Journal of Chinese Military History 7 (2018) 233-245

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Book Reviews ⸪

Richard L. Davis, Fire and Ice: Cunxu and the Founding of the . Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2016. pp. xv, 237. HK $450, U.S. $60. ISBN 978-988-8208-97-5.

Scholars often note that the political fragmentation and disorder of the Five Dynasties period (907-960) led to the social and organizational transformation of Chinese bureaucracy and its attendant methods of governance. Nevertheless, the Five Dynasties era remains one of the least studied in Chinese history. Many undergraduate survey textbooks, for instance, treat this historical watershed in a page or two, and few English-language sources exist for in-depth undergradu- ate research. Happily, that (growing) corpus is joined by this biography of Li Cunxu (884-926), the half-Shatuo, half-Chinese founder of the second of the five northern dynasties, the Later Tang (923-936).1 Describing Cunxu’s rise and meteoric fall, the work examines pivotal historical figures and their responses to exceedingly dynamic situations; figures who, all unknowingly, forged key social and political change. The book fleshes out the demise of aristocratic government that would cul- minate during the . Despite his generally negative portrayal in the traditional histories, Li Cunxu was a key figure in this transition (xi). Davis in- cisively asserts that “[r]ather than a time of chaos, the Five Dynasties should rightfully be seen as a time of progress on the social front, due precisely to the intrusion of military men into the realm of governing” (xi-xii). The author carefully gleans material from the era’s two official histories, using Sima Guang’s Zizhi tongjian and the Cefu yuangui to correct the biases of the two former works (x-xi, 213-14).2 He supplements close reading of these

1 Incidentally, the volume is a prequel to Davis’s biography of Emperor Mingzong (Li Siyuan), Cunxu’s successor. From Warhorses to Ploughshares: The Later Tang Reign of Emperor Ming- zong (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2015). 2 They are the Jiu Wudai shi and Xin Wudai shi. Both are based on the same text, the Veritable Records.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi:10.1163/22127453-12341333 234 Book Reviews sources with cautious use of the less reliable Shiguo qunqiu and the Wudai huiyao. The author also takes advantage of new secondary scholarship, in- cluding an important biography of Cunxu’s father, Li Keyong (d. 908), which incorporates little-used tomb inscriptions that illuminate Shatuo history. The translator of ’s Historical Records, Davis offers particularly astute inferences of Cunxu’s motivations and psyche to make sense of this enigmatic figure.3 Chapters One through Four chronologically develop Cunxu’s life: until 908; 908-922; 923-925; and mid-925 through mid-926, respectively. A short last chapter (Ch. 5) describes the interim rule of Li Siyuan (867-933). The first half of the book describes Cunxu’s rule of the Shatuo Jin state, when he employed conscientious diplomatic administrative and military efforts to expand its ter- ritory. The latter half contrasts these painstaking efforts with his reign as Em- peror Zhuangzong (r. 923-926) when, perhaps heady with power and position, he neglected his commitments and lost sight of his bases of support. A picture of contrasts—fire and ice—Cunxu was charismatic, an astute judge of character, and a sometimes thoughtful leader. He was preternaturally perceptive in planning and timing military strikes. Once emperor, though, he fecklessly appointed officials and scorned his overburdened southern subjects. In the end, inconsistencies in his character led to bewildering political deci- sions that spelled ruin. One of the volume’s key contributions is the fine-grained detail of a lead- er in whose court the three main social groups that sparked such landmark change were juxtaposed: old elite families, upstart talented commoners, and military leaders. Davis depicts the complex interpersonal and political dynam- ics of these changing social groups. His account of the rise of military families is especially valuable. He foregrounds military figures and the profound effect they had on governance. At the beginning of the Tongguang reign, for instance, Zhuangzong appointed mediocre or incompetent civil officials, and sidelined the imperial family. Military officials, on the other hand, were awarded with governorships. They began establishing their own social networks through adoption and marriage arrangements, primarily with other northern families. Aside from these formal appointments, Cunxu inherited from his father an “army [of over a hundred] foster sons” (surprisingly dominated by border Chinese), who controlled the upper echelons of military command (32). They, in turn, fostered and adopted sons themselves (a Shatuo strategy for incorpo- rating other ethnic groups), thus further extending their social and political

3 Ouyang Xiu, Xin Wudai shi; Richard L. Davis (trans.), Historical Records of the Five Dynasties (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004).

Journal of Chinese Military History 7 (2018) 233-245