Li Chengliang (; 1526–1618) was a

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

general.

Early life

Born in a military family in

Tieling Tieling () is one of 14 prefecture-level cities in Liaoning province of the People's Republic of China. Tieling is a city where coal mining is an important industry. Demographics As of the 2020 census, Tieling was home to 2,388,294 people, who ...

(in modern-day

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

province,

Liaodong The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...

in the Ming empire's northeast), Li suffered from poverty during his childhood. It was not until he reached the age of 40 that he received an official appointment, but he eventually became Liaodong Regional Commander () with the backing of the Chief

Grand Secretary The Grand Secretariat (; Manchu: ''dorgi yamun'') was nominally a coordinating agency but ''de facto'' the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty. It first took shape after the Hongwu Emperor abolished the off ...

Zhang Juzheng Zhang Juzheng (; 26 May 1525 – 9 July 1582), courtesy name Shuda (), pseudonym Taiyue (), was a Chinese politician who served as Senior Grand Secretary () in the late Ming dynasty during the reigns of the Longqing and Wanli emperors. He rep ...

. Li served two terms as Liaodong Regional Commander, for 22 years and 8 years respectively.

Military career against the Mongols

In the 1570s, the

Chahar Mongols The Chahars (Khalkha Mongolian: Цахар, Tsahar; ) are a subgroup of Mongols that speak Chakhar Mongolian and predominantly live in southeastern Inner Mongolia, China. The Chahars were originally one of estates of Kublai Khan located around J ...

migrated east and often harassed the Liaodong region. Li's first tenure as Liaodong Regional General saw five victories against the Chahar. For these victories, in 1579 he was named "Earl of Ningyuan" (Ningyuan bo 寧遠伯), a title that was made hereditary in 1580. # 1575 (third year of the

Wanli Wanli was the era name of the Chinese Ming dynasty. Wanli may also refer to: *Wanli Emperor (1563–1620), the 14th emperor of the Chinese Ming dynasty *Wanli District, Nanchang, district of Nanchang, Jiangxi, China *Wanli District, New Taipei, a ...

reign): Tümen Khan led over a hundred thousand cavalry troops to attack and pillage the Yizhou and

Jinzhou Jinzhou (, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city in central-west Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the Liaoxi Corridor, which connects most of the land transports between North Chin ...

regions, but was defeated by Li. # 1578 (Wanli 6): Tümen Khan attacked again, this time in

Liaoyang Liaoyang () is a prefecture-level city of east-central Liaoning province, China, situated on the Taizi River. It is approximately one hour south of Shenyang, the provincial capital, by car. Liaoyang is home to Liaoning University's College of Fo ...

, but was defeated again. # 1579 (Wanli 7): Tümen Khan attacked the Yizhou / Jinzhou region and besieged Guangning 廣寧 (modern-day Beining). # 1580 (Wanli 8): Tümen Khan gathered 40,000 cavalry, each horse tailing a cattle and three sheep. # 1581 (Wanli 9): Tümen Khan gathered nine tribes totaling a hundred thousand men and horses and attacked Liaodong with the intention of reaching Beijing.

Jianzhou Jurchen war

He was charged with maintaining peaceful relations with the Jurchen tribes. The

Jianzhou Jurchen The Jianzhou Jurchens () were one of the three major groups of Jurchens as identified by the Ming dynasty. Although the geographic location of the Jianzhou Jurchens changed throughout history, during the 14th century they were located south of t ...

chieftain

Wang Gao Wang Gao () was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who controlled Yiwu Circuit (義武, headquartered in modern Baoding, Hebei) after succeeding his father Wang Chucun in 895 until his defeat in 900. Background and governance of ...

() had frequently assaulted Ming cities and killed the Ming commander at

Fushun Fushun (, formerly romanised as ''Fouchouen'', using French spelling, also as Fuxi ()) is a prefecture level city in Liaoning province, China, about east of Shenyang, with a total area of , of which is the city proper. Situated on the Hun Ri ...

in 1573. The Ming sent a punitive expedition that drove Wang north into the lands of another Jurchen tribe, the Hada, where he was captured by Wang Tai, leader of the Hūlun federation, and handed over to Li Chengliang, who executed him in 1575. Wang Gao's death intensified the power struggles that were already taking place between Jianzhou Jurchen chieftains.

Giocangga Giocangga (Manchu: ; ; 1526–1583) was the son of Fuman and the paternal grandfather of Nurhaci, the man who unified the Jurchen peoples and founded the Later Jin dynasty of China. Both he and his son Taksi attacked Atai's fort, which was bein ...

and his son

Taksi Taksi (Manchu: ; ; 1543–1583) or posthumously titled as Emperor Xuan was a Jurchen chieftain and father of Nurhaci, founder of the Later Jin dynasty, and the fourth son of Giocangga. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he was killed in an ...

, who had been subjects to Wang Gao's authority, secretly allied themselves with Li Chengliang to enhance their power. In 1582 Wang Gao's son Atai () raided Ming lands. Ming sent a punitive expedition, which Giocangga and Taksi supported. In the ensuing assault on Atai's fort, and under unclear circumstances, both Giocangga and Taksi were killed, by rival Jurchen leader

Nikan Wailan Nikan Wailan (; , ? - 1587) was a Jurchen leader affiliated with the Ming dynasty and a rival of Nurhaci. Name In the Jurchen language, Nikan Wailan means "secretary of Han Chinese", thus his existence is suspected by some historians. Life In 1 ...

who was also siding with the Ming troops under the command of Li Chengliang. Li Chengliang fostered and protected Nurhaci, Taksi's son. With Li's support, Nurhaci gradually grew his strength in the following years. Early in 1583,

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing (), was a Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late 16th century in Manchuria. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he reigned ...

obtained from Li Chengliang the right to succeed his father as a minor Jurchen chieftain. Later Li Chengliang gave Nikan Wailan to Nurhaci in 1587, who beheaded him immediately. Through a series of alliances and military victories, Nurhaci eventually managed to unify all Jurchen tribes under his own leadership. Having named himself khan of the Jurchens, he rose in rebellion against the Ming. The first of his

Seven Grievances The ''Seven Grievances'' (Manchu: ''nadan koro''; ) was a manifesto announced by Nurhaci, khan of the Later Jin, on the thirteenth day of the fourth lunar month in the third year of the ''Tianming'' () era of his reign; 7 May 1618. It effectiv ...

against the Ming, promulgated in 1618 as a ''

casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

'', was that the Ming, "with no justification whatsoever, violated our borders and killed my father and grandfather."

Patronage

Li Chengliang enjoyed the patronage and support of the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the ...

(r. 1572–1620) and his powerful

(1525–1582), who controlled the Ming government during the first 10 years of the Wanli reign. Together, Zhang and the emperor granted Li and his sons "titles and responsibilities never before enjoyed by hereditary military officials." In addition to receiving stipends from the Ming capital, Li enhanced his wealth through "war booty, horse rustling in the borderlands, and coercive manipulation of prices in border markets."

Descendants

Of Li Chengliang's nine sons,

Li Rusong Li Rusong (1549–1598) was a Ming dynasty general from Tieling, Liaodong. He was a Ming army commander in the first half of the Imjin War that took place in the Korean peninsula. Upon the request of the Korean King Seonjo of Joseon, the Ming Wa ...

Li Rubai Li Rubai (李如柏) (1553–1619) was a general of the Ming dynasty. He was the younger brother of Li Rusong the son of Li Chengliang. He participated in the Imjin War and the campaign against the Later Jin Khan Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 � ...

would rise to become "regional commanders" (''zongbing'' 總兵) and "assistant regional commanders" (''canjiang'' 參將) for the Ming. Li Rusong would eventually be executed by the Mongols, and Li Rubai committed suicide when he lost to Nurhaci.

Footnotes

Works cited

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Chengliang 1526 births 1615 deaths Ming dynasty generals Chinese people of Korean descent People from Tieling Generals from Liaoning