Zhe Jimin

Biography

Family background and entry into service Zhe Jimin came from the Zhe family of Fuzhou. Fuzhou was a frontier prefecture in the Northern Song’s northwest, and the court relied on local forces to defend Fuzhou, Linzhou, and the routes between them. Members of the Zhe family had long held military and administrative responsibilities there. Zhe Jimin was born to Zhe Weizhong’s principal wife, Lady Liu. Accounts describe him as tall, well versed in military texts, and skilled in planning and decision-making. In 1024, Zhe Jimin received the post of Third-Class Court Attendant along with his father, entering the Song military bureaucracy. During the Jingyou era (1034–1037), he was transferred to Right Attendant of the Court. In 1039, after his elder brother Zhe Jixuan was removed from office, Zhe Jimin was promoted to Director of the Western Capital Workshops and took over the administration of Fuzhou at the age of twenty-two. He now had to direct local military and administrative affairs, counter Western Xia pressure, keep routes in the Linfu region secure, and protect the area’s forts and population. ### Raids into Western Xia and defense of Fuzhou In 1040, Western Xia forces attacked Fuyan and advanced toward Yan Prefecture. The Song court ordered the Fuzhou command to threaten their rear. Zhe Jimin led three incursions, in the first, sixth, and ninth months, into Western Xia territory and destroyed more than twenty fortified settlements. These raids forced the Xia to respond and reduced pressure on the Song forces in Fuyan and Jingyuan. The following year, while patrolling the frontier, Zhe encountered a Xia force at Hengyang River. The Song killed two hundred, captured more than ten commanders, and took the enemy’s supplies. In 1041, Western Xia shifted its attack toward the Linfu region. In the seventh month, a force of more than ten thousand besieged Fuzhou. Zhe Jimin led the defenders in holding the city. The Song troops used the fortifications to withstand attacks by day and night and killed an enemy commander, causing heavy casualties among the besiegers. After seven days, the Xia force withdrew. For his role in the defense, Zhe was promoted to Palace Garden Commissioner and Prefect of Puzhou. In the tenth month of that year, Zhe led two thousand soldiers escorting winter uniforms to Linzhou. Near Zhonghou Stockade, they were ambushed by a much larger Xia force. The uniforms were lost, and Zhe escaped by a side route. The Song court punished him by stripping him of the Palace Garden Commissioner post. In 1042 he and Zhang Kang, a military commissioner of the Linfu Circuit, escorted supplies again. At Qingmeilang, they were surrounded by Xia forces. After breaking through, Zhe positioned several hundred cavalry in a narrow pass, feigned retreat, and attacked once the pursuing cavalry had entered the ambush. The Song struck from both sides, killing more than seven hundred, capturing five hundred horses, and seizing over a thousand weapons and pieces of equipment. ### Jian’ning Stockade, Duhu River, and other campaigns Jian’ning Stockade connected the defenses of Linzhou and Fuzhou. In the third month of 1042, Zhe Jimin was ordered to protect its construction. Western Xia forces repeatedly harassed the project. He sent one detachment around the enemy’s rear while a weaker force engaged at the front and withdrew toward the stockade. When the Xia entered range, the defenders used strong crossbows, and the rear detachment attacked from behind. The Xia force was defeated. Zhe later received an order to disrupt Xia positions around the Great Wall and attacked three stockades. In the winter of 1043, Western Xia forces raided Qingzhai, Jincheng, and other stockades around Fuzhou. Zhe pursued them to Duhu River, killed four hundred, and returned with armor and horses. Frontier command required troops to defend cities, escort supplies, and move quickly to pursue raiders or attack enemy strongholds. Zhe held command through these different types of operations. In 1045, the court ordered him to construct Ningfu, Anfeng, Xi’an, Jinghua, and Yongning forts, as well as Hebin Fort, to control the routes into and out of the Linfu region. The following year, he became Military Commissioner of Linfu Circuit and Military Commissioner of Guozhou while continuing as prefect of Fuzhou. ### Settlement of households and death In 1047, Zhe Jimin persuaded the rebel force led by Zhe Gaoliu to surrender. After Western Xia established its state, households from Hexi moved into the area around Xiongyong Ford. Zhe built three forts north of Fuzhou to settle three thousand households, about ten thousand people, allowing them to resume production while also contributing to frontier defense. This arrangement linked settlement, local livelihoods, and defense, increasing the population and garrison capacity of the Linfu region. Zhe’s service in Fuzhou involved frontier campaigns, construction, supply convoys, and resettlement. After the Song and Western Xia made peace, fighting along the border eased. Zhe died of illness in the fourth month of 1052, aged thirty-five, and the court posthumously honored him as Grand Commandant. In 1057 he was buried at the Zhe family cemetery on Mount Tianping in Fugu County.

Major Activities

Defense of Fuzhou When Western Xia forces besieged Fuzhou in 1041, Zhe led the defenders through a seven-day siege and drove the attackers away. He subsequently continued as prefect and military commander of the Linfu region, responsible for the frontier and the routes between Linzhou and Fuzhou. ### Ambush at Qingmeilang and defense of Jian’ning Stockade After escaping an ambush while escorting supplies in 1042, Zhe set a counter-ambush at Qingmeilang. During construction at Jian’ning Stockade, he combined a flanking detachment, a feigned retreat, and crossbow fire from the fort to defeat Western Xia forces and protect an important defensive position. ### Frontier construction and settlement Zhe supervised the construction of Ningfu, Anfeng, Xi’an, Jinghua, and Yongning forts, together with Hebin Fort. In 1047 he built three forts to settle three thousand households from Hexi, allowing them to return to farming and contribute to local defense.

Personal Relations

• Zhe Yuqing: Grandfather; an early Northern Song frontier commander and Military Commissioner of Yong’an.
• Zhe Weizhong: Father; a Zhe family commander. Zhe Jimin entered service with him.
• Lady Liu: Mother; principal wife of Zhe Weizhong.
• Zhe Jixuan: Elder brother; formerly prefect of Fuzhou, whom Zhe Jimin succeeded.
• Zhe Kejun, Zhe Kerou, Zhe Kexing, Zhe Kejian, Zhe Kelian, and Zhe Keren: Sons who later entered the military service of the Fuzhou Zhe family.
• Zhang Kang: Military commissioner of the Linfu Circuit who escorted supplies with Zhe.
• Zhe Gaoliu: Rebel commander who surrendered to Zhe in 1047.
• Li Yuanhao: Ruler of Western Xia, whose forces repeatedly fought Zhe’s troops between 1040 and 1042.

Historical Assessment

Contemporary and traditional records The History of Song describes Zhe as well versed in military texts and decisive in planning, and records his campaigns, defense of Fuzhou, supply convoy, ambush at Qingmeilang, and fort construction. It records both the loss of winter uniforms and the disciplinary measure that followed, as well as his later victories, the surrender of Zhe Gaoliu, and the settlement of incoming households. The traditional account thus documents the range of duties and the mixed record of a frontier commander. ### Later assessments Later accounts generally place Zhe within the Zhe family’s generations of frontier commanders and emphasize that he assumed responsibility for Fuzhou during a period of intensified Song–Western Xia conflict. Family histories discuss his campaigns, succession to office, and construction and settlement work, presenting him as an important link between his father’s generation and his sons’ service. ### Modern scholarship Modern studies examine Zhe Jimin through the history of the Fuzhou Zhe family and the Northern Song frontier system. They consider how hereditary local military families interacted with court appointments and how forts, roads, and resettlement formed part of frontier defense. Research uses the History of Song and Zhe family inscriptions to supplement the genealogy and sequence of offices, while noting that the family’s history is scattered across biographies, chronological works, and epigraphic sources.