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Li Keyong
Shatuo general who helped retake Chang'an from Huang Chao, held Hedong as Prince of Jin, and remained Zhu Wen's enemy until his death
At dusk on a hilltop, a large tent stands open with a table holding a map marked with small stones inside, a saddled horse tethered outside, and fire stands burning; campfires dot the river plain below, and one tiny sentry stands on the slope.
Also known as Li Yaer · Shatuo Lishi · Jin Wang · Houtang Taizu
- Roles
- Commanders
Li Keyong was a Shatuo Turk of the Zhuye clan; his father had been granted the imperial surname Li and the name Guochang. Blind in one eye, he was called the One-Eyed Dragon. In 878 he killed the Datong defence commissioner Duan Wenchu at Yunzhou and, when the revolt failed, fled to the Tatars. After Huang Chao captured Chang'an the court called him back, and in 883 his cavalry broke Huang Chao's army and retook the capital, earning him the governorship of Hedong. In 884 Zhu Quanzhong attacked him by night at the Shangyuan post station in Bianzhou, and the two were enemies from then on. He destroyed Wang Xingyu in 895 and was made Prince of Jin, kept the Tang era name after Zhu usurped the throne, and died at Jinyang in 908. His son Li Cunxu founded the Later Tang and honoured him as Taizu, and Ouyang Xiu retold the story that he left his son three arrows for three enemies.
Life and times
Dates 856 CE–908 CE