Kang Junli (; 847–894) was a military general in

imperial China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, serving the

Shatuo The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit SartZuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, I ...

leader

Li Keyong Li Keyong ( zh , c = 李克用 , p = Lǐ Kèyòng ) (October 24, 856 – February 24, 908) was a Chinese military general and politician of Shatuo ethnicity, and from January 896 the Prince of Jin ( zh, t=晉王, p=Jìn Wáng), which would becom ...

. He was eventually killed by Li Keyong for speaking ill of the already deceased

Li Cunxiao Li Cunxiao () (d. 894), né An Jingsi (), was an adoptive son of the late-Tang dynasty warlord Li Keyong who contributed much to Li Keyong's campaigns, but who later rebelled against his adoptive father. He subsequently was defeated by Li Keyong a ...

, with whom he did not get along.

Biography

Kang Junli was from a powerful family in Yuzhou (蔚州; in modern

Yu County, Hebei Yu County, also known by its Chinese language, Chinese name Yuxian, is a Chinese county, county under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Zhangjiakou in northwestern Hebei province, China. Yuzhou, Hebei, Yuzhou town () is the coun ...

) near

's northern border. Some time in the 870s, he was serving as an assistant captain () under Duan Wenchu (), the Yunzhou (雲州; modern

Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province, China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 census, it had a population o ...

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 ...

) defense commissioner (). At that time the Tang dynasty was overran by bandits, and Duan did not treat his soldiers well, even reducing their salaries. In 878, Kang, as well as Xue Zhiqin (), Cheng Huaixin (), Wang Xingshen () and Li Cunzhang plotted with Li Jinzhong (), Yunzhou's

armed commander (), to join

. Kang was sent to Yuzhou to persuade Li Keyong to mutiny. When Li Keyong expressed he needed to report this to his father

Li Guochang Li Guochang () (died 887Both the ''New Book of Tang'', vol. 218 and the ''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 256 gave Li Guochang's death date as 887 (i.e., the third year of the ''Guangqi'' era), so that date will be used here, as the '' History of the Fiv ...

in Zhenwu Circuit (振武, headquartered in modern

Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the Capital (political), capital of Inner Mongolia in the North China, north of the China, People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrativ ...

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

), Kang uttered: "Now that the secret is out, delays may bring trouble. How could (we) afford the time to report this to (someone) thousands of '' li'' away?" Li Keyong then agreed to act, resulting in the overthrow and execution of Duan. In 888, Kang was named the "southern bandit suppression commissioner" () and given 20,000 soldiers to assist Li Keyong's ally

Li Hanzhi Li Hanzhi (; 842''New Book of Tang'', vol. 187.'' History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 15.''New History of the Five Dynasties'', vol. 42. – July 26, 899Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 261.), forma ...

recover his former territory Heyang (河陽; headquartered in modern

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

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 ...

, Xue Atan (), Shi Yan (), An Quanjun () and An Xiuxiu () were under his command. They were defeated by

Zhu Quanzhong Emperor Taizu of Later Liang (), personal name Zhu Quanzhong () (December 5, 852 – July 18, 912), né Zhu Wen (), name later changed to Zhu Huang (), nickname Zhu San (朱三, literally, "the third Zhu"), was a Chinese military general, mona ...

's forces and withdrew after An Xiuxiu fled. In 890, the imperial court declared war on Li Keyong. Li Keyong's brother Li Kegong () was killed by a subordinate in Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, headquartered in modern

Changzhi Changzhi ( zh, s=长治) is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the northeast and east, respectively. Historically, the city was one of the 36 administrative areas ( ...

), who then surrendered to Zhu. Li Keyong then sent Kang and Li Cunxiao to surround the Zhaoyi capital of Luzhou (). Kang was on good terms with

Li Cunxin Li Cunxin (born 26 January 1961) is a Chinese-Australian former ballet dancer turned stockbroker. He was the artistic director of the Queensland Ballet between 2012 and 2023.Queensland Ballet (2012)Li Cunxin returns to the stage as Queensl ...

, whose relationship with adoptive brother Li Cunxiao was sour at best. After the defeat of the imperial court and the recapture of Luzhou, Kang was named the

military governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' may ...

of Zhaoyi Circuit, but Li Cunxiao believed he deserved the post more and went into a jealous rage. In 893, Li Cunxiao rebelled in Xingzhou (邢州; in modern

Xingtai Xingtai ( zh, s= , t=邢臺, p=Xíngtái , w=Hsing2-tʻai2), formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of and administers 4 districts, 2 coun ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

), prompting Li Keyong to send Kang in a counterattack. Kang performed well in the campaign and was promoted to inspecting grand-guardian (). In spring 894, Li Cunxiao was captured and begged for mercy, claiming that he rebelled only because of Li Cunxin's false accusations. Li Keyong valued Li Cunxiao and wanted to spare his life. Even as he sentenced Li Cunxiao to death, he believed that other generals would beg on Li Cunxiao's behalf, but nobody did. After Li Cunxiao's death, Li Keyong became very depressed. Later that year, during a banquet in Jinyang (晉陽; modern

Taiyuan Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...

, Shanxi), Li Keyong happened to mention Li Cunxiao during a conversation and cried uncontrollably. Kang responded by insulting Li Cunxiao's character. Furious, Li Keyong drew his sword and seriously injured Kang, also ordering his imprisonment. Kang was already dead when Li Keyong decided to release him.

In fiction

In the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

play "A Grieving Lady Deng Painfully Laments Cunxiao" () by

Guan Hanqing Guan Hanqing (, 1241–1320); sobriquet Yǐzhāi (已齋), Yīzhāi (一齋), Yǐzhāisǒu (已齋叟); was a Chinese dramatist, playwright, and poet during the Yuan Dynasty. He has been described as among the most prolific and highly regarde ...

, which was translated as "Death of the Winged-Tiger General" by Yang Hsien-yi and

Gladys Yang Gladys Yang (; 19 January 1919 – 18 November 1999) was a British translator of Chinese literature and the wife of another noted literary translator, Yang Xianyi. Biography She was born Gladys Margaret Tayler at the Peking Union Medical Col ...

in 1958, Kang Junli was along with Li Cunxin one of the antagonists who were blamed for Li Cunxiao's unjustified death. (Lady Deng was the name of Li Cunxiao's wife in the play.) In this fictional play, Kang and Li Cunxin had Li Cunxiao cruelly executed behind Li Keyong's back out of jealousy. Influential

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 ...

novelist

Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese novelist who lived during the Ming dynasty. He is also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo Guanzhon ...

's classic novel ''Romance of the End of Tang and Five Dynasties Histories'' () was also based on this account.

References

* * {{cite book, last=Sima Guang, author-link=Sima Guang, year=1086, title=

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

''(資治通鑑)'', trans-title=Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, ref={{harvid, ''Zizhi Tongjian'' 847 births 894 deaths Tang dynasty jiedushi of Zhaoyi Circuit Politicians from Zhangjiakou Tang dynasty generals from Hebei