Li Rusong

Li Ru-song (zh-cp|c=李如松|p=Lǐ Rúsòng) (1549-1598) is a famous Ming commander of Korean ancestry who was the Commander-in-chief of the Ming Empire's army that was sent to defend Korea at the request of Korean King Seonjo against the Japanese invasion masterminded by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His father was Li Chengliang, a famed Ming army commander who was of Korean descent and Li Chengliang's ancestor in 5 generation Ying 英 is originally from the Korean town of Chosan in present-day North Korea (Hangul: 초산군, Hanja: 楚山郡).

Li Ru-song distinguished himself in a series of battles by leading the defending army comprised of Chinese and Korean troops against the Japanese invasion force led by Kato Kiyomasa and Konishi Yukinaga. Together with Ming general Song Eung-chang (宋應昌), he suffered from several serious defeats such as the Battle of Byeokjegwan, but eventually defeated the Japanese in a series of victories on the Korean peninsula. Li Ru-song succeeded in recapturing the Korean capital of Hanyang (漢陽) and the city of Pyongyang (平壤). He ordered Chinese and Korean troops to refrain from killing all Japanese soldiers and grant them the right to retreat.

word

Li is also honoured as the inventor of a sword skill called jedok geom (提督劍) in Korean, which he presumably used during his stay in Korea. The Koreans published his sword-style in their martial arts manuals called Muyesinbo (1759) and Muyedobotongji (1791).

Death

In April 1598, the Tartars invaded the Ming province of Liaodong (遼東) from the north when Li Ru-song was leading a small scouting group around its forests. Surrounded by thousands of Tartar cavalry, he could not escape, and was captured and subsequently killed. He was posthumously given the title of Zhong Lie (忠烈) (Lord of Fidelity).

See also

*Ming Dynasty
*Yi Sun-sin