Pengcheng Wang (彭城王)
Family name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... :	Shi (石; shí)
Given name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... :	Zun (遵, zūn)
Posthumous name Posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life... :	None

Shi Zun (石遵) (died 349) was briefly (for 183 days) an emperor

Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...

 of the Chinese

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

/Jie

Jie (ethnic group)

The Jié were members of a small tribe in Northern China in the 4th century CE. They established the Later Zhao state.According to the Book of Wei, their name derives from the Jiéshì area where they reside....

 state Later Zhao

Later Zhao

The Later Zhao was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity...

. He was the second of four short-lived emperors after the death of his father Shi Hu

Shi Hu

Shi Hu , courtesy name Jilong , formally Emperor Wu of Zhao , was an emperor of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao...

 (Emperor Wu). He is sometimes referred to by his title prior to becoming emperor, Prince of Pengcheng (彭城王).

Before and during Shi Hu's reign

Shi Zun was a son of Shi Hu and his (then-)favorite, Zheng Yingtao

Empress Zheng Yingtao

Empress Zheng Yingtao was an empress of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao. She was Shi Hu 's first empress, but not his first wife....

, who also bore Shi Hu his oldest son, Shi Sui (石邃). After Shi Hu seized power after the death of his uncle and Later Zhao's founding emperor Shi Le

Shi Le

Shi Le , courtesy name Shilong , formally Emperor Ming of Zhao , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao...

 in 333, he forced the new emperor Shi Hong

Shi Hong

Shi Hong , courtesy name Daya , was briefly an emperor of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao after the death of his father Shi Le, Later Zhao's founder. Because after his cousin Shi Hu deposed him, he was created the Prince of Haiyang , he is sometimes known by that title.- Background :Shi Hong was...

 to create him the Prince of Wei and all of his sons princes—and it was this time that Shi Zun was created the Prince of Qi. Shi Hu would seize the throne in 334, and after he declared himself "Heavenly Prince" (Tian Wang

Tian Wang

Tian Wang , translatable as either "heavenly prince" or "heavenly king," was a Chinese regal title that was most frequently used during the Sixteen Kingdoms era, among the kingdoms founded by members of the Wu Hu tribes, often used as an intermediate stage from claiming a prince/king title to an...

) in 337, he changed the ranks of all of his sons except Shi Sui to dukes, and so Shi Zun became the Duke of Pengcheng. His mother Princess Zheng was created empress, while his older brother Shi Sui was created crown prince

Crown Prince

A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....

. Later in 337, however, Shi Sui would be executed for plotting their father's death, and Empress Zheng was also demoted in rank to Duchess Dowager of Donghai.

During most of Shi Hu's reign, Shi Zun apparently served as a general. In 348, after Shi Hu executed his second crown prince, Shi Xuan (石宣) for having assassinated his brother Shi Tao (石韜), he considered whom to make crown prince. The official Zhang Ju (張舉) recommended two of Shi Hu's son—Shi Zun, whom he praised for having literary abilities and virtues, and Shi Bin (石斌) the Duke of Yan, whom he praised for knowing military strategies. However, based on Zhang Chai (張豺)'s recommendation, Shi Hu created his youngest son Shi Shi

Shi Shi

Shi Shi was briefly the emperor of the Jie/Chinese Hun state Later Zhao following his father Shi Hu's death in 349. In the Chinese annals he is sometimes referred to by his title after removal as an Emperor, Prince of Qiao .Shi Shi was Shi Hu's youngest son, by his third empress Empress Liu,...

 crown prince instead.

Coup against Shi Shi

As Shi Hu grew ill in 349, he intended for Shi Zun and Shi Bin to serve as co-regent

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

s for Shi Shi, disappointing Shi Shi's mother Empress Liu

Empress Liu (Wu)

Empress Liu was an empress of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao. She was Shi Hu 's third and final empress.The future Empress Liu was the youngest daughter of the final Han Zhao emperor Liu Yao...

 and Zhang Chai. Empress Liu and Zhang forged edicts sending Shi Zun to Guanzhong

Guanzhong

Guanzhong , or Guanzhong Plain, is a historical region of China corresponding to the lower valley of the Wei River. It is called Guanzhong or 'within the passes' to distinguish it from 'Guandong' or 'east of the pass', that is, the North China Plain. The North China Plain is bordered on the west by...

 and executing Shi Bin. After Shi Shi took the throne shortly after Shi Hu's death, Shi Zun was offered honored titles with intent to appease him, but he was not satisfied. He, by now with the title Prince of Pengcheng (after Shi Hu claimed imperial title earlier in the year and created all of his sons princes), allied with the generals Yao Yizhong (姚弋仲), Pu Hong

Fu Hong

Fu Hong originally named Pu Hong , courtesy name Guangshi, was the Di He was the father of first emperor of Former Qin, Fu Jiàn. In 350, Fu Hong self-proclaimed to be the Prince of Three Qins receiving a prophecy willed him to become King . On the same year, he was poisoned by his subordinate Ma...

 (蒲洪), Liu Ning (劉寧), Shi Min the Duke of Wuxing, and Wang Luan (王鸞), none of whom was particularly happy about Shi Shi's selection, marched to the capital Yecheng (鄴城, in modern Handan

Handan

Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China.- History :Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period , after the capital moved from Zhongmu. The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of...

, Hebei

Hebei

' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...

), capturing it easily and killing Zhang Chai. Shi Zun then forged an edict from Empress Dowager Liu deposing Shi Shi and granting himself the throne, and then executed Shi Shi and Empress Dowager Liu. He honored his mother, the former Empress Zheng, as empress dowager

Empress Dowager

Empress Dowager was the title given to the mother of a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese emperor.The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of Grand empress dowager. Numerous empress...

, while creating his wife Princess Zhang

Empress Zhang (Shi Zun)

Empress Zhang was briefly an empress of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao. She was Shi Zun's wife and the last empress in Later Zhao history. After Shi Zun, a son of the emperor Shi Hu, took over the throne in 349 after overthrowing his younger brother Shi Shi, he made her empress...

 empress. Further, he created Shi Bin's son Shi Yan (石衍) crown prince, disappointing Shi Min, his adoptive nephew, whom he had promised to make crown prince.

Reign

Despite his disappointment, Shi Min subsequently led Shi Zun's forces in defeating and killing Shi Zun's brother Shi Chong (石沖) the Prince of Pei, who had declared Shi Zun a renegade for having murdered the rightful heir Shi Shi. After his accomplishments in defeating Shi Shi and Shi Chong's forces, Shi Min wanted greater power in the government, but Shi Zun denied his wishes. During the next few months, Later Zhao local generals, while still outwardly obeying Shi Zun's authority, began to gradually peel away from the central government, expecting further trouble to come at the center. Also sensing that Later Zhao was crumbling, neighboring states Former Yan

Former Yan

The Former Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin Dynasty -created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Juan would...

 and Jin

Jìn Dynasty (265-420)

The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...

 planned invasions against it, although the main invasions would not come until after Shi Zun's reign.

That trouble came as Shi Zun, realizing Shi Min's anger toward him, summoned a gathering of princes before Empress Dowager Zheng, in which he announced he was going to execute Shi Min. However, Empress Dowager Zheng opposed this action, and Shi Zun hesitated. Meanwhile, one of the princes, Shi Jian

Shi Jian

Shi Jian was briefly an emperor of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao. He was the third of four short-lived emperors after the death of his father Shi Hu . He is sometimes referred to by his title prior to becoming emperor, Prince of Yiyang...

 the Prince of Yiyang, informed Shi Min of Shi Zun's plan, and Shi Min quickly led his troops in arresting Shi Zun. Shi Min then executed him (along with Empress Dowager Zheng, Empress Zhang, Crown Prince Yan, and a number of officials that Shi Zun trusted) and made Shi Jian emperor.

Personal information

• Father
  • Shi Hu
    Shi Hu
    Shi Hu , courtesy name Jilong , formally Emperor Wu of Zhao , was an emperor of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao...
    
     (Emperor Wu)
• Mother
  • Empress Zheng Yingtao
    Empress Zheng Yingtao
    Empress Zheng Yingtao was an empress of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao. She was Shi Hu 's first empress, but not his first wife....
    
    
• Wife
  • Empress Zhang
    Empress Zhang (Shi Zun)
    Empress Zhang was briefly an empress of the Chinese/Jie state Later Zhao. She was Shi Zun's wife and the last empress in Later Zhao history. After Shi Zun, a son of the emperor Shi Hu, took over the throne in 349 after overthrowing his younger brother Shi Shi, he made her empress...