Qian Shizhen (; 1561–1642) was a

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 ...

general who participated in the

Imjin war The Imjin River ( in South Korea) or Rimjin River ( in North Korea) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea. The rive ...

. His chosen name is Zhisun, and his nickname was Sanqi. He was the author of "The records of the Eastern Expedition (征東實紀)" and "Comments on archery" (射評).

Early life

Qian was born in what is today

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

city, the son of a scholar. His father was able to pass several levels in the

Imperial exam The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

, but only served briefly as an administrator before continuing life as a free scholar back home. Qian was said to have been a brilliant child, with a strong grasp of literature at an early age, yet he also showed strong interest and an uncanny ability for martial skills. Qian officially decided to pursue the path of a military career instead of an academic one at age 21, (a rather uncommon choice by the standards of the day) and succeeded in passing the military version of the

imperial exam The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

in 1589. By 1592, just prior to the Imjin war, he was a minor officer in charge of 500 men as part of the logistical corp along the Grand Canal.

Imjin war

Qian was promoted to a low ranking general as a result of the

Imjin War The Imjin River ( in South Korea) or Rimjin River ( in North Korea) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea. The rive ...

, and after he arrived at Beijing on his latest logistical run along the Grand Canal he quickly took 1,000 men to

Liaodong The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...

. Upon arriving at

, he learned of his mother's death back home, but choose to hide the information from others so he could continue to participate in the war. Qian along with

Wu Weizhong Wu Weizhong () was a military commander for the Ming dynasty. He is from the county of Yiwu in Zhejiang province (浙江省義烏縣), his chosen name is Ruchen and his nickname is Yunfeng (字汝誠，號雲峰) he was one of the Ming generals th ...

was part of the vanguard of the major

Ming 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 pe ...

expedition in 1593 directed by

Song Yingchang Song Yingchang (; 1536－1606) was an administrative official during the Ming dynasty, most famously known for managing the first Ming campaign of the Imjin war during 1592-1593 . Career Song entered public service in 1565, during his career he hel ...

and led by

Li Rusong Li Rusong (1549–1598) was a Ming dynasty general from Tieling, Liaodong. He was a Ming army commander in the first half of the Imjin War that took place in the Korean peninsula. Upon the request of the Korean King Seonjo of Joseon, the Ming Wa ...

. According to Qian's records, on 1/1 1593 he encountered a small scouting party of Japanese and killed its leader in the ensuing skirmish. In the following days, he was part of the forces that retook Pyongyang from the Japanese forces under Konishi Yukinaga. Qian's records complained that although

commanded the Ming army to not take any heads during the battle, he realized after the battle that Li's own men and the Northern troops closer to him had basically ignored the order. Qian noted that by then the Korean logistics were already lagging behind the Ming forces, and only until nearly a week later did the grain shipments finally arrive in sufficient number for the Ming forces to continue forward. Qian was part of the forces that retook Kaesong on the 19th. During this time he met a small group of Japanese forces, whose opposing commander challenged him to a duel. Qian accepted the challenge and killed the

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

, but afterwards he was denied of the claim because he did not know the name of his foe. His records also stated that the general Zha Dashou (查大受) was responsible for misleading

and the Ming forces to the debacle in the

battle of Byeokjegwan The Battle of Byeokjegwan was a military engagement fought on 27 February 1593 between the armies of the Ming dynasty led by Li Rusong and Japanese forces under Kobayakawa Takakage. It resulted in Japanese victory and Ming retreat. Background A ...

in late January that year. After the

, the Ming army stalled; disease and grudges between the generals of different origins also contributed to the problem. After peace talks began, Qian was sent to escort the Japanese delegation group. He recorded that they went hunting around

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...

(where Qian captured a large feral horse) along with other daily conversations and interactions. Qian returned to China along with the main Ming host in September 1593.

Later life

Qian began to rise quickly after returning from Korea, eventually topping out as the Zhongbin (highest level of generals in the Ming) in 1620, but he retired before officially taking office."嘉定縣誌人物傳 - 錢世楨"二十二年防倭海上敍征東功陞薊鎮參將歷任江南金山常镇參將陞江西總兵未任告歸 He was a close friend with the famous Ming politician

Xu Guangqi Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i (April 24, 1562– November 8, 1633), also known by his baptismal name Paul, was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborato ...

. Qian died in 1642, just two years before the collapse of the

. His son was also a military officer in the Ming.

Notes

Sources

Famous Qian figure biographies
* The records of JianDing county (嘉定縣誌人物傳) * Qian Shizhen; "The records of the eastern expedition" (征東實紀錢世楨著) {{DEFAULTSORT:Qian, Shizhen Ming dynasty generals 1561 births 1642 deaths Generals from Shanghai