Li Xubin (; 1817 – November 16, 1858),

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 China, officially the People's R ...

Di'an () or Kehui (), was a Chinese military general who lived in the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. He was a commander of the

Xiang Army 150px, Zeng Guofan, the leader of the Xiang Army The Xiang Army or Hunan Army () was a standing army organized by Zeng Guofan from existing regional and village militia forces called '' tuanlian'' to contain the Taiping Rebellion in Qing China ( ...

, a military force raised by the Qing government to help the imperial forces in suppressing the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It last ...

. His younger brother, Li Xuyi (李續宜; 1822–1863), was also a commander in the Xiang Army. Born in

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

province to a minor prosperous family, Li Xubin enlisted in the

militia in 1852 (later becoming known as the

; "Xiang" was another name for Hunan). Within four years, Li Xubin became a veteran combat leader with a reputation as an aggressive and resourceful officer. After leading the Xiang Army in a successful assault against the Taiping rebels' stronghold of

Wuchang Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ...

in December 1856, he repelled several rebel counterattacks by using tactics such as the construction of a series of water-filled trenches. Advancing down the

Yangtze Valley The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

in early-1858, Li Xubin's forces occupied the surrounding area of

Jiujiang Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level city ...

before capturing the city on May 19. In an offensive to recapture

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

province from the Taiping rebels, Li Xubin was eventually killed in action while leading an attack on the rebel-controlled Sanhe Town () on November 16, 1858.

References

*Michael, Franz and Chang Chung-li, ''The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents (Vol. I)'', Seattle, 1966. *Teng, Ssu-yu. ''New Light on the Taiping Rebellion'', Cambridge, Mass., 1950. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Xubin 1817 births 1858 deaths Qing military personnel killed in action People from Xiangtan Xiang Army personnel