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Di Qing (1008–1057), formerly romanized as Ti Ch'ing, was a Chinese military general of the Northern Song dynasty.


Biography

Di Qing was born to a poor family in Xihe, Fenzhou (汾州西河; present-day
Fenyang Fenyang (), formerly as Fenyang County () before 1996, is a county-level city under the administration of Lüliang prefecture-level city, in Shanxi Province, China. Fenyang is located in the wide valley of the Fen River, some 20-plus kilometers ...
,
Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-leve ...
). He sported tattoos on his face and excelled in mounted archery. In 1038, during the reign of
Emperor Renzong of Song Emperor Renzong of Song (30 May 1010 – 30 April 1063), personal name Zhao Zhen, was the fourth emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned for about 41 years from 1022 to his death in 1063, and was the longest reigning Song dynasty empe ...
, Di Qing was appointed as Commander (指揮使) of Yanzhou (延州; covering parts of present-day
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
). He participated in the war between Song and
Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
. Each time he went to war, he would don a bronze mask and let his hair run wild and disheveled, charging onto the battlefield. Di Qing was known to be close to Song ministers such as Yin Zhu (尹洙), Han Qi (韓琦) and
Fan Zhongyan Fan Zhongyan (5 September 989 – 19 June 1052) from Wu County of Suzhou ( Jiangsu Province, China), courtesy name Xiwen (), ratified as the Duke of Wenzheng () posthumously, and conferred as Duke of Chu () posthumously, was a Chinese poet, p ...
. Fan Zhongyan once presented Di Qing a copy of the '' Zuo Zhuan'' and advised him to read. Di Qing took up scholarly pursuits and became a versed military strategist. He was later promoted to Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs (樞密副使) for his contributions. Di Qing participated in a total of 25 battles in his lifetime. Of these battles, he was best known for his night raid on Kunlun Pass on the 15th day of the first
lunar month In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Eur ...
in 1053. He died at age 48.


Legends

Di Qing is depicted as the incarnation of the Astral God of Military Arts (Wuquxing, 武曲星), while another protagonist — famous Song figure Bao Zheng as the Asrtal God of Civil Arts (Wenquxing, 文曲星). Three
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 ...
novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...
are collectively known as the ''Romance of Di Qing'' and are attributed to Li Yutang. The central character in all 3 novels is Di Qing. The first one is originally titled "Pavilion of Ten Thousand Flowers" (萬花樓); the second one is titled "Five Tigers Conquering the West" (五虎征西) and the last one is titled "Five Tigers Conquering the South" (五虎平南). The novels also prominently feature Yang Zongbao from the Yang clan and Bao Zheng as the protagonists. In the above fiction, his father was a civil officer named Di Guang (狄廣) and his mother was Meng Shi (孟氏). His aunt, Di Qianjin (狄千金), married the
Eighth Prince Zhao Yuanyan (), officially the Prince Gongsu of Zhou (周恭肅王) (985 – 13 February 1044), was an imperial prince of the Chinese Song Dynasty, known for his virtues. He was the 8th son of Emperor Taizong and a younger brother of Emperor Zhe ...
, the uncle of Emperor Renzong.


References

* Toqto'a et al., '' History of Song'', vol. 290 (Di Qing). *
Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the monumental history book ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Sima was ...
, ''
Sushui Jiwen The ''Sushui Jiwen'' (涑水記聞; "Records of Rumours from Sushui") is a book written by the Song Dynasty historian Sima Guang (1019–1086) in imperial China. While working with (劉道原) and others to compile a never-published ''Zizhi Tongji ...
'', vol. 13. {{DEFAULTSORT:Di, Qing 1008 births 1057 deaths Generals from Shanxi People from Lüliang Song dynasty generals 11th-century Chinese military personnel