Wang Shenzhi

Wang Shenzhi (; 862 – December 30, 925), courtesy name Xintong or Xiangqing, formally Prince Zhongyi of Min and later further posthumously honored as Emperor Taizu of Min, was the founder of Min Kingdom on the modern southeast coastal province of Fujian province in China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of ancient Chinese history. He was from Gushi in modern-day Henan. Background Wang Shenzhi was born in 862, during the reign of Emperor Yizong. His fifth-generation ancestor Wang Ye served as the magistrate of Gushi County (固始, in modern Xinyang, Henan) in Guāng Prefecture, and because the people loved him, he settled his family in Gushi. Wang Shenzhi hailed from a long line of illustrious administrators and military officers feted by historians. After the family settled in Gushi, they subsequently became known for their family business. His father's name was Wang Nin, and his mother was a Lady Dong. He had two older brothers, Wang Chao and Wang Shengui. Service under Wang Xu In 881, the bandit leader Wang Xu, along with his brother-in-law Liu Xingquan, captured Guāng Prefecture (光州, in modern Xinyang); he was subsequently commissioned the prefect of Guang Prefecture by Qin Zongquan the military governor (Jiedushi) of Fengguo Circuit (奉國, headquartered in modern Zhumadian, Henan). Wang Xu forced the men of Guang Prefecture to join his army, and he made Wang Chao, who had previously been a government worker at the Gushi County government, his discipline officer. Later on, however, Qin turned against the Tang imperial government and was on the cusp of claiming imperial title himself. He ordered Wang Xu to pay taxes to him. When Wang Xu was unable to do so, he launched an army to attack Wang. Wang Xu, in fear, gathered 5,000 soldiers from Guang and Shou Prefectures and forced the people to cross the Yangtze River to the south. By spring 885, Wang had continued south and captured Ting (汀州, in modern Longyan, Fujian) and Zhang (漳州, in modern Zhangzhou, Fujian) Prefectures, but was not able to hold either for long. By the time that Wang Xu reached Zhang Prefecture, his army was running low on food. As the terrain in Fujian Circuit (福建, headquartered in modern Fuzhou, Fujian), which Zhang Prefecture belonged to, was rugged, he ordered that the old and the weak be abandoned. However, in violation of his order, Wang Chao and his brothers continued to take their mother Lady Dong with them.