Li Guang (184-119 BC) was a Chinese military general of the

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

. Nicknamed "Flying General" by the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

, he fought primarily in the campaigns against the nomadic Xiongnu tribes to the north of China. He was known to the Xiongnu as a tough opponent when it came to fortress defense, and his presence was sometimes enough for the Xiongnu to abort a siege. Li Guang committed suicide shortly after the

Battle of Mobei The Battle of Mobei () was a military campaign fought mainly in modern Mongolia. It was part of a major strategic offensive launched by the Han dynasty in January, 119 BC, into the heartland of the nomadic Xiongnu. The campaign was a success f ...

in 119 BC. He was blamed for failing to arrive at the battlefield in time (after getting lost in the desert), creating a gap in the encirclement and allowing

Ichise Chanyu Yizhixie (; r. 126–114 BC) was the brother of Junchen Chanyu and his successor to the Xiongnu throne. Yizhixie ruled during a time of conflict with the southern Han dynasty under the military expansionist, Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC) ...

to escape after a confrontation between

Wei Qing Wei Qing (died 106 BC), courtesy name Zhongqing, born Zheng Qing in Linfen, Shanxi, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty who was acclaimed for his campaigns against the Xiongnu, and his rags to riches life ...

and the

Chanyu Chanyu () or Shanyu (), short for Chengli Gutu Chanyu (), was the title used by the supreme rulers of Inner Asian nomads for eight centuries until superseded by the title "''Khagan''" in 402 CE. The title was most famously used by the ruling L ...

's main force, which the Han army narrowly managed to defeat. Refusing to accept the humiliation of a

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

, Li Guang took his own life. Li Guang belonged to the Longxi branch of the Li clan ( 隴西李氏). Li Guang was a descendant of

Laozi Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state ...

and the

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

general Li Xin, as well as an ancestor of the Western Liang and

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

monarchs. Li Guang was the grandfather of general

Li Ling Li Ling (, died 74 BC), courtesy name Shaoqing (少卿), was a Chinese military general of the Han Dynasty who served during the reign of Emperor Wu (汉武帝) and later defected to the Xiongnu after being defeated in an expedition in 99 BC. ...

who defected to the Xiongnu.

Life

According to

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

's ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

'', Li Guang was a man of great build, with long arms and good

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

skills, able to shoot an arrow deeply into a stone (which resembles the shape of a crouching tiger) on one occasion. At the same time, like his contemporaries

and

Huo Qubing Huo Qubing (140 BC – 117 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was the nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emperor Wu's wife), and the half-brot ...

, he was a caring and well-respected general who earned the respect of his soldiers. He also earned the favour of Emperor Wen, who said of him: "If he had been born in the time of Emperor Gaozu, he would have been given a fief of ten thousand households (Chinese:万户侯) without any difficulty". Li Guang first distinguished himself during the

Rebellion of the Seven States The Rebellion of the Seven States or Revolt of the Seven Kingdoms () took place in 154 BC against the Han dynasty of China by its regional semi-autonomous kings, to resist the emperor's attempt to centralize the government further. Background ...

, where he served under the Grand General

Zhou Yafu Zhou may refer to: Chinese history * King Zhou of Shang () (1105 BC–1046 BC), the last king of the Shang dynasty * Predynastic Zhou (), 11th-century BC precursor to the Zhou dynasty * Zhou dynasty () (1046 BC–256 BC), a dynasty of China ** West ...

. However, Emperor Jing was unhappy that he had accepted a seal given by

Liu Wu, Prince of Liang Liu Wu (刘武) (–144 BC), posthumously named Prince Xiao of Liang, was a Han prince. He was a son of Emperor Wen and Empress Xiaowen, and a younger brother of Emperor Jing. He played a prominent role in the suppression of the Reb ...

, Emperor Jing's brother; Emperor Jing had been wary of the Prince of Liang, as Liu Wu had ambitions to place himself as Emperor Jing's successor, over Emperor Jing's own sons. This stance was also supported by Empress Dowager Dou, their mother. Thus, Li did not get promoted to a marquisate despite his anti-rebellion achievement. As the border of Hebei always struct by constact attacks by the Xiongnu, Li Guang valorous temper were deemed fit to be assigned in position to defend against them. However, Li Guang's late military career was constantly haunted by repeated incidents of what would be regarded as

jinx A jinx (also jynx), in popular superstition and folklore, is a curse or the attribute of attracting bad or negative luck. The word ''"jynx"'' meaning the bird wryneck and sometimes a charm or spell has been in use in English since the seventeent ...

ed with "bad luck" by later scholars. He had a nasty tendency of losing direction during mobilisations; in field battles, he was often outnumbered and surrounded by superior enemies. While Li Guang's fame attracted much of his enemies' attention, Li Guang's troops relative lack of discipline and his lack of strategic planning often put him and his regiments in awkward situations. Li Guang himself narrowly escaped capture after his army was annihilated during an offensive campaign at

Yanmen Yanmen Pass, also known by its Chinese name Yanmenguan and as Xixingguan, is a mountain pass which includes three fortified gatehouses along the Great Wall of China. The area was a strategic choke point in ancient and medieval China, contr ...

in 129 BC, and was stripped of official titles and demoted to commoner status with fellow defeated general

Gongsun Ao Gongsun Ao (died 96 BCE) was a Chinese military commander and general during the Western Han Dynasty of China. He was noted for participating in the imperial campaigns against the Xiongnu. Life Gongsun Ao was from Beidi which is presently in mod ...

(公孫敖) after paying

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

. During a separate campaign in 120 BC, Li Guang, this time with his son Li Gan (李敢) by his side, was surrounded again by superior enemies. His 4,000 troops suffered heavy casualties before reinforcements led by

Zhang Qian Zhang Qian (; died c. 114) was a Chinese official and diplomat who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the late 2nd century BC during the Han dynasty. He was one of the first official diplomats to bring back valuable inf ...

(張騫) arrived in time for the rescue. The rules of the Han army dictated a commander's achievement was measured only according to his number of enemy kills minus the casualties of his own side. These, together with Li Guang's political naivety (as shown in the Prince of Liang incident), denied him of any chance of promotion to a marquisate, his lifelong dream. Emperor Wu even secretly ordered

not to assign Li Guang to important missions (such as the vanguard position), on the grounds of Li Guang's famed "terrible fortune". During the

in 119 BC, an old but still enthusiastic Li Guang insisted Emperor Wu to promise him a vanguard position, but the emperor had secretly messaged generalissimo

to ''not'' let Li lead the vanguard due to his infamy of "bad fortune". Wei Qing then assigned Li Guang to combine forces with Zhao Shiqi (赵食其/趙食其) on an eastern flanking route through a barren plain. Li Guang protested against the arrangement and angrily stormed out of the main camp. However, he and Zhao then got lost and missed the battle entirely, and only rejoining the main force after Wei Qing returned from a hard-fought victory against

Yizhixie Chanyu Yizhixie (; r. 126–114 BC) was the brother of Junchen Chanyu and his successor to the Xiongnu throne. Yizhixie ruled during a time of conflict with the southern Han dynasty under the military expansionist, Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC) ...

's numerically superior army. As a result, Li and Zhao were summoned to a

to explain why they failed to accomplish orders and put the battle strategy at risk. Li Guang, frustrated and humiliated as this was his last chance to obtain sufficient

merit Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Christianity) * Merit (Buddhism) * Punya (Hinduism) * Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity Companies and brands * Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria * Merit Energy Company, ...

s to receive a

marquessate A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

as a reward, committed

honor suicide Honor suicide is a process whereby a person commits suicide to escape the shame of an immoral or dishonorable action, such as having had extra-marital sexual affairs, partaking in a scandal, or suffering defeat in battle. It is distinguished ...

. His son Li Gan blamed Wei Qing for his father's death, assaulted Wei and was later shot dead for the offence by his own superior

(who was Wei's nephew) during a hunting trip.

In popular culture

Li Guang is mentioned by his nickname in

Wang Changling Wang Changling (; 698–756) was a major Tang dynasty poet. His courtesy name was Shaobo (). He was originally from Taiyuan in present-day Shanxi province, according to the editors of the ''Three Hundred Tang Poems'', although other sources cl ...

's seven-character quatrain "On the Frontier" (出塞). Wang comments on how war has been taking its toll on the troops stationed at the frontier, particularly given the lack of a brilliant and charismatic military commander like Li Guang. In the Imperial Japanese ''

gunka is the Japanese term for military music. While in standard use in Japan it applies both to Japanese songs and foreign songs such as "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", as an English language category it refers to songs produced by the Empire of Jap ...

'' Teki wa Ikuman, the song's lyrics reference Li Guang's ability to pierce a stone with an arrow as an example of determination regardless of difficulty.

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Joseph P Yap. ''Wars With The Xiongnu - A translation From Zizhi Tongjian'', Chapters 3-4.

AuthorHouse AuthorHouse, formerly known as 1stBooks, is a self-publishing company based in the United States. AuthorHouse uses print-on-demand business model and technology. History Originally called 1stBooks, the company was founded in Bloomington, Indian ...

(2009). . *Yang, Jing Huey (1993). ''The study of Wang Changling’s seven-character quatrain'' (Master of Arts dissertation,

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

). Available from the

UBC The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top three ...

library database. Retrieved fro
https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0087346
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Guang 119 BC deaths Chinese military personnel who committed suicide Han dynasty generals from Gansu People from Tianshui Ancient Chinese military writers Year of birth unknown Suicides in the Han dynasty