家世

刘建锋生年不详，是蔡州朗山人。他曾任忠武军龙骧指挥使，与决胜指挥使孙儒一同在奉国军节度使秦宗权帐下戍蔡州以抵抗黄巢的大规模农民军，彼此关系也好。后来秦宗权叛唐僖宗，自己称帝，他们也继续追随。

效力孙儒

光启二年（886年），秦宗权命孙儒率军攻唐廷治下的河阳；孙儒败河阳留后诸葛仲方，夺取河阳。虽然取胜，十二月，孙儒帐下行军司马张佶却秘密对刘建锋说：「秦公刚鸷而猜忌，很快会灭亡，我们早晚被朱全忠（宣武军节度使）所灭，必须设法自免！」刘建锋正自危，从中看出了张佶的智慧，于是和他交友。孙儒也认同张佶所言。

秦宗权遭朱全忠大败后，孙儒撤离河阳。三年（887年）十月，秦宗权派弟弟秦宗衡进军淮南争夺其控制权，以孙儒为副，刘建锋为前锋。当时淮南正陷入两败俱伤的内战，一方为自称淮南节度使秦彦和左厢都知兵马使毕师铎，另一方为庐州刺史杨行密。张佶、马殷也都在秦宗衡军中。他们到淮南军部扬州时，杨行密已将其占领并迫使秦彦和毕师铎逃遁。秦彦和毕师铎也加入了秦宗衡军。不久，当秦宗权面临朱全忠的军事压力试图召回秦宗衡军时，孙儒杀秦宗衡，夺取军队，与刘建锋、左军判官许德勋等盟誓，又杀秦彦、毕师铎。孙儒不久败杨行密，夺取扬州，自称淮南节度使。刘建锋成为孙儒别将。杨行密随后占有宁国军，并成为其节度使。龙纪元年（889年）十二月，孙儒命刘建锋从杨行密马步都虞候田頵手中夺取常州，守之，又驱逐杭州刺史钱鏐部下润州制置使成及，取润州。大顺元年（890年）二月，杨行密部将安仁义、牙将刘威、田頵等败刘建锋于武进，取常州，刘建锋又驱逐润、常州之间的杨行密诸将。闰九月，刘建锋再攻常州，杀制置使张行周，围杨行密部将李友控制的苏州。十二月，孙儒亲自攻拔苏州，杀李友。

大顺二年（891年）春，孙儒展开先灭杨行密再灭朱全忠的初步计划。他引全军进军宣歙军部宣州。刘建锋率军随军。孙儒军起初取胜，景福元年（892年）二月，围宣州。但他不能攻陷宣州，很快陷入困境，五月，杨行密又出奇兵断其粮道。孙儒的军队又为大雨和疫病所苦，自己也染上了疟疾，只得派刘建锋和马殷分兵劫掠邻近诸县以求食。六月，杨行密得知孙儒染疟疾，攻之，击溃孙儒军，杀孙儒。孙儒军大多投降杨行密。刘建锋和马殷为孙儒而哭，互相说：「公常有志被立庙祭祀，等吾等有了领地，当为他立庙以报德。」率七千士兵南下向镇南军进军；士兵推刘建锋为帅，马殷为先锋指挥使，张佶为谋主。这支军队劫掠洪州、虔州、吉州等数州，不久达到十馀万人。

夺取武安军

刘建锋军没有攻打镇南军，而是继续向西南朝当时在邓处讷治下的武安军行进。乾宁元年（894年）五月，刘建锋兵到醴陵，邓处讷派邵州指挥使蒋勋、邓继崇守龙回关以阻刘建锋进军。马殷到关下，派出使者，使者说服蒋勋、邓继崇：刘建锋的到来是有星象预兆的，他们的军队不足以抵抗之。在使者建议下，蒋勋、邓继崇解散了军队。刘建锋命部下士兵穿上蒋勋、邓继崇士兵的军服，很快进军到武安军军部潭州。他们兵到后，潭州守军误认他们为蒋勋、邓继崇的军队，不做防备。刘建锋军直入军府，邓处讷正在饮宴，被擒，刘建锋杀之，在张佶等推戴下自称留后，上表京师。当年，刘建锋等举唐世旻为永州刺史。当时受命宣抚南方各藩镇的谏议大夫孙偓从衡州、永州前往潭州安抚刘建锋。

二年（895年）四月，唐昭宗任刘建锋为武安军节度使，拜检校尚书左仆射。刘建锋以马殷为内外马步军都指挥使。同入武安军的还有许德勋、姚彦章、秦彦晖、王环、李琼等。

身亡

刘建锋答应赏赐蒋勋，却未及行动。同年十一月，蒋勋求为邵州刺史，刘建锋不许，蒋勋就和邓继崇起兵反刘。他们很快攻陷邵州，试图压迫潭州。三年（896年）正月，刘建锋派马殷讨蒋、邓，取得初步胜果。

但是，战事还在进行，刘建锋自从夺取武安军后就变得骄傲嗜酒。他本是庸人，经常和部曲饮酒欢呼，还和新息小史长直兵牵栊官陈赡美艳的妻子私通。陈赡被同僚戏言，以为耻，四月，怒而用蒺藜铁挝杀了刘建锋。士兵起初迎张佶为留后，但张佶拒绝了，三军最终推立权知邵州刺史马殷，并诛杀陈赡。马殷上任之际，诛杀谋害刘建锋者数十人，并从此禁用蒺藜。

刘建锋生前官爵为武安军节度使、检校司空、彭城郡侯，邑千户。马殷后来以湖南为根据建立楚国，很感恩刘建锋，屡次上表请求追赠，使其得以累赠太傅。后唐末帝清泰二年（935年）十二月，因楚国所请，赠刘建锋太尉。其妻厍狄氏，赠韩国夫人。

注释及参考文献

Background

It is not known when Liu Jianfeng was born, but it is known that he was from Langshan (朗山, in modern Zhumadian, Henan). At some point, he became an officer at Zhongwu Circuit (忠武, headquartered in modern Xuchang, Henan) and was stationed at Cai Prefecture (蔡州, in modern Zhumadian), which Langshan belonged to, as part of the effort to resist the major agrarian rebel Huang Chao, serving alongside his Zhongwu Circuit colleague Sun Ru, and both served under Qin Zongquan the military governor of Fengguo Circuit (奉国, headquartered at Cai Prefecture). They continued to serve under Qin after Qin had rebelled against the rule of Emperor Xizong and declared himself emperor.

Service under Sun Ru

In 886, Qin Zongquan put Sun Ru in command of an army to attack Tang's Heyang Circuit (河阳, headquartered in modern Jiaozuo, Henan); Sun prevailed over the acting military governor of Heyang, Zhuge Zhongfang (诸葛仲方), and took over the circuit. Despite the victory, Zhang Ji, who also served under Sun, secretly stated to Liu Jianfeng, "Lord Qin is harsh and paranoid, and will soon be destroyed. We have to find a way to avoid this fate ourselves." Liu, who saw the wisdom in Zhang's words, befriended him.

Sun subsequently withdrew from Heyang after Qin suffered a major defeat at the hands of Zhu Quanzhong the Tang military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan). Later in the year, Qin sent his brother Qin Zongheng (秦宗衡), with Sun as his deputy, to advance into Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu), to contend for control of the circuit, which by that point had fallen into an internecine struggle between Qin Yan and Bi Shiduo on one side, and Yang Xingmi on the other. Liu, Zhang, and Ma Yin were all in this army commanded by Qin Zongheng. When they arrived at Huainan's capital Yang Prefecture (扬州), Yang Xingmi had captured it and forced Qin Yan and Bi to flee. Qin Yan and Bi then joined forces with Qin Zongheng as well. Soon thereafter, when Qin Zongquan, himself facing military pressure from Zhu, tried to recall Qin Zongheng's army, Sun assassinated Qin Zongheng and took over the army, thereafter executing Qin Yan and Bi. Sun soon defeated Yang Xingmi and took over Yang Prefecture, claiming the title of military governor of Huainan. (Yang subsequently took Ningguo Circuit (宁国, headquartered in modern Xuanzhou, Anhui and became its military governor.) In 889, Sun had Liu attack and capture Chang (常州, in modern Changzhou, Jiangsu) and Run (润州, in modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) from Yang Xingmi's subordinate Tian Jun and Cheng Ji (成及), a subordinate of Qian Liu (who then controlled Hang Prefecture (杭州, in modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang), respectively. In 890, by which time Chang Prefecture had again been taken by Yang Xingmi and was defended by Yang Xingmi's subordinate Zhang Xingzhou, Liu again captured it and killed Zhang, and then put Su Prefecture (苏州, in modern Suzhou, Jiangsu), then under the control of Yang Xingmi's subordinate Li You (李友), under siege. Sun subsequently captured Su Prefecture himself and killed Li.

In spring 891, Sun launched the initial phase of an ambitious plan to first destroy Yang Xingmi and then Zhu. He took all of the army available to him and headed for Xuanshe's capital Xuan Prefecture (宣州). Liu was part of Sun's army. Sun's army was initially victorious, and by spring 892 had put Xuan Prefecture under siege. However, Sun was unable to capture Xuan, and soon got bogged down, with Yang sending raiders to cut off his food supplies. Further, his army was soon troubled by torrential floods and illnesses, and Sun himself was suffering from malaria. He was forced to send Liu and Ma out to raid the nearby regions for food. Meanwhile, Yang, hearing that Sun was suffering from malaria, attacked. He crushed Sun's army and killed Sun. Most of Sun's soldiers surrendered to Yang. Liu and Ma took 7,000 soldiers and headed south, toward Zhennan Circuit (镇南, headquartered in modern Nanchang, Jiangsi); the soldiers supported Liu as their leader, with Ma as his forward commander and Zhang Ji as his strategist. The army's size eventually ballooned to over 100,000.

Seizure of Wuan Circuit

Instead of attacking Zhennan Circuit, Liu Jianfeng's army continued to head southwest, toward Wu'an Circuit, which was then ruled by Deng Chuna. When Liu reached Liling (醴陵, in modern Zhuzhou, Hunan) in summer 894, Deng sent his subordinates Jiang Xun (蒋勋) and Deng Jichong (邓继崇) to defend Longhui Pass (龙回关, in modern Shaoyang, Hunan) against Liu's advance. Ma Yin advanced to the pass and sent a messenger to Jiang and Deng Jichong. The messenger persuaded Jiang and Deng Jichong that Liu's arrival was foretold by the stars and that their army would be unable to resist his. At the suggestion of the messenger, Jiang and Deng Jichong disbanded their army. Liu then had his soldiers put on the uniforms that Jiang's and Deng Jichong's army wore, and then quickly advanced to Wu'an's capital Tan Prefecture (in modern Changsha, Hunan). When they arrived there, the Tan Prefecture's defenders mistook them for Jiang's and Deng Jichong's army, and therefore took no precautions. Liu's army directly headed for the headquarters, where Deng Chuna was holding a feast. They captured Deng Chuna, and Liu executed him and claimed the title of acting military governor. In summer 895, then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong commissioned Liu as the military governor of Wu'an.

Death

In winter 895, after Jiang Xun's request to be the prefect of Shao Prefecture (邵州, in modern Shaoyang) was rebuffed by Liu Jianfeng, he and Deng Jichong rose to oppose Liu. They quickly captured Shao Prefecture and tried to pressure Tan Prefecture. In spring 896, Liu sent Ma Yin to attack Jiang and Deng, and Ma had initial successes.

However, while this campaign was still going on, it was said that Liu had become arrogant and alcoholic after he took over the circuit. He also carried on an affair with the beautiful wife of his officer Chen Shan. Chen, angry, used a hammer to assassinate Liu. The soldiers initially supported Zhang Ji to succeed Liu, but Zhang declined and eventually supported Ma.

Notes and references

• New Book of Tang, vol. 190.

• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 256, 257, 258, 259, 260.