Sun Chuanting (; 1 January 1593 – 3 November 1643),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Boya (百雅),

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

Baigu (白谷), was born in

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

; he was the late

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(Bingbu Shangshu), and

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

(Dushi). He led 10,000 Ming troops against

Li Zicheng Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by his nickname, the Thunder King, was a Chinese Late Ming peasant rebellions, peasant rebel leader who helped overthrow the Ming dynasty in April 1644 and ruled over northe ...

's 70,000 troops. He was defeated and killed by Li in the Battle of Tongguan (1643). Sun Chuanting was described by history records as a tall and muscular man who was physically strong and excelled in horseback archery in his early days. Graduating as ''

jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

'' in 1619, he rose in 1635 to be Governor of

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

, and by active measures stamped out the existing rebel movement. After an unsatisfactory campaign in

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

against the rebels there, he became Viceroy of

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

and a part of

Zhili Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and renamed ...

. The fall of

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

in 1639 was made a pretext for imprisoning him; however, in 1642 he was appointed Vice President of the Board of War and hastened with the garrison of Beijing to relieve

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

, long besieged by

. After Sun scored some initial victories, Li retreated his forces while leaving behind mass amounts of valuables. The Ming troops were undisciplined and broke rank to loot the valuables. Li then countered attacked and scattered the Ming troops. Sun had no choice but to retreat to Shaanxi as Viceroy. He planned to hold off Li's forces until Ming reinforcements could arrive. But in spite of Sun's objections that all the trained soldiers were dead and the new recruits not yet serviceable,

Chongzhen Emperor The Chongzhen Emperor (6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian, courtesy name Deyue,Wang Yuan (王源)，''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德約，行� ...

wanted a quick victory against the rebels and Sun was obliged to advance against Li. Li soon scattered his raw levies. With great difficulty he raised fresh forces and again advanced. At first successful, he reached the

Jia JIA or Jia may refer to JIA * Japan Institute of Architects * Juína Airport IATA code * Jacksonville International Airport, a medium-to-large airport in the U.S. city of Jacksonville, Florida * Jetstream International Airlines, now known as PSA ...

District only to find that heavy rains had made it impossible for supplies to come forward. He therefore fell back with two divisions, pursued by the rebels. The inexperienced artillerymen deserted their guns and a rout ensued, 40,000 men being lost. Li followed up his advantage, and in November the

Tong Pass Tongguan or Tong Pass, was a former mountain pass and fortress located south of the confluence of the Wei and Yellow Rivers, in today's Tongguan County, Weinan, Shaanxi, China. It was an important chokepoint, protecting Xi'an and the surroundi ...

was forced and Sun was killed, fighting to the last.

In popular culture

Sun Chuanting is a primary character in the 2013 Chinese historical film '' Fall of Ming'' (), played by actor Leon Dai.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Chuanting 1593 births 1643 deaths Ming dynasty generals People from Xinzhou Chinese military personnel killed in action Generals from Shanxi

In popular culture

See also

References