Vancouver Oct. 2014

“It is unprecedented. Li Jing has avenged the insult I suffered.”
— Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty
Li Jing, a celebrated Tang Dynasty military leader,
was almost executed by the emperor whom
he went on to loyally serve for the next 8 years. “You,
general, rose to rid tyranny for the people. If you
want to achieve great things, how can you kill a courageous
man because of a personal grudge” Li yelled
out as he was dragged away to be killed.
Li Yuan, at the time merely a rebel, but one who
toppled the Sui Dynasty and established the Tang
Dynasty, was struck between the eyes by Li Jing’s
courageous words, and spared his life. Indeed, Li
Yuan made Li Jing his trusted lieutenant, even after
Li Jing almost blocked his rise by telling the old Sui
rulers of his plans to rebel.
Beginning in his 40s, a time when many men of
war are beginning to slow down, Li began climbing
toward his prime, conquering vast swathes of land
for the mighty Tang Dynasty, suppressing rebellions,
and laying down the Tang’s borders.
All this was exactly what Li had hoped for but
could never have expected when, as a young man
toward the end of the Sui Dynasty, he practiced
swordcraft in the yard of his courtier family. Li once
told his father: “A man should earn wealth and social
position through exploits in a turbulent age, in the
service of great emperors.”
Turbulence is exactly what Li walked into. The
tyrannical Sui emperor Yang (569 - 618 AD) was
eventually overthrown by a Sui general who decided
that it was time for China to turn a new leaf.
In May 618 AD, that general, Li Yuan, established
the Tang Dynasty, becoming Emperor Gaozu. Li
Jing was made his top general and charged with
pacifying the realm.
Li built his statuesque reputation by quelling the
rebels over the next 30 years.
His first victories came through acting on his
own judgement, against other commanders’ advice.
Li Jing raided the Liang state, a part of China that
the Tang Dynasty sought to bring into its territory.
Rather than wait for the raging Yangtze River to
slow its flow after the rainy season, as other generals
cautioned, Li Jing seized the moment and
crossed, launching a surprise attack on the holdouts
and capturing several cities within a month. In an
opposite case, a fellow general was itching for action
and, against Li Jing’s advice, decided to launch
an attack. The general was seriously defeated. But
Li Jing swooped in with a fell counterattack that
resulted in the seizure of 400 ships.
Outstanding military victories like this showed
supreme judgement, unclouded by ego. He was
brave in battle, yet known by all for his composure
and steadfastness; and when his opinions differed
from other Tang leaders, Li Jing was unfailingly
humble and respectful, sometimes so much so
that in conference he seemed unable to speak.
This was recognized again during his sallies in
the northern part of the empire. There, he secured
territory from the nomads who positioned themselves
on the plains before they swept through
China looting and plundering. Indeed, at one
point the nomads almost destroyed the fledgling
Tang dynasty, forcing Emperor Taizong into a
humiliating alliance with one of their leaders.
At the age of 58, Li was appointed by the Emperor
himself to head a massive army of 100,000
soldiers, meant to crush the invaders and remove
the threat once and for all.
But in the end, Li didn’t need the army: he defeated
the Eastern Tujue intruders with just 3,000
cavalry in a series of masterful surprise attacks. Jiali