Xu Da

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Xu Da

Xú Dá ( Chinese  徐達  /  徐达 ; * 1332 , Fengyang , Anhui ; † February 1385 , Nanjing , Jiangsu ) was a Chinese general who earned merits under the Ming Dynasty . He was a close confidante of the first Ming emperor Hongwu and the father-in-law of the third Ming emperor Yongle , who married Xu's daughter in 1376 under the name Zhu Di.

The early days under the Ming

In 1353, Xu Da joined the Red Turbans , was placed under the command of the future emperor, then called Zhu Yuanzhang , and was involved in the subjugation of several warlords . In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, he and several other officers attacked the city of Dadu (now Beijing ) - at that time the capital of the Mongolian yuan - and forced its ruler to flee.

Xu Da pursued the fleeing Mongols . In the course of this persecution he succeeded in winning over to his side the Korean general Yi Seonggye , who was actually allied with the Mongols and who later founded the Korean Joseon dynasty . He later penetrated Mongolian territory and finally took the Mongolian capital Karakorum in 1370 . He took thousands of Mongolian noblemen prisoner.

After the capture of Karakoram, Xu Das troops moved north across the Jablonowy Mountains to what is now the Siberian region of Transbaikalia . When he finished his campaign, the Mongolian troops were severely decimated. The Hongwu Emperor then had the image of Xu placed in the first place in the Ming Temple of the Meritorious Men. Xu Da was living in Nanjing at the time .

Governor and builder

In 1370, Xu Di was appointed by Hongwu as governor of the city of Dadu, now renamed Beiping, in order to support the then only ten-year-old Prince Regent Zhu Di, and was also the commander-in-chief of the northern armies. In 1371 Xu moved to Beiping, instructed Zhu Di, who later became Emperor Yongle, and undertook military expeditions to Mongolia with him. In 1376, Zhu Di married Xu's daughter at the age of 16.

Xu Da was involved in the major expansion of the Great Wall under the Ming. After the conquest of Beijing, he initiated the reinforcement and expansion of the Juyongguan pass fortress , and from 1376 to 1381 also the reconstruction of the fortresses Gubeikou , Xifengkou and Songtingguan as well as the construction of the fortress city of Shanhaiguan and the reinforcement of the wall between Shanhaiguan and Juyongguan. A total of 32 fortresses were built under the direction of Xu Da.

In 1384 Xu Da fell ill, moved back to Nanjing and died in 1385 under mysterious circumstances. His tomb is one of the Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties , which are now on the List of Monuments of the People's Republic of China and on the UNESCO World Heritage List .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Xu Da. Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2008
  2. ↑ The history of the Great Wall: intensive expansion of the Great Wall. China Radio International (CRI), Beijing. Retrieved October 9, 2008
  3. ↑ Xifengkou and Sandaoguan. TravelChina.com. Retrieved October 9, 2008

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Xu Da
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 徐達 (Chinese); Hsü Ta
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chinese general of the Ming Dynasty
DATE OF BIRTH 1332
PLACE OF BIRTH Fengyang , Anhui
DATE OF DEATH February 1385
Place of death Nanjing , Jiangsu