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Wang Jian

Type Figure Region China Time c. 1200–1274 Also known as Wang Jian (Southern Song)

Famous late Southern Song general, birth year unknown, died 1274. In 1263 he defended Diaoyu Fortress at Hezhou, gravely damaging the Mongol army and…

Timeline

  1. c. 1240–1258Hezhou · Kuizhou CircuitWang Jian held a key defensive post at Hezhou in the late Southern Song, responsible for fortress defense in the Jialing River basin. Diaoyu Fortress, on strategically vital terrain, was a key barrier blocking the Mongols from Sichuan into Jiangling; Wang Jian trained troops, stored grain, and built fortifications there.
  2. 1259Diaoyu Fortress · HezhouIn 1264 Khagan Möngke personally led a southern campaign and besieged Diaoyu Fortress. Wang Jian led troops and civilians in stubborn resistance, inflicting heavy losses on the Mongol army with fire cannons and crossbow bolts; Möngke died in camp, the Mongol princes on western campaigns returned north to contest the succession, and the Southern Song gained breathing space. This battle was a turning point in the Song-Mongol War.
  3. 1261–1274Bashu · Kuizhou CircuitAfter the great victory at Diaoyu Fortress, Wang Jian continued to direct Bashu's defenses, maintaining the eastern Sichuan barrier during the long Song-Mongol standoff. He died of illness during the Xianchun era; the Southern Song posthumously awarded him the title Junior Guardian in recognition of his military merits, and his defense exploits were recorded in the biographies of the History of Song. Diaoyu Fortress endured multiple subsequent attacks and defenses and still stood firm.

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