User:Donald Trung/Gongsun Shu

Target article: Gongsun Shu ✅. --Donald Trung (talk) 15:28, 18 October 2018 (UTC).

Original draft
Gongsun Shu (, died 36 AD), also known by his courtesy name Gongsun Ziyang (公孫子陽), was a warlord of the Xin dynasty and early Eastern Han dynasty who controlled the region of modern-day Sichuan, proclaiming himself as the Emperor of Chengjia. With Chengdu as his capital, he ruled for 12 years between 25 and 36 AD.

Early life and rise to power
Gongsun Shu was born in Fufeng (扶風, present day Xingping) and held the title of court gentleman (郎, láng) under the rule of Emperor Ai of Han. After the father of Gongsun Shu was made the commander of Henan he was appointment to be a Qingshuichang (清水長, qīng shuǐ cháng) or a member of the suite of heirs, later the governor of Henan trusted him with the administration of five districts because he held him in high esteem. When Wang Mang usurped the Chinese throne and established the Xin dynasty he appointed Gongsun Shu to be the regional governor of Daojiang (導江, present day Chengdu), as the Xin dynasty was facing a large number of rebellions he proclaimed himself to be the King of Shu (蜀王) and in 25 AD asserted independence by adopting the title of Emperor of Shu (蜀帝, or the "Emperor of Chengjia", 成家帝) while adopting the era name of Longxing (龍興, "Rise of the dragon").

As Emperor of Chengjia
As ruler of Chengjia Gongsun Shu ordered the creation of an imperial palace and instigated the creation of a bureaucracy to oversee the administration of his new Empire. The Chengjia Empire controlled the entirety of the former province of Yizhou (益州, present day Sichuan), the region was economically prosperous which allowed Gongsun Shu to build up a large military force and gather the funds to equip them. In the year 28 AD Gongsun Shu sought to annex the Chinese region of Hanzhong (漢中) which was situated between the modern areas of Shaanxi and Sichuan along the Han River, however this attempt at enlarging the territory of Chengjia was met with failure as the Han dynasty general Feng Yi (馮異) defeated the invasion.

In the year 30 AD Gongsun Shu had ordered the conquest of the Chinese province of Jingzhou (荊州, present day Hubei) under the command of his general Tian Tong (田戎), as the previous invasion this campaign was also met with failure. In the year 35 AD the Han dynasty Emperor Guangwu ordered an army to conquer Chengjia and asked Gongsun Shu to submit to the forces of the Han, this request was however declined and a war broke out. During the war Gongsun Shu personally stood at the defense of Chengdu and Guangdu but met his demise in the year 36 AD. After his death the Chengjia Empire was incorporated into the Han dynasty.

Iron Wu Zhu cash coins issued under Gongsun Shu


The Iron Wu Zhu's of Chengjia, which resemble the Western Han dynasty Wu Zhu coin, is attributed to Gongsun Shu, who is said to have issued iron cash coins during his rebellion in Sichuan, two being equal to one Jian Wu Wu Zhu. Head of the zhu component rounded. Typical of Eastern Han Wu Zhu's. In AD 30, a ditty was sung by the youths of Sichuan: "The yellow bull! the white belly! Let Wu Zhu cash coins return". This ridiculed the tokens of Wang Mang and the iron coins of Gongsun Shu, which were withdrawn by the Eastern Han Emperor Guangwu in the 16th year of Jian Wu (AD 40). The Emperor was advised that the foundation of the wealth of a country depends on a good political economy, which was found in the good old Wu Zhu coinage, and so reissued the Wu Zhu cash coins.

Sources to use

 * Gongsun Shu (公孫述).

References to copy-and-paste




Standard reference templates

 * October 2018.












 * September 2018.