Early years Wang Chuzhi was born in 862, during the reign of
Emperor Yizong of Tang. His family was from the
Tang dynasty capital
Chang'an, and his ancestors had served as officers in the imperial
Shence Armies for generations. His uncle Wang Zong () was not only a highly ranked general in the Shence Armies but was also a skillful merchant. It was said that Wang Zong became so rich that he was able to be extravagant in his food and to have thousands of servants. Wang Chuzhi presumably followed his elder cousin
Wang Chucun son of Wang Zong to
Yiwu Province when Wang Chucun was made Yiwu's military governor in 879 by Emperor Yizong's son and successor
Emperor Xizong and became a military officer there. It was said that Wang Chuzhi favored sorcery, and he became friendly with the sorcerer Li Yingzhi (). Li Yingzhi himself had obtained a boy named
Liu Yunlang from Xingyi (陘邑, in modern
Shijiazhuang,
Hebei) and adopted the boy as his own son, but seeing how Wang Chuzhi did not himself have son at that point, he gave the boy to Wang Chuzhi, stating, "this boy has a honored appearance." Wang Chuzhi adopted the boy and changed his name to Wang Du. While Wang Chuzhi later had a son named Wang Yu () by a
concubine (not his wife), he did not favor Wang Yu, and instead favored Wang Du. By 900, Wang Chuzhi was serving as an officer under Wang Chucun's son and successor
Wang Gao, when Yiwu came under the attack of Zhang Cunjing (), a general under the major warlord
Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu (宣武, headquartered in modern
Kaifeng,
Henan). Wang Gao put Wang Chuzhi in command of the Yiwu army to resist Zhang's attack. However, he did not listen to Wang Chuzhi's counsel of not engaging the Xuanwu forces immediately, but rather wearing out the Xuanwu forces before actually engaging them. Rather, he listened to the secretary Liang Wen (), who advocated an immediate engagement against the Xuanwu troops, and therefore ordered Wang Chuzhi to carry out that plan. Zhang defeated Wang Chuzhi and inflicted heavy casualties. Wang Chuzhi barely escaped back to Yiwu's capital
Dingzhou. Wang Gao panicked and fled to the territory of Yiwu's ally
Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong (河東, headquartered in modern
Taiyuan,
Shanxi). (Already upset over how his father did not love him, Wang Yu accompanied Wang Gao on this flight, and subsequently married Li Keyong's daughter.) and created him Prince of Beiping. Subsequently, Liu, hearing of Later Liang's defeat, was considering claiming imperial title himself. He sent messengers to Wang Rong and Wang Chuzhi, suggesting that they should honor him as
Shangfu (尚父, meaning "imperial father," a highly honorary title that was rarely bestowed and only on highly honored senior officials). When Wang Rong informed this to Li Cunxu, Li Cunxu, pursuant to suggestions that his generals made that making Liu more arrogant would cause him to push himself into doom, signed a joint declaration with Wang Rong, Wang Chuzhi, as well as three other military governors under Li Cunxu (Li Cunxu's cousin
Li Sizhao, Zhou, and Song Yao () honoring Liu as
Shangfu. Faced with this, the Later Liang emperor tried to keep Liu at least nominally a vassal by offering him the title of
Caifangshi (). Liu thereafter nevertheless declared himself the Emperor of Yan. In winter 911, Liu attacked Yiwu. Wang Chuzhi sought aid from Jin. Li Cunxu sent Zhou to rendezvous with the Zhao officer
Wang Deming (Wang Rong's adoptive son) and the Yiwu officer Cheng Yan (), to attack Yan. By late 912, with Li Cunxu himself also sieging Yan's capital You Prefecture (), the city fell. In 918, Li Cunxu, who had taken Tianxiong (天雄, headquartered at Wei Prefecture) at that point, prepared a major operation intending to capture Later Liang's capital
Daliang. Wang Chuzhi sent some 10,000 soldiers to contribute to Li Cunxu's campaign, which, however, ended with a mutually destructive battle at Huliu Slope (胡柳陂, in modern
Heze,
Shandong), with both Jin and Later Liang forces suffering two-thirds casualties and Jin forces forced to withdraw.
Overthrow and death , rediscovered in 1980, looted in 1994, and excavated in 1995 In 921, Wang Rong was killed in a mutiny, and the mutineers supported Wang Deming to take over Chengde. Wang Deming accepted and changed his name back to his birth name of Zhang Wenli. Li Cunxu, after initially pretending to accept Zhang's offer of allegiance, declared a general campaign against Zhang to avenge Wang Rong. Wang Chuzhi, however, had misgivings, believing that if Li Cunxu took direct control of Chengde, Yiwu would be taken over as well, and therefore suggested to Li Cunxu that he accept Zhang's submission. Li Cunxu refused. Concerned, Wang Chuzhi contacted his son Wang Yu—who was then serving as the military prefect (團練使,
Tuanlianshi) of Xin Prefecture (新州, in modern
Zhangjiakou,
Hebei) under Li Cunxu. He requested that Wang Yu secretly instigate an incursion by
Khitan's
Emperor Taizu. Wang Yu agreed, but also requested to be made his heir and Wang Chuzhi agreed. However, most of Wang Chuzhi's staff members were apprehensive about inducing a Khitan incursion. Further, Wang Du, who was then Wang Chuzhi's deputy military governor and who was considered his heir, was fearful of being displaced by Wang Yu. Wang Du and the secretary He Zhaoxun () therefore plotted to arrest Wang Chuzhi. They acted after a feast that Wang Chuzhi held for Zhang's emissary to Yiwu, seizing Wang Chuzhi and put him and his wife and concubines under house arrest. Wang Du thereafter slaughtered all of Wang Chuzhi's male biological descendants in Dingzhou, as well as Wang Chuzhi's close associates. He claimed the title of acting military governor and reported what occurred to Li Cunxu. Li Cunxu thereafter approved of his takeover from Wang Chuzhi. (Wang Chuzhi's younger son Wang Wei () did escape and flee to Khitan territory, and Wang Wei would subsequently serve under Khitan's Emperor Taizu and his son
Emperor Taizong.) In spring 923, Wang Du visited Wang Chuzhi at his mansion, apparently trying to maintain a pretense of father-son relationship. Wang Chuzhi, though unarmed, hit his chest with a fist and tried to bite off his nose, stating, "Rebellious bandit! When did I ever mistreat you?" Wang Du barely escaped from Wang Chuzhi's grasp. Shortly after on February 6th, Wang Chuzhi either died in anger or was killed by Wang Du. == Family ==