30 Facts About Feng Dao

Feng Dao, courtesy name Kedao, known by his Later Zhou-bestowed posthumous name Prince Wenyi of Ying, was a Chinese inventor, printer, and politician.

Feng Dao was a government official during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, who served, in chronological order, the Jie Yan, Later Tang, Later Jin, Liao, Later Han, and Later Zhou dynasties.

Feng Dao was chancellor of the Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Zhou dynasties.

Feng Dao is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu by Jin Guliang.

Feng Dao was born in 882, during the reign of Emperor Xizong of Tang.

Feng Dao himself was said to be virtuous and tolerant in his youth, studious and capable in writing.

Feng Dao did not look down on poor clothes or food, and was willing to endure hard labor to support his parents and live in poverty.

In 911, by which point Tang had fallen and Liu, having initially been a nominal vassal to the succeeding Later Liang, had declared his own state of Yan as its emperor, Feng was serving as a military advisor to Liu.

Feng Dao tried to urge Liu not to attack Yiwu, arguing that the time was inopportune.

Feng Dao thereafter fled to Jin, where Zhang Chengye, the chief eunuch military advisor to Jin's prince Li Cunxu, recommended him to be the secretary general of Jin's capital Taiyuan.

Feng Dao took his pen but hesitated to write, and he responded to Li,.

Feng Dao made Feng, along with Lu Zhi, imperial scholars.

When Feng Dao's father died shortly afterwards, he left governmental service to observe a period of mourning at Jingcheng.

At that time, Feng Dao had already become well-known, and the Khitan considered raiding Jingcheng to seize him, but with the Later Tang border forces prepared, the Khitan raid did not actually occur.

Feng Dao distributed his wealth to aid the people around him.

Feng Dao believed that An's best course of action at that time was to resign, and so urged the other officials not to stop An from resigning, but Zhao disagreed and was able to persuade An to remain chief of staff.

Feng Dao pointed out that given Khitan's aid to Emperor Gaozu, he was willing to take the risk on the emperor's behalf.

Feng Dao was given the titles of Situ and Shizhong, and created the Duke of Lu.

However, after Emperor Gaozu soon died, Feng Dao discussed the matter with the imperial guard general Jing Yanguang.

Li Song tried to argue against this stance, but with Feng Dao not opposing or supporting it, Shi Chonggui's letter to Emperor Taizong notifying that Emperor Gaozu had died and that he had succeeded Emperor Gaozu referred to himself only as grandson.

Feng Dao made Li Shumishi, while giving Feng Dao the capital of acting Taifu and had him, while not officially be Shumishi, work out of that office and consult on important matters.

Feng Dao decided to leave his brother-in-law Xiao Han in charge of Kaifeng while he himself took the Later Jin wealth and its key officials north, back to the original territory held by the Liao dynasty before its conquest of the Later Jin dynasty.

Feng Dao died on the way, and the Liao generals supported his nephew Yelu Ruan as his successor.

Feng Dao defeated her army, and subsequently put her under house arrest.

In 950, Feng Dao wrote an autobiographical note titled the Self-Description of the Old Man from Changle that discussed family history and his career, including the honors that had been bestowed on him and his family members by the succeeding dynasties.

Feng Dao then sent Feng, along with the officials Wang Du and Zhao Shangjiao, to Wuning's capital Xu Prefecture to escort Liu Yun back to the capital to take the throne.

Feng Dao opined that there had been a chance in dynasties and many general pardons in the interim, so the charges should not be pursued.

Emperor Shizong ended up crushing the Northern Han army on the campaign, while Feng Dao died before Emperor Shizong's victorious return.

In 932, Feng Dao ordered the Confucian classics printed using movable wood blocks.

About a century after the invention of block-printing, Feng Dao significantly improved the printing process, and utilized it as a political tool.