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Chen Tang
Western Han officer who, as deputy protector in the Western Regions, forged an edict to raise an army and killed the Xiongnu chanyu Zhizhi in 36 BC
On a desert ridge, a rammed-earth watchtower and a long wall run across sand and rock toward the distance; a sentry stands on the tower with his back turned, smoke rises from a far beacon tower, and a small camel caravan crosses the sand at the right.
Also known as Zi Zigong
Chen Tang, courtesy name Zigong, came from Xiaqiu in Shanyang; well read but poor and careless of conduct, he was little thought of at home. In Chang'an the Marquis of Fuping recommended him for office, but he failed to go home when his father died, and was jailed while his sponsor lost part of his fief. Later a gentleman of the court, he kept asking to go abroad, and in 36 BC he went to the Western Regions as deputy to the protector-general Gan Yanshou. Forging an imperial order, he raised more than forty thousand men from the oasis states and the Han farming garrisons, marched into Kangju, stormed the chanyu Zhizhi's fortress and beheaded him. He and Gan reported that whoever offended mighty Han would be put to death however far away, and he was made a marquis within the passes. Often dismissed for offences and once banished to Dunhuang, he died in Chang'an; under Wang Mang he was posthumously named Marquis Zhuang Who Defeated the Hu.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown–c. 6 BCE