Li Dingguo () (1621–1662) was a Chinese military general of the

Southern Ming dynasty The Southern Ming (), also known as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the Jiashen Incident of 1644. Shun forces ...

who fought against the

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 ...

As Zhang Xianzhong's general

Li was an adopted son of the rebel leader

Zhang Xianzhong Zhang Xianzhong (张献忠 or Chang Hsien-chung; 18 September 1606 – 2 January 1647), nickname Huanghu (literally 'Yellow Tiger'), was a Chinese peasant leader who led a peasant revolt from Yan'an wei, Shaanxi (today Yulin, Shaanxi province) ...

, and appointed a general in Zhang's army with the title General Pacifier of the West (). After Zhang's death in 1646, he and other generals of Zhang's, including

Sun Kewang The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radia ...

(), held out in

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

, then took over

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

in Sichuan, then south through

Zunyi Zunyi () is a prefecture-level city in northern Guizhou province, People's Republic of China, situated between the provincial capital Guiyang to the south and Chongqing to the north, also bordering Sichuan to the northwest. Along with Guiyang an ...

to take

Guiyang Guiyang (; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), historically rendered as Kweiyang, is the capital of Guizhou province of the People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, ...

in 1647.

Resistance to Qing

Li had tried to form a united front by combining Southern Ming forces with the rebels against the Qing dynasty, and became the most important military commander of the

Yongli Emperor The Yongli Emperor (; 1623–1662; reigned 18 November 1646 – 1 June 1662), personal name Zhu Youlang, was a royal member to the imperial family of Ming dynasty, and the fourth and last commonly recognised emperor of the Southern Ming, reigni ...

of the Southern Ming dynasty. He and Sun Kewang first aided Ming loyalists by suppressing a rebellion in Yunnan in 1648, they then made strikes to stop the advance of the Qing army in Sichuan and

Huguang Huguang was a province of China during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. It was founded by the Yuan dynasty in 1274. During the Yuan dynasty it included the areas of modern Hubei south of the Yangtze river, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. During the Ming ...

. In 1652 he led a list of successful campaigns in southern

and eastern

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

. His troops took the city of

Guilin Guilin ( Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...

, and the Qing general

Kong Youde Kong Youde ( zh, c=, p=Kǒng Yǒudé; mnc, , v=; Transliterations of Manchu, Transliteration of Manchu: kung ioo de; died August 7, 1652) was a Chinese adventurer and Ming dynasty military officer who served under the warlord Mao Wenlong until Mao ...

committed suicide after his defeat. Li also occupied

Hengzhou Hengzhou may refer to: * Hengzhou (横州市), a city in Nanning, Guangxi, China * Hengzhou, Hebei (恒州镇), a town in Quyang County, Hebei, China *Roman Catholic Diocese of Hengzhou, in the ecclesiastical province of Changsha in China Historic ...

while his forces ambushed and killed the Manchu prince Nikan. By 1653, he was forced to withdraw to northern

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

. In 1654 he attempted to take

Xinhui Xinhui, alternately romanized as Sunwui and also known as Kuixiang, is an urban district of Jiangmen in Guangdong, China. It grew from a separate city founded at the confluence of the Tan and West Rivers. It has a population of about 735,500, ...

, but was defeated and retreated to

Nanning Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of ...

in 1655. In 1656 he escorted the Yongli Emperor from

Anlong Anlong County () is a county in the southwest of Guizhou province, China, bordering Guangxi to the south. It is under the administration of the Qianxinan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Wildlife Lungtou frog or Anlung odorous frog, ''Odorra ...

Yunnan-fu Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

where the emperor set up an administration. Li was awarded with the title "Prince of Jin" (晋王, ''Jin Wang''). Li and Sun Kewang became embroiled in a power struggle. In 1657, Sun attacked Li in eastern Yunnan, but his generals turned against him, and Sun was forced to retreat back to Guizhou. Sun then surrendered to the Qing authorities in December 1657, and urged the Qing to allow him to lead an attack on the Ming rebel forces. The Qing however chose to order

Wu Sangui Wu Sangui (; 8 June 1612 – 2 October 1678), courtesy name Changbai () or Changbo (), was a notorious Ming Dynasty military officer who played a key role in the fall of the Ming dynasty and the founding of the Qing dynasty in China. In Chinese ...

to push into Sichuan, and captured Chongqing and then

in Guizhou in 1658. In March 1659, Li Dingguo's army was defeated by

and Jobtei near Yunnan-fu, and had to retreat to northern Burma, while the Yongli Emperor sought refuge with the Burmese king

Pindale Min Pindale Min ( my, ပင်းတလဲမင်း, ; 23 March 1608 – 3 June 1661) was king of the Toungoo dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1648 to 1661. Prince of Pindale ascended to the Burmese throne after his father King Thalun died in 1648 ...

and reached Ava in June 1659.

Death

In December 1661 and the following January, Wu Sangui and the Manchu duke

Aisingga Aixinga ( mnc, , v=aisingga; , d. 1664) was a Qing dynasty general who was a grandson of Prince Yangguri (揚古利) and the head of the Šumuru tribe. He served under Nurhaci and Hong Taiji. In 1660, he was appointed "General Who Pacifies the We ...

entered Burma and defeated Li, who withdrew eastwards. Wu then demanded that the Burmese king hand over Yongli. The previous Burmese king Pindale who gave shelter to Yongli had by then been deposed by

Pye Min Pye Min ( my, ပြည်မင်း, ; 26 May 1619 – 14 April 1672) was king of Toungoo dynasty from 1661 to 1672. Pye Min was a son of King Thalun. During the reign of his brother Pindale, the Prince of Pyay (Prome) led the Burmese resistan ...

, and the new king of Burma complied with Wu's demand. Yongli and his sons were handed over, and they were executed in Yunnanfu in May 1662. Li despaired upon hearing the news, and soon died (probably in August 1662) near the border between Yunnan and

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

. His last words, said to his son, were: "Rather die in wilderness than surrender".“任死荒徼，勿降也” 《续编绥寇纪略》卷四《缅甸散》作“宁死荒外，毋降也”。《清史稿·李定国传》作“任死荒徼，毋降”。 However, his son would later surrender to the Qing.

As Zhang Xianzhong's general

Resistance to Qing

Death

See also

References

Further reading