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In a poem by the great Chinese poet Du Fu (杜甫, 712–770) about a drawing of horses raised at the emperor's stable appears a line saying "the slaves' leader Danu (大奴) was made to care for the emperor's horses." Danu refers to the Koguryo migrant Wang Maozhong (王毛仲) who was also mentioned in the Tang scholar Zheng Chuhai's anthology Minghuang zalu (明皇雜錄). This collection of miscellaneous records about the Tang Emperor Xuanzong includes a writing titled "Wang Maozhong's Arrogance Costs Him the Emperor's Favor," which suggests how Wang Maozhong was viewed in the eyes of Tang people.

A Life Full of Ups and Downs

Luckily a biography of Wang Maozhong is included in the 106th chapter of the Old Book of Tang (舊唐書) that contains an official history of the Tang dynasty. Wang Maozhong was the son of Wang Qiulou (王求婁) who became a slave when Koguryo royalty and ruling class were forced to relocate upon Koguryo's fall to the Tang dynasty. Before Li Longji became the emperor of Tang, Wang Maozhong served him as a slave. Wang Maozhong was skilled in martial arts and horseback riding like many of Koguryo descent and proved to be bright enough to read Li Longji's intentions. The fact that he was a Koguryo migrant who contributed to launching the golden age of the Tang dynasty called the Kaiyuan era bears huge implications for Koreans. Wang Maozhong was particularly talented in raising fine horses, and for being honest and taking his duties seriously, his reputation as a contributor to the Kaiyuan era was high enough to attract a considerable number of followers. This is why Emperor Xuanzong favored him greatly and endowed him with substantial gifts.

According to the latest research findings presented in Korea, all private residences that have so far been owned by Koguryo migrants and their descendants in Chang'an are situated at convenient locations where land values are high. The most high-end residences were located just south of Daming Palace, to the east of the imperial city and the palace-city compound called gongcheng. Wang Maozhong's residence was also in the same area at a place called Xingningfang (興寧坊). To the south of Xingningfang lived Emperor Xuanzong's sixteen sons while the emperor's siblings lived to its north, which means Koguryo migrants lived amongst royalty. This matches the details in Wang Maozhong's biography in the Old Book of Tang, which notes that he received a title as a man of national merit along with a residence and a village of 500 households, the greatest possible reward endowed for his military service apart from those endowed to royalty.

Despite such an extravagant reward, Wang Maozhong lived amongst ordinary soldiers at border areas in order to focus on raising horses for warfare. He was impartial in performing his duties and proved to have excellent management skills which earned him an even greater degree of trust from the emperor. He came up with new horse rearing methods that increased the number of horses for warfare from 240,000 to 430,000 and secured 80,000 rolls of silk by selling the hide of dead horses that would have otherwise gone to waste. Emperor Xuanzong was a ruler well aware of the importance of horses, enough to rely on his elite mounted troops since the coup against Empress Wei. Even when he was getting rid of Princess Taiping's forces, he was able to succeed by having Wang Maozhong lead 300 imperial troops and horses to swiftly attack the princess's faction.

Tragic End and Biased Appraisal

Wang Maozhong grew arrogant over the years and became entangled in bitter conflict with Gao Lishi (高力士), an eunuch much favored by the emperor. This caused other eunuchs to constantly badmouth Wang Maozhong in the emperor's presence. By the eighteenth year of the Kaiyuan era (730), Wang Maozhong became bold enough to demand to serve as Bingbu shangshu (兵部尙書), the minister of defense in charge of Tang's entire military force. However, Emperor Xuanzong had already been forming plans to get rid of Wang Maozhong upon hearing rumors that Wang Maozhong was gathering weapons up north to cause an uprising. The eunuchs who had been mistreated by Wang Maozhong of course played a central role in the emperor's plans. Not long after, Wang Maozhong made a request for weapons to the Taiyuan directorate of weaponry, but the emperor instead sent Wang Maozhong into exile as the governor of the Rang Prefecture and sent all four of his sons as adjutants to faraway regions. Wang Maozhong was eventually murdered at Yongzhou (永州) in the south of Hunan province.

A look at Wang Maozhong's life demonstrates that he was a self-made man, a Koguryo slave who rose to the highest of military ranks in service of the emperor. Yet, it is interesting to find that not only does the aforementioned poem by Du Fu fail to cite Wang Maozhong's contribution to horse rearing, but in the Old Book of Tang, Wang Maozhong is listed alongside Li Linfu (李林甫) and Yang Guozhong (楊國忠) as the most treacherous subjects of Emperor Xuanzong. Perhaps this may have something to do with the fact that the Old Book of Tang's author, compiler, and proofreader were all Han Chinese. Wang Maozhong is specifically described as the treacherous sort of subject who gained the emperor's favor from excelling in flattery, which comes across as a fairly biased assessment of him. It is also possible that Wang Maozhong's contribution has been downplayed because of his background as a Koguryo migrant. Nevertheless, it seems impossible to deny that Tang was able to enjoy a golden age in Chinese history because it had been open enough to allow a Koguryo migrant to become one of the emperor's closest advisors, not to mention the wealth and honor that comes with such a position. Then again, while the Tang dynasty allowed foreigners to contribute to its development instead of discriminating them, it would be difficult to overlook cases like Wang Maozhong, who met a tragic end, or Gai Xianzhi, who was wrongfully accused of corruption.

Korean scholars have become more interested in studying Wang Maozhong since China launched its Northeast Project. With regard to a recent news report about how the leaders of China and the United States share the view that "Korea used to be part of China," a Chinese columnist argued that "claiming Korea used to be part of China is not incorrect since the people of Koguryo relocated to mainland China after their kingdom fell to the Tang." However, considering that Wang Maozhong was recognized as a Koguryo person in the Old Book of Tang, a publication based on official records and historical references on the Tang dynasty, Tang people seem to have remained very much aware of his identity as a Koguryo descendent. Hence, there is more than enough reason to further study various historical material and cases that involve Koguryo migrants who came to be part of the Tang dynasty.