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Chen Xuanli
Commander of Emperor Xuanzong's palace guard who led the mutiny at Mawei in 756 that killed Yang Guozhong and forced the death of Consort Yang
On a training ground at morning, a straw target stands at the left with one person beside it, turned away and empty-handed; racks hold bows and spears at rest, an armour stand holds lamellar armour and a helmet, and a saddled horse stands by a wooden mounting block at the right.
Also known as Duke of Cai
- Roles
- WarriorsCommanders
Chen Xuanli rose through the palace army, and in 710, as an officer of the Myriad Cavalry, joined Li Longji, then Prince of Linzi, in destroying the faction of Empress Wei. He went on to command Xuanzong's bodyguard for decades as general of the Longwu Army. In 756, when An Lushan broke through Tong Pass and the emperor fled west, the hungry and angry escort halted at Mawei; Chen blamed the disaster on Yang Guozhong, sent word to the crown prince through the eunuch Li Fuguo, and had the guards kill him. When the soldiers still would not disperse, he told Xuanzong that Consort Yang could no longer stay at his side, and the emperor had Gao Lishi strangle her. Chen escorted Xuanzong to Sichuan and was made Duke of Cai. In 760, after the retired emperor was moved to the western palace, Chen was ordered into retirement and died soon after. Du Fu's poem Journey North (Beizheng) praises the stern General Chen for his act at Mawei.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; palace-guard commander under Xuanzong