Fanzhen

Fanzhen(simplified Chinese:Phiên trấn;traditional Chinese:Phiên trấn;pinyin:fānzhèn;lit.'barrier town'), also calledfangzhen(Chinese:Phương trấn;lit.'region town'), was a system ofdecentralizedgovernanceinMedieval Chinathat involved strategicmilitary districtsandcommanderiesalong the empire'sborderlandareas administered through highlyautonomousregional governors known asjiedushiduring theTang dynasty(618–907 CE). Primarily designed to bebuffer regionsshielding the politically and economically vital heartlands, these districts came under the control of increasingly influential provincial military commissioners, who became ambitiouswarlords,rebelsand evenusurpersduring the late Tang period. The phenomenon offanzhendomination has been termedfanzhen geju(simplified Chinese:Phiên trấn cát cứ;traditional Chinese:Phiên trấn cát cứ;pinyin:fānzhèn gējù;lit. "secessionistoccupation of barrier towns ") by historians.

The 48fanzhen(Military Districts under Buffer Towns) of late Tang dynasty, as of the 15th year of Emperor Xianzong's reign (820 CE).

Parallels have been made between the rise of thefanzhenin Tang China and the rise of self-rulingfeudaliststates inMedieval Europefollowing the decline of theCarolingian Empire.

History

Precursors offanzhenstarted at least as early as theWestern Han dynasty,during which trusted members of the Liu royal family were givenfiefsaround theGuanzhongregion, known asfanguo(Chinese:Phiên quốc;lit.'barrier state'), to guard strategic land corridors into thecrownland.However, due to theRebellion of the Seven States,since the reign ofEmperor Wuthe Han court started to replace the royal feudal lords with centrally sanctioned officials (who were selected viarecommendationsfrom local administrators) as regionalgovernors.During the latter half ofEastern Han dynasty,prefecturalgovernors and military leaders known aszhoumu( châu mục ) andtaishou( thái thú ) gained political power and autonomy, especially after long-running power struggles betweenconsort kinsandeunuchssignificantly weakened the imperial court, causing the emperors to rely increasingly upon local administrators to help suppress growinggrassrootinsurgenciessuch as theYellow Turban Rebellion.These regional prominence led to the rise of overambitious warlords such asDong Zhuo,Yuan Shao,Cao CaoandSun Ce,who allied and fought each other, eventually toppling the Han dynasty and led to theThree Kingdoms period.Such arrangement and circumstance of decentralization continued into the subsequentJinandSui dynasty,although the governance of key regions were given soly to centrally appointed officials instead of royalties, especially during the Tang dynasty, whereexamination- ormerit-selected personnels were promoted into administrative positions in large numbers.

During the late reign ofEmperor Xuanzong of Tang,control of thefanzhendevolved from central authority into the hands of long-term local officials and military leaders, who often passed down their position to kins and at times became clans powerful enough to overshadow the imperial court. The regional garrisons gradually turned intode factoprivate armiesof regional governors, many of whom outright ignored central authority, particularly during and after theAn Lushan Rebellion.An Lushan,the provincial governor-general of the Hebei and Shanxi prefectures who started the rebellion in 755 CE, went so far as to proclaim himself Emperor of theYan dynastyin 756 CE and forced the Tang court to flee the capitalChang'an,but wasursurped and killedin the following year byhis own son,who was lateroverthrown and killedby his generalShi Siming.Tang loyalists eventually defeated the Yan rebellion by 763 CE, but the chaos allowed many morejiedushion the periphery of the Tang Empire to gain significantautonomywith many becoming warlords in all but name. Subsequent Tang emperors were met with lukewarm success in curtailing the power of thesefanzhen,in particular, theEmperor Dezong(r. 779–805 CE) who was driven from the capital after an unsuccessful attempt to subjugate them. The subsequentEmperor Xianzong(r. 805–820 CE) was able to suppress somefanzhenbut at the cost of further empowering theeunuchswho had come to dominate the life of the imperial court. Xianzong died in 820 CE, possibly as a result of assassination, and his successors were unable to stop the dynasty's decline. The ambitions of thejiedushi,in tandem with the corruption of the imperial court eunuchs who dominated the central civil administration and even attained high military command during the late Tang, contributed to the disintegration of the Tang Empire. A brief resurgence under the emperorsWuzongandXuānzongfailed to halt the decentralization of state power, and the Tang Empire decayed further following a further series of major peasant uprisings such as theWang XianzhiandHuang Chaorebellions, eventually collapsing in 907 CE after a military governor namedZhu Wen(who was a defected commander from the Huang Chao rebellion) murderedthe last emperior of Tangand usurped the throne.

After the collapse of the Tang dynasty, numerousfanzhenthat did not wish to submit to the newLater Liang dynastydeclared independence, thereby forming several of theTen Kingdomsduring the chaoticFive Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.TheSong dynasty,which arose out of amilitary coupinLater Zhouand fearful of repeating the chaos of its preceding dynasties, overcorrected by emphasizingroyal guardsand oppressing any prominent borderland commanders, even when threatened by hostile foreign states.

See also

• ThreeFanzhenof Hebei