{ "id": "ep3ncxwpm1", "slug": "niulin", "title": "Niulin", "updated": "2026-10-15", "topic_path": [ { "id": "society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society" }, { "id": "society.history", "label": "History and archaeology", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history" }, { "id": "society.history.asia", "label": "Asian history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia" }, { "id": "society.history.asia.china", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.china" }, { "id": "society.history.asia.china.yuan", "label": "Mongol conquest and the Yuan dynasty (1206 to 1368)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.china.yuan" }, { "id": "society.history.asia.china.yuan.military-commanders-and-campaigns", "label": "Military commanders and campaigns", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.asia.china.yuan.military-commanders-and-campaigns" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t1000.society.history.asia.china.yuan.military-commanders-and-campaigns", "label": "China · 1000 to 1799: Military commanders and campaigns", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1000.society.history.asia.china.yuan.military-commanders-and-campaigns", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1000", "label": "China · 1000 to 1799", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1000" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1000.society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1000.society" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1000.society.history", "label": "History and archaeology", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1000.society.history" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1000.society.history.asia", "label": "Asian history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1000.society.history.asia" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1000.society.history.asia.china", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1000.society.history.asia.china" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1000.society.history.asia.china.yuan", "label": "Mongol conquest and the Yuan dynasty (1206 to 1368)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1000.society.history.asia.china.yuan" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1000.society.history.asia.china.yuan.military-commanders-and-campaigns", "label": "Military commanders and campaigns", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1000.society.history.asia.china.yuan.military-commanders-and-campaigns" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Niulin (纽璘) was a Mongol commander of the Yuan dynasty who fought the Southern Song in Sichuan under Möngke khan, was made commander-in-chief after taking Chengdu, and anchored Yuan control of the southwest under Kublai.", "snippet": "Niulin (纽璘) was a Mongol commander of the Yuan dynasty who fought the Southern Song in Sichuan under Möngke khan, was made commander-in-chief after taking Chengdu, and anchored Yuan control of the southwest under Kublai.", "node": "society.history.asia.china.yuan.military-commanders-and-campaigns", "markdown": "# Niulin\n\n**Niulin** (纽璘) was a Mongol commander of the珊竹带 clan who fought the Southern Song in Sichuan under Möngke khan and then anchored Yuan control of the southwest under Kublai. He rose from his father's army to the rank of 都元帅 (commander-in-chief), conferred on him in the field after the conquest of the Chengdu region, and his descendants held high office in Sichuan and Yunnan for generations.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129)\n\n| Key facts | |\n|---|---|\n| Clan and origin | 珊竹带人, a Mongol of the Yuan dynasty[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) |\n| Rulers served | Möngke (宪宗), then Kublai (世祖) from 中统元年 (1260)[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) |\n| Highest office | 都元帅, conferred in the field after the fall of the Chengdu region[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) |\n| Signature battle | 箭滩渡, 戊午 year: dawn-to-dusk battle, over 2,700 Song heads taken, then a forced march to Chengdu[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) |\n| Death | At Changping (昌平) on the road back from Shangdou (上都)[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) |\n| Posthumous honors | Enfeoffed 蜀国公, posthumous name 忠武 (Zhongwu)[2](http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00xys/163.htm) • [3](https://cbdb.fas.harvard.edu/cbdbapi/person.php?id=0115758) |\n| Heirs | Sons Yesuda'er (也速答儿) and Ba La (八剌); grandson Nan Jiatai (南加台) reached 四川行省平章政事[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) |\n\n## Origins and family\n\nNiulin's grandfather Bei Luodai (孛罗带) was a bodyguard (宿衞) of Taizu and followed Taizong in the conquest of the Jin, later garrisoning Henan (河南). His father Tai Da'er (太答儿) served Möngke khan with distinction in the campaigns against the A Su (阿速) and Qin Cha (钦察) peoples and was appointed 都元帅. In the renzi year Taidaer led the armies of Shanxi (陕西), western Xihai (西海), and Gongchang (巩昌) against the Song and entered Shu (蜀); in the guichou year he established a position at Lizhou (利州) together with the chief commander Wang Tiange (汪田哥); in the yimao year he entered [Chongqing](https://www.edgepedia.org/chongqing) (重庆) and captured the Song commander [Zhang Shi](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhang-shi) (张实), and he died in that year.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) \n\nThe history describes Niulin as of imposing stature and great strength and cunning, and says he grew up in his father's army.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129)\n\n## Career: campaigns in Sichuan\n\nIn the dingsi year Möngke ordered Niulin to lead ten thousand men to seize territory: from Lizhou down the Baishui (白水), past Dahuoshan (大获山), out through Liangshanjun (梁山军) straight to Kuimen (夔门). In the wuwu year he turned back to Diaoyushan (钓鱼山) and moved to join the commander A Dahu (阿答胡) at Chengdu (成都). The Song military commissioner Pu Zezhi (蒲择之) sent Liu Zheng (刘整) and Duan Yuanjian (段元鉴) to hold the Suining (遂宁) Jiangjiantandu (江箭滩渡) crossing and cut the eastern road. Niulin's army could not cross; from dawn to dusk the two sides fought, the Mongols took more than 2,700 heads, and Niulin drove on to Chengdu.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129)\n\nWhen A Dahu died and the Song pressed in, the prince A Bogan (阿卜干) and the generals, including Tuo Lindai (脱林带), agreed that waiting for a commander appointed by court would be too late, and made Niulin their leader. He crushed the Song army at Lingquanshan (灵泉山), pursued and captured Han Yong (韩勇), who was executed, and put Pu Zezhi's army to flight. He then besieged Yundingshancheng (云顶山城), blocking the Song line of retreat; the Song commander surrendered with his force, and the starving city killed its own garrison commander and gave in. Chengdu, Peng (彭), Han (汉), Huai (怀), and Mian (绵) were all pacified, and the tribes of Wei (威) and Mao (茂) submitted. Niulin sent gold, silver, bamboo arrows, and silver-inlaid knives to the khan, who granted him fifty taels of gold and confirmed him as 都元帅 on the spot, in the field.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129)\n\n**The Yangtze expedition.** Niulin had only 20,000 men; he left 5,000 under Baiyanbadoulu (拜延八都鲁) to hold Chengdu and marched with 15,000 from Mahu (马湖) toward Chongqing. In winter, with foot and horse numbered at a nominal 50,000 and 200 warships, he left Chengdu, sending Zhang Wei (张威) with 500 men as vanguard, advancing by land and water at once. His plan was to lock the river at Chongqing and sever the route between Wu (吴) and Shu; a bridge was thrown across the river mouth at Zizhou (资州) to move his army across. The chiliarch An Doula (暗都剌) led the fleet downstream while Niulin marched south with the foot and horse; drums sounding, they crossed the Lu (泸) and launched the boats eastward. Every Song force sent to block them was defeated. At Fu (涪) he built a pontoon bridge and camped on both banks to bar Song reinforcements. Hearing that the main army was suffering badly from malaria, he sent forward 10,000 head each of cattle, dogs, and pigs.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129)\n\nIn the spring of the next year he attended the emperor's camp, then returned to campaign against Si (思) and Bo (播), taking one Song general. According to the *Yuan Shi* biography of Niulin (卷一百二十九), when [Lv Wenhuan](https://www.edgepedia.org/lv-wenhuan) (吕文焕) attacked the Fu pontoon bridge, Niulin's freshly settled troops were dying of the climate and he was reluctant to fight, but a secret edict pressed him to battle. He routed Lv Wenhuan's army, captured and executed two of his generals, and withdrew; when 文焕 attacked his rear, Niulin turned and beat him off.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129)\n\n## Political influence\n\nIn 中统元年 (1260), when Kublai took the throne, Niulin presented himself at court and received a tiger tally, fifty taels of gold, 2,500 taels of silver, and two horses.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) • [4](https://deltoi.com/zh/twenty-four-histories/yuanshi/chapter-129) He sent Liang Zaili (梁载立) to accept the submission of the tribes of Li, Ya, Diaomen, Yanzhou (岩州), and Pianlinguan (偏林关), bringing in more than 20,000 households of Han and Fan. The court then ordered Su Ge (速哥) to place the Western Sichuan troops and the various Shaanxi armies under Niulin, to garrison Qin (秦), Gong (巩), and the Tangwu (唐兀) lands.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129)\n\nHis lasting institutional effect was dynastic: the historians of the 《新元史》 record that when A Libuge (阿里不哥) set himself up as khan at [Karakorum](https://www.edgepedia.org/karakorum), the generals of eastern and western Sichuan nearly all went over to him, but Niulin alone gave his allegiance to Kublai, and for this merit of support his sons and grandsons held office in that land generation after generation.[5](https://www.shidianguji.com/zh/book/XYSwKSM/chapter/1m4fzr15fmjoa)\n\n## Military style\n\nThe record shows a commander who fought at river crossings and used engineering to hold them. At Zizhou he bridged a river mouth to move his army; at Fu he built a pontoon bridge and camped on both banks specifically to block Song relief forces.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) He advanced by land and water at once, with a 500-man vanguard under Zhang Wei and the fleet under An Doula moving in coordination with his own column.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) His battles were set-piece engagements pressed to a decision: a dawn-to-dusk fight at the 箭滩渡 crossing, and a pursuit after 灵泉山 that ended in the capture of Han Yong. He attended to supply and health in the field, sending 10,000 head each of cattle, dogs, and pigs to a main army wasted by malaria, and he noted that his troops, newly settled in Chengdu, were dying of the unfamiliar climate, a condition that shaped his reluctance to fight Lv Wenhuan until a secret edict compelled him.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129)\n\n## Death, titles, and heirs\n\nLiu Zheng slandered him; he was summoned to Shangdou, examined, and found to have done nothing wrong, and the emperor released him by edict. He died at Changping on the return journey; according to the China Biographical Database, he died in 1263.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) • [3](https://cbdb.fas.harvard.edu/cbdbapi/person.php?id=0115758) According to the *Xin Yuanshi*, he was posthumously enfeoffed 蜀国公 with the posthumous name 忠武, without dating the enfeoffment.[2](http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00xys/163.htm) \n\nHis son Yesuda'er, whom the history calls brave and clever like his father, served from 至元十一年 onward: at the siege of Chongqing, he charged the gate three times with twenty-odd horsemen, twice carrying a captured Song champion out of the melee, until Zhao An (赵安) opened the gates and [Zhang Jue](https://www.edgepedia.org/zhang-jue) (张珏) was run down and taken at Fuzhou (涪州). Under Wuzong he was transferred to Yunnan with the additional title of 左丞相, and died of miasma poisoning at Chengdu on return from a southern campaign.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129) \n\n## Assessment\n\nThe 《新元史》 historians write: \"When Arigböge set himself up at Karakorum, the generals of eastern and western Sichuan all attached themselves to him; Niulin alone gave his heart to Shizu, and for this merit of support his sons and grandsons held office in that land for generations.\"[5](https://www.shidianguji.com/zh/book/XYSwKSM/chapter/1m4fzr15fmjoa) A master's thesis devoted to the Niulin family divides Niulin's own career into his part in Möngke's Sichuan war, his conduct during the Zhongtong succession struggle, and his conflict with Liu Zheng, and traces the family's political map from its base in Chengdu and Sichuan outward to Shaanxi and Yunnan.[6](http://www.51papers.com/lw/69/15/wz3901347.htm) The same thesis covers later family members including Nang Jiatai (囊加台), whom the 《新元史》 historians rebuke for seizing advantage in troubled times and usurping a royal title.[5](https://www.shidianguji.com/zh/book/XYSwKSM/chapter/1m4fzr15fmjoa)\n\n## Legacy\n\nHis posthumous name 忠武 is carried in the China Biographical Database as an alternate name,[3](https://cbdb.fas.harvard.edu/cbdbapi/person.php?id=0115758) and the ducal title 蜀国公 appears in the 《新元史》.[2](http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00xys/163.htm) His descendants governed Sichuan and Yunnan into the reign of Wuzong, and the 《新元史》 credits the family's hereditary standing in the southwest to Niulin's loyalty to Kublai.[5](https://www.shidianguji.com/zh/book/XYSwKSM/chapter/1m4fzr15fmjoa) The commander who attacked the Fu pontoon bridge is given as Lv Wenhuan in the histories.[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129)\n\n## References\n\n1. 《元史》卷一百二十九 纽璘传, Wikisource transcription. https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/元史/卷129\n2. 《新元史》卷一百六十四·列传第六十一 (国学导航). http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/00xys/163.htm\n3. China Biographical Database (CBDB), person 115758 纽璘. https://cbdb.fas.harvard.edu/cbdbapi/person.php?id=0115758\n4. 卷129, History of Yuan (Yuanshi), Deltoi. https://deltoi.com/zh/twenty-four-histories/yuanshi/chapter-129\n5. 《新元史》卷一百六十四 (识典古籍). https://www.shidianguji.com/zh/book/XYSwKSM/chapter/1m4fzr15fmjoa\n6. 《元代西南世家纽璘家族研究》硕士论文目录. http://www.51papers.com/lw/69/15/wz3901347.htm\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › China › Mongol conquest and the Yuan dynasty (1206 to 1368) › Military commanders and campaigns*\n\n*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/niulin", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/niulin.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Niulin\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/niulin. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Niulin](https://www.edgepedia.org/niulin)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/niulin](https://www.edgepedia.org/niulin). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Niulin\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/niulin. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Niulin was a Mongol commander of the Yuan dynasty who fought the Southern Song in Sichuan under Möngke khan, was made commander-in-chief after taking Chengdu, and anchored Yuan control of the southwest under Kublai." }