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

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 ...

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 Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. He was a commander of the

Xiang Army file:Zeng Guofan.png, 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 Rebel ...

, 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 civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...

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

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

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 is one of 13 urban District (China), districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the right (southea ...

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

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

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

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 ...

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