Tian Lingzi

Tian Lingzi (田令孜) (died 893), courtesy name Zhongze (仲則), formally the Duke of Jin (晉公), was a powerful eunuch during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang. During most of Emperor Xizong's reign, he had a stranglehold on power due to his close personal relationship with Emperor Xizong as well as his control over the eunuch-commanded Shence Armies, even throughout Emperor Xizong's flight to Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan) in the face of Huang Chao's agrarian rebellion. Late in Emperor Xizong's reign, he was forced to give up his powerful position after his dispute with the warlord Wang Chongrong led to multiple rebellions that rendered the Tang court virtually powerless over the warlords, and he was given refuge by his brother Chen Jingxuan, the military governor of Xichuan. In 891, however, Chen was defeated by Wang Jian and forced to surrender Xichuan to Wang. In 893, Wang put Chen and Tian to death.

It is not known when Tian Lingzi was born. He was originally surnamed Chen and had at least two brothers, Chen Jingxuan and Chen Jingxun (陳敬珣). The historical accounts were inconsistent as to whether he was from the Shu (蜀, i.e., modern Sichuan) region (as per his biography in the New Book of Tang) or from Xu Prefecture (許州, in modern Xuchang, Henan) (as per the Zizhi Tongjian when describing Chen Jingxuan's origins) It was said that he entered the palace as an eunuch under his adoptive father, presumably a eunuch named Tian, during the middle of Emperor Yizong's Xiantong era (860–874). It was said that he was literate, read much, and was capable of strategies. During Emperor Yizong's reign, he served as a eunuch who oversaw the imperial stables, and he became close to Emperor Yizong's son Li Yan the Prince of Pu.

Emperor Yizong died in 873, and Li Yan, with the support of the eunuchs Liu Xingshen (劉行深) and Han Wenyue (韓文約), who were then the commanders of the Shence Armies, was made emperor (as Emperor Xizong). Soon after Emperor Xizong became emperor, he made Tian Lingzi one of the directors of palace communications (Shumishi), and in 875 further made Tian the commander of the Right Shence Army. It was said that because Emperor Xizong, who was then 13, liked to spend his time in games, he entrusted the matters of state to Tian, and went as far as referring to Tian as "Father." Whenever Tian met with Emperor Xizong, he would prepare two plates of snacks, and they would drink and snack together. At Tian's suggestion, much of the wealth of the Chang'an merchants were seized and placed in the palace storage. Anyone who dared to complain was battered to death, and the imperial officials did not dare to intercede.

As of 880, the Tang realm was being overrun by agrarian rebels, the strongest of which was Huang Chao. As the imperial armies were having difficulty containing the rebellions, Tian began considering the contingency plan, in case Chang'an were attacked, of taking the emperor to the Shu region. He thus recommended his brother Chen Jingxuan, who was then a general of the imperial guards, as well as several generals he trusted, Yang Shili, Niu Xu (牛勗), and Luo Yuangao (羅元杲), as potential military governors for the region, also known as the Sanchuan (三川) — i.e., the three circuits of Xichuan, Dongchuan (東川, headquartered in modern Mianyang, Sichuan), and Shannan West (山南西道, headquartered in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi). Emperor Xizong had the four of them play a ballgame to determine the order they would be commissioned. Chen won the game, and was made the military governor of Xichuan, while Yang was given Dongchuan and Niu Shannan West. During this period, Tian governed in association with the chancellor Lu Xi.

By winter 880, Huang was approaching Tong Pass. Tian and the chancellor Cui Hang suggested that Emperor Xizong carry out the contingency plan to flee to the Sanchuan region. Emperor Xizong initially refused and ordered Tian to have the imperial guards try to defend Tong Pass. The soldiers that Tian was able to gather, however, were new and inexperienced, and they were unable to aid the imperial forces already gathered at Tong Pass in time. Tian blamed Lu for the defeats, and Lu committed suicide. He then took Emperor Xizong, along with four imperial princes and a few imperial consorts, and fled Chang'an, heading toward Xichuan's capital Chengdu. Huang took Chang'an and, after initially living at Tian's mansion and then moving into the palace, declared himself the emperor of a new state of Qi.

Emperor Xizong's train first fled to Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), where the former chancellor Zheng Tian was military governor. After authorizing Zheng to oversee the resistance operation against Huang Chao, Emperor Xizong further fled to Shannan West, and then, at Chen Jingxuan's invitation, to Xichuan. (It was on this flight from Chang'an that Tian Lingzi would offend Emperor Xizong's brother Li Jie the Prince of Shou — the future Emperor Zhaozong, as during the flight, there was a time when Li Jie, then 13, became exhausted as the imperial train was going through rugged terrain on foot. He requested that Tian give him a horse, and Tian responded, "We are in high mountains. Where can we find horses?" Tian then hit the prince with a whip and ordered him to continue, causing Li Jie to bear a deep grudge against him.)

Once the imperial train arrived at Xichuan's capital Chengdu, however, Tian quickly alienated the Xichuan troops by giving great rewards to the imperial guard soldiers that followed Emperor Xizong to Chengdu, while not sharing those rewards with Xichuan troops. After the officer Guo Qi (郭琪) complained, Tian tried to poison Guo to death, but failed. Guo responded by starting a mutiny, but his mutiny was quickly defeated. When the advisory official Meng Zhaotu (孟昭圖) submitted a petition that urged Emperor Xizong to not just consult with Tian and Chen on the affairs of state but to listen to advice from the chancellors, Tian suppressed Meng's petition, exiled Meng, and had Meng killed in exile, to stifle criticism. Subsequently, when the lead chancellor Wang Duo was put in charge of the overall operations against Huang but was initially unsuccessful until Wang adopted the suggestion by the eunuch monitor Yang Fuguang to enlist the aid of the Shatuo chieftain Li Keyong, Tian used this as excuse, in spring 883, after the imperial forces defeated Huang and caused Huang to abandon Chang'an, to remove Wang as the commander of the operations against Huang. Further, he persuaded the chancellors and the regional governors to submit petitions to Emperor Xizong praising Tian himself of his contributions, and therefore Emperor Xizong made Tian the commander of all imperial guards. Later in the year, after Yang Fuguang died, Tian used the opportunity to remove Yang Fuguang's cousin Yang Fugong from his post as director of palace communications. Meanwhile, Zheng Tian, who by this point was at Chengdu and serving as chancellor, was not willing to simply agree with Tian's and Chen's requests, and Tian reacted by encouraging Li Changyan (a subordinate of Zheng's who had expelled Zheng from Fengxiang in 881) to threaten not to allow Zheng through Fengxiang when Emperor Xizong would be returning to Chang'an. Zheng was forced to resign and retire to Peng Prefecture (彭州, in modern Chengdu).

Meanwhile, Tian and Chen had also alienated Yang Shili by promising to make another general, Gao Renhou, the military governor of Dongchuan. Tian tried to preempt any actions Yang might take by summoning Yang to Chengdu in spring 884. Yang reacted by openly declaring a campaign against Tian and Chen. Gao subsequently waged a campaign against Yang, putting Dongchuan's capital Zi Prefecture (梓州) under siege. Yang's subordinate Zheng Junxiong (鄭君雄) then killed Yang and surrendered.