Li Rusong (1549–1598) was a Chinese general of the

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 ...

from Tieling,

Liaodong The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...

. He was a Ming army commander in the first half of the

Imjin War The Imjin War () was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (). The conflict ended in 159 ...

that took place in the Korean peninsula. Upon the request of the Korean King Seonjo of Joseon, the Ming

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shenzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Yijun, art name Yuzhai, was the 14th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reig ...

sent reinforcements to support the Korean military in its war effort against the Japanese invasion masterminded by

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

. His father, Li Chengliang, was also a Ming general, who defended Liaodong from the

Jurchens Jurchen (, ; , ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian people, East Asian Tungusic languages, Tungusic-speaking people. They lived in northeastern China, also known as Manchuria, before the 18th century. The Jurchens wer ...

.http://www.read126.cn/194c6894-51d5-4df3-a4bc-fa1282139f82!39f5412a-ad19-49c8-bffc-bceba1682122.html 成梁英毅骁健，有大将才。家贫，不能袭职，年四十犹为诸生。巡按御史器之，资入京，乃得袭。积功为辽东险山参将。隆庆元年，士蛮大入永平。成梁赴援有功，进副总兵，仍守险山。寻协守辽阳。三年四月，张摆失等屯塞下，成梁迎击斩之，歼其卒百六十有奇。-《明史》 Based on historical documents, Li Rusong's 6th generation ancestor Li Ying (李英) was originally from present-day

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, but there are historical documents which state that the further ancestors were from central China who moved to Korea during wartime. Li Rusong was ultimately captured and executed when the Mongols invaded Liaodong province.

Military career

Li Rusong first rose to fame in early 1592, when he managed to defeat a major rebellion at

Ningxia Ningxia, officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region in Northwestern China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was later separated from Gansu in 1958 and reconstituted as an autonomous ...

. The Ming army had been unable to move the rebels holed up in the city for the first six months, but after Li arrived the city fell within three months. Li was able to divert the waters of the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

directly into the city, which led to its fall. He was immediately appointed the chief general of the expedition into Korea after this; he led a force of some 36,000 into Korea in the last few days of 1592. Together with Ming administrator Song Yingchang, Li Rusong was generally successful in Korea, first retaking the city of

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

in a direct assault within two weeks of setting off (on January 8 of 1593), and then took back the city of

Kaesong Kaesong (, ; ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region cl ...

a couple week later. As he marched south towards the Korean capital of Hanyang (漢陽) in later January, the Ming army clashed with the Japanese forces in the Battle of Byeokjegwan, which resulted in the Ming army being pushed back briefly. Within two months after this he succeeded in recapturing Hanyang. He ordered Chinese and Korean troops to refrain from killing all Japanese soldiers and grant them the right to retreat.

Sword

Li knew of the sword art jedok geom during his stay in Korea. The Koreans published the sword-style in their martial arts manuals called Muyesinbo (1759) and

Muyedobotongji ''Muyedobot'ongji'' (; ''Muye Dobo Tong Ji'') was a Korean martial arts text written by , Pak Chega, and Paek Tongsu and published in four volumes in 1795. It was commissioned in 1790 by King Jeongjo (r. 1740–1810). It expanded on the eigh ...

(1791).

Death

In April 1598, the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

invaded the Ming province of

from the north when Li Rusong was leading a small scouting group around its forests. Surrounded by thousands of Mongol cavalry, he could not escape, and was captured and subsequently killed. He was posthumously given the title of Zhonglie (忠烈) (Lord of Fidelity).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Rusong Ming dynasty generals 1549 births 1598 deaths Chinese people of Korean descent Executed people from Liaoning People from Tieling People of the Imjin War

Military career

Sword

Death

See also

Notes