Wang Zhixing

Wang Zhixing (王智興) (758 – August 21, 836), courtesy name Kuangjian (匡諫), formally the Prince of Yanmen (雁門王), was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He had long served as an officer at Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) before seizing control of the circuit from the imperially-commissioned military governor (Jiedushi) Cui Qun, but subsequently often contributed to imperial campaigns against other generals.

Wang Zhixing was born in 758, during the reign of Emperor Suzong. His family was from Huai Prefecture (懷州, in modern Jiaozuo, Henan). His great-grandfather Wang Jing (王靖) and Wang Gui (王瓌) had both served as imperial guard generals, while his father Wang Jin (王縉) served as a staff member for a crown prince.

It was said that Wang Zhixing was a ferocious warrior while young, and he served as a soldier under Li Wei (李洧) the prefect of Xu Prefecture (徐州, in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu). (Li Wei was the cousin of Li Zhengji, a warlord that then ruled Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong) de facto independently from the imperial government, and Xu Prefecture was a part of Pinglu.)

Li Zhengji died in 781, and his son Li Na, without approval from then-reigning Emperor Dezong (Emperor Suzong's grandson), took over Pinglu. In response, Li Na aligned himself with several other warlords in similar situations — Tian Yue, who controlled Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei), Wang Wujun, who controlled Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), and Zhu Tao, who controlled Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing). Li Wei's subordinate, Bai Jigeng (白季庚), then persuaded Li Wei to submit to the imperial government instead, and Li Wei did so. Li Na then went his officer Wang Wen (王溫), along with the Weibo officer Xindu Chongqing (信都崇慶), to attack Xu Prefecture. Li Wei sent Wang Zhixing to seek aid from the imperial government, and Wang Zhixing was said to be so fast in his ability to walk that he got to the imperial capital Chang'an within five days. Imperial forces were launched, and they defeated the combined Pinglu and Weibo forces, saving Xu Prefecture. After this battle, Wang Zhixing was often given commands to resist Li Na, and he served at Xu Prefecture over 20 years.

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