Lu Xun 盧循

Lu Xun 盧循 (d. 411), courtesy name Yuxian 于先, was a rebel during the late Eastern Jin period 東晉 (317-420). His rebellion was a continuation of the large-scale revolt of Sun En 孫恩 (d. 402), to whom Lu was a brother-in-law.

Lu hailed from Tangxian 湯縣 (in today's Hebei province), the commandery of Fanyang 范陽. His family had come to southeast China relatively late and therefore did not belong to the eminent families in the Eastern Jin empire.

In 403, Lu Xun had military confrontations with General Liu Yu 劉裕 (363-422; the eventual founder of the Liu-Song dynasty 劉宋, 420-479) in the region of today's Zhejiang province, all of which ended in Liu's favour. Consequently, Lu fled across the sea to take refuge on an island off the coast. A year later, he returned to the mainland, conquering Fanyu 番禺 (today's Guangzhou 廣州, Guangdong), and adopting the title of General Pacifying the South (pingnan jiangjun 平南將軍). The Jin court decided against confronting him in such a distant region, granting him the title of General Attacking the Barbarians (zhenglu jiangjun 征虜將軍) and appointing him regional inspector (cishi 刺史) of the province of Guangzhou. He was also bestowed with the nominal title of Leader of Court Gentlemen (zhonglangjiang 中郎將) of Pingyue 平越.

Lu Xun dispatched his brother-in-law Xu Daofu 徐道覆 to conquer Shixing 始興 (today's Shaoguan 韶關, Guangdong). In response to the Jin dynasty's endorsement of his rule over the far south, Lu Xun sent formal tributes to the capital Jiankang 建康 (today's Nanjing 南京, Jiangsu). Meanwhile, he had a large fleet constructed to assail the empire's centre.

In 410, they took advantage of Liu Yu's northern campaign against the empire of the Southern Yan 南燕 and advanced northward by two routes. One division, commanded by Lu Xun, crossed the Wuyue Range 五嶺 and invaded central China via Changsha 長沙 and Baling 巴陵, arriving in Jiangling 江陵. The other division, led by Xu Daofu, moved further east via Luling 廬陵 (Jishui 吉水, Jiangxi) and Yuzhang 豫章 (Nanchang 南昌), where they defeated the imperial army, killing the regional inspector of Jiangzhou 江州, He Wuji 何無忌 (d. 410). The two rebellious commanders then coordinated their forces and defeated the Jin army under Liu Yi 劉毅 (d. 412) at Sangluozhou 桑洛洲 (close to Jiujiang 九江). Other imperial contingents defeated by the rebels were under Liu Daogui 劉道規 (370-412) and Xu Chite 徐赤特. The rebels then advanced to Huaikou 淮口, not far from Jiankang.

The enormous power of the rebellious army shocked the court in Jiankang, and Liu Yu travelled day and night to return from the north. While Xu Daofu suggested disembarking their troops to engage Liu Yu's army in the field, Liu Xun hesitated and thus missed the chance to defeat the imperial general, who used the time to concentrate his troops. Liu Xun thereupon ordered the retreat of the rebel army.

The battles in the later part of 410 changed the tide and inflicted heavy losses on Lu Xun's army. Liu Yu inflicted critical defeats to the rebels in the battle of Dalei 大雷 (today's Wangjiang 望江, Anhui) and in Zuoling 左里 (Duchang 都昌, Jiangxi). The rebels could not even retreat to Fanyu as the city had, in the meantime, been reconquered by the Jin. In early 411, Lu Xun attempted to reconquer Fanyu, but he failed and withdrew to the province of Jiaozhou 交州 (north of present-day Vietnam), where he was once again defeated and killed himself. Xu Daofu had perished somewhat earlier.