Liang Houzhu ((西)涼後主)
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 Li (surname) Li is a common transliteration of several Chinese family names, including 李 , the most common Chinese family name, and the Korean family name Lee...  (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"... :	Xin (歆, xīn)
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... :	None

Li Xin (李歆) (died 420), courtesy name Shiye (士業), nickname Tongzhui (桐椎), was a duke 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...

 state Western Liáng

Western Liang

The Western Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was founded by the Li family of the Han Chinese. The founder of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan , traced his ancestry to the Western Liang rulers....

. He succeeded his father Li Gao

Li Gao

Li Gao , courtesy name Xuansheng , nickname Changsheng , formally Prince Wuzhao of Liang , was the founding duke of the Chinese state Western Liáng...

 (Prince Wuzhao) in 417 and aggressively tried to pursue campaigns against rival Northern Liang

Northern Liang

The Northern Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was founded by the Xiongnu Juqu family, although they initially supported the Han official Duan Ye as prince, they overthrew him in 401 and took over themselves....

's prince Juqu Mengxun

Juqu Mengxun

Juqu Mengxun was a prince of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Northern Liang, and the first from the Juqu clan. His cousin Juqu Nancheng and he initially supported Duan Ye as prince of Northern Liang in 397 after rebelling against Later Liang, but in 401, Juqu Mengxun tricked Duan Ye into wrongly...

, but fell into a trap set by Juqu Mengxun in 420 and was killed in battle, bringing destruction to his state (although his brother Li Xun

Li Xun

Li Xun , courtesy name Shiru , was the final ruler of the Chinese state Western Liang, who tried to hold out against the conquering Northern Liang armies under its prince Juqu Mengxun, after his brother Li Xin's death in 420...

 tried to hold out but was defeated soon as well).

During Li Gao's reign

It is not known when Li Xin was born, or whether his mother Lady Yin

Princess Dowager Yin

Princess Dowager Yin was a princess dowager of the Chinese state Western Liáng. She was the mother of its second duke, Li Xin and the second wife of its founder Li Gao , who was posthumously honored by Li Xin as a prince, and therefore Lady Yin was honored as a princess dowager even though her...

 was his father Li Gao

Li Gao

Li Gao , courtesy name Xuansheng , nickname Changsheng , formally Prince Wuzhao of Liang , was the founding duke of the Chinese state Western Liáng...

's wife or concubine. He was Li Gao's second son, and so after Li Gao declared independence from Northern Liang

Northern Liang

The Northern Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was founded by the Xiongnu Juqu family, although they initially supported the Han official Duan Ye as prince, they overthrew him in 401 and took over themselves....

 and founded Western Liang in 400, it was not he, but his older brother Li Tan (李譚), who was created heir apparent

Heir apparent

An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....

. The first historical reference to him was in 404, when Li Tan died, and Li Gao created him heir apparent to replace Li Tan.

In 410, Li Xin fought a battle with the Northern Liang prince Juqu Mengxun

Juqu Mengxun

Juqu Mengxun was a prince of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Northern Liang, and the first from the Juqu clan. His cousin Juqu Nancheng and he initially supported Duan Ye as prince of Northern Liang in 397 after rebelling against Later Liang, but in 401, Juqu Mengxun tricked Duan Ye into wrongly...

 when Juqu Mengxun attacked Western Liang, but was defeated by Juqu Mengxun, and his general Zhu Yuanhu (朱元虎) was captured, forcing Li Gao to use gold and silver to ransom Zhu. In 411, he returned the favor, as after Juqu Mengxun made another attack on Western Liang but was forced to withdraw after his food supplies ran out, Li Xin attacked the Northern Liang army and dealt Juqu Mengxun a defeat, capturing Juqu Mengxun's general Juqu Bainian (沮渠百年).

In 417, Li Gao grew ill, and after entrusting Li Xin to his own half-brother Song Yao (宋繇) -- telling him that Li Xin was now his son -- died. Li Xin succeeded him as duke, and Lady Yin was honored as princess dowager.

Reign

Li Xin made his uncle Song Yao the prime minister, but meanwhile carried out cruel punishments and favored palace construction projects, both of which made the people feel burdened. He also made plans to attack Northern Liang, further burdening his state.

Later in 417, Juqu Mengxun tried to trick Li Xin by having his governor of Zhangye Commandery (張掖, roughly modern Zhangye

Zhangye

-Administration:Zhangye has 1 urban district, 4 counties, 1 autonomous county, 97 towns, and 977 villages.-Demographics:Zhangye has a total population of 1,260,000, only 260,000 being urban residents...

, 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...

), Juqu Guangzong (沮渠廣宗) pretend to surrender to Li Xin. Li Xin, as requested by Juqu Guangzong, mobilized forces to try to relieve Juqu Guangzong at Zhangye, and Juqu Mengxun waited to ready to ambush Li Xin. However, on the way to Zhangye, Li Xin realized that there was a trap, and he withdrew. Juqu Mengxun tried to attack him, but he defeated Juqu Mengxun.

In 418, Juqu Mengxun attacked Western Liang again, and Li Xin was preparing to meet him in battle. His official Zhang Tishun (張體順) persuaded him against it, however, and instead he stayed in his capital Jiuquan (酒泉, in modern Jiuquan

Jiuquan

- Suzhou town :The administrative center of the "prefecture-level city" of Jiuquan is the "District" of Suzhou , which occupies 3,386 square km in the eastern part of Jiuquan "prefecture-level city", and had a population of 340,000 as of 2002....

, 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...

), and Juqu Mengxun, not willing to siege the city, withdrew. Later that year, because he had previously sent messengers to Jin

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...

, offering to be a vassal, Jin created him the Duke of Jiuquan.

In 419, with Li Xin's punishments and construction projects overburdening his people, his officials Zhang Xian (張顯) and Fan Cheng (氾稱) advised him to be more lenient and more thrifty, pointing out that he would otherwise not be able to defeat Juqu Mengxun. Li Xin ignored their advice.

In 420, Juqu Mengxun set another trap for Li Xin. He pretended to attack Western Qin

Western Qin

The Western Qin was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Note that the Western Qin is entirely distinct from the ancient Qin Dynasty, the Former Qin, and the Later Qin....

's city Haomen (浩亹, in modern Haidong Prefecture

Haidong Prefecture

Haidong Prefecture is a prefecture of Qinghai province in Western China. Its name literally means "east of the Lake."-Geography:...

, Qinghai

Qinghai

Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...

), but once reaching Haomen, immediately withdrew and hid his army at Chuanyan (川巖, near Zhangye). Li Xin, believing wrongly that Juqu Mengxun's defenses were down, decided to attack Zhangye, against the advice of Song Yao and Zhang Tishun. Princess Dowager Yin also spoke against it, pointing out that he had insufficient strength to conquer Northern Liang and warning him that a defeat would destroy his state. He ignored them, but as they had predicted, as he approached Zhangye, Juqu Mengxun intercepted him and defeated him. His generals then advised him to quickly withdraw to Jiuquan, but Li Xin, stating that he had disobeyed his mother and would only be able to see her again after a victory, engaged Juqu Mengxun again, suffering an even greater defeat, and he was killed in battle. Juqu Mengxun quickly captured Jiuquan, and by 421 would take over the rest of Western Liang territory.

Personal information

• Father
  • Li Gao
    Li Gao
    Li Gao , courtesy name Xuansheng , nickname Changsheng , formally Prince Wuzhao of Liang , was the founding duke of the Chinese state Western Liáng...
    
     (Prince Wuzhao)
• Mother
  • Lady Yin
    Princess Dowager Yin
    Princess Dowager Yin was a princess dowager of the Chinese state Western Liáng. She was the mother of its second duke, Li Xin and the second wife of its founder Li Gao , who was posthumously honored by Li Xin as a prince, and therefore Lady Yin was honored as a princess dowager even though her...
    
    
• Children
  • Li Chong'er (李重耳), the Heir Apparent, later official under Liu Song and Northern Wei
    Northern Wei
    The Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...