Li Ling

A military commander of the Western Han Dynasty in China. His courtesy name was Shaoqing. He was the grandson of General Li Guang. He was skilled in horseback archery even at a young age. In 99 BC, when Li Guangli attacked the Xiongnu, he led 5,000 infantrymen and defeated the large Xiongnu army. However, he ran out of weapons and food, and was surrounded by Xiongnu reinforcements, and finally surrendered. When Emperor Wu heard this, he was angry and tried to kill Li Ling's mother, wife, and children. Sima Qian, who defended Li Ling, incurred the wrath of Emperor Wu and was executed by castration. After Li Ling surrendered to the Xiongnu, he married the daughter of Chanyu, was appointed Right School King, and served as Chanyu's military and political advisor until he died of an illness on the Mongolian Plateau. Li Ling's heroic battle and the tragedy of his surrender have long been passed down among the Chinese in the form of poems and stories. In Japan, Nakajima Atsushi's "Li Ling" is famous. In 1940, the remains of a Han-style palace were discovered in the upper reaches of the Yenisei River, and some scholars believe that this is Li Ling's residence, but this cannot be said with certainty.

[Masao Mamoru]

“Li Ling” by Masao Go (1974, Chuokoronsha) ▽ “Li Ling and Sangetsuki” by Atsushi Nakajima (Shincho Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、前漢の武将。字(あざな)は少卿。将軍李広(りこう)の孫。若いときから騎射に巧みであった。紀元前99年、李広利(りこうり)が匈奴(きょうど)を討った際、歩兵5000人を率いて出撃し、匈奴の大軍と戦ってこれを破った。しかし、武器・食糧が尽きたうえに、匈奴の援軍に包囲され、ついに降伏した。武帝はこれを聞いて怒り、彼の母・妻子を殺そうとした。司馬遷(しばせん)は、李陵を弁護したために武帝の憤怒を買い、宮刑（去勢の刑罰）に処せられた。李陵は匈奴に降(くだ)ったのち、単于(ぜんう)の娘を妻とし、右校王(うこうおう)に封ぜられて単于の軍事・政治顧問として活躍し、モンゴル高原で病死した。李陵の奮戦、降伏の悲劇は、詩や物語として中国人の間に長く伝えられた。日本では中島敦(あつし)の『李陵』が有名。1940年、エニセイ川上流域で漢様式の宮殿の遺跡が発見され、これを李陵の邸宅とみなす学者もいるが、断定はできない。

［護　雅夫］

『護雅夫著『李陵』（1974・中央公論社）』▽『中島敦著『李陵・山月記』（新潮文庫）』

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