Lin Shihong (林士弘) (died 622) was an
agrarian rebel and self-declared king who rose against the rule of the
Chinese Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...
near the end of
Emperor Yang's reign. For several years, he controlled most of modern
Jiangxi
; Gan: )
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and
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
, but was then under attack by others, gradually reduced to fighting a guerrilla war against the
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 ...
. He died in 622, and his followers scattered.
Initial uprising

Virtually nothing is known about Lin Shihong's background, other than that he was from Rao Province (饒州, roughly modern
Shangrao,
Jiangxi
; Gan: )
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). In 616, he followed an agrarian rebel from the same locale, Cao Shiqi (), in rising against
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...
rule. Cao claimed the title of the Prince of Yuanxing and made Lin a major general. Later that year,
Emperor Yang of Sui
Emperor Yang of Sui (隋煬帝, 569 – 11 April 618), personal name Yang Guang (), alternative name Ying (), Xianbei name Amo (), was the second emperor of the Sui dynasty of China.
Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but he was rena ...
sent the official Liu Ziyi () to attack Cao, and Cao was killed by an arrow in battle. Lin took over Cao's troops and battled Liu at
Lake Poyang, killing Liu in battle. Lin gained the allegiance of over 100,000 men. Around the new year 617, Lin claimed the title of Emperor of Chu, and he captured a number of commanderies in modern
Jiangxi
; Gan: )
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. It was said that the local gentry killed many of the Sui commandery governors and county magistrates to submit to him. By this point, his territory went as far north as Jiujiang (九江, in modern
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 ...
,
Jiangxi
; Gan: )
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) and as far as Panyu (番禺, in modern
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
,
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
).
Gradual loss of power
After that point on, however, territorial expansions by Lin Shihong were rarely mentioned in historical accounts; rather, contractions were mentioned. For example, around the new year 618, it was mentioned that Zhang Shan'an (), a rebel leader from Fangyu (方與, in modern
Xuzhou
Xuzhou ( zh, s=徐州), also known as Pengcheng () in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 Chinese census, 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in ...
,
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 ...
), crossed the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...
south to submit to Lin, but after Lin, not trusting his intentions, settled Zhang in outside his capital Yuzhang (豫章, in modern
Nanchang
Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi, China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake. Because of its strate ...
,
Jiangxi
; Gan: )
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), Zhang became resentful and launched a surprise attack on Yuzhang, defeating Lin's forces and burning the exterior walls of Yuzhang, causing Lin to move his capital to Nankang (南康, in modern
Ganzhou,
Jiangxi
; Gan: )
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). Subsequently, another rebel leader,
Xiao Xian
Xiao Xian (蕭銑) (583–621) was a descendant of the imperial house of the Chinese Liang dynasty, who rose against the rule of the Sui dynasty toward the end of the rule of Emperor Yang of Sui. He tried to revive Liang, and for several year ...
the Prince of Liang, sent his general Su Hu'er () to attack Yuzhang, capturing it, prompting Lin to further retreat to Yugan (餘干, in modern Shangrao).
In 618, the Sui official Feng Ang (), whose clan had controlled a number of commanderies in modern Guangdong and
Hainan
Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...
for several generations, submitted to Lin, although when Lin tried to persuade the Sui official Qiu He (), who controlled modern northern
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, to do the same, Qiu refused, and subsequently submitted to Xiao after hearing that Emperor Yang had been killed at Jiangdu (江都, in modern
Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...
,
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 ...
) in a coup led by the general
Yuwen Huaji. By late 620, it also appeared that Feng was no longer submitting to Lin, for he attacked and captured the rebel leaders Gao Facheng () and Shen Baoche (), who had taken over Guang (廣州, roughly modern Guangzhou) and Xin (新州, roughly modern
Yunfu
Yunfu (), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Wanfow, and historically known as Dong'an (), which was postal map romanization, formerly romanized as Tong On, from 1578 to 1913, is a prefecture-level city in we ...
,
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
) Prefectures respectively and submitted to Lin.
Brief recovery and eventual dissipation
In 621, the
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 ...
general
Li Xiaogong destroyed Xiao Xian's state of Liang, seizing most of Liang territory and some of the troops, but much of the Liang troops fled and joined Lin, and Lin's military strength recovered. In fall 622, however, Feng officially submitted to Tang. Later that year, Lin sent his brother Lin Yaoshi () the Prince of Poyang to attack Tang's Xun Prefecture (循州, roughly modern
Huizhou
Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in east-central Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Hey ...
,
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
), and the Tang prefect Yang Shilüe () defeated and killed Lin Yaoshi. Further, the Chu general Wang Rong () then surrendered Nanchang Prefecture (南昌州, roughly modern Jiujiang). In fear, in winter 622, Lin offered to surrender to Tang, but soon regretted it, abandoning his capital Yugan and fled to Ancheng (安成, in modern
Ji'an,
Jiangxi
; Gan: )
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), taking up positions in mountain caves, and the people of the region largely joined him. The Tang general Ruogan Ze () attacked him, however, and defeated him, but was unable to capture him. However, Lin soon died, and his followers scattered, ending his state of Chu.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Shihong
Sui dynasty people
Generals from Jiangxi
Emperors of China
622 deaths
7th-century Chinese monarchs
People from Shangrao
Year of birth unknown
Transition from Sui to Tang
Founders of Imperial Chinese dynasties