Dingnan Jiedushi

Dingnan Jiedushi (定難節度使) — i.e., military governor (Jiedushi) of Dingnan Circuit (定難, headquartered in modern Yulin, Shaanxi) — was a political office that existed during the late Tang Dynasty, the entire Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and early Song Dynasty of China. Its rulers, starting from the very first military governor of Dingnan, Li Sigong (né Tuoba Sigong), were of Dangxiang ethnicity, and while the relationships between the subsequent military governors were not completely clear from historical accounts, they all stemmed from Li Sigong's clan, and the clan effectively ruled the circuit in de facto independence despite its nominal submission to the central Chinese dynasties. Attempts by Later Tang and Song to dislodge the family from its rule of Dingnan Circuit were not successful, and the region eventually evolved into the independent state of Western Xia.

Rulers of Dingnan Circuit until Western Xia's founding

References

New Book of Tang, vol. 221, part 1.
Old History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 132.
New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 40.
History of Liao, vol. 115.
History of Song, vols. 485, 486.
History of Jin, vol. 134.

External links

History/Song - Chinaknowledge

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period

Five Dynasties	Later Liang Later Tang Later Jin Later Han Later Zhou

Ten Kingdoms (States)	Wu Former Shu Chu Wuyue Min Southern Han Jingnan Later Shu Southern Tang Northern Han

Other states	Jin Qi Zhao Yan Yin

De facto independent entities	Yiwu Jiedushi Dingnan Jiedushi Qingyuan Jiedushi Jinghai Jiedushi Wuping Jiedushi Guiyi Jiedushi

Neighboring states	Balhae Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom Liao dynasty Tibetan kingdoms Dali Ngô Dynasty

Histories	Old History of the Five Dynasties New History of the Five Dynasties Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms Wudai Huiyao