Pei Min (fl. early 8th century)() was a Chinese military general during the

Kaiyuan era Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the early ...

. He participated in battles against 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 ...

, the

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 3 ...

, and

Khitans The Khitan people (Khitan small script: ; ) were a historical nomadic people from Northeast Asia who, from the 4th century, inhabited an area corresponding to parts of modern Mongolia, Northeast China and the Russian Far East. As a people desce ...

. He is known as the ''Sword Saint'' () as he was very skilled in swordplay. He also was said to be a great archer and was said to have killed thirty one tigers in a single day. Emperor Wenzong of Tang, in an imperial decree, included Pei Min in the "Three Wonders of the Tang Dynasty," which refer to Pei Min's swordplay,

Li Bai Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...

's poetry, and

Zhang Xu Zhang Xu (, fl. 8th century), courtesy name Bogao (), was a Chinese calligrapher and poet of the Tang Dynasty. A native of Suzhou, he became an official during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Zhang was known as one of the Eight Immorta ...

’s calligraphy.

Accounts about Pei Min

It is said that Li Bai once wanted to learn swordplay from Pei Min. Also, he supposedly "threw the sword into the clouds, more than 109 feet (10

Zhàng The zhang ( zh, c= ) is a customary Chinese unit of length equal to 10 chi (Chinese feet). Its value varied over time and place with different values of the chi, although it was occasionally standardized. In 1915, the Republic of China set it equ ...

) high, as lightning struck down, leading his hands he bore it with the sheath, in front of a thousand spectators, trembling and shuddering. At one point in time, Pei Min was an envoy to the Long Hua Army and guarded Beiping (now

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

). Pei Min was good at archery and shot thirty-one tigers in one day. An old man said to him, "These look like tigers, but yet are not. If a general met a real tiger, he would be helpless." Pei proceeded to ask "Then where is the real tiger?" The old man told him "Thirty kilometers north, there is." When Pei Min arrived there, he saw a small, but fierce, tiger. Its roared shattered rocks on the ground. His horse got away and his bow fell. From that day onwards, Pei Min did not shoot tigers again.''Tang Guo Shi Shu'' ()

Poetry about Pei Min

The following is the poem "Gift to General Pei" by

Yan Zhenqing Yan Zhenqing (; 709–785) was a Chinese calligrapher, military general, and politician. He was a leading Chinese calligrapher and a loyal governor of the Tang dynasty. His artistic accomplishment in Chinese calligraphy is equal to that of the ...

: It roughly translates to:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Min, Pei Tang dynasty generals 8th-century Chinese military personnel