Di Qing
Rising from the ranks to Commissioner of Military Affairs, he made a night attack through Kunlun Pass and suppressed Nong Zhigao.
Life
Tattooed and enlisted
Di Qing was born into a farming family, joined the army at 16, and had characters tattooed on his face. In the Song–Xia war he fought fiercely, often charging into battle with his hair loose and a bronze mask on his face, sweeping all before him.
The Bronze-Masked General
Fan Zhongyan valued him, gave him the Zuo Zhuan and urged him to study, and from then on he mastered the art of war. In 1052 Nong Zhigao rose in revolt in Guangnan and took Yongzhou. At the Lantern Festival in 1053, Di Qing threw a great feast for his officers and men, then that night personally led crack troops through Kunlun Pass in the rain and routed Nong Zhigao at Guirenpu.
Kunlun Pass
He was promoted to Commissioner of Military Affairs, one of the very few in the Northern Song to rise from common soldier to the highest military post, but this made the civil officials suspicious of him. He was sent out to Chenzhou and died of melancholy in 1057.
Legacy
Di Qing was one of the most famous generals of the Northern Song, and what happened to him reflects the Song dynasty's habit of "valuing the civil over the military" and distrusting generals.
Major works & achievements
- Suppressed Nong Zhigao
Did you know? When the emperor told him to remove the tattoo on his face with medicine, he said he would keep it to inspire his soldiers.
Key dates
- 1024Joined the army
- 1038Won repeated distinction in the Song-Xia wars
- 1053Night attack on Kunlun Pass; suppressed Nong Zhigao
- 1053Became Commissioner of Military Affairs
- 1057Died