Jiang Shen

Jiang Shen (蔣伸) (799–881), courtesy name Dazhi (大直), formally the Duke of Le'an (樂安公), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Xuānzong and Emperor Yizong. Background Jiang Shen was perhaps born in 799, during the reign of Emperor Dezong. His family was originally from Yixing (義興, in modern Wuxi, Jiangsu), but had moved to the eastern capital Luoyang at least by the time that his father Jiang Ai was serving in governmental service. Jiang Ai's grandfather Jiang Gui and father Jiang Jiangming, as well as Jiang Ai, all served in the Tang imperial government as governmental scholars, with Jiang Ai reach prominence as a historian, authoring works on the lives of chancellors, as well as a number of contributors to the reign of the great early Tang emperor Emperor Taizong, and being created the Duke of Yixing. Jiang Shen was the second of Jiang Ai's five known sons, with at least one older brother, Jiang Xi, who also reached great prominence and was created the Duke of Huaiyang. Jiang Shen had at least three younger brothers who also served in the government, Jiang Jie, Jiang Xian, and Jiang Ji. Jiang Shen himself passed the imperial examinations in the Jinshi class, and thereafter served on the staffs of various regional governors. During Emperor Xuānzong's reign In 848, by which time Emperor Dezong's great-grandson Emperor Xuānzong was emperor, Jiang Shen was recalled to the capital Chang'an to serve as You Bujue, a low-level advisory official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng), as well as an editor of imperial history. (It was said that while both Jiang Shen and his nephew Jiang Zhao (蔣兆, Jiang Xi's son) were talented writers, they were not considered exceptional in their style, but were considered good historians.) He later served as Jiabu Langzhong, a supervisory official at the ministry of rites (禮部, Libu) and was put in charge of drafting edicts. In 851, when the chancellor Bai Minzhong was put in charge of overseeing the campaign against Danxiang rebellions, Bai was allowed to retain a number of imperial officials to serve on his staff, and he chose Jiang to serve as his deputy in his role as the military governor (Jiedushi) of Binning Circuit (邠寧, headquartered in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi). Jiang later returned to Chang'an and was made acting deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, Hubu Shilang).