Ancient China · General

Li Mu 李牧

Died BC 229

Passages
25
Chapters
6
Histories
4

Overview

The translated histories identify Li Mu as a general and official. This record brings together 25 passages from 6 chapters across 4 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

TypeEnglishChinesePinyin
Personal Li Mu 李牧 Li Mu
Personal Li Mu 李牧
Personal name Li Mu 李牧 Lǐ Mù
Personal name Li Mu 李牧 Li Mu
Personal Li Mu 牧 Mu
Given Mu 牧 Mù

Identity

Historicity
Historical
Identification
Named
Sex
Male

Roles

  • General
  • Official

Life and dates

Death

Attested activity

  • Source Date: Text: 卒誅李牧 · Western Year: BC 229
    Explicit event contextual date · shiji:102:s0117
  • Source Date: Text: 史臣追論（無紀年） · Western Interval: Start: BC 244 · End: BC 229
    Explicit event contextual date · liangshu:032:s0173
  • Source Date: Text: 戰國趙 · Western Interval: Start: BC 250 · End: BC 229
    Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:059:s0111, hanshu:059:s0114
  • Source Date: Text: 李牧 · Western Interval: Start: BC 300 · End: BC 229
    Explicit event contextual date · liangshu:017:s0150
  • Source Date: Text: 李牧 · Western Year: c. BC 230
    Explicit · liaoshi:091:s0103
  • Source Date: Text: 李牧為趙將居邊 · Western Interval: Start: BC 250 · End: BC 229
    Explicit event contextual date · shiji:102:s0113
  • Source Date: Text: 趙亡前 · Western Year: BC 229
    Explicit event contextual date · shiji:088:s0049
  • Source Date: Text: 頗、牧 · Western Interval: Start: BC 240 · End: BC 229
    Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:059:s0279

Places and affiliations

Events and relationships

  • Kind: military · Role: commander · Action: drove-chanyu-north-and-defeated-neighbors · Other Person Id: Chanyu (單于) · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 李牧為趙將居邊 · Western Interval: Start: BC 250 · End: BC 229
    Explicit · shiji:102:s0114
  • Kind: military · Role: commander · Action: frontier-victories
    Explicit · hanshu:059:s0112

Assessments and attributes

References in the histories

Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.

Book of Han, Chapter 59Volume 50: Zhang, Feng, Ji and Zheng · 11 passages
Open chapter
委任而責成功，故李牧乃得盡其知能，選車千三百乘，彀騎萬三千匹，百金之士十萬，是以北逐單于，破東胡，滅澹林，西抑強秦，南支韓、魏。 Given full trust and answerable only for results, Li Mu could deploy his genius: thirteen hundred chariots, thirteen thousand horse archers, and a hundred thousand picked warriors—enough to chase the Chanyu, crush the Eastern Hu, wipe out the Danlin, hold Qin at bay, and shield Han and Wei on the south.
Book of Liang, Chapter 17Volume 17: Wang Zhenguo; Ma Xianpin; Zhang Qi · 1 passage
Open chapter
Book of Liang, Chapter 32Volume 32: Chen Qingzhi; Lan Qin · 1 passage
Open chapter
History of Liao, Chapter 91Volume 91 Biographies 21: Yelu Hanba, Yelu Tanggu, Xiao Paizhe, Yelu Jue, Yelu Pulidu · 1 passage
Open chapter
Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 88Biography of Meng Tian · 1 passage
Open chapter
子嬰進諫曰：「臣聞故趙王遷殺其良臣李牧而用顏聚，燕王喜陰用荊軻之謀而倍秦之約，齊王建殺其故世忠臣而用后勝之議。 Ziying came forward to remonstrate: "Your servant has heard that King Qian of Zhao executed his able minister Li Mu and relied instead on the mediocre Yan Ju; that King Xi of Yan secretly adopted Jing Ke's assassination plot and thereby violated his treaty with Qin; and that King Jian of Qi executed his loyal ministers of many generations and followed the counsel of the treacherous Hou Sheng.
Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 102Biographies of Zhang Shizhi and Feng Tang · 10 passages
Open chapter
委任而責成功，故李牧乃得盡其智能，遣選車千三百乘，彀騎萬三千，百金之士十萬，是以北逐單于，破東胡，滅澹林，西抑彊秦，南支韓、魏。 Entrusted with full authority and held accountable only for results, Li Mu was able to deploy his talents to the fullest. He marshaled thirteen hundred select chariots, thirteen thousand mounted archers, and a hundred thousand warriors each worth a hundred gold. With these forces he drove the Chanyu northward, shattered the Donghu, annihilated the Danlin, checked the mighty Qin to the west, and buttressed Han and Wei to the south.