Chen Yuanguang

Chen Yuanguang

Chen Yuanguang (657-711), known as Tingju, was born in Gushi, Guangzhou (now Gushi, Henan). During the Tang Dynasty, he was a minister and the son of General Chen Zheng.

He learned the art of war by himself and practiced riding and shooting. In the 13th year of the year, Lingxiang recommendation ranked first. In the second year of Yifeng (677), he inherited his father's position and was granted the jade seal to zuolang General of Weiyi mansion. In the second year of Yonglong (681), Zuo Yuqian was granted the title of Wei Zhonglang general and Lingnan Daoxing general. Qian Zhengyi, the governor of Zhangzhou, became the first governor in the history of Zhangzhou. Fujian had a good way of governing Fujian, including opening up subjects and selecting talents, appointing sages, appeasing exiles, burning wasteland and reclaiming land, setting up schools and persuading people to study. In addition, 36 fortresses were set up in the prefecture, and the Xingtai was set up in four areas, which served as a base for military appeasement and political education. They mainly appeased the people of Shanyue, paid equal attention to virtue and prestige, married their relatives and married a woman of Shanyue. They used force against those who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty and ruled the land for those who were willing to surrender. They called themselves "tanghuali", also known as "jiulongli". They promoted the so-called "wild" land of Minnan, realized the rapid development of economy and culture, and became the founder of promoting the integration of Central Plains culture and Minyue culture.

In the second year of Jingyun's reign, he added the name of Huaihua general to fight against Chaozhou bandits and died in battle. He was awarded the title of Zhongyi to the Marquis of Linzhang county. It has become one of the important folk beliefs in Fujian and Taiwan, honored as "Kaizhang holy king". There are three metrical poems in Chaozhou poetry collection, 48 in Longhu collection, and seven in quantang poetry collection.

Life of the characters

Calm down the chaos

In the second year of Zongzhang (669 A.D.), there was a rebellion between the springs and the tides. Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty ordered Chen Zheng to be the commander in chief of the Lingnan March. "The people were bitter and the tusks were in chaos, so they begged for the town commander to Jingbian." It was at this time that Chen Zheng, the general of guide, was ordered to lead 3600 soldiers and 123 generals from Gushi County, Henan Province to Fujian Province as the commander of Lingnan March. His son, Chen Yuanguang, was 13 years old when he joined the Tang army. Chen Zheng led the Tang army down the Huaihe River into the Grand Canal, down the Henan River into Zhejiang Province, and then from xianxialing to Fujian Province. After conquering a number of wild tusks, they reached the Jiulongshan border in Huaan County. In this place, because of the great disparity between the masses, the Tang army was unable to break through the encirclement for a while. In addition, the soldiers from the central plains were not acclimatized, and could not bear the warm and humid climate of "wild tusk area, miasmatic land". Many soldiers could not afford to get sick. The Tang army, which was in trouble, had no choice but to retreat to Jiulong Mountain, and the imperial court asked for more reinforcements. In the third year of Zongzhang (670 AD), Chen Zheng's two brothers led more than 5000 soldiers and military dependents to the south, including his 75 year old mother, Mrs. Wei Tai. During the March, the two elder brothers died one after another. Mrs. Wei decided to take the place of her son and take the reinforcements to Jiulong Mountain to join Chen Zheng. The Tang army was so powerful that it stood out at one stroke. After the great victory of Jiulongshan, the Tang army fought all the way, conquering 36 manliao strongholds. In today's pantuo Town, Zhangpu County, there is still a Niangzi temple. Huixian, the master of the temple, was the leader of Niangzi village who had gathered with a group of mountain bandits. Li boyao, a subordinate of Chen Zheng's father and son, sneaked into the stronghold to win over Niang Huixian. After pulling out the last mountain stronghold, the Tang army crossed pukui pass and settled in Huotian village, Huotian Town, Yunxiao County, where they camped and won a decisive victory. In the second year of Yifeng (677 A.D.), Chen Zheng died of chronic fatigue in Yunxiao and buried his bones in Jiangjun mountain. The 21-year-old Chen Yuan photon inherited his father's career, took charge of the handsome seal, and continued to lead Chen Jiajun to develop the southern barbarian land. "Chen Yuanguang believes that backward production, fierce people, lack of management and lack of education are the root causes of frequent riots in this area." Fang QunDa, a folklore expert who has been engaged in the study of Kaizhang holy King culture for a long time, said that in order to ensure the long-term stability of this place, Chen Yuanguang wrote to the imperial court in the 14th year of his entry into Fujian, and asked to set up prefectures. Two years later, Wu Zetian approved the establishment of Zhangzhou between Quanzhou and Chaozhou. The earliest county government was located in Yunxiao. Chen Yuanguang was appointed as the first governor of Zhangzhou.

Opening Zhangzhou

In 686 ad, Chen Yuanguang petitioned the emperor to set up prefectures and counties between Quanzhou and Chaozhou in order to strengthen the feudal rule of Zhangzhou. In the middle reaches of Huotian stream in Huotian village, there is still a 30 meter long dam, which is called "Junpo" by local people and has a history of more than 1300 years. "This is a water conservancy project built by General Chen when he led the soldiers in Zhangzhou to reclaim land. The dam is 120 meters long and the diversion canal is 4000 meters long." Tang Yuxian said that the irrigation area of "Junpo" is more than 1000 mu, which is one of the earliest water conservancy projects in Fujian. It has gone through many vicissitudes and is still beneficial to Fujian. "Junpo" is a historical witness of Chen Yuanguang's emphasis on production. In the end of the war in Southern Fujian, Chen Yuanguang was concerned about how to build a new Zhangzhou. At that time, Zhangzhou was backward in production, infested by wild animals and uncivilized. After years of war, all kinds of industries withered and the people were in dire straits. it's not easy to build a new County, it's more difficult to build a new county. Chen Yuanguang's first step in governing Zhangzhou was to develop production. Huotian village is the first village established by Chen Yuanguang in Zhangzhou. Its name has not changed for thousands of years. At that time, Chen Yuanguang led the soldiers and refugees to reclaim the land here, divide the land according to the households and plant crops. The soldiers "live in peace and hunt, and serve and defend.". The policy of putting troops in agriculture has greatly promoted the development of this "virgin land". Chen Yuanguang brought the advanced farming technology of Central Plains to southern Fujian, so that the local people mastered the iron cattle farming, and walked out of the backward state of slash and burn farming. Among the generals and men of Kaizhang, there were many skilled craftsmen who were good at weaving, firing pottery and smelting iron, which filled the gap of handicraft industry in Fujian. Chen Yuanguang carried out the policy of "trading and benefiting farmers", which made Zhangzhou rapidly become an important commercial town in South China. At the same time, the local transportation industry has gradually developed, and Jiulong River and Zhangjiang River have become important navigation channels. Therefore, fishery flourished, and shark skin was the main tribute of Zhangzhou at that time. In Xiangcheng District of Zhangzhou City, a relic of the prosperous Tang Dynasty records the beginning of Zhangzhou education, which is Songzhou Academy. Songzhou academy is one of the earliest academies in Fujian Province. It was founded by the son of Chen Yuanguang Tang Yuxian said that Chen Yuanguang insisted that "the foundation lies in chuangzhou County, and the main point lies in the order". Therefore, he was the first to establish a rural school in Zhangzhou and implement the imperial examination system. Since then, Zhangzhou's emphasis on learning has been prevailing, opening an era of flourishing literary style. The improvement of Han man relationship is another achievement of Chen Yuanguang in Zhangzhou. Facing the resistance of the Liao Dynasty, Chen Yuanguang adopted the strategy of envireing and giving, appeased the barbarians who were willing to return, registered residence, implemented autonomy in regionalization, and ensured their stability. He also encouraged his subordinates to intermarry with manliao to promote national integration. For this reason, he took the local caste as his wife, breaking the tradition that barbarians did not intermarry with outsiders in the past. After nearly 40 years of development and construction, Zhangzhou has transformed from a barren land into a land of honest people and prosperous industries. "Thousands of miles away, without the sound of drums", Han people coexist harmoniously, with few wars; "flowers are green in three winters, Jiahe is new twice", a prosperous scene. In the second year of Jingyun (A.D. 711), the remnant bandits in Chaozhou recovered. Chen Yuanguang led his cavalry to resist the enemy. On the way, he fell into encirclement. Because he was outnumbered, he was seriously injured and died in battle. The whole city of Zhangzhou was grieved. At first, the army and the people buried him in dazhiyuan. The mountain was also named Gebu mountain because the people hung white Gebu cloth on the top of the mountain.

The source of sacrifice to the holy King

After the death of Chen Yuanguang, the successive dynasties expressed their gratitude for his contribution to the opening of Zhangzhou and praised him one after another. Since the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court has pursued Chen Yuanguang for 22 times, 15 times in the Song Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty, Chen Yuanguang was granted the title of "Kaizhang holy king". At this point, a generation of meritorious officials ascended the altar and were worshipped by later generations. Chen Yuanguang and the descendants of 87 family name Fu Bing took root in Southern Fujian and became the main population of Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Chaoshan in the future. After the Tang Dynasty, the descendants of Kaizhang migrated to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, and at the same time, they also brought Kaizhang holy King belief culture. Since then, Kaizhang holy king has become a common God on both sides of the Strait. Chen Yuanguang's deeds have not been seen in the old and new Tang books. "In the history of Tang Dynasty, there was no one to compile biographies, and there was a temple to worship generals in Zhangjiang." For thousands of years, people on both sides of the Strait have commemorated this pioneer in their own way, and the Weihui temple built for him has been prosperous for a long time.

Main achievements

Politics

In 686 ad, Chen Yuanguang petitioned the emperor to set up prefectures and counties between Quanzhou and Chaozhou in order to strengthen the feudal rule of Zhangzhou. In the same year, Zhangzhou county was established, and Zhangpu and Huaien counties were established. Chen Yuanguang was appointed governor of Zhangzhou, and was the chief executive of Zhangzhou. General Chen Yuanguang led his father to the south when he was not weak, until he died. He always stayed in Fujian Garrison for 42 years. He had a good command of Fujian, opened up a branch, selected talents, appointed sages, appeased exiles, burned wasteland, set up schools and advised the people to study. In addition, 36 fortresses were set up in the prefecture, and the Xingtai was set up in four areas, which served as a base for military appeasement and political education. The economy and culture of Southern Fujian, which is known as the "wild land", has developed rapidly.

Culture

During the period of founding Zhangzhou and governing Zhangzhou, Chen Yuanguang stationed troops in the four borders of Southern Fujian, fought and cultivated, integrated the Han people, carried out "Tanghua" education, spread the culture of Central Plains, set up schools, awarded farmers and aided farming, benefited industry and commerce, which made this ancient wild land between Fujian and Guangdong move towards long-term prosperity and development, and formed a political, military, economic and cultural relationship with central plains Unified, and became one of the eight famous min states that "choked the words of Fujian and Guangdong, opened up thousands of generations of clothing and cultural relics".

Economics

1： We should encourage farming and weaving, build water conservancy and improve farming. For example, the construction of junpi (i.e. dam) and canal in the upper reaches of Zhangjiang River has made the wasteland and dry land irrigated.

Chinese PinYin : Chen Yuan Guang