Wang Jian

Also known as Defender Wang Jian

Wang Jian was a Southern Song general, born, by one account, in 1198. In 1254 he became commander of the Xingyuan armies and prefect of Hezhou, in charge of the defences of Diaoyu Fortress. In 1259 the Mongol ruler Mongke besieged the fortress himself but could not take it; Mongke died there, of wounds or of illness by different accounts, and the Mongol army withdrew. Wang Jian was promoted, recalled to court in 1260 and, sidelined by Jia Sidao, died in 1264. His posthumous title was Zhongzhuang.