Dong Chang

Background It is not known when Dong Chang was born, but it was known that he was from Lin'an (臨安, in modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang), which was part of Hang Prefecture (杭州). During the rebellion of the army officer Wang Ying in 876–877, Dong joined a local militia to defend against Wang's raids. After Wang's rebellion was defeated, Dong, for his contributions during the campaign, was made the defender of Shijing Base (石鏡, in modern Hangzhou).

In 882, Liu Hanhong the governor (觀察使, Guanchashi) of Zhedong, who wanted to take over Zhenhai, sent his brother Liu Hanyou (劉漢宥) and officer Xin Yue (辛約) to attack Hang Prefecture. Dong sent Qian to resist the Zhedong army, and Qian defeated them, forcing them to flee. Liu made another attack in 883, and Dong's army, under Qian, again defeated the Zhedong army, killing Xin and Liu Hanhong's brother Liu Hanrong (劉漢容).

Seizure of Yisheng Circuit In 886, Dong Chang and Qian Liu were discussing what to do with Zhedong — which by this point had been renamed Yisheng Circuit (義勝) — when Dong made the offer to Qian, "If you can capture Yue Prefecture [(越州, Yisheng's capital), in modern Shaoxing, Zhejiang], I will yield Hang Prefecture to you." Qian agreed, responding, "You are right. If Yue were not captured, it will eventually be harmful to us." Qian thus launched the Hang Prefecture army and attacked Liu Hanhong, repeatedly defeating his army. By winter 886, Qian had captured Yue Prefecture, and Liu Hanhong was captured by his own subordinate Du Xiong (杜雄) the prefect of Tai Prefecture (台州, in modern Taizhou, Zhejiang). Dong executed Liu, and moved his headquarters to Yue, claiming the title of acting governor, while making Qian the prefect of Hang Prefecture. In 887, Emperor Xizong commissioned Dong as the governor of Zhedong and Qian as the prefect of Hang Prefecture. Later, Dong was made the military governor of Yisheng, which was then renamed to Weisheng (威勝).

In 893, after the death of Chen Yan the governor of neighboring Fujian Circuit (福建, headquartered in modern Fuzhou, Fujian), whose family had a marital relationship with Dong's family, Chen's brother-in-law Fan Hui (范暉) and Chen's subordinate Wang Chao the prefect of Quan Prefecture (泉州, in modern Quanzhou, Fujian) vied for control of Fujian, and Wang put Fujian's capital Fu Prefecture (福州) under siege. Fan sought aid from Dong, and Dong sent troops. However, before the Weisheng troops could arrive, Wang captured Fu Prefecture, and Fan was killed in flight; Dong then withdrew his troops. then submitted an accusation against Dong, pointing out that Dong had committed the unpardonable crime of treason. Emperor Zhaozong thus issued an edict ordering Qian to attack Dong. Meanwhile, Yang Xingmi, who had taken over Huainan Circuit by this point and who did not want to see Qian take over Weisheng, sent messengers to Qian to point out that Dong had already repented and should be pardoned, but Qian did not relent.

Yang thus tried to relieve Qian's pressure on Dong by sending his officer Tai Meng (臺濛) to attack Su Prefecture (蘇州, in modern Suzhou, Jiangsu), which was then Qian's territory. Qian did not let up his attack, however, and Yang further sent Tian Jun the military governor of Ningguo Circuit (寧國, headquartered in modern Xuancheng, Anhui) and An Renyi (安仁義) the military prefect of Run Prefecture (潤州, in modern Zhenjiang) to attack Qian as well. The Huainan attack was bogged down for some time, however, allowing Qian to continue his attack of Weisheng, even after, in spring 896, because of Yang's request, Emperor Zhaozong pardoned Dong completely and restored his titles.

Qian's forces repeatedly defeated Dong's, and Dong exacerbated the matter by killing anyone who dared to give him accurate information about Qian's military strength. By summer 896, Qian's officer Gu Quanwu (顧全武) had reached Yue and put it under siege. Only then did Dong become fearful. He abandoned the title of emperor and referred to himself as military governor again, but the siege continued. Qian considered abandoning the siege after Huainan forces captured Su Prefecture about the same time, but Gu pointed out that capturing Yue should be the first priority, and Qian agreed.

Soon thereafter, the outer city of Yue fell, and Dong withdrew into the inner city to continue to defend it. Qian then sent Dong's old subordinate Luo Tuan (駱團) to Dong, stating that there were imperial orders for Dong to retire to Lin'an. Dong thus agreed to surrender. Gu delivered Dong toward Hang Prefecture, but executed him and his family on the way, as well as some 300 subordinates who had supported his imperial claim. Qian delivered Dong's head to Chang'an and took over his territory.

Family Son Dong Chenghe (董承和)