An Congjin

An Congjin (; died 942) was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period states Later Tang and Later Jin. In 941, he rebelled against the rule of Later Jin's founding emperor Shi Jingtang, but was defeated, and he then committed suicide.

Background and service under Li Cunxu It is not known when An Congjin was born. He was said to be of Sogdian stock, but his family had settled at the Tang dynasty's Zhenwu Circuit (振武, headquartered in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia). Both his grandfather and father (whose names were not recorded in history) were cavalry officers during Tang. At some point, An became an officer under Li Cunxu, Later Tang's founding emperor, although it is not known whether that was after Li Cunxu's founding of Later Tang or prior, perhaps during Li Cunxu's rule as the prince of Later Tang's predecessor state Jin. While serving under Li Cunxu, he reached the positions of commander of Li Cunxu's cavalry guards, as well as prefect of Gui Prefecture (貴州, in modern Guigang, Guangxi). (The latter position was a completely honorary position, as Gui Prefecture was then under the rule of Southern Han.)

During Li Siyuan's reign During the subsequent reign of Li Cunxu's adoptive brother and successor Li Siyuan, An Congjin successively served as the military governor (Jiedushi) of Baoyi (保義, headquartered in modern Sanmenxia, Henan) and Zhangwu (彰武, headquartered in modern Yan'an, Shaanxi) Circuits, but it was said that during those terms he did not conduct any campaigns.

During Li Conghou's and Li Congke's reign Li Siyuan died in 933 and was succeeded by his biological son Li Conghou the Prince of Song. Subsequently, in the middle of Li Congke's Qingtai era (934-937), An was commissioned the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangyang, Hubei). Shi allowed An Congjin to remain at Shannan East, and bestowed on him the honorary chancellor designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi .

It was said that after Fan's rebellion, An began to also consider rebelling. He often intercepted the tributes sent by Later Jin's vassal state Chu; he also received many desperate people to increase the number of his troops. His officers Wang Lingqian and Pan Zhilin both tried to dissuade him, and he killed them. Shi wanted to move him away from Shannan East but did not dare to forcibly issue an order. When, in 940, Shi moved Wang Jianli from Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Weifang, Shandong) to Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), he considered moving An from Shannan East to Pinglu. He sent a messenger to Shannan East to inquire of An, "We are leaving the post at Qing Prefecture [(青州, Pinglu's capital)] open for you, sir. If you are willing, I will issue an edict." An irreverently responded, "Move Qing Prefecture to south of the Han River, and I, your subject, will report to it." Shi did not dare to rebuke him. Meanwhile, An also tried to communicate with Meng Chang, the emperor of Later Jin's southwestern rival Later Shu, and Gao Conghui, the ruler of Later Jin's vassal state Jingnan, trying to get support from both. Meng declined to support him, on account of the distance between Shannan East and Later Shu proper, while Gao tried to dissuade him from a rebellion. Instead, An, in anger, falsely reported to Shi that Gao was considering a rebellion. Gao, at the suggestion of his general Wang Baoyi , reported the contents of An's communications with him to Shi, and offered to support the Later Jin imperial government in any action against An. An Chongrong the military governor of Chengde, who was also considering a rebellion, however, entered into an alliance with him, as both prepared for rebellion.

In winter 941, both An Congjin and An Chongrong were preparing to launch their rebellions. Believing An Chongrong to be the greater threat, Shi prepared to take an army north from then-capital Kaifeng, preparing to engage An Chongrong as soon as he rebelled, leaving his nephew Shi Chonggui the Prince of Zheng in charge at Kaifeng. As he departed Kaifeng, the chancellor He Ning pointed out that An Congjin was also about to rebel. At He's suggestion, Shi Jingtang secretly left a number of blank, but pre-signed, edicts with Shi Chonggui, to allow Shi Chonggui to commission generals against An Congjin as soon as An Congjin launched his rebellion.

Notes and references

History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 98. New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 51. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 278, 279, 281, 282, 283.