| Chapter 1: | Shu in the Tang Dynasty |
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Chapter 1
Shu in the Tang Dynasty
Despite the renowned pleasures of the Brocade City,
A speedy return home is more to my liking.
Passage to Shu rivals ascent to Heaven in its hazards,
I can only heave a heavy sigh in gazing sideways to the west.
—Li Bo 
(701–762), “Shudao nan” 
1
When a rescript from the Tang capital Chang’an reached Chengdu, the seat of West Chuan 
in the Shu region of southwest China, reporting that the court had just appointed a new provincial governor named Chen Jingxuan 
(d. 893), local officials were much surprised, for none of them knew the man or his background. Having worked in this wealthy and strategic region for years, local officials could recall a long list of former governors who either hailed from prestigious clans or had glorious official careers. But who was this Chen Jingxuan and why did the emperor trust him with an important governorship in this significant