Mao Wenlong (; 10 February 1576 – 24 July 1629),

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 ...

Zhennan, was a Chinese military general of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. He is best known for commanding Ming forces in the naval battles against forces of the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

-led

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

in the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour terms ...

during the

Qing conquest of the Ming The transition from Ming to Qing, alternatively known as Ming–Qing transition or the Manchu conquest of China, from 1618 to 1683, saw the transition between two major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasties in Chinese history. It was a decade ...

. He was also known for excelling in artillery warfare and for successfully incorporating Western-style tactics into the Chinese military.

Early life

Mao was born in

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

and worked as a fortuneteller in his youth. He joined the Ming military in northern

Shanhaiguan Shanhai Pass or Shanhaiguan () is one of the major passes in the Great Wall of China, being the easternmost stronghold along the Ming Great Wall, and commands the narrowest choke point in the Liaoxi Corridor. It is located in Shanhaiguan Di ...

around 1600.

Career

Mao is sometimes blamed for the

Later Jin invasion of Joseon The Later Jin invasion of Joseon occurred in early 1627 when the Later Jin prince Amin led an invasion of the Joseon Dynasty. The war ended after three months with the Later Jin establishing itself as sovereign tributary overlord over Joseon. ...

. He was known for operating against the Later Jin dynasty from bases within the

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

, a Ming ally at that time. When the Later Jin forces mounted a punitive expedition into Joseon, Mao ordered a general retreat of all Ming forces. This angered many Beijing merchants who had previously traded with the

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. Mao never dared to drag major Later Jin cities into war even when there was a strategic advantage in doing so. In this way Mao was able to bring to bear the influence of many powerful Ming officials against

Yuan Chonghuan Yuan Chonghuan (; 6 June 1584 – 22 September 1630), courtesy name Yuansu or Ziru, was a Chinese politician, military general and writer who served under the Ming dynasty. Widely regarded as a patriot in Chinese culture, he is best known for d ...

(1584–1630), a fellow Ming military commander. Mao engaged in widespread smuggling using the Ming

marine corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

, contributing heavily to the booming economy of northern China. He was eventually caught for smuggling and executed by Yuan Chonghuan, a fellow military commander who had been conferred the imperial sword of absolute authority by the last Ming emperor. It is believed that Mao's death led in part to an economic downturn in the Ming dynasty.

,
An embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham, emperor of China : delivered by their excellencies Peter de Goyer and Jacob de Keyzer, at his imperial city of Peking wherein the cities, towns, villages, ports, rivers, &c. in their passages from Canton to Peking are ingeniously described by John Nieuhoff ; also an epistle of Father John Adams, their antagonist, concerning the whole negotiation ; with an appendix of several remarks taken out of Father Athanasius Kircher ; Englished and set forth with their several sculptures by John Ogilby
(1673), p. 266 sq.

References

1576 births 1629 deaths Ming dynasty generals People from Hangzhou Generals from Zhejiang Executed people from Zhejiang Executed Ming dynasty people People executed by the Ming dynasty by decapitation {{China-mil-bio-stub

Early life

Career

See also

Further reading

References