Qian Chu


Qian Chu, courtesy name Wende, known as Qian Hongchu before 960, also known by his posthumous name as the King Zhongyi of Wuyue, was the last king of Wuyue during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of China. He reigned from 947 until 978, when he surrendered his kingdom to the Northern Song dynasty.

Life

Qian Chu came to power after his brother, Qian Zong, was deposed in a coup d'état. At the time, Wuyue was at its largest territorial extent, ruling 13 in modern-day Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Fujian. Throughout its history, Wuyue maintained a policy of nominally submitting to the successive dominant northern regimes. Unlike the other small states in the south, the Wuyue kings never declared themselves Emperor. In return, the northern regimes respected Wuyue's autonomy and conferred upon its kings high honours, one of which was the title of "Commander of All Horses and Soldiers Under Heaven". Indeed, Qian Chu changed his name from the original Qian Hongchu, because the character hong was barred by taboo.
When the Song Dynasty unified northern China in the 960s, Qian Chu reportedly followed his ancestor Qian Liu's instruction to submit as soon as possible when the "true lord" appeared. In 960, Qian Chu submitted to Song, and changed his name in the same year. Subsequently, Qian Chu obeyed orders from the Song court to participate in the annexation of the other small southern kingdoms on behalf of the Song emperor. In 968, he was again made the King of Wuyue by the Song emperor, and was subsequently invested with further imperial honours. In 977, the new emperor, Emperor Taizong of Song, invested Qian with the nominal titles Chancellor, Chief Secretary, and Commander of All Horses and Soldiers Under Heaven.
However, in 978, Qian Chu surrendered his territories to the Song regime, possibly under veiled threat from the Song court. Nevertheless, the "voluntary" surrender protected the Wuyue region from the ravages of war that visited other contemporary regimes. The region was able to maintain its infrastructure and economic advantage, built up over the Wuyue period, which in no small part contributed to the Yangtze Delta being the economic centre of China up to the present day.
To allay northern suspicions and prevent conflict, Qian Chu stayed in the Song capital, Bianjing, and moved 3000 members of his household there. Qian nominally remained a king. His sons and a large number of the Wuyue elite were given various imperial posts and titles. Initially, Emperor Taizong of Song raised the prefecture of Yangzhou to the nominal state of Huaihai, and installed Qian Chu as King of Huaihai. In 984, Qian Chu was made King of Hannan instead, and in 987, was reduced again to King of Nanyang, with the right to take up residence in Nanyang, but then immediately, was additionally made Prince of Xu, with an enlarged feoff. In 988, Qian Chu lost his title as king and was made Prince of Deng instead, with a larger nominal feoff and actual income.
Qian Chu reportedly enjoyed a good personal relationship with the emperor, being regularly summoned to the palace for banquets and ball games. On his 60th birthday in 988, Emperor Taizong of Song sent him wine as a gift. After drinking the wine, he became violently ill and died that night. He was given a state funeral, was posthumously raised to King of Qin, and was buried near Luoyang.
Qian Chu had seven sons, one of whom went on to become a Chancellor in the Song court.

Other legacy

Qian Chu enjoyed writing poetry. One of his published poems survives to this day.
Like the other kings of Wuyue, Qian Chu was a devout Buddhist. Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou was constructed on his orders to celebrate the conception of his son and in some versions, for Consort Huang.

Consorts and issue

  • Queen of Wuyue, of the Sun clan, personal name Taizhen
  • *Qian Weijun, honored Prince Anxi of Bin posthumously, first son
  • Consort Huang, of the Huang clan
  • Lady of Chu State, of the Yu clan
  • *Qian Weiyan, Duke of Ying, fourteenth son
  • Unknown:
  • *Qian Weixuan, third son
  • *Qian Weihao, fourth son
  • *Qian Weijin, fifth son
  • *Qian Weicui, sixth son
  • *Eight Unnamed son
  • *Qian Weiji , fifteenth son
  • *Seven daughters
  • Adopted children:
  • *Qian Weizhi , honored Commandery Prince of Pengcheng posthumously, biological son of Qian Hongzong

    General

Category:929 births
Category:988 deaths
Category:Wuyue kings
Category:Song dynasty poets
Category:Writers from Hangzhou
Category:Politicians from Hangzhou
Category:10th-century Chinese poets
Category:Poets from Zhejiang
Category:Wuyue Buddhists
Category:Song dynasty Buddhists
Category:Song dynasty jiedushi of Wusheng Circuit
Category:10th-century Chinese people
Category:Chinese Buddhist monarchs
Category:Buddhist monarchs
Category:10th-century Buddhists