Intrinsic

If you think Lĭ Guăng was a victim of wrong timing, hold on. Don't feel sorry for him that quickly.

The reason is simple: A single mishap may be the result of bad luck, but, a series of unfortunate events usually implies an underlying intrinsic problem.

And, if you look at the life and time of Lĭ Guăng at bit more carefully, he might have a fair return of his own capability: He did participated in a number of battles, but in none did he make any decisive victory. His soldiers loved him because he did not pay much attention to rules and regulations. His archery skill was superb, but he was more an icon of personal heroism and not a good leader.

PS. For those interested in history study or medical research, the story of Lĭ Guăng, as outlined in The Records of the Grand Historian (史記) by Sima Qian (司馬遷), is a perfect reminder for us to be careful of possible conflict of interest and be critical about what we read, even if the document is written by a highly respected person and published in a famous journal. Sima Qian certainly gave in his masterpiece a distinctly biased account on the life and time of the flying general.