Zhou Dewei

A famed general under Li Keyong and Li Cunxu, father and son, Princes of Jin; he crushed Later Liang at the Battle of Baixiang and was killed in battle at Huliupo.

Life

Frontier cavalry general

Zhou Dewei, a native of Mayi in Shuozhou, was brave and resourceful and familiar with frontier affairs; Li Keyong made him a cavalry general.

Battle of Baixiang

In 911 he crushed the Later Liang army at Baixiang, taking more than 20,000 heads, a key victory for Jin in its struggle with Liang for supremacy. He also conquered the State of Yan of Liu Shouguang, who had made himself master of Youzhou.

Fell at Huliupo

At the Battle of Huliupo in 918, he judged that the Liang army would fight to the death to defend its homeland, and advised holding the army in place and harassing the enemy with cavalry, fighting only once they were exhausted. Li Cunxu would not listen and ordered an attack; Zhou Dewei told his son, "I do not know where I shall die." The Jin army's baggage train was thrown into disorder, and Zhou Dewei and his son were killed in battle. Li Cunxu and his generals wept bitterly together: "I did not heed the old general's words, and brought him and his son to this!"

Legacy

Zhou Dewei was one of the most important generals in the founding of Jin (Later Tang), and his death in battle cost Li Cunxu his steadiest commander.

Major works & achievements

• Crushed Later Liang at the Battle of Baixiang
• Conquered Yan

Did you know? Ouyang Xiu gave him a biography of his own in the New History of the Five Dynasties.

Key dates

• 908Fought in the Battle of Jiazhai
• 911Crushed Later Liang at the Battle of Baixiang
• 913Destroyed Liu Shouguang
• 918Killed in battle at Hulupo