Li Renda () (died 947), also known by the names of Li Hongyi () (945–946), Li Hongda () (946), Li Da () (946–947), and Li Ruyun () (947), was a warlord of 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 ...
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...
. He was initially an officer for the state of
Min
Min or MIN may refer to:
Places
* Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China
** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian
* Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China
* Min River (Fujian)
* Min River (Sichuan)
* Mineola (Am ...
. In Min's last years, he rebelled against its last emperor
Wang Yanzheng
Wang Yanzheng () (died 951?), known as Tiande Emperor () after his era name of Tiande, formally Prince Gongyi of Fu (), also known during Min as the Prince of Fusha (), was the last ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state ...
and seized control of the Fu Prefecture (福州, in modern
Fuzhou
Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...
,
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
) region, initially in nominal allegiance to both
Southern Tang
Southern Tang () was a state in Southern China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which proclaimed itself to be the successor of the former Tang dynasty. The capital was located at Nanjing in present-day Jiangsu Province ...
and
Later Jin Later Jin may refer to two states in imperial China:
* Later Jin (Five Dynasties) (後晉; 936–947), one of the Five Dynasties
* Later Jin (1616–1636) (後金; 1616–1636), precursor to the Qing dynasty
See also
* Jin (disambiguation)
Jin ...
. When Southern Tang's emperor
Li Jing tried to force to yield actual control to the Southern Tang imperial government, however, he turned his allegiance to
Wuyue
Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in t ...
and fought off the Southern Tang attack with Wuyue aid. When his relationship with the Wuyue general Bao Xiurang () eventually broke down, he considered killing Bao and resubmitting to Southern Tang, but Bao discovered this and killed him first, allowing Wuyue to take actual control over the region.
Background and rebellion against Min
It is not known when Li Renda was born. He was said to be "of Guang Prefecture" (光州, in modern
Xinyang
Xinyang (; postal: Sinyang) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China, the southernmost administrative division in the province. Its total population was 6,234,401 according to the 2020 census. As of t ...
,
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 ...
)
['']Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...
'', vol. 284.—but that probably did not denote that he was born there, but rather that his ancestors were from there, as the original Guang Prefectures immigrants to the
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
region were led by
Wang Chao, the brother of Min's founder
Wang Shenzhi
Wang Shenzhi (; 862 – December 30, 925), courtesy name Xintong () or Xiangqing (), formally Prince Zhongyi of Min () and later further posthumously honored as Emperor Taizu of Min (), was the founder of Min Kingdom on the southeast coastal pro ...
(Prince Zhongyi), in deciding to remain, in 885—six decades before Li Renda's coming of power.
Li Renda himself at some point became an officer—the commander of the Yuancong Corps ()—for Min, but after reaching that position, did not receive another promotion for 15 years.
[ During the time that Wang Shenzhi's son Wang Xi (Emperor Jingzong) (with his capital at Min's traditional capital Fu Prefecture) and his younger brother ]Wang Yanzheng
Wang Yanzheng () (died 951?), known as Tiande Emperor () after his era name of Tiande, formally Prince Gongyi of Fu (), also known during Min as the Prince of Fusha (), was the last ruler of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state ...
(with his headquarters at Jian Prefecture (建州, in modern Nanping
Nanping (), historically known as Yanping (), is a third-tier prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde to the east, Sanming to the south, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to th ...
, Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
) and who would later claim the title of emperor of a new branch state of Yin
Yin may refer to:
*the dark force in the yin and yang from traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine
*Yīn (surname) (), a Chinese surname
*Yǐn (surname) (), a Chinese surname
*Shang dynasty, also known as the Yin dynasty
**Yinxu or Yin, the S ...
) were engaged in civil war,[The civil war between Wang Xi and Wang Yanzheng began in 940 and ended (with Wang Xi's assassination) in 944, so Li's defection would have occurred sometime during those years. See ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vols. ]282
Year 282 (Roman numerals, CCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 1 ...
, 284. Li defected from Wang Xi's imperial regime to Wang Yanzheng, who made Li one of his generals. However, when the general Zhu Wenjin
Zhu Wenjin () (died February 14, 945) was a general of, and later a claimant of the throne of, the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Min. In 944, he assassinated the emperor Wang Yanxi (also known as Wang Xi, Emperor Jingzong) ...
assassinated Wang Xi in 944 and claimed the throne himself, Li redefected to Zhu and offered strategies to capture Jian. Zhu, disliking Li for his treacherousness, refused to give him any commissions and forced him into retirement at Fuqing (福清, in modern Fuzhou).[
In late 944, Zhu had in turn been assassinated by the officer Lin Renhan (), who then submitted Fu to Wang Yanzheng's control. Wang Yanzheng reclaimed the title of Emperor of Min, but decided not to move the capital back from Jian to Fu, believing that he needed to remain at Jian to resist an incoming ]Southern Tang
Southern Tang () was a state in Southern China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which proclaimed itself to be the successor of the former Tang dynasty. The capital was located at Nanjing in present-day Jiangsu Province ...
invasion. Instead, he commissioned his nephew Wang Jichang Wang Jichang () (died 945) was a general and chancellor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Min. He was a nephew of its last emperor Wang Yanzheng, and briefly served as chancellor and general during Wang Yanzheng's reign.
...
to oversee Fu, which he made the southern capital. He sent the general Huang Renfeng () to assist Wang Jichang.[
With Fu under Wang Yanzheng's control, Li was concerned what would happen to him. Similarly concerned was one Chen Jixun (), who had defected from Wang Yanzheng to Wang Xi. They decided to approach Huang, arguing to him that Wang Yanzheng himself was in a precarious position due to the Southern Tang attack, and that Huang should rebel against him and seize Fu. Huang agreed. These co-conspirators then led the soldiers and attacked the headquarters, killing Wang Jichang and another general Wang Yanzheng left to assist Wang Jichang, Wu Chengyi ().][
]
Under the Zhuo Yanming regime
It was said that Li Renda considered immediately taking power himself, but did not believe that the soldiers would be ready to follow him. Therefore, knowing that Zhuo Yanming
Zhuo Yanming () (died July 4, 945), né Zhuo Yansi (), dharma name Timing (), was a Buddhist monk in the late years of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period Min state. After the Min army officer Li Renda rebelled against Min's last ...
, a monk at Xuefeng Temple (), had long been respected by the people, and therefore proclaimed, "This monk has multiple pupils, and has arms reaching below his knees. These are signs of a true Son of Heaven
Son of Heaven, or ''Tianzi'' (), was the sacred monarchical title of the Chinese sovereign. It originated with the Zhou dynasty and was founded on the political and spiritual doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven. Since the Qin dynasty, the secula ...
." He proclaimed Zhuo emperor and put imperial robes on him — yet simultaneously, having the regime use the era name
A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...
of Later Jin Later Jin may refer to two states in imperial China:
* Later Jin (Five Dynasties) (後晉; 936–947), one of the Five Dynasties
* Later Jin (1616–1636) (後金; 1616–1636), precursor to the Qing dynasty
See also
* Jin (disambiguation)
Jin ...
and sending emissaries to Later Jin to pledge loyalty.[
When Wang Yanzheng heard this, he slaughtered Huang Renfeng's family and sent the general Zhang Hanzhen () to rendezvous with troops from Zhang (漳州, in modern ]Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefec ...
, Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
) and Quan (泉州, in modern Quanzhou
Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...
, Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
), which had recently submitted to him, to attack the new Zhuo regime. When Zhang's army arrived at Fu, however, Huang, having received news that his family had been slaughtered, fought with great ferocity, and he defeated and captured Zhang, who was then executed.[
Li put himself in command of Zhuo's imperial guards, and had Huang defend Fu's west gate and Chen Jixun defend its north gate. However, one day, Huang lamented to Chen his regrets in rebelling against Wang Yanzheng, stating:][
Chen warned him that lamenting in this way would bring disaster, but Huang apparently continued to do so. When Li became aware, he had others falsely accuse Huang and Chen of treason, and had them arrested and executed. After their death, Li consolidated the command in his own hands. Not long after, he held a grand review of the troops and had Zhuo attend to view them. At the review, he had a soldier assassinate Zhuo. (Zhuo's father, whom Zhuo had honored as ]retired emperor
Retired Emperor, Grand Emperor, or Emperor Emeritus is a title occasionally used by the monarchical regimes in the Sinosphere for former emperors who had (at least in name) abdicated voluntarily to another member of the same clan, usually their s ...
, was also put to death.) Soldiers that Li had pre-conspired with placed him on Zhuo's throne. Li, however, did not claim imperial title, but rather only claimed the title of acting military governor of Weiwu Circuit (威武, traditionally headquartered at Fu). He started using Southern Tang's ''Baoda'' era name, yet at the same time also sent emissaries to pledge allegiance to Later Jin and to establish friendly relations with Wuyue
Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in t ...
. Southern Tang's emperor Li Jing made Li Renda the military governor of Weiwu and honorary chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
(同中書門下平章事, ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi''), and added him to the roll of imperial clan members (as he shared the surname of Li with the Southern Tang emperors). Li Jing also gave him a new name of Li Hongyi.[
]
Under dual allegiance to Southern Tang and Later Jin
In fall 945, Jian Prefecture fell to the sieging Southern Tang troops commanded by the general Cha Wenhui (). Wang Yanzheng surrendered, ending Min, and subsequently, all of the former Min realm (at least nominally) submitted to Southern Tang. Subsequently, a member of the Min imperial clan, Wang Jixun (), who was then the prefect of Quan, wrote to Li Renda, offering to establish friendly relations, but Li Renda took offense, as traditionally, Quan was part of and subordinate to the military governor of Weiwu; he thus sent his younger brother Li Hongtong () to attack Quan in late-spring 946. Wang Jixun's officer Liu Congxiao Liu Congxiao (; 906-962), formally the Prince of Jinjiang (), was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Min. After Min's fall, he initially submitted to Southern Tang (which had conquered Min), but eventually, taking ...
used this as an opportunity to depose Wang and take over Quan, and then repelled Li Hongtong's attack.[''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 285.]
Previously, when Cha captured Jian, there were suggestions made to the Southern Tang court that the army advance and take over Fu as well. Li Jing declined ordering so, and his chief of staff Chen Jue offered to go on a diplomatic mission to Fu, to try to persuade Li Hongyi to give up his ''de facto'' self-governing status and report to the Southern Tang capital Jinling
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
. To try to show good grace to Li Hongyi, before Chen's mission, Li Jing bestowed lady titles on Li Hongyi's mother and wife, and granted offices to his four younger brothers. Further, Chen arrived at Fu with gold and silk to be awarded to Li Hongyi. However, Li Hongyi, knowing what Chen was there to do, treated Chen with coldness and disrespect. Fearful, Chen left Fu without even bringing up the matter of summoning him to Jinling.[
As Chen was on the way back to Jinling, when he reached Jian Prefecture (劍州, in modern Nanping, note different location than the former Min capital), he issued edicts in Li Jing's name (without Li Jing's approval) ordering Li Hongyi to report to Jinling. The false edict also named Chen the acting overseer at Fu and launched troops from Ting (汀州, in modern ]Longyan
Longyan (; Hakka: ''Liùng-ngàm''; Longyan dialect: ''Lengngia'') is a prefecture-level city in south-western Fujian Province, China, bordering Guangdong to the south and Jiangxi to the west.
History
In 736 AD, (the Tang dynasty), the prefect ...
, Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
), Jian (the former Min capital), Fǔ (撫州, in modern Fuzhou
Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...
, Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
, note different location), and Xin (信州, in modern Shangrao
Shangrao () is a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in the northeast of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. The city borders the province of Anhui to the north, the province of Zhejiang to the east, and the province of Fujian to t ...
, Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
) Prefectures, under the command of the Jian army monitor Feng Yanlu, to head toward Fu to pressure Li Hongyi. When Feng wrote Li Hongyi to try to persuade him to give up his control of Fu, however, Li Hongyi responded and challenged him to a battle. While Feng initially defeated Li Hongyi's general Yang Chongbao (), they were defeated at Fu when engaging Li Hongyi himself. Li Jing, initially angry that Chen had forged his edict, decided to try to reinforce his and Feng's army to try to defeat Li Hongyi, and therefore put the senior general Wang Chongwen () in command of an army to further siege Fu. The outer city quickly fell, but Li Hongyi was able to hold the defense of the inner city, and the Southern Tang attack bogged down.[
]
Break with Southern Tang and allegiance to Wuyue
Li Hongyi changed his name to Li Hongda, apparently to show a break with Southern Tang, and submitted a petition to submit to Later Jin. Later Jin's emperor Shi Chonggui
Shi Chonggui () (914–974), known in traditional Chinese historical sources as Emperor Chu of Later Jin (後晉出帝, "the exiled emperor") or Emperor Shao of Later Jin (後晉少帝, "the young emperor"), posthumously known in the Liao dynasty a ...
commissioned him the military governor of Weiwu and the overseer of the state of Min.[
Li Hongda then again changed his name to Li Da (apparently in ]naming taboo
A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly r ...
for Wuyue's king Qian Hongzuo
Qian Hongzuo (錢弘佐; 14 August 928 – 22 June 947), courtesy name Yuanyou (), formally King Zhongxian of Wuyue (), possibly with the temple name of Chengzong (), was the third king () of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period ...
), and sought aid from Wuyue, offering to submit as a subject. An initial Wuyue attachment quickly arrived at Fu and helped him defend the city, but was unable to break the Southern Tang siege, which became tighter and tighter. However, the Southern Tang army was hampered by discord — as while Wang Chongwen was the overall commander of the army, the officials Chen Jue, Feng Yanlu, and Wei Cen () all tried to give orders as well, while Liu Congxiao and Wang Jianfeng () were also not obedient of Wang Chongwen's orders.[ When another Wuyue detachment, commanded by the general Yu An () arrived, Feng, taking it lightly, advocated allowing it to land so that it could be destroyed on land. Instead, once the Wuyue forces landed, it coalesced fiercely and crushed the Southern Tang forces, forcing them to withdraw. Yu entered the city and took up position there with a Wuyue garrison. Yu subsequently returned to the Wuyue capital Qiantang, and Qian sent the general Bao Xiurang () to command the Wuyue garrison at Fu.][''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 286.]
In July 947, Qian Hongzuo died and was succeeded by his brother Qian Hongzong
Qian Hongzong (錢弘倧) (c. 928 – 971?), known as Qian Zong (錢倧) during Song, courtesy name Longdao (隆道), nickname Wanjin (萬金), formally King Zhongxun of Wuyue (吳越忠遜王), was the fourth king of the Chinese Five Dynasties and ...
. Li Da, leaving his brother Li Tong (i.e., Li Hongtong, who apparently also changed his name at the time that Li Da changed his) at Fu as the acting military governor, went to Qiantang to pay homage to the new king. Qian Hongzong bestowed on him the greater honorary chancellor title ''Shizhong'' () and gave him a new name of Li Ruyun. Li Ruyun soon became apprehensive that Qian Hongzong might keep him at Qiantang, and, using 20 gold bamboo shoots
Bamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of many bamboo species including ''Bambusa vulgaris'' and ''Phyllostachys edulis''. They are used as vegetables in numerous Asian dishes and b ...
, bribed the powerful general Hu Jinsi Hu Jinsi (胡進思) (died April 28, 948) was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Wuyue, becoming powerful during the reign of its third king Qian Hongzuo (King Zhongxian). After Qian Hongzuo's death, Hu had frequ ...
, requesting to be allowed to return to Fu. Hu thus spoke on Li's behalf, and Qian allowed Li to return to Fu.[''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 287.]
Death
At some point, however, Li Ruyun developed a discord with Bao Xiurang, and therefore considered assassinating Bao and resubmitting to Southern Tang. When Bao realized this, he acted first and attacked Li's mansion, killing him and slaughtering his family,[ including his brother Li Tong.]['']Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms
The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and before the reunification of China ...
''
vol. 98
Bao delivered Li Ruyun's head to Qiantang, and Qian Hongzong subsequently sent the chancellor Wu Cheng to take over as the military governor of Weiwu.[
]
Notes and references
* ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms
The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and before the reunification of China ...
''
vol. 98
* ''Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...
'', vols. 284, 285
The year 285 ( CCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the "Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Aurelius" (or, less frequently, "year ...
, 286, 287
Year 287 (Roman numerals, CCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequ ...
.
, - style="text-align: center;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Renda
947 deaths
Min Kingdom generals
Southern Tang jiedushi of Weiwu Circuit
Later Jin (Five Dynasties) jiedushi of Weiwu Circuit
Wuyue jiedushi of Weiwu Circuit
Assassinated Chinese people