Li Jing (Tang dynasty)
Li Jing | |
---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | Lǐ Jìng |
IPA | [lì tɕîŋ] |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Yale Romanization | Léih Jihng |
Jyutping | Lei5 Zing6 |
IPA | [lei˩˧ tseŋ˨] |
Li Jing (571
During the Sui dynasty
Li Jing was born in 571, during the Sui dynasty's predecessor state Northern Zhou. His clan was from the Chang'an region. His grandfather Li Chongyi (李崇義) served as a provincial governor during the Northern Wei, and his father, Li Quan (李詮), served as a commandery governor during Sui. In his youth, Li Jing was said to be handsome and ambitious, and was talented both in literary and military matters. His maternal uncle was the Sui general Han Qinhu (韓擒虎), and it was said that Han was impressed by his talent, stating, "You are the only person that I can talk to about Sun Tzu's and Wu Qi's strategies."
Early in his career, Li Jing served as a minor county official for Chang'an county – one of the two counties within Chang'an, which served as Sui's capital. He later served as a low level official within the imperial administration, and it was said that he impressed both the prime minister Yang Su and the important minister Niu Hong (牛弘).
Near the end of the reign of
In 617, Li Yuan indeed rebelled, and soon captured Chang'an, declaring Emperor Yang's grandson Yang You the Prince of Dai emperor (as Emperor Gong) but seizing power as regent. Knowing that Li Jing was planning to report his plans to Emperor Yang, Li Yuan set to execute him. At the execution, Li Jing yelled, "You, duke, rose in order to eliminate tyrannical rule for the people. You are not concerned about what is important, but instead are executing a brave man on account of personal enmity!" Li Yuan was impressed by his words, and Li Yuan's son Li Shimin interceded on Li Jing's behalf. Li Yuan released Li Jing, whom Li Shimin soon retained to serve on his staff.
During Emperor Gaozu's reign
In 618, after news arrived at Chang'an that Emperor Yang was killed in a coup at Jiangdu led by the general
In 621, Li Jing submitted 10 strategies against Liang, and Li Xiaogong submitted them to Emperor Gaozu. Emperor Gaozu approved of Li Jing's plans, and made Li Jing Li Xiaogong's assistant in the campaign against Liang. It was said that as Li Xiaogong was still inexperienced, Emperor Gaozu actually put Li Jing in charge of most of the operations, although Li Xiaogong was formally commander of the operations.[6]
In fall 621, Emperor Gaozu commissioned Li Xiaogong, with Li Jing as his assistant, to launch a major attack on Xiao Xian's Liang state, with Li Yuàn and the other generals Tian Shikang (田世康) and Zhou Faming (周法明) attacking on other fronts. At that time, the
In fall 623, the Tang general Fu Gongshi, who had served as the deputy of the powerful general Li Fuwei the Prince of Wu as the military governor of the lower Yangtze region, rebelled against Tang rule while Li Fuwei was at Chang'an, declaring himself the Emperor of Song. Emperor Gaozu commissioned Li Xiaogong to attack Fu, again making Li Jing Li Xiaogong's assistant, and also sending other generals Huang Junhan (黃君漢) and Li Shiji to attack Fu from other fronts. Li Xiaogong and Li Jing sailed down the Yangtze, attacking and defeating the Song generals at multiple battles. Fu ordered his generals Feng Huiliang (馮慧亮) and Chen Dangshi (陳當世) to take up position at Mount Bowang (博望山, in modern Ma'anshan, Anhui, preparing for the assault, instructing Feng and Chen not to engage Li Xiaogong, but to wear him down. However, Li Xiaogong, under Li Jing's suggestion, cut off their supply route, and when Feng and Chen's food supplies ran low, they challenged Li Xiaogong. Against suggestions by some officers that he bypass Feng and Chen and attack the Song capital Danyang (丹楊, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu) directly, Li Xiaogong, again with Li Jing's suggestion, confronted Feng and Chen, initially using the weaker segment of his forces to battle Feng and Chen and, after initial losses, draw Feng and Chen in deeper, and then attacked them, defeating them decisively, with the aid of Li Fuwei's subordinate general Kan Leng (闞稜). After the victory, Li Xiaogong and Li Jing attacked Danyang. Fu, in fear, abandoned Danyang and fled east, but was captured by the local men and delivered to Danyang. Emperor Gaozu, praising Li Jing, made the comment: "Li Jing is the fatal illness for Xiao and Fu. How could even Han Xin, Bai Qi, Wei Qing, or Huo Qubing exceed him?" Subsequently, Li Xiaogong was put in charge of the region, and Li Jing served as his assistant. it was said that Li Jing contributed much in pacifying the region after the region had seen much bloodshed for years.
In 625, Eastern Tujue attacked Taiyuan, and Li Jing led some of his troops north to resist Eastern Tujue. It was said that all of the other Tang generals were defeated by Eastern Tujue forces, but Li Jing was able to preserve his troops. In 626, when Eastern Tujue attacked again, Li Jing was made the commandant at Ling Prefecture (靈州, roughly modern
During Emperor Taizong's reign
Li Jing continued to serve in Emperor Taizong's administration, and was soon made the minister of justice. In 628, in addition to that post, he also became acting Zhongshu Ling (中書令) – the head of the legislative bureau of the government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng), a post considered one for a chancellor. In 629, he was made the minister of war.
Around the new year 630, with Eastern Tujue in internal turmoil, with its
When Li Jing returned to the capital, however, the imperial censor Xiao Yu[8] accused him of allowing his soldiers to plunder the Eastern Tujue treasury. Emperor Taizong rebuked Li Jing, but still increased the size of his fief and awarded him with silk. Later, regretting rebuking Li Jing, he stated to Li Jing, "People have accused you to hurt you. I realize this now. Please do not mind it." He awarded Li Jing with even more silk. Later in 630, he made Li Jing Shangshu Pushe (尚書僕射), the head of the important executive bureau of government (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng), also a chancellor post. It was said that Li Jing spoke very little when conferencing with other chancellors – then considered a virtue. A more plausible explanation is that Taizong didn't trust his high officials, especially the generals, and Li Jing was very sure about it. He deliberately tried to keep a low profile in order not to raise Taizong's suspicion.
In 634, Emperor Taizong wanted to send some officials to examine the circuits in the empire, to see whether the local officials were capable, to find out whether the people were suffering, to comfort the poor, and to select capable people to serve in civil service. Li Jing recommended Wei Zheng, but Emperor Taizong, believing that he needed Wei to stay at Chang'an to examine his own faults, declined, instead sending Li Jing and 12 other officials to the circuits to examine them. Li Jing's zone was Ji'nei Circuit (畿內道, roughly modern Shaanxi). After this tour, Li Jing, giving the reason that he had a foot illness, requested to retire. Emperor Taizong agreed, but still ordered that he maintain a staff and that, once he got better, he should visit the legislative and examination (門下省, Menxia Sheng) bureaus every two or three days to serve as an alternative head of those bureaus.[9]
Later in 634,
During the campaign, on one occasion, Li Jing rebuked Gao for arriving late, but did not punish him. Gao nevertheless was displeased with Li Jing's rebuke, and he and the official Tang Fengyi (唐奉義) accused Li Jing of plotting treason. The matter was investigated, and the evidence was found lacking. Gao and Tang were accused of false accusations and exiled, notwithstanding pleas by others that Gao contributed to Emperor Taizong's ambush at Xuanwu Gate against Li Jiancheng. However, from this point on, Li Jing refused to receive guests, and he even did not see his relatives often.
In 637, as a part of Emperor Taizong's scheme to bestow prefectures on his relatives and great generals and officials as their permanent domains, Li Jing's title was changed to Duke of Wei, and he was given the post of prefect of Pu Prefecture (濮州, roughly modern
In 644, when Emperor Taizong was set to attack Goguryeo, he summoned Li Jing to consult his opinion. Emperor Taizong stated to him:
- You, duke, pacified the Wu region [i.e., the lower Yangtze] to the south, cleared the desert to the north, and settled the Murong [i.e., Tuyuhun] to the west. Only Goguryeo has not submitted. What do you think?
Li Jing responded:
- Your subject had, in the past, depended on your heavenly power to give my minor contributions. I am old and my bones are weak, but if Your Imperial Majesty does not look down on me, I am nevertheless willing to go despite my sickness.
Emperor Taizong, however, saw that Li Jing was ill and decided not to send him. Emperor Taizong later personally led a largely unsuccessful attack on Goguryeo. Li Jing died in 649 – briefly before Emperor Taizong's own death – and was buried with great honor, near Emperor Taizong's own tomb.
Works attributed to Li Jing
As one of the best generals and strategists of the Tang dynasty remaining undefeated in his career, Li Jing wrote several books about military doctrines.[10] Although most of his work is not preserved today, fractions of them were cited by the Tongdian, an encyclopedia about the historic system of politics in China.[11] One of the Seven Military Classics of China, Duke Li of Wei Answering Emperor Taizong of Tang (唐太宗李衛公問對/唐太宗李卫公问对, Táng Tàizōng Lǐ Wèigōng Wènduì), is a purported dialogue between Li Jing and Emperor Taizong about strategies, policies, and tactics. They criticised The Art of War, Zhuge Liang's strategies book and the New Book of Mengde. The work is attributed to Li Jing,[12] although many modern scholars doubt the attribution,[13] as neither the Old Book of Tang nor the New Book of Tang mentions the work in their biographies of Li Jing.[4][5]
Li Jing in fiction
Li Jing appears in many Chinese folk tales and novels. Many of his legends were recorded in the
See also
References
- ^ Li Jing's biography in New Book of Tang indicated that he was 79 by (East Asian reckoning) when he died. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 571. His biography in Old Book of Tang recorded his final words, wherein he claimed to be nearing 80 (by East Asian reckoning).
- ^ xinyou day of the 5th month of the 23rd year of the Zhen'guan era, per vol. 03 of Old Book of Tang
- ^ The Old Book of Tang indicated that Yaoshi was Li Jing's original name, while the New Book of Tang indicated that it was his courtesy name. Compare Old Book of Tang, vol. 67, with New Book of Tang, vol. 93, both cited below.
- ^ a b Old Book of Tang, vol. 67 "舊唐書 列傳 卷十一至二十". Archived from the original on 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2008-02-10..
- ^ a b New Book of Tang, vol. 93 "唐書 列傳 第十一至二五". Archived from the original on 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2007-12-18..
- ^ Many of the strategies mentioned here that Tang forces employed against Xiao Xi and Fu Gongshi had their origins disputed; the biographies of Li Xiaogong in the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang credited them to Li Xiaogong, while the biographies of Li Jing in those same works credited them to Li Jing. Compare Old Book of Tang, vol. 60 "舊唐書 列傳 卷一至十". Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-03-30. (biographies of Emperor Gaozu's collateral relatives) and New Book of Tang, vol. 78 "唐書 列傳 第一至十". Archived from the original on 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2008-03-17. (biographies of Emperor Gaozu's collateral relatives) with Old Book of Tang, vol. 67 "舊唐書 列傳 卷十一至二十". Archived from the original on 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2008-02-10. (biographies of Li Jing and Li Shiji) and New Book of Tang, vol. 93 "舊唐書 列傳 卷十一至二十". Archived from the original on 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2008-02-10. (biographies of Li Jing and Li Shiji). The Zizhi Tongjian generally credited these strategies to Li Jing. See Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 189, 190.
- ^ This account, generally now accepted, was adopted by the Zizhi Tongjian. See Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 191. However, the Old Book of Tang gave a different account – that Li Jing and Li Shiji both offered to assist Li Shimin in a coup attempt. See Old Book of Tang, vol. 64 "舊唐書 列傳 卷十一至二十". Archived from the original on 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2008-02-10..
- ^ The Old Book of Tang indicated that it was Wen Yanbo, as imperial censor, who submitted to the accusation. See Old Book of Tang, vol. 67. However, this appeared to be in error as Wen was no longer imperial censor at that point; Xiao was. See New Book of Tang, vol. 61 "唐書 表 第一至九". Archived from the original on 2007-12-26. Retrieved 2007-07-13.. The New Book of Tang and the Zizhi Tongjian both indicated that it was Xiao who submitted the accusation. See New Book of Tang, vol. 93 and Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 193.
- ^ This treatment appeared to soon end, however. See New Book of Tang, vol. 61.
- ^ Liu, Xu (945). Old Book of Tang 舊唐書 Vol.47.
- ^ Du 杜, You 佑 (801). Tongdian 通典 Vol. 6 Military.
- ^ Duke Li of Wei Answering Emperor Taizong of Tang[1] Archived 2007-05-04 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ E.g., http://www.globrand.com/onlinebook/zhonghe/china100book/97.htm Archived 2007-06-05 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ See, e.g., Romance of Sui and Tang, Table of Contents [2].
- ^ Biography of the Dragon-Beard Man[3] Archived 2007-05-21 at the Wayback Machine.
- Old Book of Tang, vol. 67.舊唐書 列傳 卷十一至二十
- New Book of Tang, vol. 93.唐書 列傳 第十一至二五
- Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 184, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 193, 194, 196, 197, 198, 199.