Liu Kun

Rose at cockcrow to practice the sword with Zu Ti, and resisted the Xiongnu Han state alone in Bing Province.

Life

Rising at cockcrow to practice the sword

In his youth Liu Kun served alongside Zu Ti as a registrar of Si Province. The two shared a room, and whenever they heard the cock crow at midnight they got up to practice the sword, giving rise to the celebrated story of "Rising at cockcrow to practice the sword."

Held Jinyang

In 307 he became Inspector of Bing Province. Amid the chaos of war between the Hu peoples and the Han Chinese, he held Jinyang with an isolated force, fighting the Han state of the Xiongnu Liu Yuan and Liu Cong for ten years, taking in refugees and pinning down the northern Hu peoples.

Steel tempered a hundred times

When Jinyang fell in 316, he fled to the Xianbei Duan Pidi and became his sworn brother, but in 318 Duan Pidi grew suspicious of him and had him killed. His poetry is impassioned and mournful; the lines "Who would have thought that steel tempered a hundred times could turn soft enough to wind round a finger" are still recited today.

Legacy

Liu Kun held out alone in the north as the Western Jin collapsed, a symbol of persistent resistance in an age of chaos.

Major works & achievements

• Held Bing Province for ten years

Did you know? "Who would have thought that steel tempered a hundred times could turn soft enough to wind around a finger" are lines he wrote to Lu Chen shortly before his death.

Key dates

• 307Became Inspector of Bing Province and held Jinyang
• 316Fall of Jinyang
• 318Killed by Duan Pidi