Early life

Born in a military family in Tieling (in modern-day Liaoning province, Liaodong in the Ming empire's northeast), Li suffered from poverty during his childhood. It was not until he reached the age of 40 that he received an official appointment, but he eventually became Liaodong Regional Commander (遼東總兵) with the backing of the Chief Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng. Li served two terms as Liaodong Regional Commander, for 22 years and 8 years respectively.

Military career against the Mongols

In the 1570s, the Chahar Mongols migrated east and often harassed the Liaodong region. Li's first tenure as Liaodong Regional General saw five victories against the Chahar. For these victories, in 1579 he was named "Earl of Ningyuan" (Ningyuan bo 寧遠伯), a title that was made hereditary in 1580.

• 1575 (third year of the Wanli reign): Tümen Khan led over a hundred thousand cavalry troops to attack and pillage the Yizhou and Jinzhou regions, but was defeated by Li.

• 1578 (Wanli 6): Tümen Khan attacked again, this time in Liaoyang, but was defeated again.

• 1579 (Wanli 7): Tümen Khan attacked the Yizhou / Jinzhou region and besieged Guangning 廣寧 (modern-day Beining).

• 1580 (Wanli 8): Tümen Khan gathered 40,000 cavalry, each horse tailing a cattle and three sheep.

• 1581 (Wanli 9): Tümen Khan gathered nine tribes totaling a hundred thousand men and horses and attacked Liaodong with the intention of reaching Beijing.

Jianzhou Jurchen war

He was charged with maintaining peaceful relations with the Jurchen tribes.

The Jianzhou Jurchen chieftain Wang Gao (王杲) had frequently assaulted Ming cities and killed the Ming commander at Fushun in 1573. The Ming sent a punitive expedition that drove Wang north into the lands of another Jurchen tribe, the Hada, where he was captured by Wang Tai, leader of the Hūlun federation, and handed over to Li Chengliang, who executed him in 1575.

Wang Gao's death intensified the power struggles that were already taking place between Jianzhou Jurchen chieftains. Giocangga and his son Taksi, who had been subjects to Wang Gao's authority, secretly allied themselves with Li Chengliang to enhance their power. In 1582 Wang Gao's son Atai (阿台) raided Ming lands. Ming sent a punitive expedition, which Giocangga and Taksi supported. In the ensuing assault on Atai's fort, and under unclear circumstances, both Giocangga and Taksi were killed, by rival Jurchen leader Nikan Wailan who was also siding with the Ming troops under the command of Li Chengliang. Li Chengliang fostered and protected Nurhaci, Taksi's son. With Li's support, Nurhaci gradually grew his strength in the following years. Early in 1583, Nurhaci obtained from Li Chengliang the right to succeed his father as a minor Jurchen chieftain.

Later Li Chengliang gave Nikan Wailan to Nurhaci in 1587, who beheaded him immediately.

Through a series of alliances and military victories, Nurhaci eventually managed to unify all Jurchen tribes under his own leadership. Having named himself khan of the Jurchens, he rose in rebellion against the Ming. The first of his Seven Grievances against the Ming, promulgated in 1618 as a casus belli, was that the Ming, "with no justification whatsoever, violated our borders and killed my father and grandfather."

Patronage

Li Chengliang enjoyed the patronage and support of the Wanli Emperor (r. 1572–1620) and his powerful Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng (1525–1582), who controlled the Ming government during the first 10 years of the Wanli reign. Together, Zhang and the emperor granted Li and his sons "titles and responsibilities never before enjoyed by hereditary military officials." In addition to receiving stipends from the Ming capital, Li enhanced his wealth through "war booty, horse rustling in the borderlands, and coercive manipulation of prices in border markets."

Descendants

Of Li Chengliang's nine sons, Li Rusong, Li Rubai would rise to become "regional commanders" (zongbing 總兵) and "assistant regional commanders" (canjiang 參將) for the Ming.

Footnotes

Works cited

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生平

李成梁的高祖李英自朝鮮投奔明朝，授世鐵嶺衛指揮僉事，遂世居遼東鐵嶺。成梁早年家貧，不能襲職，四十歲猶為諸生。嘉靖末襲指揮僉事。積功升參將、副總兵。隆慶四年（1570年）九月代替殉職的王治道成為遼東總兵。萬曆元年（1573年），為了加強對建州女真的控制和防禦，遼東總兵李成梁擴築寬甸等六堡。六堡位于鴨綠江以西，毗連建州女真，地理位置重要。

萬曆二年（1574年），女真首領王杲大舉犯擾遼陽、瀋陽。李成梁督兵進剿王杲所在的古勒寨，斬首一千餘級。民間傳言此役努爾哈赤與其弟舒爾哈齊被俘，為李成梁收留，充當僕役。萬曆五年（1577年）五月，土蠻再次入寇，聯營直至遼河以東，李成梁襲擊土蠻，大勝而還。萬曆六年（1578年）正月，速把亥集合土蠻軍大舉入寇，李成梁再擊潰之，加太保，世蔭本衛指揮使。

明萬曆八年（1580年），皇帝為表彰李成梁鎮守遼東軍功，建石坊（位於今日遼寧省錦州北鎮市），王杲再出兵犯邊，又為明軍所敗，王杲被捕磔死。

萬曆十年（1582年），王杲子阿太（亦作阿臺）和明作對，九月，遼東總兵李成梁進攻阿太之古勒寨，阿太中箭身亡。

萬曆十一年（1583年）二月，李成梁再度發兵攻王杲之子阿臺，努爾哈赤的父親塔克世是王杲的孫女婿，死於這次戰鬥。努爾哈赤日後統一女真各部，建立後金之後，欲為報父祖之仇為藉口叛明「七大恨」之一。

李成梁晚年在軍事上常謊報軍情，殺良冒功，在長子李如松死後生活上更是逐漸貴極而驕，奢侈無度，「全遼商民之利盡籠入已，以是灌輸權門，結納朝士，中外要人無不飽其重賕，為之左右」。李成梁的家院「附郭十餘里，編戶鱗次，樹色障天，不見城郭。妓者至二千人，以香囊數十綴於繫襪帶，而貫以珠寶，一帶之費，至三四十金，數十步外，即香氣襲人，窮奢極麗」。萬曆六年三月，發生李成梁所部殺降冒功的事，張居正知有隱情，但對李成梁父子有所偏袒。張居正死後，李成梁照常侵吞邊餉，殺良冒功，盡露暮氣。萬曆十九年（1591年），李成梁為言官所劾罷官。

萬曆二十九年（1601年）為大學士沈一貫力薦成梁復起遼東，此時老將已無遠志，遼東少事，以閱視敘勞，加封太傅。萬曆三十四年（1606年），成梁以「地孤懸難守」，棄遼左六堡，徙六萬四千餘戶居民於內地，「居民戀家室，則以大軍驅迫，死者狼藉」，大受朝野譴責。萬曆三十六年（1608年）又被劾罷，熊廷弼守遼東時，指出李成梁罪可至死。萬曆四十三年（1615年）卒於北京，葬仰山之北（今北京附近）。

後事

成梁死後三年，萬曆四十六年（1618年），努爾哈赤詔告對明朝的「七大恨」檄文，正式對朝廷宣戰。

家庭

成梁多子，長子李如松曾威震朝鮮，擊敗小西行長，其他如李如柏、李如楨、李如樟、李如梅，族子李如梓、李如梧、李如桂、李如楠等，皆驍勇善戰，有父兄之風，時人譽「李家九虎將」。

女婿韓宗功。

在中國的先世

據《李氏譜系》的記載（康熙壬寅（1722年）十世裔孫李樹德重修）， 鐵嶺李氏原是唐末年渡鴨綠江，朝鮮人則認為這一支家族是出自星州李氏，14世紀末在始祖李膺尼帶領下由朝鮮遷至鐵嶺，後編入明朝衛所並出仕做官。

族譜以出任鐵嶺衛指揮僉事的李英為一世祖，之上還有李哲根穗、李和山、李廈霸努、李把圖理、李膺尼五位祖先，但「因鼎革，碑記殘毀，譜系散失，是以五位之世次無考未敢妄注也」。

第二世為李文彬，第三世為李春英（或作李春美），第四世李涇，均世襲鐵嶺衛指揮僉事。李涇有子四人，居長者即明末遼東名將李成梁。李氏從第三世春字輩起，五個兄弟析為五房。李成梁一系屬老長房，以下依次為老二房、老三房、老四房、老五房。

與努爾哈赤的關係

萬曆十一年（1583年）二月，李成梁發兵攻王杲之子阿臺，努爾哈赤的父親塔克世是王杲的孫女婿，死於這次戰鬥。塔克世雖屬王杲一系，但已歸附李成梁，卻因此戰死，實為成梁與尼堪外蘭故意為之，對此努爾哈赤極為不滿：「我祖、父何故被害？汝等乃我不共戴天之仇也！汝何為辭？」成梁自知理虧，將塔克世的土地、人馬等送給努爾哈赤，令讓他承襲都督指揮銜，以為補償。努爾哈赤後統一女真各部，建立後金之後，欲為報父祖之仇為藉口叛明「七大恨」之一。李成梁晚年仍與努爾哈赤往來甚密，濘曾一度有倚仗努爾哈赤之兵襲占朝鮮自立的野心。于邊事又常敷衍，只要努爾哈赤表示忠心，即「保奏給官」，甚至「棄地以餌之」，因此被宋一韓、熊廷弼等廷臣所參劾。建州勢力能夠在遼東崛起，甚至清朝成功建立，也與李成梁的包庇和輕視不無關係，為清兵入關也埋下伏筆，間接促使日後明朝沒法鎮壓中原農民軍，因此需為明朝滅亡負上一定的責任。