Passed the Yuan examination and rose to executive of the Liaoyang Province; commander-in-chief who repelled the Red Turbans
| Life | 1290 ~ 1360 |
| Era | 고려 |
| Clan | 성주 이씨 |
Yi Seung-gyeong (李承慶, 1290-1360) was a late-Goryeo official with courtesy name Jungseon (仲善), a grandson of Yi Jang-gyeong and the second son of Yi Cheon-nyeon, founder of the Chamji-gong branch. Yi Jo-nyeon was his uncle, and Yi In-im, Yi In-bok, Yi In-min and Yi In-rip were his nephews of the fifth degree.
He went to Yuan China and passed the examination with the eul-gwa grade, became Taeja-cheomsa, was appointed censor and handled matters decisively, and rose to be an executive of the Liaoyang Province. For this the Yuan court posthumously granted his father Yi Cheon-nyeon and grandfather Yi Jang-gyeong the title Duke of Nongseo, and this is said to be the origin of the practice of calling the Seongju Yi also the Nongseo Yi.
In 1357 under King Gongmin he returned home on his mother's death, and the next year he declined a summons sent by Yuan through the Liaoyang envoy Tahae Cheopmokgwi. King Gongmin made him Munha-sirang Pyeongjangsa. When the Red Turbans invaded in 1359 he went out as commander-in-chief and recovered Seogyeong, but, angry that his subordinate generals had not fought hard, he is said to have all but stopped eating and fell ill. The king and his ministers praised his labors and recorded him as a meritorious subject. He is said to be enshrined at Ansan Seowon in Seongju and at Bodeoksa in Okcheon, among other places.
Because of Yi Seung-gyeong's rise, the Yuan court granted his father Yi Cheon-nyeon and grandfather Yi Jang-gyeong the title Duke of Nongseo. Nongseo (隴西) is an old Chinese place name said to be the homeland of the Li surname. Wikipedia's Seongju Yi entry says this is why the Seongju Yi were also called the Nongseo Yi. The title shows that the house made a name not only inside Goryeo but also in Yuan politics.
When the Red Turbans invaded Goryeo in 1359, Yi Seung-gyeong went out as commander-in-chief and recovered Seogyeong (Pyongyang). The record that Yi In-im, then Pacification Commissioner of Seogyeong, also held off the Red Turbans the same year shows members of the house serving together in this war. King Gongmin recorded Yi Seung-gyeong as a meritorious subject. The story that he fell ill out of anger at his subordinates' half-hearted fighting is relayed as given in Wikipedia.
A tradition holds that his son Yi Yeong settled in China and founded the Tieling Yi, from whom the Ming generals Li Chengliang and Li Rusong descended, but the genealogy was scattered and this could not be confirmed.