Li Jing-lin, also known as Li Fangchen (1885–1931) was a deputy inspector-general and later army general for the

Fengtian clique The Fengtian clique () was one of several opposing military factions that constituted the early Republic of China during its Warlord Era. It was named after Fengtian Province (now Liaoning), and operated from a territorial base comprising the thr ...

during the Chinese warlord era. He hailed from

Zaoqiang County Zaoqiang County () is county in the southeast of Hebei province, China, served by G45 Daqing–Guangzhou Expressway. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hengshui Hengshui () is a prefecture-level city in southern He ...

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, an ...

province,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. After his military career was over he settled in

Nanjing 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 ...

, and in 1927 moved to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. A renowned swordsman, he was known as "China's First Sword."

Military and administrative career

In 1924, during the

Second Zhili–Fengtian War The Second Zhili–Fengtian War (Second Chihli-Fengtien War; ) of 1924 was a conflict between the Japanese-backed Fengtian clique based in Manchuria, and the more liberal Zhili clique controlling Beijing and backed by Anglo-American business inte ...

, Li was commanding the Fengtian Second Army which aided

Zhang Zongchang Zhang Zongchang (1881 – 3 September 1932) was a Chinese warlord in Shandong in the early 20th century. ''Time'' dubbed him China's "basest warlord". He was known by many nicknames such as the "Dogmeat General" (), based on the name of his fa ...

in his decisive victory at Longku; the engagement has been termed "probably the single most important engagement in Zhili's defeat." In November his troops occupied

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

, where they picked up half of Wang Chengbin's forces, and under his command a "repressive and predatory" regime was established--especially noted is the extent to which the local merchants were extorted. The US 15th Infantry Regiment, whose mission was to keep the Peking-Mukden Railway open, was based in Tianjin, and small skirmishes occurred between US troops and Li's forces. Like many other warlords who ruled Tianjin, Li was a member of the

Green Gang The Green Gang () was a Chinese secret society and criminal organization, which was prominent in criminal, social and political activity in Shanghai during the early to mid 20th century. History Origins As a secret society, the origins and hist ...

. From December 1924 to December 1925 he was the administrator of Hebei province.

Martial arts

One of Li's nicknames is "Magic Sword". He displayed great skill as a swordfighter and great interest in martial arts, especially

Wudang chuan Wudang quan () is a class of Chinese martial arts. In contemporary China, Chinese martial arts styles are generally classified into two major groups: Wudang (Wutang), named after the Wudang Mountains; and Shaolin, named after the Shaolin Monaster ...

. Li was nicknamed "China's First Sword" and "God of the Sword." He was an expert in a variety of sword techniques, and later learned

Wudang Sword Wudang Sword is a body of Chinese straight sword (jian) techniques—famous in China—encompassed by the Wudang quan or internal martial arts. The oldest reputable accounts of Wudang Sword begin with Grandmaster Sung Wei-I around the turn of th ...

from

Sung Wei-I Sung Wei Yi (宋唯一) was born in Liaoning Province in 1855. He was the Grandmaster of the Wudang Sword. He introduced the sword to both Chen-style t'ai chi ch'uan and Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan; he taught the Wudang Sword to Guo Qi Feng 郭岐� ...

, a renowned swordsman who also taught

Fu Chen Sung Fu Zhensong (; 1872–1953), also known by his courtesy name Fu Qiankun, was a grandmaster of Wudangquan martial arts. He was best known as one of the famed "Five Northern Tigers," and a third-generation master of Baguazhang who founded Fu S ...

. His sword techniques were an amalgamation of the ancient

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

and the newer

Baguazhang Baguazhang or Pakua chang () is one of the three main Chinese martial arts of the Wudang school, the other two being T'ai chi and Xing Yi Quan. It is more broadly grouped as an internal practice (or neijia quan). ''Bāguà zhǎng'' literally m ...

styles. After his military career he opened a

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

center in Nanjing, and became vice-president of the National Martial Arts Academy, also known as Central Hall for National Martial Arts (''Zhongyang Guoshuguan''), and now called the

Central Guoshu Institute The Central Guoshu Institute () was established in Nanjing by the Kuomintang government of the Republic of China in March 1928 for the propagation of Chinese martial arts, and was an important center of martial arts during the Nanjing decade. ''Gu ...

. On his initiative, a

Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan Yang family-style () T‘ai-Chi Ch‘üan (Taijiquan) in its many variations is the most popular and widely practised style in the world today and the second in terms of seniority among the primary five family styles of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. History ...

was formalized, with

Yang Chengfu Yang Chengfu or Yang Ch'eng-fu (1883–1936) is historically considered the best known teacher of the soft style martial art of Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan (Yang-style Taijiquan). Biography Yang Chengfu was born into the famous Yang Taijiquan fa ...

as the most important of the contributors.Vercammen 125.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Li Jinglin 1885 births 1931 deaths Chinese baguazhang practitioners Chinese tai chi practitioners Swordfighters Republic of China warlords from Hebei Politicians from Hengshui Members of the Kuomintang Sportspeople from Hebei