Li Maoxun () was a warlord late in the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

dynasty

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 ...

, who seized control of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

) briefly from 875 to 876 before retiring and turning control of the circuit over to his son

Li Keju Li Keju (李可舉; died 885 CE) was a warlord late in the Chinese dynasty Tang dynasty, who controlled Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) from 876 to 885. Background It is not known when Li Keju was born. His father Li M ...

Background

It is not known when Li Maoxun was born, but it was known that he was ethnically

Huigu The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; otk, 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Toquz Oγuz budun, Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic empire that ...

, of the Abusi () tribe. During the governance of Lulong's military governor

Zhang Zhongwu Zhang Zhongwu () (died 849''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 248.), formally Prince Zhuang of Lanling () (per the '' Old Book of Tang' Old Book of Tang'', vol. 180.) or Duke Zhuang of Lanling () (per the '' New Book of Tang' New Book of Tang'', vol. ...

(in office 841–849), Zhang waged many campaigns against the Huigu, and in one of the campaigns, Li Maoxun surrendered along with the other nobles of the tribe, and was granted a Chinese name, along with the imperial clan surname of Li. It was said that he was capable in riding and archery, and was much favored by Zhang, who often sent him on border campaigns.'' Old Book of Tang'', vol. 180.

Seizure of Lulong Circuit

As of 875, Zhang Gongsu (not related to Zhang Zhongwu) was the military governor, and it was said that the soldiers despised him for his harshness and violence. Instead, the soldiers hoped that the officer Chen Gongyan (), who was then the defender of Naxiang Base (納降軍, in modern Beijing), would take over. The ambitious Li Maoxun, instead, assassinated Chen, took his army, and headed toward the circuit capital You Prefecture (), claiming to be Chen's forward commander against Zhang. Zhang engaged him and was defeated, and Zhang fled to the imperial capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin S ...

. Once Li entered You Prefecture, the people realized that he was not acting on Chen's behalf, but given that he had the prefecture under control by this time, they were forced to support him. Then-reigning Emperor Xizong thus commissioned Li as the acting military governor, and then as full military governor.''

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 ...

'', vol. 252.

Retirement

In spring 876, Li Maoxun requested retirement and requested that his son

be made acting military governor. Emperor Xizong agreed, and allowed Li Maoxun to retire while making Li Keju acting military governor and later full military governor. That was the last historical reference to Li Maoxun, and it is not known when he died — although he presumably died long before his son Li Keju, facing the mutiny by his officer

Li Quanzhong Li Quanzhong () (d. 886) was a warlord late in the History of China, Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who controlled Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) from 885, when he overthrew the prior military governor (''Jiedushi'') Li Kej ...

, committed suicide along with his entire family, in 885.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 256.

Notes and references

* '' Old Book of Tang'', vol. 180. * '' New Book of Tang'', vol. 212. * ''

'', vol. 252. {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Maoxun 9th-century births 9th-century deaths Tang dynasty jiedushi of Lulong Circuit Uyghur people People from North China