Li Jing-lin, also known as Li Fangchen (1885–1931) was a deputy inspector-general and later army general for the

Fengtian clique The Fengtian clique () was one of several opposing military factions that constituted the early Republic of China during its Warlord Era. It was named after Fengtian Province (now Liaoning), and operated from a territorial base comprising the t ...

during the Chinese warlord era. He hailed from Zaoqiang County,

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

province, China. After his military career was over he settled in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

, and in 1927 moved to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. A renowned swordsman, he was known as "China's First Sword."

Military and administrative career

In 1924, during the

Second Zhili–Fengtian War The Second Zhili–Fengtian War (Second Chihli-Fengtien War; ) of 1924 was a conflict between the Japanese-backed Fengtian clique based in Manchuria, and the more liberal Zhili clique controlling Beijing and backed by Anglo-American business int ...

, Li was commanding the Fengtian Second Army which aided

Zhang Zongchang Zhang Zongchang (1881 – 3 September 1932) was a Chinese warlord in Shandong in the early 20th century. ''Time'' dubbed him China's "basest warlord". He was known by many nicknames such as the "Dogmeat General" (), based on the name of his f ...

in his decisive victory at Longku; the engagement has been termed "probably the single most important engagement in Zhili's defeat." In November his troops occupied

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

, where they picked up half of Wang Chengbin's forces, and under his command a "repressive and predatory" regime was established--especially noted is the extent to which the local merchants were extorted. The US 15th Infantry Regiment, whose mission was to keep the Peking-Mukden Railway open, was based in Tianjin, and small skirmishes occurred between US troops and Li's forces. Like many other warlords who ruled Tianjin, Li was a member of the

Green Gang The Green Gang () was a Chinese secret society and criminal organization, which was prominent in criminal, social and political activity in Shanghai during the early to mid 20th century. History Origins As a secret society, the origins and histor ...

. From December 1924 to December 1925 he was the administrator of Hebei province.

Martial arts

One of Li's nicknames is "Magic Sword". He displayed great skill as a swordfighter and great interest in martial arts, especially

Wudang chuan Wudang quan () is a class of Chinese martial arts. In contemporary China, Chinese martial arts styles are generally classified into two major groups: Wudang (Wutang), named after the Wudang Mountains; and Shaolin, named after the Shaolin Monast ...

. Li was nicknamed "China's First Sword" and "God of the Sword." He was an expert in a variety of sword techniques, and later learned Wudang Sword from

Sung Wei-I Sung Wei Yi (宋唯一) was born in Liaoning Province in 1855. He was the Grandmaster of the Wudang Sword. He introduced the sword to both Chen-style t'ai chi ch'uan and Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan Yang family-style () Tai Chi, T‘ai-Chi Ch� ...

, a renowned swordsman who also taught

Fu Chen Sung Fu Zhensong (; 1872–1953), also known by his courtesy name Fu Qiankun, was a grandmaster of Wudangquan martial arts. He was best known as one of the famed "Five Northern Tigers," and a third-generation master of Baguazhang who founded Fu St ...

. His sword techniques were an amalgamation of the ancient

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

and the newer

Baguazhang Baguazhang or Pakua chang () is one of the three main Chinese martial arts of the Wudang school, the other two being T'ai chi and Xing Yi Quan. It is more broadly grouped as an internal practice (or neijia quan). ''Bāguà zhǎng'' literally ...

styles. After his military career he opened a martial arts center in Nanjing, and became vice-president of the National Martial Arts Academy, also known as Central Hall for National Martial Arts (''Zhongyang Guoshuguan''), and now called the

Central Guoshu Institute The Central Guoshu Institute () was established in Nanjing by the Kuomintang government of the Republic of China in March 1928 for the propagation of Chinese martial arts, and was an important center of martial arts during the Nanjing decade. ''G ...

. On his initiative, a

Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan Yang family-style () Tai Chi, T‘ai-Chi Ch‘üan (Taijiquan) in its many variations is the most popular and widely practised style in the world today and the second in terms of seniority among the primary five family styles of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. ...

was formalized, with

Yang Chengfu Yang Chengfu or Yang Ch'eng-fu (1883–1936) is historically considered the best known teacher of the Neijia, soft style martial art of Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan (Yang-style T'ai chi ch'uan, Taijiquan). Biography Yang Chengfu was born into the ...

as the most important of the contributors.Vercammen 125.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Li Jinglin 1885 births 1931 deaths Chinese baguazhang practitioners Chinese tai chi practitioners Swordfighters Republic of China warlords from Hebei Politicians from Hengshui Members of the Kuomintang Sportspeople from Hebei