fighting for control of

6000-726: The advice of He Ning , left his nephew Shi Chonggui in charge of Daliang with authority to immediately commission generals to act against An Congjin. In winter 941, hearing that Shi Jingtang had left Daliang for Yedu, An Congjin rebelled. Shi Conggui immediately, under authority previously given to him by Shi Jingtang, commissioned the general Gao Xingzhou to assume overall command against An Congjin. Upon hearing of An Congjin's rebellion, An Chongrong also rebelled, and Shi sent Du Chongwei against him. Gao quickly defeated An Congjin's advance army, forcing An Congjin into returning to Shannan East's capital Xiang Prefecture ( 襄州 ) to try to defend it. Meanwhile, Du engaged An Chongrong, and An Chongrong

6125-438: The area around Taiyuan was a major national producer of coal, iron, chemicals, and munitions. Yan was able to protect the province from his rivals for the period of his rule partially due to his building of an arsenal in Taiyuan that, for the entire period of his administration, remained the only center in China capable of producing field artillery. Yan's army was successful in eradicating banditry in Shanxi, allowing him to maintain

6250-482: The battle a "stalemate". In an effort to save their forces at Xinkou, Japanese forces began an effort to occupy Shanxi from a second direction, in the east. After a week of fighting, Japanese forces captured the strategic Niangzi Pass , opening the way to capturing Taiyuan. Communist guerrilla tactics were ineffective in slowing down the Japanese advance. The defenders at Xinkou, realizing that they were in danger of being outflanked, withdrew southward, past Taiyuan, leaving

6375-420: The casualties suffered by the Japanese army in North China. Yan himself was forced to withdraw after having 90% of his army destroyed, including a large force of reinforcements sent into Shanxi by the central government. Throughout 1937, numerous high-ranking Communist leaders, including Mao Zedong , lavished praise on Yan for waging an uncompromising campaign of resistance against the Japanese. Possibly because of

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6500-534: The center through which the Fen River runs. The highest peak is Mount Wutai (Wutai Shan) in northeastern Shanxi with an altitude of 3,058 m. The Great Wall of China forms most of the northern border with Inner Mongolia . The Zhongtiao Mountains run along part of the southern border and separate Shanxi from the east–west part of the Yellow River. Mount Hua is to the southwest. The Yellow River forms

6625-405: The city and surrendered; the imperial forces then entered and put An Chongrong to death. (An Congjin, however, would not be defeated until after Shi Jingtang's death.) Meanwhile, Shi fell ill. He entrusted his young and only surviving son Shi Chongrui to Feng Dao, wanting Feng to support Shi Chongrui in succeeding to the throne. After Shi Jingtang's death in summer 942, Feng, in consultation with

6750-588: The city. At 10:00 am, April 22, the Taiyuan Campaign ended with the Communists in complete control of Shanxi. Total Nationalist casualties amounted to all 145,000 defenders, many of whom were taken as POWs. The Communists lost 45,000 men and an unknown number of civilian laborers they had drafted, all of whom were either killed or injured. The fall of Taiyuan was one of the few examples in the Chinese Civil War in which Nationalist forces echoed

6875-430: The coming torrent of Khitan/Later Jin forces, surrendered, leaving Shi's path toward Luoyang clear. Emperor Taizong, citing the fact that the Han Chinese may be fearful of Khitan soldiers, stopped at Lu himself and had Shi advance toward Luoyang by himself. Believing the situation to be hopeless, Li Congke gathered his family (including Empress Dowager Cao, who decided to die with her stepson's family rather than to live) and

7000-551: The commander of the Eighth Route Army active in Shanxi and was named the vice-commander of the Second War Zone, under Yan himself. Yan initially responded warmly to the re-entry of the arrival of Communist forces, and they were greeted with enthusiasm by Yan's officials and officers. Communist forces arrived in Shanxi just in time to help defeat a decisively more powerful Japanese force attempting to move through

7125-469: The commander). Later in 927, when the general Zhu Shouyin the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng , Henan ) rebelled against Li Siyuan's rule, Li Siyuan initially sent a small dispatch of soldiers under Fan Yanguang to attack Xuanwu's capital Daliang, but then followed that dispatch by sending Shi, and then followed Shi there himself. Zhu, finding the situation hopeless, committed suicide. LI Siyuan subsequently made Shi

7250-408: The defeated Ming loyalists who had, in the 17th century, brought entire cities to ruins resisting the invading Manchus. Many Nationalist officers were reported to have committed suicide when the city fell. The dead included Yan's nephew-in-law, who was serving as governor, and his cousin, who ran his household. Liang Huazhi , the head of Yan's "Patriotic Sacrifice League", had fought for years against

7375-520: The defender of Taiyuan and the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered at Taiyuan). He was also given the greater honorary chancellor designation of Shizhong ( 侍中 ). Shi entrusted much of the affairs of the circuit to two officers, Liu Zhiyuan and Zhou Gui ( 周瓌 ), putting Liu in charge of military matters and Zhou in charge of financial matters. Li Siyuan became deathly ill in late 933. Li Congrong, believing that Li Siyuan's chiefs of staff Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun would try to divert

7500-409: The deputy commander of the imperial guards (by this point, serving as the deputy to another biological son of Li Siyuan's, Li Congrong the Prince of Qin). He was also given the military governorship of Heyang Circuit (河陽, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo , Henan ). Shi's relationship with Li Congrong was a tense one, as Li Congrong, viewing himself as the natural heir (being older than Li Conghou),

7625-481: The emperor of China, he would allow Shi to retain Hedong. Emperor Taizong was enticed, believing that Zhao's army would be difficult to defeat, but was persuaded by Sang (who argued that Zhao could be defeated and that Emperor Taizong, having already committed to Shi, should not support Zhao) to reject Zhao's proposal. Meanwhile, while Zhao was in negotiations with the Khitan, the situation at Jin'an became desperate for

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7750-534: The emperor's actions—the network included two of Shi's own sons, who served in the imperial guards (whose names were variously recorded, and one of whom might have been a brother whom he adopted as a son), and the servants of Empress Dowager Cao. (The two sons were recorded in the New History of the Five Dynasties as Shi Chongying ( 石重英 ) and Shi Chongyin ( 石重胤 ), and in the Zizhi Tongjian as Shi Chongyin ( 石重殷 ) and Shi Chongyi ( 石重裔 ). ) In 935, there

7875-665: The end of 1936 Taiyuan had become a gathering point for anti-Japanese intellectuals from all over China. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937 led the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces to invade China, and Shanxi was one of the first areas the Japanese attacked. When it became clear to Yan that his forces might not be successful in repelling the Imperial Japanese Army , he invited Communist military forces to re-enter Shanxi. Zhu De became

8000-547: The end of 2017, the total population of Shanxi is 37.02 million. The Governor of Shanxi is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Shanxi. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor is subordinate to the provincial Communist Party Committee Secretary ( 中共山西省委书记 ), colloquially termed the "Shanxi Party Committee Secretary ". As is the case in almost all Chinese provinces,

8125-850: The entire Later Jin. The rise of the Liao in northern China and the Mongolian Plateau would shape Chinese politics for the centuries leading up to the Mongol Empire. The official history Old History of the Five Dynasties stated that his family was originally descended from Shi Que ( 石碏 ), an official of the Spring and Autumn period state Wey , through the Han prime minister Shi Fen ( 石奮 ), and further stated that Shi Fen's descendants fled west when Han fell, settling in what would eventually become Gan Prefecture (甘州, in modern Zhangye , Gansu ), apparently in an attempt to try to link Shi with

8250-472: The eunuch Meng Hanqiong , from Tianxiong (as Meng was left in charge of Tianxiong when Li Conghou was recalled from there), they issued a series of orders—from their Office of the Chiefs of Staff, rather than by imperial edicts—transferring Fan Yanguang, then the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang , Hebei ), to Tianxiong; Shi from Hedong to Chengde; and Li Congke, then

8375-663: The former base of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army. Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre , one of China's three satellite launch centers, is located in the middle of Shanxi with China's largest stockpile of nuclear missiles . Many private corporations, in joint ventures with the state-owned mining corporations, have invested billions of dollars in the mining industry of Shanxi . Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing made one of his largest investments ever in China in exploiting coal gas in Shanxi. Foreign investors include mining companies from Canada,

8500-476: The greater honorary chancellor title of Zhongshu Ling ( 中書令 ). As Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun considered themselves responsible for Li Conghou's succession to the throne, they retained power as chiefs of staff after he took the throne. As both Shi and Li Congke had great battlefield accomplishments under Li Siyuan, they were apprehensive of both Shi and Li Congke. In spring 934, Zhu and Feng, not wanting Shi to remain long as Hedong and wanting to recall their ally,

8625-462: The highest-ranked provincial officials, Jin Yinhuan , died in a car accident. Since Xi Jinping 's ascendancy to General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party at the 18th Party Congress , numerous highly ranked officials in Shanxi have been placed under investigation for corruption-related offenses, including four incumbent members Bai Yun , Chen Chuanping , Du Shanxue , and Nie Chunyu of

8750-414: The imperial general Kang Yicheng ( 康義誠 ), whom Li Conghou sent against Li Congke in a last-ditch attempt to resist Li Congke's advance, also having surrendered to Li Congke, Li Conghou fled the capital with just 50 cavalry soldiers. Meanwhile, Shi was on the way from Taiyuan to Luoyang to pay homage to Li Conghou. They rendezvoused at Wei Prefecture (衛州, in modern Anyang , Henan ). Realizing that Li Conghou

8875-460: The imperial messenger station at Wei, while Shi himself and his followers continued on to Luoyang (to offer their allegiance to Li Congke). Shi's mother-in-law Empress Dowager Cao issued an edict deposing Li Conghou and ordering Li Congke to take the throne, and Li Congke did. He then sent an emissary to force Li Conghou to commit suicide; when Li Conghou refused, he was strangled to death. Li Congke's quick victory over Li Conghou left Shi Jingtang in

9000-614: The imperial troops against Shi, and Zhang quickly put Taiyuan under siege, but was unable to capture it quickly, with Liu defending the city capably. Shi had Sang write a letter requesting aid from Khitan's Emperor Taizong , promising that if Emperor Taizong agreed to support him as emperor, he would cede 16 prefectures to the north (the entire Lulong Circuit and the northern prefectures of Hedong Circuit) to Khitan—despite Liu's misgivings. Emperor Taizong agreed, arriving in Hedong territory in fall 936. He quickly engaged Zhang's Later Tang imperial army, defeating Zhang. The remnants of Zhang's army

9125-517: The influence of solar radiation, monsoon circulation and geographical factors, Shanxi's climate has four distinct seasons, synchronous rain and heat, sufficient sunshine, significant climate difference between north and south, wide temperature difference between winter and summer, and large temperature difference between day and night. The annual average temperature in Shanxi Province is between 4.2 and 14.2 °C. The overall distribution trend

9250-515: The main armies under Yang Guangyuan and Shi's brother-in-law Du Chongwei . The central Later Jin realm was, for a time, thrown into disarray, after Fan was able to persuade another Later Jin general, Zhang Congbin ( 張從賓 ), into rebelling at Luoyang, and Zhang was even able to kill Shi's son Shi Chongxin ( 石重信 ) and Shi Chong'ai ( 石重乂 ), during his revolt. Yang's soldiers also tried to persuade him to rebel against Later Jin as well, offering to support him as emperor, but Yang refused their overture. Du

9375-457: The military governor of Chengde, who had viewed Shi's submissive attitude toward Liao as a sign of weakness, was himself considering rebelling against Later Jin. He entered into an alliance with An Congjin the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangyang , Hubei ), who was similarly considering to rebel. He also continuously provoked Liao by intercepting its emissaries and killing them. In summer 941, he issued

9500-454: The military governor of Dongchuan Circuit (東川 headquartered in modern Mianyang , Sichuan )—fearing that Li Siyuan's powerful chief of staff An Chonghui was intending to act against them, rebelled together. Li Siyuan sent Shi to command the army against the two circuits—a commission that Shi accepted despite his misgivings about the campaign. Shi quickly advanced to Jianmen Pass , but, after capturing it, could not advance further easily against

9625-494: The military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji , Shaanxi ), to Hedong. Li Congke, believing that these moves were targeting him, rebelled. Li Conghou sent the imperial army against him, under the command of the general Wang Sitong , but Wang's army collapsed when the officer Yang Siquan ( 楊思權 ) led the soldiers under him and defected to Li Congke. Wang was captured, and Li Congke marched quickly toward Luoyang. With Li Congke approaching Luoyang and

9750-538: The military governor of Xuanwu. In 928, Li Siyuan made him the defender of Yedu and the military governor of Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered at Yedu), and gave him the honorary chancellor designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi ( 同中書門下平章事 ). In 930, the two main military governors of the Shu lands, both commissioned by Li Cunxu before his death— Meng Zhixiang the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川 headquartered in modern Chengdu , Sichuan ) and Dong Zhang

9875-424: The minds of another brother-in-law of Li Congke's, Zhao Yanshou the military governor of Xuanwu, and Zhao's father Zhao Dejun the military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing ). As Shi had recently been ill and appeared frail, Li Congke decided that he needed not be concerned with Shi as a potential threat, and therefore thereafter agreed to let him return to Hedong, stating, "Master Shi

10000-559: The most important in Shanxi. Shanxi also contains about 500 million tonnes of bauxite deposits, about a third of total Chinese bauxite reserves. Industry in Shanxi is centered around heavy industries such as coal and chemical production, power generation, and metal refining . As part of an effort to promote diversification in non-resource industries, since 2004, some local governments in Shanxi province have required that coal mining companies set aside funds for investing in non-coal business like agriculture and produce processing. In 2006,

10125-519: The mountains) originally applied to the area east of the Xiao Mountains , but by the Tang dynasty it refers to the area east of the Taihang Mountains; this entity evolved into the modern-day Shandong Province, though the actual border of the province has moved considerably to the east. The Hai River system runs through the Taihang Mountains. The Red Flag Canal is located on the south edge of

10250-499: The number of Japanese soldiers under Yan's command to 3,000. The leader of the Japanese under Yan's command, Hosaku Imamura, committed suicide on the day that Taiyuan fell to Communist forces. Yan Xishan himself (along with most of the provincial treasury) was airlifted out of Taiyuan in March 1949. Shortly afterwards Republic of China Air Force planes stopped dropping food and supplies for the defenders due to fears of being shot down by

10375-458: The possibility that Lady He was Shi Shaoyong's wife and Shi Jingtang's "legal" mother, but that Lady Liu was his birth mother.) In his youth, Shi Jingtang was said to be quiet and stern. He studied the military strategies and particularly tried to take after Li Mu and Zhou Yafu . When he grew up, he was known as one of the strongest warriors in the region due to his valor and martial prowess. The region that Li Keyong ruled subsequently became

10500-413: The prefect of Dai, he became impressed with Shi Jingtang and gave his Empress Li to Shi in marriage. Shi subsequently served under Li Siyuan in campaigns, becoming one of the two prominent officers under Li Siyuan (along with Li Siyuan's adoptive son Li Congke ) due to his battlefield accomplishments. Despite the familial relationship between Shi and Li Congke and their serving together under Li Siyuan,

10625-483: The province as many as one in five residents were denounced as landlords, and his program was copied throughout the rest of the new People's Republic of China . Shanxi became the site of Mao's "model brigade" of Dazhai : a utopian communist scheme in Xiyang County that was supposed to be the model for all other peasants in China to emulate. If the people of Dazhai were especially suited for such an experiment, it

10750-463: The province. He has been viewed by Western biographers as a transitional figure who advocated using Western technology to protect Chinese traditions, while at the same time reforming older political, social and economic conditions in a way that paved the way for the radical changes that would occur after his rule. In 1918 there was an outbreak of bubonic plague in northern Shanxi that lasted for two months and killed 2,664 people. Yan's interactions with

10875-420: The provincial Communist Party Standing Committee. They were all removed from office around August 2014. The following were also removed from office: Thousands of Shanxi officials were disciplined during the anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping . This necessitated a scramble to find find suitable personnel for many vacated offices. In the aftermath of the 'political earthquake', party secretary Yuan Chunqing

11000-413: The provincial government established a policy of "subsidizing peasants by coal" which made this diversification a provincewide requirement and encouraged local governments to develop policies like subsidies and favorable tax treatment to further encourage mining companies to invest in non-coal business. There are countless military-related industries in Shanxi due to its geographic location and history as

11125-464: The provincial party secretary and Governor are not natives of Shanxi; rather, they are outsiders who are, in practice, appointed by the central party and government authorities. The province went through significant political instability since 2004, due largely to the number of scandals that have hit the province on labour safety, the environment, and the interconnected nature between the provincial political establishment and big coal companies. Yu Youjun

11250-409: The remaining army and rendezvoused with Shi, signaling support for Li Siyuan. With Li Jiji dead, Li Siyuan claimed the throne. Li Siyuan commissioned Shi as the military governor of Baoyi Circuit (保義, headquartered at Shan Prefecture) and created him a count. In 927, he recalled Shi to Luoyang to serve the deputy commander of the imperial guards (with Li Siyuan's biological son Li Conghou serving as

11375-420: The rural population. Subsequent atrocities committed by the Japanese in the effort to rid Shanxi of Communist guerrillas aroused the hatred of millions in the Shanxi countryside, causing the rural population to turn to the Communists for leadership against the Japanese. All of these factors explain how, within a year of re-entering Shanxi, the Communists were able to take control of most of Shanxi not firmly held by

11500-410: The school would learn were: a standardized system of diagnosis; sanitary science, including bacteriology ; surgical skills, including obstetrics ; and, the use of diagnostic instruments. Yan hoped that his support of the school would eventually lead to increased revenues in the domestic and international trade of Chinese drugs, improved public health , and improved public education . Yan's promotion of

11625-438: The secondary capital Daliang (Later Liang's former capital) and then the imperial capital Luoyang . During this campaign, both Shi and Li Congke continued to play prominent roles. Before Li Siyuan's and Li Cunxu's armies could engage each other, however, Li Cunxu was killed in a mutiny at Luoyang itself. Li Siyuan subsequently entered the city and claimed the title of regent. Li Siyuan appeared to be initially hesitant to take

11750-606: The severity of his losses in northern Shanxi, Yan abandoned a plan of defense based on positional warfare, and began to reform his army as a force capable of waging guerrilla warfare. After 1938 most of Yan's followers came to refer to his regime as a "guerrilla administration". After the surrender of Japan and the end of the Second World War , Yan Xishan was notable for his ability to recruit thousands of Japanese soldiers stationed in northwest Shanxi in 1945, including their commanding officers, into his army. By recruiting

11875-508: The state of Jin after Tang's fall in 907 (as Li Keyong carried the Tang-bestowed title of Prince of Jin), and after Li Keyong's death in 908, Li Cunxu succeeded him as the Prince of Jin, in rivalry with Tang's main successor state Later Liang . Li Cunxu subsequently made his adoptive brother (Li Keyong's adoptive son) Li Siyuan, a major general, the prefect of Dai Prefecture (代州 in modern Shuozhou , Shanxi ). While Li Siyuan served as

12000-417: The strategic Pingxing Pass . The Battle of Pingxingguan was the largest battle won by the Communists against the Japanese. After the Japanese responded to this defeat by outflanking the defenders and moving towards Taiyuan , the Communists avoided decisive battles and mostly attempted to harass Japanese forces and sabotage Japanese lines of supply and communication. The Japanese suffered, but mostly ignored

12125-566: The subsequent civil war made it impossible to carry these plans out. Yan's generous support for the Research Association for the Improvement of Chinese Medicine generated a body of teaching and publication in modern Chinese medicine that became one of the foundations of the national institution of modern traditional Chinese medicine that was adopted in the 1950s. Yan invested in Shanxi's industrial infrastructure, and by 1949

12250-427: The succession away from him, decided to try to forcibly take power, but his army was defeated by the imperial guards, and he was killed. In the aftermaths, Li Siyuan summoned Li Conghou back from Tianxiong (where Li Conghou was serving as military governor), but died before Li Conghou arrived at Luoyang. Li Conghou subsequently arrived and took the throne. Upon Li Conghou's assumption of the throne, he gave Shi Jingtang

12375-437: The such.) After Shi's return to Hedong, there were repeated incursions of Later Tang's northern circuits by Later Tang's northern rival Khitan Empire . Both Shi and Zhao Dejun repeatedly requested reinforcements, and they were allowed to amass troops and supplies at their circuits. As Shi was still apprehensive that Li Congke might be suspicious of him, Shi maintained an information network at Luoyang to keep himself informed of

12500-408: The suspicion might be cast on him, but that did not stop Li Congke from suspecting him of having greater ambitions upon receiving the report from the imperial envoy. As Shi was formally the commander of the army to the north, Li Congke commissioned the general Zhang Jingda to serve as his deputy to divide his command. By spring 936, the tension between Li Congke and Shi had become very strong—as Shi

12625-699: The throne himself, as at that time, Li Cunxu's son Li Jiji the Prince of Wei, who had been the commander of the army that destroyed Former Shu, was returning from the Shu lands and heading toward Luoyang with his army, and he initially signaled support for Li Jiji. However, after apparently concluding that he would not be tolerated if Li Jiji became emperor, he sent Shi Jingtang and Li Congke to take up defensive positions at Shan Prefecture (陝州, in modern Sanmenxia , Henan ) and Hezhong Municipality (河中, in modern Yuncheng , Shanxi ) respectively, to block Li Jiji. Li Jiji's own soldiers began to desert, and he committed suicide. Li Jiji's subordinate Ren Huan took over command of

12750-529: The total area of the province, and the area of Pingchuan and river valleys accounts for 19.9% of the total area. Most of the province's altitude is above 1,500 meters, and the highest point is the Yedoufeng, the main peak of Wutai Mountain , with an altitude of 3061.1 meters, which is the highest peak in northern China. Shanxi is located in the inland of the mid-latitude zone and belongs to the temperate continental monsoon climate in terms of climate type. Due to

12875-620: The two did not like each other and had a rivalry, although not overtly. In 923, Li Cunxu declared himself emperor of a new state called the Later Tang . He subsequently carried out a campaign that destroyed Later Liang later in the year—a campaign in wherein Li Siyuan played a prominent role. Shi Jingtang and Li Congke both had battlefield accomplishments during the campaign, but Shi did not receive prominent honors as his contributions were not well-known. According to traditional accounts, it

13000-499: The use of the traditional lunar calendar and encouraged the development of local boy scout organizations . Like the Communists who later succeeded Yan, he punished habitual lawbreakers to "redemption through labour" in state-run factories. After the failed attempt by the Chinese Red Army to establish bases in southern Shanxi in early 1936 Yan became convinced that the Communists were lesser threats to his rule than either

13125-458: The western border of Shanxi with Shaanxi . The Fen and Qin rivers, tributaries of the Yellow River, run north-to-south through the province, and drain much of its area. The north of the province is drained by tributaries of the Hai River , such as Sanggan and Hutuo rivers. The largest natural lake in Shanxi is Xiechi Lake , a salt lake near Yuncheng in southwestern Shanxi. Shanxi has

13250-635: Was 1110.0 billion yuan (US$ 176.2 billion), ranked 21st in China. Its per-capita GDP was 21,544 yuan (US$ 3,154). Taihang Mountains The Taihang Mountains ( Chinese : 太行山 ; pinyin : Tàiháng Shān ) are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi , Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over 400 kilometres (250 mi) from north to south and has an average elevation of 1,500 to 2,000 metres (4,900 to 6,600 feet). The principal peak

13375-502: Was already drunk, and he made the comment, "Why do you not stay longer? You wanted to return so quickly. Is it that you are about to rebel with Master Shi?" When she returned to Taiyuan and informed Shi, Shi became even more apprehensive. The imperial scholars Li Song and Lü Qi ( 呂琦 ) believed that the solution was to ally with the Khitan Empire. They suggested that certain previously captured Khitan officers be released back to

13500-462: Was an important military general for the Later Tang before rebelling in 936. He enlisted the help of the Khitan -led Liao dynasty in his struggle against the Later Tang dynasty . For this he was called Emperor Taizong of Liao 's adopted son (even though he was 10 years older). After Shi's rise to power, the Liao would later annex the strategically crucial Sixteen Prefectures and eventually annex

13625-425: Was an incident in which, when the imperial envoy was at the front to review Shi's army and to deliver the imperially-bestowed supplies to the army, the soldiers began to chant, "May you live 10,000 years!" at Shi—a chant that should be reserved for the emperor. Shi became fearful, and under the advice of his staff member Duan Xiyao ( 段希堯 ), had Liu Zhiyuan behead 36 of the soldiers leading the chant, to try to alleviate

13750-452: Was arrogant and violent. Further, Li Congrong and Shi's wife, who at this point carried the title of Princess Yongning, were born of different mothers (Princess Yongning born of Empress Cao while Li Congrong born of Lady Xia, who was deceased by that point) and long despised each other. Shi thus did not want to remain under Li Congrong for long, and repeatedly requested to resign. In late 932, Li Siyuan agreed and sent him to Taiyuan to serve as

13875-422: Was because he did not like to brag about them. However, Li Siyuan was aware of his contributions. However, by 926, Li Cunxu's state, which had annexed Former Shu , was thrown into chaos due to his misrule. While a fierce general, he was not a capable ruler, and he had alienated the army by killing two prominent generals, Guo Chongtao and Zhu Youqian . A subsequent mutiny at Yedu (鄴都 in modern Handan , Hebei )

14000-530: Was carrying the greater title of Princess of Wei (and soon would receive the even greater title of Grand Princess of Jin), repeatedly begged on his behalf, however, but Li Congke's close associates, who accompanied Li Congke from Fengxiang, mostly suggested that Li Congke detain Shi and not allow him to return to Hedong. Li Congke's chief of staff Han Zhaoyin and imperial scholar Li Zhuanmei ( 李專美 ), however, believed that keeping Shi at Luoyang would cause apprehension in

14125-402: Was considering rebelling. Realizing that Fan was considering doing so, in spring 937, under Sang Weihan's advice, Shi moved the capital from Luoyang to Daliang, as Daliang was closer to Tianxiong's capital (which Shi had renamed Guangjin ( 廣晉 )) and, upon the expected revolt by Fan, he would be able to react much more quickly. Fan rebelled in summer 937. Shi mobilized his army against Fan, with

14250-417: Was gathering up his wealth and consolidating them at Hedong, and it was commonly believed that Shi would rebel. Li Congke aggravated the situation when Shi's wife—whose title had by that point had become the greater title of Grand Princess of Jin—came to Luoyang to celebrate Li Congke's birthday. After she offered Li Congke wine to wish him long life, she asked to take leave of him and return to Hedong. Li Congke

14375-437: Was initially home to the jiedushi (commander) of Hedong, Li Cunxu , who overthrew the first of the Five Dynasties, Later Liang (907–923) to establish the second, Later Tang (923–936). Another jiedushi of Hedong, Shi Jingtang , overthrew Later Tang to establish the third of the Five Dynasties, Later Jin , and yet another jiedushi of Hedong, Liu Zhiyuan , established the fourth of the Five Dynasties ( Later Han ) after

14500-486: Was initially successful in the engagement. At this time, though, An Chongrong's officer Zhao Yanzhi ( 趙彥之 ) tried to surrender to the imperial forces—and while the imperial forces killed him, Zhao's attempted surrender caused a general panic in An Chongrong's army, causing a collapse and forcing An Chongrong to flee back to Chengde's capital Zhen Prefecture ( 鎮州 ). In spring 942, an officer of An Chongrong's opened up

14625-707: Was mostly dominated by the warlord Yan Xishan until the Chinese Communist Party took full control in 1949; Communists had already set up secret bases in 1936, but did not completely overturn Yan and the Nationalist government until 1949. Early in Yan's rule he decided that, unless he was able to modernize and revive the economy of his small, poor, remote province, he would be unable to protect Shanxi from rival warlords. Yan devoted himself to modernizing Shanxi and developing its resources during his reign over

14750-534: Was not quickly suppressed. Li Cunxu sent Li Siyuan to suppress it, but Li Siyuan's own soldiers mutinied and forced Li Siyuan to join the Yedu mutineers. While Li Siyuan was subsequently able to escape from Yedu, Shi persuaded him that he could never, after this point, convince Li Cunxu that he was not part of the mutiny from the beginning. With Shi and the others persuading him to act against Li Cunxu, Li Siyuan finally decided to gather his troops and head south, first toward

14875-508: Was now completely without his imperial army, Shi consulted the prefect of Wei, Wang Hongzhi ( 王弘贄 ), who advised Shi that Li Conghou's cause was hopeless. When Li Conghou's guards Sha Shourong ( 沙守榮 ) and Ben Hongjin ( 奔弘進 ) heard of this, they cursed Shi for being faithless, and Sha tried to assassinate Shi, but he and Shi's guard Chen Hui ( 陳暉 ) ended up killing each other in mutual combat. Ben committed suicide. Liu Zhiyuan then slaughtered all of Li Conghou's guards, leaving Li Conghou alone at

15000-646: Was removed from his post in September 2014, with Wang Rulin 'helicoptered' into the provincial Party Secretary office. The GDP per capita of Shanxi is below the national average. Compared to the provinces in east China, Shanxi is less developed for many reasons. Its geographic location limits its participation in international trade, which involves mostly eastern coastal provinces. Important crops in Shanxi include wheat , maize , millet , legumes , and potatoes . The local climate and dwindling water resources limit agriculture in Shanxi. Mining-related industries are

15125-519: Was sent by the central government in 2005 to become Governor but resigned in the wake of the Shanxi slave labour scandal in 2007. He was succeeded by Meng Xuenong , who had been previously sacked as Mayor of Beijing in the aftermath of the SARS outbreak. Meng himself was removed from office in 2008 after only a few months on the job due to the political fallout from the 2008 Shanxi mudslide . In 2008, provincial Political Consultative Conference Chair, one of

15250-837: Was soon thereafter able to defeat Zhang, who drowned as he was retreating, ending his part of the rebellion. Fan, believing that he was nearing defeat, offered to surrender. Shi initially refused to accept his surrender. Yang could not capture Guangjin quickly, however. In fall 938, Shi agreed to accept Fan's surrender, and Fan subsequently did, ending the rebellion. Meanwhile, Shi sent the senior chancellors Liu Xu and Feng Dao to Khitan—whose state name had been changed to Liao by this point—to offer honorary titles to both Emperor Taizong and his mother Empress Dowager Shulü . He referred to Emperor Taizong as "father emperor" while referring to himself as "son emperor." He also fostered relationships with high level Khitan generals and officials by giving them gifts and using humble words toward them. This caused

15375-622: Was subsequently surrounded by the Khitan/Hedong troops at Jin'an Base (晉安寨, near Taiyuan). While Jin'an was still under siege, Emperor Taizong declared Shi the emperor of a new state of Later Jin . Still, Emperor Taizong was ambivalent on how much further support to give to Shi at this point, with a Later Tang relief army, commanded by Zhao Dejun, approaching. Zhao, however, was himself not devoted to Li Congke's cause, and stopped short of Jin'an. He secretly negotiated with Emperor Taizong, offering that, if Emperor Taizong would support him as

15500-424: Was to rendezvous with Li Jinquan and escort him safely back to Southern Tang, leaving Anyuan in Later Jin control. Li Chengyu, however, disobeyed Li Bian's orders and tried to defend Anyuan's capital An Prefecture ( 安州 ). Ma defeated, captured, and executed him. Li Bian subsequently wrote Shi, explaining that Li Chengyu had disobeyed orders. There was subsequent peace between the two states. Meanwhile, An Chongrong

15625-732: Was unclear when or how he received the surname of Shi. Most likely, Shi Jingtang descended from the Shatuo sub-tribe Anqing (安慶), specifically, from the Shi clan (石) of ultimately Sogdian origin. Shi Jingtang was born in 892, during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang , in Taiyuan . His mother was stated to be a Lady He, and it was not stated whether she was Shi Shaoyong's wife or concubine. (However, after he later became emperor, Shi Jingtang honored Shi Shaoyong's concubine Lady Liu , first as consort dowager, and then as empress dowager , suggesting

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