Mu Sheng (; vi, Mộc Thạnh; 1368–1439),

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 Theo ...

Jingmao (), was a Chinese military general and politician of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. Mu Sheng was the second son of Mu Ying, the first Marquis of Xiping (). He was a solemn man of few words, and the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts ...

very liked him. In 1399, his elder brother Mu Chun died without heir, so Mu Sheng succeeded him as Marquis of Xiping.''

History of Ming The ''History of Ming'' or the ''Ming History'' (''Míng Shǐ'') is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories''. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. I ...

'', vol. 126 Mu was dispatched to attack Vietnam together with Zhang Fu in 1406. In the next year, they captured the Vietnamese usurper Hồ Quý Ly, and his son

Hồ Hán Thương Hồ Hán Thương ( vi-hantu, 胡漢蒼, ?–1407?) was the second and final emperor of the short-lived Hồ dynasty The Hồ dynasty (Vietnamese: , chữ Nôm: 茹胡； Sino-Vietnamese: ''Hồ triều, chữ Hán:'' 胡朝) was a short-liv ...

. Vietnam was once again ruled by China and renamed to Jiaozhi province ( vi, Giao Chỉ). For this accomplishment, he was elevated to the title "Duke of Qian" (). In 1408,

Trần Ngỗi Trần (陳) or Tran is a common Vietnamese surname. More than 10% of all Vietnamese people share this surname. It is derived from the common Chinese surname Chen. History The Tran ruled the Trần dynasty, a golden era in Vietnam, and succ ...

, a Vietnamese prince, revolted against Ming China. Mu was dispatched to put down the rebellion, but was defeated. In the next year, Zhang Fu was sent to Vietnam again to support him. It proved that Mu was a general did not have military talents. Zhang captured Trần Ngỗi in 1410 successfully and came back to

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 ...

, but Mu failed to put down the rebellion of the other prince,

Trần Quý Khoáng Trần (陳) or Tran is a common Vietnamese surname. More than 10% of all Vietnamese people share this surname. It is derived from the common Chinese surname Chen. History The Tran ruled the Trần dynasty, a golden era in Vietnam, and succ ...

, until Zhang Fu came to assist him again. They crushed the rebellion in 1414, and Mu was granted the title of Grand Tutor (). In 1426, he was sent to Vietnam again together with Liu Sheng to put down the rebellion of

Lê Lợi Lê Lợi (, Chữ Hán: 黎利; c. 10 September 1384/1385 – 5 October 1433), also known by his temple name as Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖) and by his pre-imperial title Bình Định vương (平定王; "Prince of Pacification"), was a Vietn ...

, whom later became the founder of the Later Lê dynasty. Later, Liu was killed by the Vietnamese in Chi Lăng Pass, Mu had to retreat from Vietnam. Finally, the

Xuande Emperor The Xuande Emperor (16 March 1399 31 January 1435), personal name Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基), was the fifth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1425 to 1435. His era name " Xuande" means "proclamation of virtue". Ruling over a relatively ...

decided to abandon Jiaozhi Province, and the Vietnamese gained political independence once again.'' Việt Nam sử lược'' by Trần Trọng Kim, Quyển 1, Chương 14 Mu Sheng took part in the Luchuan–Pingmian campaigns together with Mu Ang () and Fang Zheng (). Fang Zheng was defeated and killed in action, Mu Sheng had to retreat. He died in Chuxiong. He was elevated to the title "Prince of Dingyuan" () and given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

Zhongjing () posthumously. His eldest son Mu Bin () succeeded as Duke of Qian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mu, Sheng 1368 births 1439 deaths Generals from Anhui Ming dynasty generals Ming dynasty politicians Politicians from Chuzhou