Vice-Admiral, Deng Zilong (鄧子龍 in traditional Chinese, 1531–1598) was a military commander for the

Ming dynasty 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 peo ...

China. His

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...

was "Wuqiao" (武橋) and his nickname was the "Tiger Crown Taoist" (虎冠道士). He was born in the Dengjia (Deng family) village of

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

province. He was most famously remembered for part taking 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 river i ...

's final showdown, the battle of Noryang, where he was killed alongside Korean war hero

Yi Sun-Sin Admiral Yi Sun-sin (April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598) was a Korean admiral and military general famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty. Over the course of his career, Admiral Yi foug ...

. Deng first rose to prominence while subduing a rebellion within his home province during the reign of the

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu Youyuan (1476–1519), Prince of Xing, w ...

, after that he was assigned to a command post in

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) ...

province. His most notable accomplishment in his military career was his efforts against the Burmese armies of the

Taungoo dynasty , conventional_long_name = Toungoo dynasty , common_name = Taungoo dynasty , era = , status = Empire , event_start = Independence from Ava , year_start ...

during the reign of the Burmese king

Nanda Bayin , image = , caption = , reign = 10 October 1581 – , coronation = 15 October 1581 , succession = , predecessor = Bayinnaung , successor = Nyaungyan , suc-type = Successor , reg-ty ...

, who had repeatedly harassed the Southwestern borders of the Ming dynasty during the 1580s-90s. Although Deng's forces were often unruly, and gotten into incidents where they had brawls against other Ming forces and among Each other, he was relieved of his position in 1583, before being reinstated some 7 years after that, though he continued to run into troop discipline problems and was fired and instated several times during his career. In 1598, he was called upon to join the Ming efforts in Korea, and was given the title of vice admiral of the Ming navy. He took part in the battle of Noryang at an elderly age, but was killed in action alongside Korean Admiral

. The Korean court honored him greatly after the war, building temple in his names in Korea.

References

*The History of Ming, chapter 247, biography section 135 (明史第247捲，列傳第135 ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Deng, Zilong 1531 births 1598 deaths Ming dynasty generals Chinese admirals People of the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) People from Yichun, Jiangxi Generals from Jiangxi