Zang Tu

Zang Tu
Chinese	臧荼
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zāng Tú Wade–Giles Tsang T'u Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Zong1 Tou4

Zang Tu (died 202 BC) was a Chinese warlord who lived in the late Qin Dynasty and the early Han Dynasty.

Biography

Zang Tu was originally a military general serving under Han Guang, the king of the Yan state. Around 207 BC, when rebellions broke out all over China to overthrow the Qin Dynasty, Zang Tu was sent to lead an army to assist rebel forces from the insurgent Zhao state, which were under attack by the Qin imperial army led by Zhang Han. Following the defeat of Qin forces at the Battle of Julu, Zang Tu joined the coalition rebel army under the command of Xiang Yu of the Chu state, and followed Xiang as they fought their way to the Qin capital Xianyang.

In 206 BC, after the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu divided the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms and appointed Zang Tu as "King of Yan" (燕王). Part of the former Yan kingdom was granted to Han Guang, who was appointed by Xiang as "King of Liaodong" (遼東王). Zang returned to Yan and attempted to force Han to move to his allocated fief, but the latter refused to comply. As a result, Zang Tu attacked Han Guang and killed him at Wuzhong, thereby becoming king of a united Yan kingdom.^[1]

In 204 BC, after his victory against Zhao at the Battle of Jingxing, Han Xin followed Li Zuoche's advice and sent a messenger to Zang Tu, asking Zang to submit to Liu Bang. Zang Tu agreed. In 202 BC, Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and unified China under his rule, proclaiming himself Emperor of China and establishing the Han Dynasty. Zang Tu became a vassal of Gaozu and retained his fief and title of "King of Yan". Later that year, Zang Tu rebelled against Gaozu, invading and capturing territory in Dai. Gaozu personally led an army to suppress the rebellion. Zang Tu was defeated in battle and captured.^[2] He refused to surrender and was executed on Gaozu's order.

Descendants

Zang Tu had a son called Zang Yan (臧衍), who escaped to join the Xiongnu after his father died.

Zang Tu's granddaughter, Zang Er (臧兒), married Wang Zhong, and had a daughter called Wang Zhi. Wang Zhi became the second wife of Emperor Jing (the fourth emperor of the Han Dynasty) and bore the future Emperor Wu.

References

1. Sima Qian (1993). Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty I, translated by Burton Watson. Columbia University Press. pp. 34–35. ISBN 0-231-08165-0.
2. Sima 1993, p. 190