Kang Junli () (847–894) was a military general in imperial China's

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

, serving the Shatuo leader

Li Keyong Li Keyong () (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 a Prince of Jin (, ''Jin Wang''), which would become an independent state after the fall of the Tang dyn ...

. He was eventually killed by Li Keyong for speaking ill of the already deceased

Li Cunxiao Li Cunxiao () (d. 894), né An Jingsi (), was an adoptive son of the late-Tang Dynasty warlord Li Keyong who contributed much to Li Keyong's campaigns, but who later rebelled against his adoptive father. He subsequently was defeated by Li Keyong a ...

, with whom he did not get along.

Biography

Kang Junli was from a powerful family in Yuzhou (蔚州; in modern

Yu County, Hebei Yu County, also known by its Chinese name Yuxian, is a county under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Zhangjiakou in northwestern Hebei province, China. Yuzhou () is the county seat. History The area was home to the capital ...

) near

's northern border. Some time in the 870s, he was serving as an assistant captain () under Duan Wenchu (), the Yunzhou (雲州; modern Datong, Shanxi) defense commissioner (). At that time the Tang Dynasty was overran by bandits, and Duan did not treat his soldiers well, even reducing their salaries. In 878, Kang, as well as Xue Zhiqin (), Cheng Huaixin (), Wang Xingshen () and

Li Cunzhang Li Cunzhang (李存璋) (died 922) was a military general in imperial China's Tang dynasty, and later the Jin territory in the ensuing Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period after Tang's collapse. He served the Shatuo leaders Li Keyong — who ...

plotted with Li Jinzhong (), Yunzhou's Shatuo armed commander (), to join

. Kang was sent to Yuzhou to persuade Li Keyong to mutiny. When Li Keyong expressed he needed to report this to his father Li Guochang in Zhenwu Circuit (振武, headquartered in modern Hohhot,

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

), Kang uttered: "Now that the secret is out, delays may bring trouble. How could (we) afford the time to report this to (someone) thousands of '' li'' away?" Li Keyong then agreed to act, resulting in the overthrow and execution of Duan. In 888, Kang was named the "southern bandit suppression commissioner" () and given 20,000 soldiers to assist Li Keyong's ally

Li Hanzhi Li Hanzhi (; 842''New Book of Tang'', vol. 187.'' History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 15.''New History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 42. – July 26, 899Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 261.), formal ...

recover his former territory Heyang (河陽; headquartered in modern

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, Xue Atan (), Shi Yan (), An Quanjun () and An Xiuxiu () were under his command. They were defeated by

Zhu Quanzhong Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...

's forces and withdrew after An Xiuxiu fled. In 890, the imperial court declared war on Li Keyong. Li Keyong's brother Li Kegong () was killed by a subordinate in Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern

Changzhi Changzhi () is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the northeast and east, respectively. Historically, the city was one of the 36 administrative areas (see Adminis ...

, Shanxi), who then surrendered to Zhu. Li Keyong then sent Kang and Li Cunxiao to surround the Zhaoyi capital of Luzhou (). Kang was on good terms with

Li Cunxin Li Cunxin (born 26 January 1961) is a Chinese-Australian former ballet dancer turned stockbroker. He is currently the artistic director of the Queensland Ballet in Brisbane, Australia.Queensland Ballet (2012)Li Cunxin returns to the stage ...

, whose relationship with adoptive brother Li Cunxiao was sour at best. After the defeat of the imperial court and the recapture of Luzhou, Kang was named the

military governor A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

of Zhaoyi Circuit, but Li Cunxiao believed he deserved the post more and went into a jealous rage. In 893, Li Cunxiao rebelled in Xingzhou (邢州; in modern

Xingtai Xingtai (), formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of and administers 4 districts, 2 county-level cities and 12 counties. At the 2020 censu ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

), prompting Li Keyong to send Kang in a counterattack. Kang performed well in the campaign and was promoted to inspecting grand-guardian (). In spring 894, Li Cunxiao was captured and begged for mercy, claiming that he rebelled only because of Li Cunxin's false accusations. Li Keyong valued Li Cunxiao and wanted to spare his life. Even as he sentenced Li Cunxiao to death, he believed that other generals would beg on Li Cunxiao's behalf, but nobody did. After Li Cunxiao's death, Li Keyong became very depressed. Later that year, during a banquet in Jinyang (晉陽; modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), Li Keyong happened to mention Li Cunxiao during a conversation and cried uncontrollably. Kang responded by insulting Li Cunxiao's character. Furious, Li Keyong drew his sword and seriously injured Kang, also ordering his imprisonment. Kang was already dead when Li Keyong decided to release him.

In fiction

In the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...

play "A Grieving Lady Deng Painfully Laments Cunxiao" () by

Guan Hanqing Guan Hanqing ( 1241–1320), sobriquet "the Oldman of the Studio" (齋叟 Zhāisǒu), was a notable Chinese playwright and poet in the Yuan Dynasty. He has been described as among the most prolific and highly regarded dramatists of the Yuan pe ...

, which was translated as "Death of the Winged-Tiger General" by

Yang Hsien-yi Yang Xianyi (; January 10, 1915 – November 23, 2009) was a Chinese literary translator, known for rendering many ancient and a few modern Chinese classics into English, including '' Dream of the Red Mansions''. Life and career Born into a wea ...

and

Gladys Yang Gladys Yang (; 19 January 1919 – 18 November 1999) was a British translator of Chinese literature and the wife of another noted literary translator, Yang Xianyi. Biography She was born Gladys Margaret Tayler at the Peking Union Medical Col ...

in 1958, Kang Junli was along with Li Cunxin one of the antagonists who were blamed for Li Cunxiao's unjustified death. (Lady Deng was the name of Li Cunxiao's wife in the play.) In this fictional play, Kang and Li Cunxin had Li Cunxiao cruelly executed behind Li Keyong's back out of jealousy. Influential

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

novelist Luo Guanzhong's classic novel ''Romance of the End of Tang and Five Dynasties Histories'' () was also based on this account.

References

* * {{cite book, last=Sima Guang, author-link=Sima Guang, year=1086, title=

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...

''(資治通鑑)'', trans-title=Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, ref={{harvid, ''Zizhi Tongjian'' 847 births 894 deaths Tang dynasty jiedushi of Zhaoyi Circuit Politicians from Zhangjiakou Tang dynasty generals from Hebei Tang dynasty politicians from Hebei