Li Xin (李信),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Youcheng (有成), was an important Chinese military general of Qin during the

Warring States The Warring States period in Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and struggles for gre ...

era. Alongside Wang Jian,

Wang Ben Wang Ben (王賁), was a Chinese general of the state of Qin during the Warring States period. He was a son of the better known general Wang Jian. He played a key role in the Qin's wars of unification. Life In 225 BCE, a 600,000 strong Qin arm ...

and other generals, Li Xin served under

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary state, unitary d ...

(Ying Zheng) in his conquest of the six

. He was also the great-great-grandfather of

Li Guang Li Guang (184–119 BCE) was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty. Nicknamed "Flying General" by the Xiongnu, he fought primarily in the campaigns against the nomadic Xiongnu tribes to the north of China. He was known to the X ...

, a

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

general.

Early life

As a son of the governor Li Yao of Nanjun Commandery; Li Xin started his military service during

's reign in the Qin campaigns of unification, becoming an important General of the Qin kingdom.

Zhao state

He was present during the conquest of Zhao, and General Wang Jian ordered Li Xin to capture Handan to finalize the fall of Zhao, which he did successfully.

Yan state

After the fall of Zhao in 228 BCE, Wang Jian's army stationed in Zhongshan started preparations for an offensive war against Yan. Ju Wu (鞠武), a Yan minister, proposed to Xi, King of Yan, to form alliances with the Dai, Qi, and

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the H ...

states, and make peace with the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

in the north, as a preemptive measure in preparation for the Qin invasion. However,

Crown Prince Dan Crown Prince Dan () was a crown prince of the State of Yan during the Warring States period of ancient China. He was also called Yan Dan (). He lived in the State of Qin as a hostage, but returned to Yan in 232 BC. He sent Jing Ke to assassinat ...

felt that the alliance strategy was unlikely to succeed, so he sent

Jing Ke Jing Ke (died 227 BC) was a '' youxia'' during the late Warring States period of Ancient China. As a retainer of Crown Prince Dan of the Yan state, he was infamous for his failed assassination attempt on King Zheng of the Qin state, who later ...

to assassinate Ying Zheng, the king of Qin. Jing Ke entered Qin disguised as an envoy, bringing with him a map of Dukang and the head of , a turncoat Qin general. The assassination attempt failed and Jing Ke was killed. In 227 BCE, using the assassination attempt as casus belli,

Ying Zheng Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary dynasty in Chine ...

ordered Wang Jian to lead an assault against Yan, with Meng Wu (蒙武) as Wang's deputy. The Qin defeated the Yan army as well as Yan's reinforcements from Dai in a battle on the eastern bank of the Yi River (易水), after which they captured the Yan capital, Ji (薊; present-day

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

). Xi, King of Yan and his son, Crown Prince Dan, fled with their remaining forces to the

Liaodong Peninsula 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 ...

. The Qin army under General Li Xin, with several thousand men under his command, pursued the retreating Yan to the Yan River (衍水; present-day Hun River,

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

), where they engaged with enemy forces and destroyed the bulk of Yan's army and captured Dan. Later, Xi ordered Crown Prince Dan's execution and sent his son's head to Qin as an "apology" for the assassination attempt. Qin accepted the offer and did not attack Yan for the next three years. In 222 BCE,

(王賁) & Li Xin led a Qin army to invade Liaodong, destroying Yan's remaining forces and ending the state of Yan. The former territories of Yan were partitioned and re-organized into the Qin dynasty's Yuyang (漁陽), Beiping (北平), Liaoxi (遼西) and Liaodong (遼東) commanderies. For his remarkable services during the attacks on Yan, Li Xin's worth and bravery earned him the trust of King Ying Zheng.

Chu state

In 224 BCE, Qin began preparations for an invasion of

, one of its rivals among the six states. During a discussion between Ying Zheng and his subjects, the veteran general Wang Jian claimed that the invasion force needed to be at least 600,000 strong to succeed against Chu, but the younger general Li Xin believed that 200,000 men would be sufficient. Ying Zheng ordered Li Xin and Meng Tian to command the Qin army in the attack on Chu. The initial invasion of Chu was marching on successful path for Qin, Li Xin attacked and captured the cities of Pingyu, Yan and Ying, the joined forces with Meng Tiang on Chengfu. Then, the Chu led by General Xiang Yan, took Li Xin's army by surprise with a 500,000 men army and completely annihilated Li's force in the unfamiliar territory of Huaiyang, modern-day northern

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

and

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

provinces. And finally, depending on the interpretation of the sources, to close on a Chu pincer tactic, Li Xin's army was also ambushed by

Lord Changping Lord Changping (; died 223 BC) was a Chinese monarch and politician who remained as an important military commander and lord of Qin, who later departed from the state of Qin and went to the state of Chu where he became the last king of Chu (223 ...

's army (former prime minister of the Qin state). During the battle, Xiang Yan's army burnt two large Qin camps and killed seven commandants. Some scholars believe either Xiang Yan or Lord Changping achieved victory by luring in the Qin army and by allowing them the few initial victories, only to have them pincered and annihilated later on. This incident was considered the greatest setback out of all of Qin's campaigns. Henceforth, Ying Zheng replaced Li Xin and assigned Wang Jian the command of a 600,000-strong army with Li in the following year as he had requested and ordered him to lead another attack on Chu. High in morale after their victory in the previous year, the Chu forces were content to sit back and defend against what they expected to be a siege of Chu. In response, Wang Jian decided to lull the Chu garrisons into a false sense of security by appearing to idle in his fortifications while secretly training his troops to fight in Chu territory. After a year, a great portion of the Chu garrisons decided to disband and demobilize due to an apparent lack of action from the Qin. Wang Jian invaded at this point, having prepared for war the entire time, and overran Huaiyang and the diminished Chu forces. Chu was swept away by the momentum of the swift assault and could only sustain local guerrilla-style resistance until it was fully conquered with the capture of Shouchun and the death of its last leader, who was either

or Fuchu depending on different accounts, in 223 BCE. Conflicting narratives of the battle in the

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

state that Xiang Yan was either killed in action or committed suicide. Thus the state of Chu was brought to an end. In 222 BCE, the Qin army advanced southward and annexed the Wuyue region (covering present-day

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

and

provinces).

Qi state

In 264 BCE, Tian Jian ascended the throne of Qi and was assisted by his mother, the queen dowager, in managing state affairs. Qin bribed Hou Sheng, the Qi

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

, to dissuade King Jian from helping the other states while they were being attacked by Qin. By 221 BCE, Qi was the only state in China that had yet to be conquered by Qin. Qi hurriedly mobilized its armies to its western borders as a safeguard against a possible Qin invasion. In the same year, Ying Zheng used Qi's rejection of a meeting with a Qin envoy as an excuse to attack Qi. Along with

, Li Xin, and the Qin Army, avoided direct confrontation with enemy forces stationed on Qi's western borders and advanced into Qi's heartland via a southern detour from Yan. The Qin forces met with little resistance as they passed through Qi territory and eventually arrived at Linzi (north of present-day

Zibo Zibo () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province of China, province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Bi ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

), the capital of Qi. King Jian was caught by surprise and, after being persuaded by Hou Sheng, he surrendered to Qin without putting up a fight. The former territories of Qi were reorganized to form the Qin Empire's Qi and Langya commanderies.

Dai state

Lix Xin, alongside Generals

and

Meng Tian Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – August or September 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder ...

, was also present during the attack and destruction of the state of Dai (remnants of Zhao state), ending their opposition against Qin rule.

Aftermath

Li Xin retired after Qin's unification, choosing to live in the area of modern

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

. However, before doing so, he was bestowed the title of 'Marquis of Longxi' by Qin Shi Huang due to his military achievements during Qin's unification war. He set an important military precedent of achievements for his line of descendants (whom included the famed General

of the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

) and for the

House of Li The House of Li () was the ruling house of the Western Liang dynasty and the Tang dynasty of China. Family information The Li family originated in the Longxi Commandery and had Han ethnic origins. They were also known as the Longxi Li linea ...

, which elevated itself to Imperial House during the rise of the mighty

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 ...

by the deeds of Li Yuan (Emperor Gaozu) and

Li Shimin Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder ...

(Emperor Taizong), thus becoming a vital piece of Chinese history.

In popular culture

Li Xin (Ri Shin) is the protagonist of anime/manga " Kingdom", one of the best-selling manga of all time. In Kingdom, he is depicted as a former servant/slave who seeks to accomplish his dream of becoming the "Greatest General under the Heavens" during the Chinese Warring States Period.

Citations

Sources

{{citation , last=Loewe , first=Michael , year=2000, title=A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods (221 BC-AD 24) (Handbook of Oriental Studies, 16) , publisher=Brill Academic Pub , isbn=9004103643 3rd-century BC Chinese people Qin dynasty generals Qin Shi Huang