Li Xilie (李希烈) | 24 Histories

Overview

The translated histories identify Li Xilie as a general, rebel, and warlord. This record brings together 30 passages from 6 chapters across 2 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Li Xilie	李希烈	Li Xilie
Personal name	Li Xilie	李希烈	Li Xilie
Personal name	Li Xilie	李希烈	Li Xīliè
Personal name	Li Xilie	李希烈	Lǐ Xīliè
Given name	Xilie	希烈	Xīliè
Given	Xilie	希烈
Given	Xilie	希烈	Xilie

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Male

Sex: male
Strongly inferred · jiutangshu:119:s0112, jiutangshu:131:s0006
Sex: male
Explicit · jiutangshu:130:s0146, jiutangshu:150:s0018, xintangshu:161:s0029

Roles

General
Rebel
Warlord

Life and dates

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: 希烈拘真卿 · Western Interval: Start: AD 783 · End: AD 784
Explicit event contextual date · xintangshu:161:s0029
Source Date: Text: 建中三年 · Western Year: AD 782
Explicit event contextual date · jiutangshu:150:s0018
Source Date: Text: 建中二年 · Western Year: AD 781
Explicit event contextual date · jiutangshu:119:s0112, jiutangshu:119:s0117
Source Date: Text: 建中四年 · Western Interval: Start: AD 783 · End: AD 784
Explicit event contextual date · jiutangshu:130:s0146
Source Date: Text: 建中四年 · Western Year: AD 783
Explicit · jiutangshu:131:s0006
Source Date: Text: 陷汴 · Western Year: AD 783
Explicit event contextual date · xintangshu:141:s0189

Family

Immediate source-linked family. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select a person to open their record.

Descendant of Guo (郭)
Kinship Term: paternal grandmother / 祖母 · Generation Distance: 2
Child of Mother of Li Xilie (李希烈母)
Kinship Term: mother / 母 · Parentage: biological
Spouse of Wife of Li Xilie (李希烈妻)
Kinship Term: wife / 妻 · Union Category: marriage

Works and attributed material

Kind: memorial · Role: author · Summary: listed Chongyi crimes; asked to lead punishment
Explicit · jiutangshu:119:s0112

Events and relationships

Kind: military · Role: commander · Action: captured Bianzhou
Explicit · jiutangshu:130:s0146
Kind: political · Role: usurper · Action: declared himself emperor
Explicit · jiutangshu:130:s0149
Kind: military · Role: occupier · Action: held-Xiangzhou-after-defeating-Chongyi · Place: Xiangzhou / 襄州
Explicit · jiutangshu:119:s0119
Kind: military · Role: commander · Action: pacified-Chongyi-then-showed-rebellion · Other Person Id: Liang Chongyi (梁崇義)
Explicit · jiutangshu:119:s0116
Kind: military · Role: rebel-leader · Action: rebelled · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 建中三年 · Western Year: AD 782
Explicit · jiutangshu:150:s0018
Kind: military · Role: plunderer · Action: stripped-Xiang-and-Han · Place: Xiang and Han / 襄、漢
Explicit · jiutangshu:119:s0122

References in the histories

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

Old Book of Tang, Chapter 119Volume 115 Biographies 65: Cui Qi, Zhao Guozhen, Cui Guan, Jing Kuo, Wei Yuanfu, Wei Shaoyou, Wei Boyu, Li Cheng · 11 passages

Open chapter

李希烈揣知之，上表數崇義過惡，請率先誅討。 Li Xilie divined their intent and submitted a memorial listing Chongyi's crimes, asking to take the lead in punishing him.

上悅之，每對朝臣多稱希烈忠誠。 The emperor was pleased; before the court he often praised Xilie's loyalty.

承自黜陟回，因奏之曰：「希烈將兵討伐，必有微勛，但恐立功之後，縱恣跋扈，不稟朝憲，必勞王師問罪。」 When Cheng returned from his commission, he memorialized: "Xilie will surely win some merit on campaign—but I fear that once he has merit he will grow insolent and defiant, disregard imperial authority, and the royal army will be forced to march against him."

無幾，希烈既平崇義，果有不順之跡，上思承言，故驟加擢用。 Before long Xilie had pacified Chongyi and indeed showed signs of rebellion; the emperor recalled Cheng's warning and swiftly promoted him.

希烈既破崇義，擁兵襄州，遂有其地。 After Xilie defeated Chongyi he massed troops at Xiangzhou and thereupon held that territory.

朝廷慮不受命，欲以禁兵送承，承請單騎徑行。 The court feared Xilie would refuse the appointment and wished to send palace troops to escort Cheng; Cheng asked to ride through alone.

既至，希烈處承於外館，迫脅萬態，承恬然自安，誓死王事。 When he arrived, Xilie lodged Cheng in an outer guesthouse and assailed him with every sort of coercion; Cheng remained calm, sworn to the throne unto death.

希烈不能屈，遂剽虜闔境所有而去，襄、漢為之空。 Xilie could not break him; he then plundered everything of value in the circuit and withdrew, leaving Xiang and Han stripped bare.

初，希烈雖歸蔡州，留將校等於襄州守當時所掠得財帛什物等，後使襄、漢，往來不絕。 At first, though Xilie had returned to Cai prefecture, he left officers at Xiang to guard the goods plundered there; afterward traffic between Xiang and Han never ceased.

承亦使腹心臧叔雅往來許、蔡，厚結希烈腹心周曾、王玢、姚憺等。 Cheng also sent his trusted agent Zang Shuya back and forth between Xu and Cai, lavishly cultivating Xilie's intimates Zhou Ceng, Wang Bin, Yao Tan, and others.

及曾等謀殺希烈，以眾歸朝，多承首建謀也。 When Ceng and the others plotted to kill Xilie and bring their forces back to the court, the plan owed much to Cheng's original design.

Old Book of Tang, Chapter 130Volume 126 Biographies 76: Li Kui, Li Han, Chen Shaoyou, Lu Yue, Pei Xu · 5 passages

Open chapter

及李希烈陷汴州，聲言欲襲江淮。 When Li Xilie captured Bianzhou he announced his intention to strike the Jiang-Huai region.

少遊懼，乃使參謀溫述由壽州送款於希烈曰：「濠、壽、舒、廬，尋令罷壘，韜戈卷甲，佇候指揮。」 Terrified, Shaoyou sent his staff planner Wen Shu from Shouzhou to offer submission to Xilie: "At Hao, Shou, Shu, and Lu I shall soon dismantle the forts, sheathe our weapons, and await your orders."

其年，希烈僭號，遣其將楊豐賫偽赦書赴揚州，至壽州，為刺史張建封候騎所得，建封對中使二人及少遊判官許子瑞廷責豐而斬之。 That year Xilie declared himself emperor and sent his general Yang Feng with a false amnesty to Yangzhou. At Shouzhou, Prefect Zhang Jianfeng's scouts seized him. Before two palace envoys and Shaoyou's aide Xu Zirui, Jianfeng rebuked Feng publicly and beheaded him.

希烈聞之大怒，即署其大將杜少誠為偽僕射、淮南節度，令先平壽州，後取廣陵。 Xilie was furious and appointed his general Du Shaoqian false vice director and military commissioner of Huainan, ordering him first to take Shouzhou and then Guangling.

無何，劉洽收汴州，得希烈偽起居註「某月日陳少遊上表歸順。」 Before long Liu Qia recovered Bianzhou and found among Xilie's papers a false court diary entry: "On such-and-such a day Chen Shaoyou submitted a memorial of submission."

Old Book of Tang, Chapter 131Volume 127 Biographies 77: Yao Lingyan, Zhang Guangcheng, Yuan Xiu, Qiao Lin, Zhang She, Jiang Zhen, Hong Jinglun, Peng Yan · 2 passages

Open chapter

建中四年，李希烈叛，寇陷汝州，詔哥舒曜率師攻之，營於襄城。 In the fourth year of Jianzhong, Li Xilie rebelled and captured Ru Prefecture; the court ordered Geshu Yao to lead troops against him and encamp at Xiangcheng.

希烈兵數萬圍襄城，勢甚危急。 Xilie's forces, tens of thousands strong, besieged Xiangcheng, and the situation was extremely critical.

Old Book of Tang, Chapter 150Volume 146 Biographies 96: Xue Bo, Bao Fang, Li Ziliang, Li Shuo, Yan Shou, Xiao Xin, Du Ya, Wang Wei, Li Ruochu, Yu Qi, Lu Zheng, Yan Ping, Zheng Yuan, Du Jian, Pei Bin, Xue Pi · 3 passages

Open chapter

三年，蔡帥李希烈叛，詔哥舒曜討之。 In the third year, Li Xilie, the military commissioner of Cai, rebelled, and an edict ordered Geshu Yao to campaign against him.

八月，希烈自帥眾三萬，圍哥舒曜於襄城，又詔河南都統李勉援之。 In the eighth month, Xilie personally led thirty thousand men and besieged Geshu Yao at Xiangcheng, and Li Mian, overall commander of Henan, was also ordered to relieve him.

又以哥舒翰聲近，士卒竊議，改封普王，令統攝諸軍，進攻希烈。 Because the name Geshu Han sounded too similar to another, the troops murmured among themselves, so he was re-enfeoffed as Prince of Pu and ordered to take overall command and advance against Xilie.

New Book of Tang, Chapter 141Volume 141 Biographies 66: Cui, Deng, Wei, Wei, Li Han, Lu, Gao · 5 passages

Open chapter

李希烈陷汴，勉走，澄以城降賊，希烈以為尚書令，節度永平軍。 Li Xilie took Bian. Mian fled, and Cheng surrendered the city to the rebels. Xilie made him chancellor and military commissioner of Yongping Army.

希烈疑，以養子六百戍之。 Xilie grew suspicious and posted six hundred adopted sons as garrison there.

賊急攻寧陵，邀澄至石柱，澄密令焚營為驚遁者，養子輩果乘以剽掠，澄盡斬之，以告，希烈不能詰。 The rebels pressed hard against Ningling and summoned Cheng to Shizhu. Cheng secretly ordered the camp burned as though in panicked flight. The adopted sons indeed took advantage to loot, and Cheng had them all beheaded and reported it. Xilie could not pursue the matter further.

賊遣將翟崇暉率精兵寇陳州，未還，汴軍寡，澄度不能制己，又中官薛盈珍持節至，封澄武威郡王，賜實封，乃燔賊旗節自歸。 The rebels sent general Zhai Chonghui with elite troops to raid Chenzhou. Before he returned, Bian had few troops, and Cheng judged that Xilie could no longer control him. Moreover the palace eunuch Xue Yingzhen arrived bearing credentials, enfeoffing Cheng as prince of Wuwei commandery and granting a permanent fief. Cheng thereupon burned the rebel banners and credentials and returned to allegiance.

希烈既失澄，而崇暉復敗，由是奔汝南。 Xilie having lost Cheng, and Chonghui again defeated, on this account fled to Runan.

New Book of Tang, Chapter 161Volume 161 Biographies 86: Zhang, Zhao, Li, Zheng, Xu, Wang, Feng, Yu · 4 passages