Li Jingda
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Li Jingda (李景達) (924-971''
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. 19.
), né Xu Jingda (徐景達),
courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Zitong (子通), nickname Yushi (雨師), formally Crown Prince Zhaoxiao (昭孝太弟), was an imperial prince (but not
crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
) 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 ...
state
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 ...
.


Background

Xu Jingda was born in 924, as the fourth son of his parents Xu Zhigao and Lady Song Fujin. (Older than he were Xu Jingtong,
Xu Jingqian Xu Jingqian (徐景遷) (919-937''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', vol. 19.), also known in some historical records as Li Jingqian (李景遷) (because his family would, after his death, change the surname to Li), posthumously hono ...
, and Xu Jingsui; a younger half-brother, Li Jingti (), born of Lady Zhong, would be born later.) At that time, Xu Zhigao was newly made the junior regent for the state of Wu, and there happened to be a severe drought, causing Xu Zhigao much distress. He sacrificed for rain, and it happened that Xu Jingda was born that day. Xu Zhigao was happy and believed his birth to be a good omen, and therefore gave him the nickname of Yushi (meaning, "army of rain"). As he grew in childhood, it was said that he had an impressive appearance and a direct, magnanimous disposition, unlike other children, and Xu Zhigao much favored him. At some point, he married a daughter of the senior Wu general
Li Decheng Li Decheng () (863''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', vol. 7.-August 5, 940''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', vol. 15.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), formally Prince Zhongyi of Zhao (), was a pro ...
.''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', vol. 7.


During Li Bian's reign

In 937, Xu Zhigao, then regent, had Wu's emperor
Yang Pu Yang Pu ( zh, 楊溥; 900 – January 21, 939), formally Emperor Rui of Wu (), was the last ruler of Wu, and the only one that claimed the title of emperor. During his reign, the state was in effective control of the regents Xu Wen and Xu Wen' ...
yield the throne to him, ending Wu and starting a new state of
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 ...
. While Xu Jingda's older brothers Xu Jingtong (whose name was then changed to Xu Jing) and Xu Jingsui were given princely titles later that year, Xu Jingda initially was not, but was only given the title of Duke of Shouyang. (The other older brother, Xu Jingqian, had died shortly before the state transition due to illness.)''
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. 281.
In 939, he, and the rest of his family, took the family name of Li, which was his father's birth name. (Xu Zhigao also took a new personal name and became known as Li Bian.) Li Jingda received a princely title shortly after — variously referred to as Prince of Xuancheng''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282. or Prince of Xin. As a result of the name change, a controversy developed over whether he could remain married to his wife Princess Li, as a marriage between two people of the same family name was disallowed under Chinese traditions against endogamy. Li Bian decreed that due to Li Decheng's great accomplishments, the marriage shall remain valid, and that the princess was to take on the new family name of Nanping (as her father Li Decheng carried the title of Prince of Nanping). Throughout the years, Li Bian, impressed by Li Jingda's open disposition, had considered making him the heir to the throne, and the
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 ...
Song Qiqiu Song Qiqiu (887–959), courtesy name Zisong, formally Duke Chouliao of Chu (), was the chief strategist of Emperor Liezu of Southern Tang (Xu Zhigao/Li Bian), the founding emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state South ...
had also often praised his talent. However, Li Bian hesitated, and eventually did not do so, because Li Jing was older.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 283. (Still, Li Jing was never created
crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
, although his title of Prince of Qi was ceremonially greater than any other prince's as it was a title that both Li Bian and his adoptive father
Xu Wen Xu Wen () (862''New History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 61. – November 20, 927''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 276.Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter), courtesy name Dunmei (), formally Prince Zhongwu of Qi (), later further ...
, who was Li Bian's predecessor as regent, had carried (in Xu Wen's case, posthumously).)''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 276.


During Li Jing's reign

Li Bian died in 943, and Li Jing succeeded him as emperor. Li Jing created Li Jingda the greater title of Prince of E. Li Jingda apparently also received additional titles of defender of the eastern capital Jiangdu (江都, in modern
Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...
,
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
), military governor of Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern
Tai'an Tai'an () is a prefecture-level city in Western Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China. Centered on Mount Tai, the city borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east, Linyi to the southeast, Liaocheng to ...
,
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
— a completely honorary office as Tianping was then the territory of Southern Tang's northern neighbor
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 honorary chancellor title of ''Shizhong'' (). Later in the year, believing that it was Li Bian's wish, Li Jing publicly declared his intent to eventually pass the throne, in order, to Li Jingsui and Li Jingda. He thus gave the title of Prince of Qi to Li Jingsui and had Li Jingsui move into the eastern palace — the traditional residence for crown princes, although Li Jingsui did not receive that title at that time — and gave Li Jingsui's old title, Prince of Yan, to Li Jingda. Li Jingsui and Li Jingda also, respectively, were made the generalissimo of the armies of all circuits and deputy generalissimo. They tried to decline these honors, but Li Jing would not let them. Meanwhile, by 945, Song Qiqiu was in retirement, but unhappily so.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 285. In 945, Li Jingda's staff member Xie Zhongxuan () argued to Li Jingda that leaving Song, whose reputation as a top adviser to LI Bian was well-known, in retirement would merely cause the people to be disappointed. Li Jingda relayed Xie's arguments to Li Jing, who agreed, and therefore had Li Jingda go see Song to recall him to the imperial government. In 947, Li Jing formally created Li Jingsui crown prince. He gave the Prince of Qi title to Li Jingda, and the Prince of Yan title that Li Jingda carried to his (Li Jing's) oldest son
Li Hongji Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political te ...
, who previously was Prince of Nanchang. Li Jingda and Li Hongji were also made generalissimo and deputy generalissimo, respectively. Meanwhile, in the frequent feasts that Li Jing had with family members and close associates, Li Jing's close associates
Feng Yanji Feng Yanji () (per the ''Zizhi Tongjian'Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 283. and the '' History of Song' History of Song'', vol. 478.) or Feng Yansi () (per the ''New History of the Five Dynasties'New History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 62. and ...
, Feng Yanlu (), Wei Cen (), and Chen Jue spent much time in flattery and inappropriate humor, drawing frequent rebukes from the stern Li Jingda. On one occasion, Feng Yanji, who actually had no part in Li Jing's plan to eventually pass the throne to Li Jingsui and Li Jingda, wanted to nevertheless create the impression that he was involved, to draw gratitude from the two princes. He thus pretended to be drunk, and he caressed Li Jingda's back and stated, "You should not forget me!" Li Jingda, finding this inappropriate, was incensed, and he immediately went to see Li Jing, requesting Feng's execution. Li Jing had to spend much time dissuading him. The official Zhang Yi (), however, later pointed out to Li Jingda that his repeated attempts to remove Li Jing's close associates were not having the effect that he wanted, and might create incentive for them to falsely accuse him. Li Jingda saw Zhang's point and agreed; after that, he often declined to attend feasts to avoid conflict with Li Jing's associates.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 286. In 956, Southern Tang was under a major attack by its northern neighbor
Later Zhou Zhou, known as the Later Zhou (; ) in historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty and the last of the Five Dynasties that controlled most of northern China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Founded by Guo Wei (E ...
(which had succeeded Later Jin's successor state
Later Han Later Han (後漢) may refer to two dynastic states in imperial China: *Eastern Han (25–220), the second period of the Han dynasty, also called Later Han * Later Han (947–951), a dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period See al ...
). Li Jing commissioned Li Jingda to command the main Southern Tang army to face the main Later Zhou army, commanded by the Later Zhou emperor
Guo Rong Chai Rong () (27 October 921 – 27 July 959), later known as Guo Rong (), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, was the second emperor of the Later Zhou dynasty of China, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms ...
. However, he also commissioned Chen as Li Jingda's army monitor, and Chen became effectively in command. (The official
Han Xizai Han Xizai () (902 – August 31, 970''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms''vol. 28Acade ...
tried to argue against this, pointing out that there was no one more trusted and honored than Li Jingda, and that having an army monitor was inappropriate.)''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 293.
Indeed, it was said that because Li Jingda lacked talent in military matters, he essentially was only signing orders that Chen had already decided on, and that the army had low morale as a result. In particular, one of the tasks that Li Jingda's army, 50,000-men strong, was supposed to carry out was to relieve the Later Zhou siege on the important border city Shou Prefecture (壽州, in modern
Lu'an Lu'an (), is a prefecture-level city in western Anhui province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan to the northwest and Hubei to the southwest. As of the 2020 census, it had a total population of 4,393,699 inhabitants whom 1,752,537 liv ...
,
Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
), but while the army advanced to Hao Prefecture (濠州, in modern
Chuzhou Chuzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Anhui Province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south and southwest, Huainan to the west, Bengbu to the northwest, and the province of Jiangsu to the east. According to ...
,
Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
), not far from Shou, it did not advance further to actually engage the Later Zhou sieging army. He did dispatch some generals to make repeated attempts to advance toward Shou, but each time was repelled by the Later Zhou forces. He also rejected the proposal by Shou's commander Liu Renzhan () for Liu to lead his army out of the city for a pitched battle with the Later Zhou army. Faced with the continuing siege, Liu fell ill. Further, at this time, Chen tried to strip the successful, but often disobedient general Zhu Yuan () of his command, causing Zhu to surrender to Later Zhou and further weakening the Southern Tang position. A final attempt by Li Jingda's army to assault the Later Zhou sieging army resulted in a crushing defeat for Southern Tang, with the generals Xu Wenzhen (),
Bian Hao Bian Hao (邊鎬), nickname Kangle (康樂), was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Southern Tang. Early in his career, he distinguished himself in campaigns against the agrarian army leader Zhang Yuxian and aga ...
, and Yang Shouzhong () all captured. Li Jingda and Chen had to flee back to the 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 ...
. With Liu near death from his illness, the Southern Tang garrison at Shou surrendered. In light of the mounting defeats, Li Jingsui, who had previously declined the crown prince position, again offered to yield the position, pointing out that he was unable to aid the state while Li Hongji, who was in charge of the southeastern front 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 ...
(which, as a Later Zhou vassal state, had tried to invade Southern Tang as well but had been repelled by Li Hongji's subordinate Chai Zaiyong (). Li Jingda also offered to resign as generalissimo. Li Jing agreed this time, creating Li Hongji crown prince to replace Li Jingsui, while sending Li Jingsui and Li Jingda out of the capital to serve as regional governors, as they requested. In Li Jingda's case, he was initially given the titles of generalissimo of Zhexi (浙西, i.e., Zhenhai Circuit (鎮海, headquartered in modern
Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and b ...
,
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
)) as well as the commandant of Zhenhai's capital Run Prefecture (). However, as Zhenhai was then still involved in the campaign against Later Zhou, he declined it, and was thereafter made the commandant of Fu Prefecture (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 ...
). (Li Jing was eventually able to negotiate a peace agreement with Guo, with Southern Tang formally becoming a vassal state to Later Zhou and ceding all of its territory north of the
Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
to Later Zhou.)''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 294. It was said that after the defeat at Shou, Li Jingda spent much of his time in drinking, and that, at Fu Prefecture, he did not attend much to the governance of the circuit (i.e., Zhaowu Circuit (), headquartered at Fu) and entrusted the matters to his staff members.


During Li Yu's reign

Li Jing died in 961, and was succeeded by his son Li Congjia, who then changed his name to Li Yu.''
Xu Zizhi Tongjian ''Xu Zizhi Tongjian'' (續資治通鑑; "Continuation to ''Zizhi Tongjian''") was a book chronicling Chinese history of the Song dynasty between 960 and 1279 and the Yuan dynasty between 1279 and 1370. Credited to Bi Yuan (畢沅; 1730–1797), a ...
'', vol. 2.
(Li Hongji had died earlier, and was succeeded as crown prince by Li Congjia, who was his younger brother.) Li Yu bestowed on Li Jingda the additional honorary titles of ''Taishi'' () and ''Shangshu Ling'' (), showing great respect to him. Li Jingda died in 971. By his own wishes, he was buried at
Mount Lu Mountain Lu or Lushan (, Gan: Lu-san), officially named Mountain Lu National Park, is a mountain in China. It was also known as Kuanglu () in ancient times. It is situated in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, and is one of the most renowned mountai ...
. Li Yu posthumously honored him crown prince.


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. 19. * ''
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. 281,
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 ...
,
283 Year 283 ( CCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carus and Carinus (or, less frequently, year 1036 ''Ab urbe cond ...
,
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,
293 __NOTOC__ Year 293 ( CCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (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 frequently, ...
, 294. {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Jingda 924 births 971 deaths Politicians from Yangzhou Generals from Jiangsu Yang Wu people Southern Tang imperial princes Southern Tang jiedushi of Zhaowu Circuit Southern Tang jiedushi of Zhenhai Circuit Southern Tang Taoists Southern Tang jiedushi of Tianping Circuit