Xue rengui
Encyclopedia
Xue Ren'gui (614–683), formal name Xue Li (薛禮) but went by the courtesy name of Rengui, was one of the most famous Chinese generals during the early Tang Dynasty
, due to references to him in popular literature. During his career, he participated in successful campaigns against remnants of Western Tujue and against Goguryeo
, with only one major flaw on his record which was an unsuccessful campaign against Tufan in 670, where another General in his army refused to listen to Xue's advice and charged ahead and caused the majority of the army to be lost.
, but his early activities were not recorded, other than that his wife had the surname Liu (柳). It was said that he was poor and was a farmer. Around the time that Tang Dynasty
's second emperor Emperor Taizong
was set to launch a major campaign against Goguryeo
in 644, Xue was planning to rebury his ancestors, when Lady Liu told him:
Xue thus went to meet the general Zhang Shigui (張士貴) to volunteer for the army. Once he reached the front, on an occasion when the general Liu Jun'ang (劉君卬) was being surrounded by Goguryeo forces, Xue went to rescue Liu, and he was able to kill the Goguryeo commander and hang the Goguryeo commander's head on his saddle; after this incident, he began to gain fame. When Emperor Taizong was ready to attack the Goguryeo city of Ansi (安市, in modern Anshan, Liaoning
) in 645 and was faced with a major relief army sent by Goguryeo's Dae Mangniji (regent) Yeon Gaesomun
, commanded by the generals Go Yeonsu (高延壽) and Go Hyejin (高惠真), Emperor Taizong had his officers try to repel the Goguryeo forces. Xue, believing himself to be powerful and wanting to show his ferocity, put on a white armor and armed himself with a trident and a two bows. As he fought his way through the frontlines, he inflicted much casualties on the Gogureyo soldiers. Emperor Taizong spotted him from a distance and asked his attendants, "Who is that man in white armor?" and was told it was Xue. Emperor Taizong summoned Xue to his presence and awarded him with gold and silk and also gave him a general title. After Emperor Taizong retreated later in the year, he told Xue:
Emperor Taizong made Xue one of the commanding generals for the imperial guards.
succeeded him (as Emperor Gaozong), and for the first few years of Emperor Gaozong's reign, Xue Rengui appeared to remain a commanding general for the imperial guards. In 654, when Emperor Gaozong was visiting the vacation palace Wannian Palace (萬年宮, in modern Baoji
, Shaanxi
), there was a major storm. On the night of June 22, it rained particularly hard, and a flash flood descended on the Xuanwu Gate of Wannian Palace. The imperial guards all fled, but Xue did not, and instead climbed up the gate and yelled loudly inside the palace to warn the emperor. Emperor Gaozong quickly got out of his bed and climbed as high as he could, and in brief time, the water flooded into his bedchambers, and this flood killed some 3,000 residents of Linyou County, where the palace was located, and imperial guards. Afterwards, Emperor Gaozong made the comment to Xue, "It is only by your call that I avoided drowning, and from this I know that you are a faithful subject." He awarded Xue a horse.
In 657, when the general Su Dingfang
attacked Western Tujue's Shaboluo Khan Ashina Helu (阿史那賀魯), Xue submitted a suggestion that if the wife and children of the chief of one of Western Tujue's constituent tribes, Nishu Tribe (泥孰), who did not particularly support Ashina Helu but was forced to comply after Ashina Helu took his wife and children hostage, were to be captured by Tang forces, that they be immediately released so that the chief of Nishu would submit to Tang. When Emperor Gaozong approved this suggestion, the chief of Nishu did, indeed, join Tang's army. Su was subsequently able to defeat and capture Ashina Helu.
Later that year, Xue was made deputy to the general Cheng Mingzhen (程名振) in an operation against Goguryeo
, and they captured Goguryeo's city Chifeng (赤烽, in modern Fushun
, Liaoning
) and defeated the Goguryeo general Du Bangnu (豆方婁). In 659, Xue further defeated the Goguryeo general Wen Shamen (溫沙門). He also engaged Qidan
forces, capturing their chief Abugu (阿卜固) and taking him back to the eastern capital Luoyang
. For this achievement, he was created the Baron of Hedong.
In 661, after the chief of Tang's vassal Huige, Yaoluoge Porun (藥羅葛婆閏) died and was succeeded by his nephew Yaoluoge Bisudu (藥羅葛比粟毒), Yaoluoge Bisudu broke away from Tang and allied with two other tribes, Tongluo (同羅) and Pugu (僕固) in attacking Tang's northern boundary. Emperor Gaozong commissioned the general Zheng Rentai (鄭仁泰) to be in charge of an operation against Huige, while making the Xue and Liu Shenli (劉審理) Zheng's deputies. When they encountered Huige's coalition forces—which by this point appeared to include all nine major tribes of Tiele
-- the coalition challenged Tang forces to a small battle, with Tiele sending out their 10 fiercest warriors. Xue personally engaged them and killed three of them with three arrows, intimidating the Tiele coalition and causing them to submit—but after their surrender, he ordered to kill all the ten and several thousands people. From this incident, a military song was written to praise Xue's ferocity, including the words: "The general is able to pacify Tian Shan
with three arrows, and the warriors sing their long songs as they enter the boundaries of Han
." After the army returned to Tang territory, however, Xue was charged with killing those who had already surrendered and seizing the spoils of war and arrested for a time, but was eventually released after Emperor Gaozong ruled that the achievements outweighed the crimes.
In 666, Yeon Gaesomun died, and infighting developed between Yeon's oldest son Yeon Namsaeng
, who succeeded Yeon Gaesomun as Dae Mangniji, and two younger sons Yeon Namgeon
and Yeon Namsan
, over suspicions that they had for each other. Eventually, Yeon Namgeon, while Yeon Namsaeng was away from the capital Pyongyang
, claimed the Dae Mangniji title himself. Yeon Namsaeng sent his son (later known as Cheon Heonseong/Quan Xiancheng (泉獻誠), as Yeon (淵) was the same character as Emperor Gaozong's grandfather Emperor Gaozu
's name Yuan and therefore could not be used as part of naming taboo
) to seek aid from Tang. When Emperor Gaozong sent the generals Pang Tongshan (龐同善) and Gao Kan (高侃) to aid Yeon Namsaeng, Yeon Namgeon tried to intercept them, and Xue, who trailed them, marched forward to aid them, allowing them to defeat Goguryeo forces together. After they captured the cities of Namso (南蘇, in modern Tieling
, Liaoning
), Mokjeo (木底, in modern Fushun), and Changam (蒼巖, in modern Benxi
, Liaoning
), they were able to rendezvous with Yeon Namsaeng. In spring 668, they further marched east and captured Goguryeo's major northeastern city Buyeo (扶餘, in modern Siping
, Jilin
), and Xue was described to have marched to the sea (probably Sea of Japan
) and taking some 40 cities in Goguryeo's northeastern territories, before marching southwest to rendezvous with the supreme commander of the entire operation, Li Ji
, at Pyongyang. After Pyongyang fell later in 668, thus ending Goguryeo, Emperor Gaozong ordered that Goguryeo territory be annexed into Tang territory and that a protector general (known as the Protectorate General to Pacify the East
) by established at Pyongyang, with Xue appointed as the protector general to defend Pyongyang, along with the general Liu Rengui
. Emperor Gaozong created him the Duke of Pingyang. It was said that Xue was a capable administrator and was, for a while, able to receive allegiance from the people of Goguryeo.
In 670, Tufan launched a major attack on Tang's Xiyu (i.e., formerly Western Tujue) holdings, capturing 18 prefectures. Emperor Gaozong commissioned Xue to command a major counterattack, with Ashina Daozhen (阿史那道真) and Guo Daifeng (郭待封) as his deputies. However, as Guo previously was of the same rank as Xue, he viewed serving as Xue's deputy as a dishonor and often disobeyed Xue's orders. Xue's initial strategy was to take some troops ahead toward, with Guo remaining behind at Qinghai Lake
with the military supplies—and once Xue had cleared the pass, he would then signal for Guo to proceed. Guo, however, disobeyed the order and did not wait for Xue's signal, but proceeded after Xue departed, and he was intercepted and defeated by a 200,000-men Tufan army. After Guos' army collapsed, Xue was himself attacked by the Tufan prime minister Lun Qinling (論欽陵) and defeated. Nearly the entire army was lost, and Xue was forced to sue for peace under unfavorable terms. Emperor Gaozong sent the official Le Yanwei
to the front to put Xue, Guo, and Ashina under arrest, but released them once they were brought back to the capital Chang'an
. However, they were relieved of their posts.
At later time, when the people of Goguryeo were rising in resistance to Tang occupation, Xue was put in charge of pacifying the region, but yet later, probably in 675, Xue was deposed for reasons not clearly stated in historical records and exiled to Xiang Prefecture (象州, roughly modern Laibin
, Guangxi
), only allowed to return from exile when a general pardon was declared. In 681, Emperor Gaozong, remembering Xue's contributions, summoned him and again made him a general. In 682, when remnants of the Eastern Tujue, rising under the chiefs Ashina Gudulu and Ashide Yuanzhen (阿史德元珍), declared independence from Tang, Xue was commissioned to attack Ashide Yuanzhen. His presence intimidated the Eastern Tujue soldiers, who had thought that he was long dead, and he scored a major victory over Ashide Yuanzhen.
Xue died in 683. His sons Xue Ne and Xue Chuyu (薛楚玉), and several later descendants would serve as generals as well.
playwright Zhang Guobin (張國賓) and an anonymous novel from Qing Dynasty
, Xue Rengui's Campaign to the East (薛仁貴征東). Xue Rengui's tenure as General of Andong Protectorate following the fall of Goguryeo
has been dramatized in a popular Korean television series called Dae JoYoung, and portrays Xue Rengui as a Tang
general who's constantly frustrated by the insurgency of the Dongmyeongchun League; remnants of the Goguryean
underground resistance against the Tang
. According to this television action-drama broadcasted worldwide on KBS-1, Xue Rengui could finally claim victory over the Goguryean
insurgency when he had Dae Joyoung and his legion of escaped Baekje
, Goguryean, Khitan
, and Sillian
prisoners cornered, and had Dae Joyoung vow loyalty to the Tang
Empire, and become a military officer of high-rank in the Tang
army. However, Xue Rengui is to lose Dae Joyoung again following a stratagem in which Dae Joyoung volunteers to lead a punitive force of Tang
soldiers against nomadic bandits in Mount Madu to recover stolen Tang
money. While Dae Joyoung successfully recovers the gold and silver taels and convinces the bandits to fight another group of the Tang
punitive force led by the evil Tang
general Li Wen, he dispatches the stolen property back to Chang'an
alongside his close Dongmyeongchun League confidant Mimosa
and a small group of Tang
soldiers, Dae Joyoung took the opportunity escape the Tang
to return to his Goguryean land on the true-pretext that general Li Wen was going to attack kill him and his Goguryean
subordinates. This television series also portrays Xue Rengui travelling from Chang'an
with only his friend and bodyguard Hongpei to the Khitan
-held Yingzhou in order meet his old war protege the Khitan
Khan Li Jinzhong
to personally warn him about general Li Wen's desire to destroy the Khitans in the year 695; however, this is apparently a symbolic gesture made by the show's producers as General Xue Rengui died in 683, to indicate the good and friendly nature of General Xue Rengui and his disdain for political matters.
in which he is the father of the fictional general Xue Dingshan and the father-in-law of the Turkic
princess Fan Lihua. The story of Xue Dingshan and his wife Fan Lihua is often used as a subject for Chinese opera
. There is a drama film named Xue Dingshan San Qi Fan Lihua about them. Because of his campaigns in Korea against both Goguryeo
and Silla
, he was referred as the "The General who Pacified the East" for the Tang. It is ironic, since Xue's fictional son is referred as the "The General who Pacified the West" for the Tang because of his fictional campaigns against the Turks, however, the campaigns against the Turks should also be attributed to the latter Xue. In the folklore, Xue Rengui was known to have a massive appetite in which he was thought to be possess by the "hungry god." The legend of Xue Dingshan and Fan Lihua takes place between the Tang and the fictional Turkic kingdom of Western Liang
, ironically there was a real Western Liang
during the Sixteen Kingdoms
period that was thought to be the ancestors of the Tang.
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, due to references to him in popular literature. During his career, he participated in successful campaigns against remnants of Western Tujue and against Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
, with only one major flaw on his record which was an unsuccessful campaign against Tufan in 670, where another General in his army refused to listen to Xue's advice and charged ahead and caused the majority of the army to be lost.
During Emperor Taizong's reign
Xue Rengui was born in 614, during the reign of Emperor Yang of SuiEmperor Yang of Sui
Emperor Yang of Sui , personal name Yang Guang , alternative name Ying , nickname Amo , known as Emperor Ming during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong), was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, and the second emperor of China's Sui Dynasty.Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but...
, but his early activities were not recorded, other than that his wife had the surname Liu (柳). It was said that he was poor and was a farmer. Around the time that Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
's second emperor Emperor Taizong
Emperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Shìmín , was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649...
was set to launch a major campaign against Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
in 644, Xue was planning to rebury his ancestors, when Lady Liu told him:
Xue thus went to meet the general Zhang Shigui (張士貴) to volunteer for the army. Once he reached the front, on an occasion when the general Liu Jun'ang (劉君卬) was being surrounded by Goguryeo forces, Xue went to rescue Liu, and he was able to kill the Goguryeo commander and hang the Goguryeo commander's head on his saddle; after this incident, he began to gain fame. When Emperor Taizong was ready to attack the Goguryeo city of Ansi (安市, in modern Anshan, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
) in 645 and was faced with a major relief army sent by Goguryeo's Dae Mangniji (regent) Yeon Gaesomun
Yeon Gaesomun
Yeon Gaesomun was a powerful and controversial military dictator and Generalissimo in the waning days of Goguryeo, which was one of the Three Kingdoms of ancient Korea. Yeon is also remembered for a number of successful resistance in military conflicts with Tang Dynasty under Emperor Li Shimin and...
, commanded by the generals Go Yeonsu (高延壽) and Go Hyejin (高惠真), Emperor Taizong had his officers try to repel the Goguryeo forces. Xue, believing himself to be powerful and wanting to show his ferocity, put on a white armor and armed himself with a trident and a two bows. As he fought his way through the frontlines, he inflicted much casualties on the Gogureyo soldiers. Emperor Taizong spotted him from a distance and asked his attendants, "Who is that man in white armor?" and was told it was Xue. Emperor Taizong summoned Xue to his presence and awarded him with gold and silk and also gave him a general title. After Emperor Taizong retreated later in the year, he told Xue:
Emperor Taizong made Xue one of the commanding generals for the imperial guards.
During Emperor Gaozong's reign
After Emperor Taizong's death in 649, his son Li ZhiEmperor Gaozong of Tang
Emperor Gaozong of Tang , personal name Li Zhi , was the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty in China, ruling from 649 to 683...
succeeded him (as Emperor Gaozong), and for the first few years of Emperor Gaozong's reign, Xue Rengui appeared to remain a commanding general for the imperial guards. In 654, when Emperor Gaozong was visiting the vacation palace Wannian Palace (萬年宮, in modern Baoji
Baoji
Baoji is a prefecture-level city in Shaanxi province, China.-Geography:The prefecture-level city of Baoji has a population of 3,716,731 according to the 2010 Chinese census, inhabiting an area of . The city itself has a population of approximately 800,000. Surrounded on three sides by hills,...
, 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...
), there was a major storm. On the night of June 22, it rained particularly hard, and a flash flood descended on the Xuanwu Gate of Wannian Palace. The imperial guards all fled, but Xue did not, and instead climbed up the gate and yelled loudly inside the palace to warn the emperor. Emperor Gaozong quickly got out of his bed and climbed as high as he could, and in brief time, the water flooded into his bedchambers, and this flood killed some 3,000 residents of Linyou County, where the palace was located, and imperial guards. Afterwards, Emperor Gaozong made the comment to Xue, "It is only by your call that I avoided drowning, and from this I know that you are a faithful subject." He awarded Xue a horse.
In 657, when the general Su Dingfang
Su Dingfang
Su Dingfang , formal name Su Lie but went by the courtesy name of Dingfang, formally Duke Zhuang of Xing , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who succeeded in destroying the Western Tujue in 657. He was born in Wuyi...
attacked Western Tujue's Shaboluo Khan Ashina Helu (阿史那賀魯), Xue submitted a suggestion that if the wife and children of the chief of one of Western Tujue's constituent tribes, Nishu Tribe (泥孰), who did not particularly support Ashina Helu but was forced to comply after Ashina Helu took his wife and children hostage, were to be captured by Tang forces, that they be immediately released so that the chief of Nishu would submit to Tang. When Emperor Gaozong approved this suggestion, the chief of Nishu did, indeed, join Tang's army. Su was subsequently able to defeat and capture Ashina Helu.
Later that year, Xue was made deputy to the general Cheng Mingzhen (程名振) in an operation against Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
, and they captured Goguryeo's city Chifeng (赤烽, in modern Fushun
Fushun
Fushun is a city in Liaoning, China, about 45 km east from Shenyang, with a population about 2,138 090 inhabitants at the 2010 census and an area of 11,271 km2, including 713 km2 of the city proper. Fushun is situated on the Hun He . It was formerly called Fouchouen in French...
, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
) and defeated the Goguryeo general Du Bangnu (豆方婁). In 659, Xue further defeated the Goguryeo general Wen Shamen (溫沙門). He also engaged Qidan
Khitan people
thumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
forces, capturing their chief Abugu (阿卜固) and taking him back to the eastern capital Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
. For this achievement, he was created the Baron of Hedong.
In 661, after the chief of Tang's vassal Huige, Yaoluoge Porun (藥羅葛婆閏) died and was succeeded by his nephew Yaoluoge Bisudu (藥羅葛比粟毒), Yaoluoge Bisudu broke away from Tang and allied with two other tribes, Tongluo (同羅) and Pugu (僕固) in attacking Tang's northern boundary. Emperor Gaozong commissioned the general Zheng Rentai (鄭仁泰) to be in charge of an operation against Huige, while making the Xue and Liu Shenli (劉審理) Zheng's deputies. When they encountered Huige's coalition forces—which by this point appeared to include all nine major tribes of Tiele
Tiele people
The Tiele or Tele , were a confederation of nine Turkic peoples living to the north of China and in Central Asia, emerging after the disintegration of the Xiongnu confederacy...
-- the coalition challenged Tang forces to a small battle, with Tiele sending out their 10 fiercest warriors. Xue personally engaged them and killed three of them with three arrows, intimidating the Tiele coalition and causing them to submit—but after their surrender, he ordered to kill all the ten and several thousands people. From this incident, a military song was written to praise Xue's ferocity, including the words: "The general is able to pacify Tian Shan
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan , also spelled Tien Shan, is a large mountain system located in Central Asia. The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Victory Peak , ....
with three arrows, and the warriors sing their long songs as they enter the boundaries of Han
Han
-China:* China , an abbreviation or adjectival modifier for things Chinese* Han Chinese , the dominant majority ethnic group of China and overseas Chinese...
." After the army returned to Tang territory, however, Xue was charged with killing those who had already surrendered and seizing the spoils of war and arrested for a time, but was eventually released after Emperor Gaozong ruled that the achievements outweighed the crimes.
In 666, Yeon Gaesomun died, and infighting developed between Yeon's oldest son Yeon Namsaeng
Yeon Namsaeng
Yeon Namsaeng was the eldest son of the Goguryeo Dae Mangniji Yeon Gaesomun . In 665, Yeon Namsaeng succeeded his father and became the 2nd Dae Magniji of Goguryeo.- Background :...
, who succeeded Yeon Gaesomun as Dae Mangniji, and two younger sons Yeon Namgeon
Yeon Namgeon
Yeon Namgeon was the second son of the Goguryeo military leader and dictator Yeon Gaesomun , and third Dae Magniji of Goguryeo during the reign of Goguryeo's last ruler, King Bojang-The Fall of Goguryeo:...
and Yeon Namsan
Yeon Namsan
Yeon Namsan was the third son of the Goguryeo military leader and dictator Yeon Gaesomun .The course of his career shadowed closely that of his elder brother Yeon Namsaeng...
, over suspicions that they had for each other. Eventually, Yeon Namgeon, while Yeon Namsaeng was away from the capital Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
, claimed the Dae Mangniji title himself. Yeon Namsaeng sent his son (later known as Cheon Heonseong/Quan Xiancheng (泉獻誠), as Yeon (淵) was the same character as Emperor Gaozong's grandfather Emperor Gaozu
Emperor Gaozu of Tang
Emperor Gāozǔ of Táng , born Lǐ Yuān , courtesy name Shūdé , was the founder of the Tang Dynasty of China, and the first emperor of this dynasty from 618 to 626. Under the Sui dynasty, Li Yuan was the governor in the area of modern-day Shanxi, and was based in Taiyuan.In 615, Li Yuan was assigned...
's name Yuan and therefore could not be used as part of naming taboo
Naming taboo
Naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons in China and neighboring nations in the ancient Chinese cultural sphere.-Kinds of naming taboo:...
) to seek aid from Tang. When Emperor Gaozong sent the generals Pang Tongshan (龐同善) and Gao Kan (高侃) to aid Yeon Namsaeng, Yeon Namgeon tried to intercept them, and Xue, who trailed them, marched forward to aid them, allowing them to defeat Goguryeo forces together. After they captured the cities of Namso (南蘇, in modern Tieling
Tieling
Tieling is a prefecture-level city in Liaoning province of the People's Republic of China.The population is 3 million at the 2nd of 2004. Tieling is a city where coal mining is an important industry.The mayor of Tieling is Li Wenke...
, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
), Mokjeo (木底, in modern Fushun), and Changam (蒼巖, in modern Benxi
Benxi
Benxi is a prefecture-level city located in the east of Liaoning province in Northeast China, south-southeast of Shenyang. Its population is 1,709,538 at the 2010 census whom 959,610 in the built up area It was founded as a metallurgical center in 1915...
, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
), they were able to rendezvous with Yeon Namsaeng. In spring 668, they further marched east and captured Goguryeo's major northeastern city Buyeo (扶餘, in modern Siping
Siping
Siping is a process of cutting thin slits across a rubber surface to improve traction in wet or icy conditions.Siping was invented and patented in 1923 under the name of John F. Sipe The story told on various websites is that, in the 1920s, Sipe worked in a slaughterhouse and grew tired of...
, Jilin
Jilin
Jilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
), and Xue was described to have marched to the sea (probably Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
) and taking some 40 cities in Goguryeo's northeastern territories, before marching southwest to rendezvous with the supreme commander of the entire operation, Li Ji
Li Shiji
Li Shiji , né Xu Shiji , later known in the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang as Li Ji , courtesy name Maogong , formally Duke Zhenwu of Ying , was one of the most celebrated generals early in the Chinese Tang Dynasty...
, at Pyongyang. After Pyongyang fell later in 668, thus ending Goguryeo, Emperor Gaozong ordered that Goguryeo territory be annexed into Tang territory and that a protector general (known as the Protectorate General to Pacify the East
Protectorate General to Pacify the East
The Protectorate-General to Pacify the East was a short-lived military government established at Pyongyang by Tang Dynasty China in 668. It played an important role in the turbulent events of the peninsula in the late 7th century....
) by established at Pyongyang, with Xue appointed as the protector general to defend Pyongyang, along with the general Liu Rengui
Liu Rengui
Liu Rengui , courtesy name Zhengze , formally Duke Wenxian of Lecheng , was a general and official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozong and the subsequent regency of his wife Wu Zetian over his sons Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong...
. Emperor Gaozong created him the Duke of Pingyang. It was said that Xue was a capable administrator and was, for a while, able to receive allegiance from the people of Goguryeo.
In 670, Tufan launched a major attack on Tang's Xiyu (i.e., formerly Western Tujue) holdings, capturing 18 prefectures. Emperor Gaozong commissioned Xue to command a major counterattack, with Ashina Daozhen (阿史那道真) and Guo Daifeng (郭待封) as his deputies. However, as Guo previously was of the same rank as Xue, he viewed serving as Xue's deputy as a dishonor and often disobeyed Xue's orders. Xue's initial strategy was to take some troops ahead toward, with Guo remaining behind at Qinghai Lake
Qinghai Lake
Qinghai Lake , is a saline lake situated in the province of Qinghai, and is the largest lake in China. The names Qinghai and Kokonor both mean "Blue/Teal Sea/Lake" in Chinese and Mongolian. It is located about west of the provincial capital of Xining at 3,205 m above sea level in a depression...
with the military supplies—and once Xue had cleared the pass, he would then signal for Guo to proceed. Guo, however, disobeyed the order and did not wait for Xue's signal, but proceeded after Xue departed, and he was intercepted and defeated by a 200,000-men Tufan army. After Guos' army collapsed, Xue was himself attacked by the Tufan prime minister Lun Qinling (論欽陵) and defeated. Nearly the entire army was lost, and Xue was forced to sue for peace under unfavorable terms. Emperor Gaozong sent the official Le Yanwei
Le Yanwei
Le Yanwei , courtesy name Degui , was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving briefly as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozong.Le Yanwei was from the Tang capital Chang'an...
to the front to put Xue, Guo, and Ashina under arrest, but released them once they were brought back to the capital Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
. However, they were relieved of their posts.
At later time, when the people of Goguryeo were rising in resistance to Tang occupation, Xue was put in charge of pacifying the region, but yet later, probably in 675, Xue was deposed for reasons not clearly stated in historical records and exiled to Xiang Prefecture (象州, roughly modern Laibin
Laibin
Laibin is a prefecture-level city in the central part of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.-Geography and climate:Laibin is located in central Guangxi province. The Hongshui River or Red River and Rongjiang, both tributaries of the Xijiang, meet in Laibin. Its area is 13,400 km²...
, Guangxi
Guangxi
Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...
), only allowed to return from exile when a general pardon was declared. In 681, Emperor Gaozong, remembering Xue's contributions, summoned him and again made him a general. In 682, when remnants of the Eastern Tujue, rising under the chiefs Ashina Gudulu and Ashide Yuanzhen (阿史德元珍), declared independence from Tang, Xue was commissioned to attack Ashide Yuanzhen. His presence intimidated the Eastern Tujue soldiers, who had thought that he was long dead, and he scored a major victory over Ashide Yuanzhen.
Xue died in 683. His sons Xue Ne and Xue Chuyu (薛楚玉), and several later descendants would serve as generals as well.
In fiction
Xue Rengui's life was dramatized in a number of fictional works. The most prominent of these works were the play Xue Rengui's Glorious Return Home (薛仁貴衣錦歸鄉), by the Yuan DynastyYuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
playwright Zhang Guobin (張國賓) and an anonymous novel from Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, Xue Rengui's Campaign to the East (薛仁貴征東). Xue Rengui's tenure as General of Andong Protectorate following the fall of Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
has been dramatized in a popular Korean television series called Dae JoYoung, and portrays Xue Rengui as a Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
general who's constantly frustrated by the insurgency of the Dongmyeongchun League; remnants of the Goguryean
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
underground resistance against the Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
. According to this television action-drama broadcasted worldwide on KBS-1, Xue Rengui could finally claim victory over the Goguryean
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
insurgency when he had Dae Joyoung and his legion of escaped Baekje
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....
, Goguryean, Khitan
Khitan people
thumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
, and Sillian
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
prisoners cornered, and had Dae Joyoung vow loyalty to the Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
Empire, and become a military officer of high-rank in the Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
army. However, Xue Rengui is to lose Dae Joyoung again following a stratagem in which Dae Joyoung volunteers to lead a punitive force of Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
soldiers against nomadic bandits in Mount Madu to recover stolen Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
money. While Dae Joyoung successfully recovers the gold and silver taels and convinces the bandits to fight another group of the Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
punitive force led by the evil Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
general Li Wen, he dispatches the stolen property back to Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
alongside his close Dongmyeongchun League confidant Mimosa
Mimosa
Mimosa is a genus of about 400 species of herbs and shrubs, in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word μιμος , meaning "mimic."...
and a small group of Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
soldiers, Dae Joyoung took the opportunity escape the Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
to return to his Goguryean land on the true-pretext that general Li Wen was going to attack kill him and his Goguryean
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
subordinates. This television series also portrays Xue Rengui travelling from Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
with only his friend and bodyguard Hongpei to the Khitan
Khitan people
thumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
-held Yingzhou in order meet his old war protege the Khitan
Khitan people
thumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
Khan Li Jinzhong
Li Jinzhong
Li Jinzhong , titled Wushang Khan , was a khan of the Khitan who, along with his brother-in-law Sun Wanrong, rose against Chinese hegemony in 696 and further invaded Chinese territory then under the rule of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty...
to personally warn him about general Li Wen's desire to destroy the Khitans in the year 695; however, this is apparently a symbolic gesture made by the show's producers as General Xue Rengui died in 683, to indicate the good and friendly nature of General Xue Rengui and his disdain for political matters.
Popular culture
He also appears famously as a hero in Chinese folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
in which he is the father of the fictional general Xue Dingshan and the father-in-law of the Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
princess Fan Lihua. The story of Xue Dingshan and his wife Fan Lihua is often used as a subject for Chinese opera
Chinese opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...
. There is a drama film named Xue Dingshan San Qi Fan Lihua about them. Because of his campaigns in Korea against both Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
and Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
, he was referred as the "The General who Pacified the East" for the Tang. It is ironic, since Xue's fictional son is referred as the "The General who Pacified the West" for the Tang because of his fictional campaigns against the Turks, however, the campaigns against the Turks should also be attributed to the latter Xue. In the folklore, Xue Rengui was known to have a massive appetite in which he was thought to be possess by the "hungry god." The legend of Xue Dingshan and Fan Lihua takes place between the Tang and the fictional Turkic kingdom of Western Liang
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....
, ironically there was a real Western Liang
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....
during 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...
period that was thought to be the ancestors of the Tang.