Han Jian (韓建) (855[1]-August 15, 912[2][3]), courtesy name Zuoshi (佐時), was a warlord late in the Chinese Tang dynasty, who eventually became a subject of the succeeding Later Liang state.
[1] When Qin Zongquan took over Cai Prefecture (蔡州, in modern Zhumadian, Henan) in 880,[4] he encouraged people to join his army, and Han Jian did.
[1] In 881, when the eunuch general Yang Fuguang was able to persuade Zhou Ji the military governor (jiedushi) of Zhongwu Circuit (忠武, headquartered at Xu Prefecture) to renounce his allegiance to Huang Chao — a major agrarian rebel who had captured the Tang capital Chang'an, forced then-reigning Emperor Xizong (Emperor Xuānzong's grandson) to flee to Chengdu, and declared himself the emperor of a new state of Qi — and return to the Tang fold, Yang also persuaded Qin to send forces to contribute to the war efforts against Huang's Qi state.
[4] Yang Fuguang died in 883 while stationed at Hezhong Circuit (河中, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) and still fighting against Huang.
[5] He commissioned Han and the other Zhongwu corps commanders as prefects within Shannan West, but did not allow them to actually report to their prefectures.
After Emperor Xizong returned to Chang'an in 885 after Huang's defeat,[6] Han was made the defender of Tong Pass and the prefect of Hua Prefecture.
The popular sentiment at the time greatly praised him, along with Cheng Rui the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou, Hubei).
[10] That year, when Emperor Xizong's brother and successor Emperor Zhaozong declared a general campaign against Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) and put the chancellor Zhang Jun in command of the operations, Han personally led his army to join Zhang's and was also responsible for supplying the army.
To flee back west across the Yellow River, they were forced to tear down local residents' homes and use the building material to construct rafts.
[9] In spring 892, Han, along with Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang, Wang Xingyu the military governor of Jingnan, Li Maozhen's brother Li Maozhuang (李茂莊) the military governor of Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Tianshui, Gansu), and Wang Xingyu's brother Wang Xingyue (王行約) the military governor of Kuangguo Circuit (匡國, headquartered at Tong Prefecture) (thus showing that Han had lost control of Tong by this point), submitted a petition for Emperor Zhaozong to declare a general campaign against Yang Fugong and his adoptive sons/nephews and make Li Maozhen the overall commander of the operations.
Emperor Zhaozong approved Li Keyong's request and rejected that of Han and his allies, leaving the three feeling humiliated.
He quickly defeated and killed Wang Yao, and then advanced across the Yellow River, putting Hua Prefecture under siege.
Li Keyong put Jingnan's capital Bin Prefecture (邠州) under siege; Wang Xingyu tried to flee, but was killed in flight by his own subordinates.
After leaving Chang'an, he initially intended, at the recommendation of Li Jiepi (李戒丕) the Prince of Yan, to flee to Hedong.
[12] Emperor Zhaozong's chancellors (at that time, Wang Tuan, Sun Wo, and Lu Yi), who fled with him to Zhenguo, were apprehensive of Han Jian and were not daring to decide on policy matters.
Han then put the imperial princes under effective house arrest, leaving Emperor Zhaozong with no forces that he could command.
Also around the same time, Han falsely accused two of Emperor Zhaozong's close associates, the astronomer Ma Daoyin (馬道殷) and the physician Xu Yanshi (許巖士) and had them executed, and then used the excuse that Sun and a new chancellor, Zhu Pu, were associated with Ma and Xu, to have Sun and Zhu removed from their chancellor positions.
[13] In summer 897, Li Maozhen, whose ally Gu Yanhui the military governor of Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern Mianyang, Sichuan) had suffered repeated defeats by Wang Jian (who by that point had taken over neighboring Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu) and was expanding his territory), submitted a petition urging Emperor Zhaozong to punish Wang for attacking Dongchuan.
Emperor Zhaozong bestowed the honorific title of acting Taifu (太傅) on him, and converted Hua Prefecture into a special municipality, Xingde (興德), making Han its mayor.
The plan became known to Liu's and Wang's successors Han Quanhui and Zhang Yanhong (張彥弘), who, fearful of being killed, entered into an alliance with Li Maozhen and tried to have Cui removed.
The retired chancellor Zhang Jun met with Zhu and persuaded him that Han, who had long been allied with Li Maozhen, must be removed.
It was said that the large amount of tax revenue that Han had obtained and saved during Emperor Zhaozong's stay at Hua Prefecture (Xingde Municipality having been abolished by this point) now fell into Zhu's hands.
In 903, with Fengxiang suffering from a terrible famine due to the siege, Li Maozhen surrendered Emperor Zhaozong to Zhu and sued for peace.
[16] However, in 906 (by which time Emperor Zhaozong had been assassinated under Zhu's orders and succeeded by his son Emperor Ai), apparently concerned that given Youguo's vicinity to Fengxiang that Han might collaborate with Li Maozhen again, Zhu transferred Han to Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Weifang, Shandong) and transferred the military governor of Pinglu, Wang Zhongshi (王重師), to Youguo.