Li Xiong
Encyclopedia
| Cheng Wudi (成(漢)武帝) | |
|---|---|
| Family name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... : |
Li (李; lǐ) |
| Given name Chinese name Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. Most noticeably, a Chinese name is written with the family name first and the given name next, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be "Smith John-Paul"... : |
Xiong (雄, xióng) |
| Temple name Temple name Temple names are commonly used when naming most Chinese, Korean , and Vietnamese royalty. They should not be confused with era names. Compared to posthumous names, the use of temple names is more exclusive... : |
Taizong (太宗, taì zōng) |
| Posthumous name Posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life... : |
Wu (武, wǔ), literary meaning: "martial" |
Li Xiong (李雄) (274–334), courtesy name Zhongjuan (仲雋), formally Emperor Wu of Cheng (Han) (成(漢)武帝), was the first emperor of the Chinese
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
/Ba
Ba (state)
Ba was an ancient state in eastern Sichuan, China. Its original capital was Yicheng , Hubei. Ba was conquered by Qin in 316 BC. The modern ethnic minority Tujia people trace some of their origins back to the Ba people....
-Di
Di (ethnic group)
The Di were an ethnic group in China from the 8th century BCE to approximately the middle of the 6th century CE. Note that the character Di is used to differentiate this group from the Beidi , a generic term for "northern barbarians". They lived in areas of the present-day provinces of Gansu,...
state Cheng Han
Cheng Han
The Cheng Han was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It represented two states, the Cheng state proclaimed in 304 by Li Xiong and the Han state in 338 by Li Shou...
and commonly regarded as its founder (although some historians date Cheng Han's founding to Li Xiong's father Li Te
Li Te
Li Te ,...
). Li Xiong's declaration of himself as the Prince of Chengdu in 304 (and thus, independence from Jin Dynasty (265-420)
Jìn Dynasty (265-420)
The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...
) is commonly regarded as the start of the Sixteen Kingdoms
Sixteen Kingdoms
The Sixteen Kingdoms, or less commonly the Sixteen States, were a collection of numerous short-lived sovereign states in China proper and its neighboring areas from 304 to 439 AD after the retreat of the Jin Dynasty to South China and before the establishment of the Northern Dynasties...
era.
Participation in his father's and uncle's campaigns
Li Xiong, Li TeLi Te
Li Te ,...
's third son, by his wife Lady Luo, was first mentioned in history as having been commissioned by his father as a general in winter 301, after his father had defeated a surprise attack by Xin Ran (辛冉), the chief aide to the Jin governor of Yi Province (益州, modern Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
and Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
) Luo Shang (羅尚) and had been urged by the Qin Province (秦州, modern eastern Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
) refugees that he led to assume imperial powers. However, he did not come to the forefront of the action until spring 303 when Li Te, after a major victory over Luo, carelessly believed Luo's request for a truce (against the advice of Li Xiong himself and of Li Te's brother and Li Xiong's uncle Li Liu). Luo subsequently made a surprise attack and killed Li Te. The remnants of Li Te's army made Li Liu their leader and were able to fight back, but when Li Xiong's older brother Li Dang (李蕩) then died in battle, Li Liu became convinced that he should surrender to Jin authorities, against the advice of Li Xiong and another of Li Xiong's uncle, Li Xiang (李驤). Li Xiong then, without Li Liu's knowledge, made a surprise attack against Jin forces, forcing them to withdraw. From that point on, Li Liu trusted and followed Li Xiong's judgment. In winter 303, Li Liu grew ill and, before his death, appointed Li Xiong his successor.
Reign
In early 304, Li Xiong captured ChengduChengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
, the capital of Yi Province, forcing Luo Shang to flee. He then offered the throne to the hermit Fan Changsheng
Fan Changsheng
Fan Changsheng was a Taoist hermit who was instrumental in the establishment of the Cheng Han state during the Sixteen Kingdoms era in China. He led a Taoist community of over one thousand families on Mount Qingcheng, Sichuan. During a critical famine, Fan Changsheng provided Li Xiong's army with...
, who was respected by the refugees as a god-like figure and who had supplied his army with food. Fan refused, and the generals then requested that Li declare himself emperor. In winter 304, Li declared himself the Prince of Chengdu, effectively declaring independence from Jin. He made Fan and elders of the Li clan his senior advisors. In 306, he declared himself emperor and named his empire "Cheng" (成). He also honored his mother Lady Luo as empress dowager
Empress Dowager
Empress Dowager was the title given to the mother of a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese emperor.The title was also given occasionally to another woman of the same generation, while a woman from the previous generation was sometimes given the title of Grand empress dowager. Numerous empress...
and posthumously honored his father as an emperor. For the next few years, he gradually pacified and stabilized his borders, occupying all of Yi Province—but then generally stopped, not expanding any further. In particular, oddly enough, he made no serious attempts to capture Jin's Ning Province (寧州, modern Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
and Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
), to his southwest. (Very late in his reign, in 333, his cousin Li Shou
Li Shou
Li Shou , courtesy name Wukao , formally Emperor Zhaowen of Han , was an emperor of the Chinese/Ba-Di state Cheng Han...
was able to capture Ning Province.) He appeared to, by his actions and inactions, seek to rest his people and stabilize his regime. One area of contention that he did have with Jin was over Liang Province (梁州, modern southern Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
, not to be confused with the more important 涼州 (modern central and western Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
)), which during his reigns reverted several times between Jin and Cheng Han rule.
Historians generally viewed Li Xiong's reign of Cheng Han as one characterized by leniency and lack of interference with the people's livelihoods. As Li's empire was generally peaceful during his reign while other places were ravaged by warfare, his empire received large numbers of refugees who settled down and added to the richness of the realm. He was also not wasteful. However, he was also criticized for having lack of order in his government. His officials were not given salaries, and therefore, when they needed supplies, they directly requisitioned the supplies from the people which, while in Li Xiong's reign did not appear to create massive corruption, appeared to do so in his successors' reigns.
Late in Li Xiong's reign, Zhang Jun
Zhang Jun (Former Liang)
Zhang Jun , courtesy name Gongting , formally Duke Zhongcheng of Xiping or Duke Wen of Xiping was a ruler of the Chinese state Former Liang...
, the leader of Former Liang
Former Liang
The Former Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin dynasty in China. It was founded by the Zhang family of the Han Chinese...
, a Jin vassal state, made repeated overtures to him to ask him to remove his imperial title and become a Jin vassal. Li Xiong did not do so, but continuously stated to Zhang that he would be willing to do so if Jin were able to be more revived. He also maintained friendly relations with Zhang, and Cheng Han and Former Liang thereafter maintained a trade relationship. Li Xiong also, with some reluctance, allowed Jin and Former Liang messengers to pass through his territory to communicate with each other.
Succession issues and death
In 315, Li Xiong created his wife Lady RenEmpress Ren
Empress Ren was an empress of the Chinese/Di state Cheng Han. Her husband was the founding emperor Li Xiong ....
empress. She was sonless, although Li Xiong had more than 10 sons by concubines. Li Xiong, however, resolved in 324 to create his nephew Li Ban
Li Ban
Li Ban , courtesy name Shiwen , posthumous name initially Crown Prince Li , later Emperor Ai of Cheng , was briefly an emperor of the Chinese/Ba-Di state Cheng Han....
, the son of Li Dang, who had been raised by Empress Ren, crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
, reasoning that the empire's foundation was actually built by Li Te and Li Dang, and that it would be proper for him to pass the throne to Li Dang's son. He also valued Li Ban highly for his kindness and studiousness. Li Xiang and Wang Da (王達), foreseeing that this action would bring succession issues, objected, but were overruled by Li Xiong.
In 334, Li Xiong grew ill from an infected head wound, which then spread to other wounds that he had suffered over the years over his body. His body was said to be causing such a great stench that his sons avoided him, but Li Ban cared for him day and night. He died in summer 334 and was succeeded by Li Ban. However, as Li Xiang had predicted, Li Xiong's sons were unhappy they were passed over, and later in the year, his son Li Yue (李越) assassinated Li Ban and made another son of his, Li Qi
Li Qi
Li Qi , courtesy name Shiyun , posthumous name Duke You of Qiongdu , was an emperor of the Chinese/Ba-Di state Cheng Han. He seized the throne after his brother Li Yue assassinated their father Li Xiong's designated heir, their cousin Li Ban, in 334...
, emperor. Under Li Qi's rule, Cheng Han began to decline.
Era names
- Jianxing (建興, jiàn xīng) 304–306
- Yanping (晏平, yàn píng) 306–311
- Yuheng (玉衡, yù héng) 311–334
Personal information
- Father
- Li TeLi TeLi Te ,...
(third son of)
- Li Te
- Mother
- Empress Dowager Luo
- Wife
- Empress RenEmpress RenEmpress Ren was an empress of the Chinese/Di state Cheng Han. Her husband was the founding emperor Li Xiong ....
(created 315)
- Empress Ren
- Major Concubines
- Consort Ran, mother of Prince Qi
- Children (Li Xiong was said to have more than 10 sons, but most were not mentioned in historical records)
- Li Yue (李越), the Prince of Jianning (created 334, executed)
- Li Ba (李霸), died (likely poisoned) during Li Qi's reign
- Li QiLi QiLi Qi , courtesy name Shiyun , posthumous name Duke You of Qiongdu , was an emperor of the Chinese/Ba-Di state Cheng Han. He seized the throne after his brother Li Yue assassinated their father Li Xiong's designated heir, their cousin Li Ban, in 334...
(李期), later emperor - Li Bao (李保), died (likely poisoned) during Li Qi's reign