Tian Bu

Tian Bu (田布) (785 – February 6, 822), courtesy name Dunli (敦禮), was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He was the son of the general Tian Hongzheng, and after Tian Hongzheng's death at the hands of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei) mutineers was put in command of Tian Hongzheng's old command Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei) to try to avenge Tian Hongzheng. With his own soldiers close to mutiny themselves during the campaign, however, Tian Bu committed suicide.

Tian Bu was born in 785, during the reign of Emperor Dezong. He was the third son of the Weibo Circuit officer Tian Xing, although it is not known whether he was older or younger than his two brothers who were known to history, Tian Qun (田群) and Tian Mou (田牟). When he was young, his father Tian Xing served as the defender of Linqing (臨清, in modern Xingtai, Hebei) under then-military governor (Jiedushi) of Weibo, Tian Ji'an, who was ruling Weibo in a de facto independent manner from the imperial government. It was said that despite Tian Bu's youth, he was able to see that Tian Ji'an's position was not secure and counseled his father to eventually declare loyalty to the imperial government.

In 812, after Tian Ji'an died, his young son Tian Huaijian initially became nominal ruler of Weibo, without imperial sanction, but soon, the soldiers mutinied and supported Tian Xing as their leader. Tian Xing subsequently submitted to imperial orders and was made the military governor of Weibo and was subsequently renamed Tian Hongzheng by then-ruling Emperor Xianzong. Tian Bu served under his father and commanded the elite troops of Weibo.

In 815, when imperial troops were in the middle of a campaign against the warlord Wu Yuanji, who controlled Zhangyi Circuit (彰義, headquartered in modern Zhumadian, Henan), Tian Hongzheng sent Tian Xing to aid the campaign, commanding 3,000 soldiers. It was said that Tian Bu contributed to victories in 18 battles. In particular, in 817, when the chancellor Pei Du was at the front to oversee the operation, there was an occasion when Pei was reviewing the building of a fort at Tuokou (沱口, in modern Luohe, Henan), when the Zhangyi officer Dong Chongzhi (董重質) made a surprise attack on Pei's location, nearly reaching Pei. It was due to the efforts of Tian Bu and Li Guangyan that Pei was able to flee, and it was said that, after Tian cut off the Zhangyi soldiers' escape route, the Zhangyi soldiers fell into a ditch and suffered more than 1,000 casualties as a result. After the Zhangyi campaign ended in victory later in the year, Tian Bu was made a general of the imperial guards. In 818, when his mother died, he left governmental service to observe a mourning period for her, but was soon recalled to again serve as general of the imperial guards.

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