Native name
Conventional long name	Zhōu Dynasty
Common name	Zhōu Dynasty
Continent	Asia
Region	Pacific
Country	China
Status	Kingdom
Government type	Monarchy/Feudalism
Year start	1046 BCE
Year end	256 BCE
P1	Shang Dynasty
S1	Qin Dynasty
Event start	Battle of Mùyě
Image map caption	Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhōu Dynasty (1050–771 BCE) in China
Capital	Haojing, Luoyang
Common languages	Old Chinese
Philosophy	Hundred Schools of Thought
Religion	Chinese folk religion, Hundred Schools of Thought
Currency	Mostly spade coins and knife coins
Leader1	King Wu
Leader2	King Nan of Zhou
Year leader1	1046–1043 BC
Year leader2	314–256 BC
Title leader	King
Title deputy	Chancellor
Stat year1	273 BCE
Stat pop1	30,000,000
Stat year2	230 BCE
Stat pop2	38,000,000 }}

|wuu=tseu zau|poj=Chiu-tiâu|j=Zau¹ Ciu⁴}} The Zhōu Dynasty (1046–256 BCE) ( ) was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shāng Dynasty and preceded the Qín Dynasty. Although the Zhōu Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Zhōu Dynasty's ruling Jī () family only lasted during the Western Zhōu period.

During the Zhōu Dynasty, the use of iron was introduced to China, though this period of Chinese history produced what many consider the zenith of Chinese bronze-ware making. The dynasty also spans the period in which the written script evolved into its modern form with the use of an archaic clerical script that emerged during the late Warring States period.

History

Foundation

According to Chinese legend, the Zhōu lineage began with Dì Kù and proceeded from him to Qì (or ''Hòu​jì''), Buku, Ju, and then Gōngliú, before Gǔgōng Dǎnfù moved the Zhōu clan from ''Bīn'' (豳 or 部) to an area in the Wèi River valley, where they founded a town that became central to the Zhōu clan's growing prosperity.

Gǔgōng Dǎnfù's son, Jìlì, fought against the Róng as a vassal of the Shāng Dynasty's King Wén Dīng until the king killed him. Jìlì's son, King Wén of Zhōu, moved the Zhōu capital downstream to Fēnghào; Wén's son, King Wǔ of Zhōu, led an army of 45,000 men and 300 chariots across the Yellow River in 1046 BCE and conquered the Shāng Dynasty's King Dì Xīn at the Battle of Mùyě, marking the beginning of the Zhōu Dynasty.

Western and Eastern Zhōu

Though King Wǔ died just a few years after the Battle of Mùyě, the Duke of Zhōu assisted the young and inexperienced King Chéng in consolidating power for the Jī line: he managed a war against rebellious Zhōu princes in the eastern lowlands (allied with feudal rulers and Shāng remants); formulated the Mandate of Heaven doctrine to counter Shāng claims to a divine right of rule; founded Chéngzhōu as an eastern capital; and set up the ''fēngjiàn'' "feudal" system designed to maintain Zhōu authority as it expanded its rule over a larger amount of territory.

However, this decentralized system became strained as the familial relationship between Zhōu Kings and regional rulers thinned over generations and peripheral territories developed local power and prestige on par with that of the Zhōu. When King Yōu replaced Queen Shēn with the concubine Bāosì (and designated Bāosì's son as the crown prince), the former queen’s powerful father, the Marquess of Shēn, joined forces with Quǎnróng to sack the western capital of Hàojīng in 770 BCE. Nobles from Zhèng, Lǔ, Qín, Xú, and Shēn declared the Marquess's grandson, Jī Yíjìu, the new king. The subsequent move of the capital east from Hàojīng to Chéngzhōu in 771 BCE marks the historical boundary between Western Zhōu () and Eastern Zhōu ().

The Eastern Zhōu period, characterized by a breakup of Zhōu territory into states that were essentially independent, is further divided into two subperiods. The first, from 722 to 481 BCE, is called the Spring and Autumn Period, after a famous historical chronicle of the time; the second is known as the Warring States Period (403–221 BCE), after another famous chronicle and initiated by the partitioning of Jìn.

The Eastern Zhōu period is also designated as the period of the Hundred Schools of Thought, a golden age of influential cultural and intellectual expansion facilitated by relative freedom of expression. Although there were a host of schools, four of them came to influence Chinese government and culture in meaningful ways: Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism and Legalism. The changes brought on played a large part in the decline of the Zhōu dynasty.

Decline

With the royal line broken, the power of the Zhōu court gradually diminished, and the fragmentation of the kingdom accelerated. From King Píng's reign onwards, the Zhōu kings ruled in name only, with true power lying in the hands of regional nobles. Towards the end of the Zhōu Dynasty, the nobles did not even bother to symbolically acknowledge loyalty the Jī family, declaring themselves to be independent kings. The dynasty ended in 256 BCE when the last king of Zhōu died and none of his sons proclaimed the nominal title of King of China. Qín Shǐ Huáng's unification of China concluded in 221 BCE with the establishment of the Qín Dynasty.

Culture and society

Feudalism and the rise of Confucian bureaucracy

Western writers often describe the Zhōu period as 'feudal' because the Zhōu's early rule invites comparison with medieval rule in Europe but apart from some similarities in the decentralized system there are a number of important differences. One obvious difference is that the Zhōu ruled from walled cities rather than castles. The Chinese term for the Zhōu system is ''fēngjiàn'' (封建). When the dynasty was established, the conquered land was divided into hereditary fiefs that eventually became powerful in their own right. The fiefs or states themselves tended to become feudally subdivided. At times, a vigorous duke would take power from his nobles and centralize the state. Centralization became more necessary as the states began to war among themselves and centralization encouraged more war. If a duke took power from his nobles, the state would have to be administered bureaucratically by appointed officials, that is.

The lowest rank of the Zhōu ruling class was called ''Shì'' (士). When a dukedom was centralized these people would find employment as government officials or officers. In contrast to Western chivalry, the ''Shì'' was expected to be something of a scholar. Being appointed, they could move from one state to another. Some would travel from state to state peddling schemes of administrative or military reform. Those who could not find employment would often end up teaching young men who aspired to official status. The most famous of these was Confucius, who taught a system of mutual duty between superiors and inferiors. In contrast, the Legalists had no time for Confucian virtue and advocated a system of strict laws and harsh punishments. The wars of the Warring States were finally ended by the most legalist state of all, Qín. When the Qín Dynasty fell and was replaced by the Hàn Dynasty, many Chinese were relieved to return to the more humane virtues of Confucius.

Zhōu military

The early Western Zhōu supported a strong army, split into two major units: "the Six Armies of the west" and "the Eight Armies of Chéngzhōu". The armies campaigned in the northern Loess Plateau, modern Níngxià and the Yellow River floodplain. The military prowess of Zhōu peaked during the 19th year of King Zhāo's reign, when the six armies were wiped out along with King Zhāo on a campaign around the Hàn River. Early Zhōu kings were true commanders-in-chief. They were in constant wars with barbarians on behalf of the fiefs called ''guó'', meaning "statelet" or "principality."

King Zhāo was famous for repeated campaigns in the Yangtze areas and died in his last action. Later kings' campaigns were less effective. King Lì led 14 armies against barbarians in the south, but failed to achieve any victory. King Xūan fought the Quǎnróng nomads in vain. King Yōu was killed by the Quǎnróng when Hàojīng was sacked. Although chariots had been introduced to China during the Shāng Dynasty from Central Asia, the Zhōu period saw the first major use of chariots in battle.

Mandate of Heaven

In the Chinese historical tradition, the Zhōu defeated the Shāng and oriented the Shāng system of ancestor worship towards a universalized worship, away from the worship of Shàng Dì and to that of Tiān or "heaven". They legitimized their rule by invoking the "Mandate of Heaven," the notion that the ruler (the "Son of Heaven") governed by divine right and that his dethronement would prove that he had lost the Mandate. Disasters and successful rebellions would thus show that the ruling family had lost this Mandate.

The doctrine explained and justified the demise of the Xià and Shāng dynasties and, at the same time, supported the legitimacy of present and future rulers. Before conquering Shāng, Zhōu was a state in Shaanxi. describes the Zhōu state as a "city" which was in contact with the barbarian peoples of the western regions and more warlike than the Shāng. The Zhōu dynasty was founded by the Jī family and operated from four capitals throughout its history. Sharing the language and culture of the Shāng, the early Zhōu rulers, through conquest and colonization, established a large imperial territory wherein states as far as Shāndōng acknowledged Zhōu rulership and took part in elite culture. The spread of Zhōu bronzes, though, was concurrent with the continued use of Shāng-style pottery in the distant regions, and these states were the last to recede during the late Western war. The mandate of heaven was based on rules. The emperor was granted the right to rule by heaven.

Philosophy

During the Zhōu Dynasty, the origins of native Chinese philosophy developed, its initial stages beginning in the 6th century BCE. The greatest Chinese philosophers, those who made the greatest impact on later generations of Chinese, were Confucius, founder of Confucianism, and Lǎozǐ, founder of Taoism. Other philosophers, theorists, and schools of thought in this era were Mòzǐ, founder of Mohism; Mencius, a famous Confucian who expanded upon Confucius' legacy; Shāng Yāng and Hán Fēi, responsible for the development of ancient Chinese Legalism (the core philosophy of the Qín Dynasty); and Zún Zǐ, who was arguably the center of ancient Chinese intellectual life during his time, even more so than iconic intellectual figures such as Mencius.

Li

Established during the Western period, the ''Lǐ'' ) ritual system encoded an understanding of manners as an expression of the social hierarchy, ethics, and regulation concerning material life; the corresponding social practices became idealized within Confucian ideology.

The system was canonized in the ''Lǐjì'', ''Zhōulǐ'', and ''Yílǐ'' compendiums of the Hàn (206 BCE–220 CE), thus becoming the heart of the Chinese imperial ideology. While the system was initially a respected body of concrete regulations, the fragmentation of the Western Zhou period led the ritual to drift towards moralization and formalization in regard to:

The five orders of Chinese nobility.

Ancestral temples (size, legitimate number of pavilions)

Ceremonial regulations (number of ritual vessels, musical instruments, people in the dancing troup)

Agriculture

Agriculture in the Zhōu Dynasty was very intensive and, in many cases, directed by the government. All farming lands were owned by nobles, who then gave their land to their serfs, a situation similar to European feudalism. For example, a piece of land was divided into nine squares in the well-field system, with the grain from the middle square taken by the government and that of surrounding squares kept by individual farmers. This way, the government was able to store surplus food and distribute it in times of famine or bad harvest. Some important manufacturing sectors during this period included bronze smelting, which was integral to making weapons and farming tools. Again, these industries were dominated by the nobility who directed the production of such materials.

China's first projects of hydraulic engineering were initiated during the Zhōu Dynasty, ultimately as a means to aid agricultural irrigation. The chancellor of Wèi, Sūnshū Áo, who served Zhuāng of Chǔ, dammed a river to create an enormous irrigation reservoir in modern-day northern Ānhuī province. For this, Sūnshū is credited as China's first hydraulic engineer. The later Wèi statesman Xīmén Bào, who served Marquis Wén of Wèi (445-396 BCE), was the first hydraulic engineer of China to have created a large irrigation canal system. As the main focus of his grandiose project, his canal work eventually diverted the waters of the entire Zhāng River to a spot further up the Yellow River.

Castration

Although there are accounts of castration in the Shāng Dynasty, the eunuch system expanded during the Zhōu Dynasty, becoming commonplace as the Imperial court grew. According to historians, it was incorporated into Chinese law during the Zhōu Dynasty in 1100 BCE. It was one of the Five Punishments that could be legally inflicted on criminals in China. During the reign of King Mù of Zhōu, the Marquess of Lu in his role as Minister of Crime reformed the law in 950 BCE to make it easier for people to be sentenced to castration instead of death. In China, castration included removal of the penis as well as the testicles. Both organs were cut off with a knife at the same time.

Chinese husbands who committed adultery were punished with castration as required under Zhōu Dynasty law. The exact crime was called ''Gong'', and referred to "immoral" sex between males and females. The punishment stated- "If a male and female engage in intercourse without morality, their punishments shall be castration and sequestration [respectively]." The Chinese Book of History documented this practice. Castration was also a punishment for rape in China in addition to adultery.

Art

Zhōu Dynasty kings

!Personal name	!Posthumous name	!Reign period
Fa發		''1046 BCE-1043 BCE''
Song誦		''1042 BCE-1021 BCE''
Zhao釗		''1020 BCE-996 BCE''
Xia瑕		''995 BCE-977 BCE''
Man滿		''976 BCE-922 BCE''
Yihu繄扈		''922 BCE-900 BCE''
Jian囏		''899 BCE-892 BCE''
Pifang辟方		''891 BCE-886 BCE''
Xie燮		''885 BCE-878 BCE''
Hu胡		''877 BCE-841 BCE''
		841 BCE-828 BCE
Jing靜		827 BCE-782 BCE
Gongsheng宮湦		781 BCE-771 BCE
End of Western Zhou / Beginning of Eastern Zhou
Yijiu宜臼		770 BC-720 BCE
Lin林		719 BCE-697 BCE
Tuo佗		696 BCE-682 BCE
Huqi胡齊		681 BC-677 BCE
Lang閬		676 BC-652 BCE
Zheng鄭		651 BC-619 BCE
Renchen壬臣		618 BC-613 BCE
Ban班		612 BC-607 BCE
Yu瑜		606 BC-586 BCE
Yi夷		585 BCE-572 BCE
Xiexin泄心		571 BCE-545 BCE
Gui貴		544 BCE-521 BCE
Meng猛		520 BCE
Gai丐		519 BCE-476 BCE
Ren仁		475 BCE-469 BCE
Jie介		468 BCE-442 BCE
Quji去疾		441 BCE
Shu叔		441 BCE
Wei嵬		440 BCE-426 BCE
Wu午		425 BCE-402 BCE
Jiao驕		401 BCE-376 BCE
Xi喜		375 BCE-369 BCE
Bian扁		368 BCE-321 BCE
Ding定		320 BCE-315 BCE
Yan延		314 BCE-256 BCE
Jie杰		255 BCE-249 BCE
colspan="3"|Nobles of the Ji family proclaimed Duke Hui of Eastern Zhou as King Nan's successor after their capital, Chengzhou, fell to Qin forces in 256 BCE. Ji Zhao, a son of King Nan led a resistance against Qin for five years. The dukedom fell in 249 BCE. The remaining Ji family ruled Yan and Wei until 209 BCE.

Zhōu in astronomy

Zhōu is represented by two stars, Eta Capricorni ( , 'the First Star of Zhōu') and 21 Capricorni ( , 'the Second Star of Zhōu'), in ''Twelve States'' asterism. Zhōu is also represented by the star Beta Serpentis in asterism ''Right Wall'', Heavenly Market enclosure (see Chinese constellation).

See also

Family tree of the Zhou Dynasty

Four occupations

Historical capitals of China

Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng

Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project

Notes

References

Feng, Li. 2006. Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045-771 BC

Lee, Yuan-Yuan and Shen, Sinyan. (1999). ''Chinese Musical Instruments (Chinese Music Monograph Series)''. Chinese Music Society of North America Press. ISBN 1-880464-03-9

Shen, Sinyan (1987), Acoustics of Ancient Chinese Bells, ''Scientific American'', 256, 94.

Sun, Yan. 2006. "Cultural and Political Control in North China: Style and Use of the Bronzes of Yan at Liulihe during the Early Western Zhou." In: ''Contact and Exchange in the Ancient World''. Edited by Victor H. Mair. University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu. Pages 215–237. ISBN 9780824828844; ISBN 0-8248-2884-4.

Wagner, D. G. "The Earliest Use of Iron in China" in Metals in Antiquity, Edited by S. M. M. Young, A. M. Pollard, P. Budd and R. A. Ixer, Oxford: Archaeopress. 1999, pp. 1–9.

External links

Chaos.UMD.edu, History of the Zhou Dynasty, Army Area Handbook on China, Rinn-Sup Shinn and Robert L. Worden, compiled by Leon Poon

Age of Feudal States, Feudal States of the Zhou Dynasty, Jiang Yike

Chinese Text Project, Rulers of the Zhou states – with links to their occurrences in pre-Qin and Han texts.

ChinaWikipedia.com, History of China

Category:States and territories established in 1045 BC Category:256 BC disestablishments Category:Former countries in Chinese history Category:Historic monarchies

ar:أسرة زو az:Çjou sülaləsi bo:ཀྲོའུ་རྒྱལ་རབས། br:Tierniezh Zhou bg:Джоу ca:Dinastia Zhou cy:Brenhinllin Zhou da:Zhou-dynastiet de:Zhou-Dynastie et:Zhou dünastia es:Dinastía Zhou eo:Dinastio Zhou fa:دودمان ژو fr:Dynastie Zhou fy:Tsjow gan:周 hak:Chû-chhèu ka:ჯოუს დინასტია ko:주나라 hr:Dinastija Chou id:Dinasti Zhou it:Dinastia Zhou he:שושלת ג'ואו sw:Nasaba ya Chou lt:Džou dinastija ms:Dinasti Zhou nl:Zhou-dynastie ja:周 no:Zhou-dynastiet nn:Zhou-dynastiet oc:Dinastia Zhou pl:Dynastia Zhou pt:Dinastia Chou ro:Dinastia Zhou ru:Чжоу (династия) sq:Dinastia Zhou si:ෂෝවු රාජවංශය simple:Zhou Dynasty sk:Čou (dynastia) sr:Династија Џоу sh:Dinastija Zhou fi:Zhou-dynastia sv:Zhoudynastin tl:Dinastiyang Zhou ta:சவு வம்சம் th:ราชวงศ์โจว tr:Zhou Hanedanı uk:Династія Чжоу ur:چو vi:Nhà Chu zh-classical:周 zh-yue:周朝 zh:周朝

Zhou Tai, style name Youping (幼平), was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.

Biography

Early life and career

Zhou Tai was a native of Jiujiang Commandery, and was depicted as a pirate around the area in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', but it is hard to tell if he really practiced piracy because historic records only suggest he was of an obscure origin. Zhou Tai joined Sun Ce's forces as one of Sun's personal retainers, alongside Jiang Qin. When Sun Ce entered Kuaiji, Zhou Tai was appointed Major with a Separate Command, and was given troops to command. It was at this time that Sun Quan took a liking to Zhou Tai's character, and requested for Zhou to be transferred to under his command.

Several times throughout his career, Zhou Tai saved Sun Quan from danger by risking his own life. Once, while Sun Ce was out fighting Shanyue rebels from the caves within the six prefectures of Jiangdong, Sun Quan was left in Xuan with less than a thousand guards. Out of negligence, he did not set up defence posts. Several thousand of Shanyue rebels attacked. By the time Sun Quan mounted his horse, the bandits managed to surround him already. Their weapons, hitting here and there, slashed Sun Quan's saddle, causing great panic all around. Only Zhou Tai, with spirits roused, defended Sun Quan with his body, emboldening those near him and making them able to fight again. When the bandits were finally dispersed, Zhou Tai was found unconscious with 12 deep wounds, which took a long time to heal. Had Zhou Tai not been there on that day, Sun Quan would have surely perished. This deed was greatly appreciated by Sun Ce, who added the title of Chief of Chunju Prefecture to Zhou Tai.

Service under Sun Ce and Sun Quan

Some time after that, Zhou Tai followed Sun Ce to attack Liu Xun at Wan and Huang Zu of Jiangxia, and upon his return he passed by Yuzhang commandery and there he was granted the title of Chief of Yichun Prefecture as well. These prefectures generated all the supplies needed by his troops. Zhou Tai also assisted in the defense against Huang Zu on a few occasions.

Zhou Tai was among the ten Wu generals who participated in the Battle of Red Cliffs; under the leadership of Zhou Yu, the forces of Sun Quan won a decisive victory over the hordes of Cao Cao. Zhou Tai also participated in the siege of Jiangling fortress, which earned Sun Quan Nan Commandery.

As the Controller of Ruxu

Later, when Cao Cao's army launched an assault on Ruxu, Zhou Tai went to meet the attack. After Cao Cao retreated, Zhou Tai was appointed Controller of Ruxu and General who Pacifies the Caitiffs. At the time Zhou Tai stationed at Ruxu fort, Zhu Ran and Xu Sheng were located there as well, and did not want to submit to Zhou Tai's command citing his common background. Thus Sun Quan made a special trip to Ruxu fort, to meet with all the generals there. A great party was held, where Sun Quan personally served wine to Zhou Tai, and asked him to remove his outer garments. Pointing at each scar, Sun Quan asked Zhou Tai the story behind it, whereupon Zhou would respond with his memories of past battles. At the end, Sun Quan had him dressed again, and together they reveled through the night. When the next day came, Sun Quan had a herald grant him his imperial parasol.

The ''Jiangbiao Zhuan'' describes:

Thus Xu Sheng and Zhu Ran conceded, the other generals gained much respect for Zhou Tai and accepted his command.

Death

After Sun Quan defeated Guan Yu, he planned to invade Shu Han. He made Zhou Tai Grand Administrator of Hanzhong in name and General of Roused Valour. He also conferred the title of Marquis of Lingyang onto Zhou Tai. Zhou Tai died during the Huangwu era (222-228).

Zhou Tai's son, Zhou Shao, also commanded troops, in the position of Chief Commandant of the Cavalry. He gained merits in battle when Cao Ren attacked Ruxu, and he also served in Lu Xun's Battle of Shiting against Cao Xiu. Thus he was promoted to the rank of Major General. He died in the second year of Huanglong (230). His younger brother, Zhou Cheng, took command of the troops and inherited the marquisate.

Modern references

Zhou Tai is a playable character in the Koei video game series, ''Dynasty Warriors'', being introduced in ''Dynasty Warriors 4''. He is portrayed as a man who prefers actions to words. He is strong, brave, determined and inexorable, fearing no-one and nothing. His armour from ''Dynasty Warriors 4'' to ''Dynasty Warriors 6'' has always been red and black. He also wears a red tattered cape. His weapon in ''Dynasty Warriors 6'' is a flame like decorated dao, whereas in previous entries his blade much more resembles a katana.

In ''Warriors Orochi'', he appears in Wu's story line in three battles. One at Sekigahara, where he fights the player, a second at Hefei where he fights the player once again but, joins Sun Ce once the battle is over. And a final at Osaka Bay where he helps the player defeat Keiji Maeda and force him to submit to Wu.

See also

List of people of the Three Kingdoms

List of Dynasty Warriors characters

References

Chen Shou. ''Records of Three Kingdoms'', Volume 55, Biography of Zhou Tai.

Category:Sun Ce and associates Category:Eastern Wu generals Category:Generals under Sun Quan

de:Zhou Tai fr:Zhou Tai ko:주태 (동오) hr:Zhou Tai id:Zhou Tai ja:周泰 no:Zhou Tai pt:Zhou Tai sh:Zhou Tai sv:Zhou Tai th:จิวท่าย vi:Chu Thái zh-classical:周泰 zh:周泰 (三國)

Name	Zhou Yu
Title	General
Kingdom	Sun Quan
Birth date	175
Death date	210 (aged 35)
Simp	周瑜
Trad	周瑜
Pinyin	Zhōu Yú
Wg	Chou Yü
Zi	Gongjin (公瑾)
Other	"Zhou the Handsome Youth" (美周郎) }}

Zhou Yu (175–210) was a military general and strategist who served his close friend, the warlord Sun Ce, during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. After the death of Sun Ce, another prominent warlord, Cao Cao, led a massive force southward with the intention to conquer the Jiangdong region, Zhou Yu was assigned by Sun Ce's brother and successor, Sun Quan, to be the naval commander for the defensive forces and he defeated Cao Cao's forces at the decisive Battle of Red Cliffs in 208. The subsequent Battle of Jiangling, which had Lieutenant General (偏將軍) Zhou Yu serving as the commander-in-chief of Sun Quan's forces, solidified the survivability of the future Eastern Wu regime. Thus, Zhou Yu was praised by Sun Quan to be the sole person who enabled him to become an emperor years after Zhou's death.

Biography

Early life and career

Zhou Yu was born in Lujiang Commandery in an influential family with many members who served in high ranking positions in the government. Zhou Yu's grandfather, Zhou Jing, and Zhou Jing's son both took the post of Grand Commandant in the Han imperial court. Zhou Yu's father, Zhou Yi, was the Chief of Luoyang, the capital city. When the coalition against Dong Zhuo was formed, Zhou Yi led his family to migrate to Lujiang. There, Sun Jian's son Sun Ce and Zhou Yu studied together and became lifelong friends. Zhou Yu's uncle later became the governor of Danyang under the warlord Yuan Shu , Zhou went visit his uncle and stayed there, while his best friend, Sun Ce, was planning to establish independence over the soil of Jiangdong.

Sun Ce, under a commission from Yuan Shu, entered Yang Province to aid his relatives, Wu Jing and Sun Ben, who were attacked by Liu Yao. When Sun was about to cross the Yangtze River to begin his Jiangdong campaign, he sent a letter to Zhou Yu, stating his ambition. In response, Zhou Yu led his troops to Liyang (歷陽, present-day He County, Anhui, China) to catch up with Sun Ce, who exclaimed upon Zhou's arrival, "with you, greatness can be attained!"

Service under Sun Ce

Zhou Yu was involved in the first half of Sun Ce's campaign to unify Yang Province, wherein the focus was to defeat the warlords in the area. Zhou Yu was credited with the capture of Hengjiang (橫江; southeast of present-day He County, Anhui, on the northern shore of the Chang River) and Dangli (當利; east of present-day He County, Anhui). Then, Zhou Yu followed Sun Ce to cross the Yangtze and took over Huji (湖孰; present-day Husu, Jiangning, Jiangsu), Jiangcheng (江乘; near present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu), and Qu'e (曲阿; present-day Situ Town, Jiangsu). When the strongest opponent in the area, the Inspector of Yang Province, Liu Yao, fled from Moling (秣陵; near present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu), Sun Ce's forces had been joined by local peasants numbering a few ten thousands. Therefore, Sun Ce told Zhou Yu he could complete his objective with the current troops, and asked Zhou to go back and defend Dangyang. Soon, Yuan Shu's ambition was fed by Sun Ce's recent victories over his long-term rivals to a point that he desired to declare himself emperor. Sun Ce, citing loyalty to the Han Emperor Xian, sent a letter to Yuan Shu in an attempt to dissuade him from doing so, but Sun's counsel fell on deaf ear. Yuan Shu further sent his cousin to replace Zhou Shang as the Administer of Dangyang, and kept Zhou Shang and Zhou Yu in Shouchun (present-day Shou County, Anhui). In order to control Sun Ce, Yuan Shu had the families of Sun and Zhou Yu kept under a short leash, so Zhou tricked Yuan to grant him the position of Chief of Juchao with the intention of escaping from Yuan's domain, and returned to Sun Ce via Juchao (present-day Juchao District, Chaohu City, Anhui).

Upon knowing what was happening with Zhou Yu's return, Sun Ce sent Lü Fan to secretly retrieve the families back to the southern side of Yangtze River. Then, Sun Ce severed ties with Yuan Shu and allied with Lü Bu, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei to oppose Yuan. It was during Zhou Yu's journey to Wu did he bring along a wealthy merchant called Lu Su into Sun Ce's government, who would become a prominent advisor to the Sun family later.

Marriage

It was around this time that Zhou Yu and Sun Ce married the Qiao sisters. Very soon afterwards, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu pacified most of Yang Province on the south of the Yangtze River and extended their power into the Wu region and north into the Huai River region, defeating Liu Xun and the remnant forces of Yuan Shu in the north as well as Huang Zu and the forces of Liu Biao to the west.

Serving Sun Quan

In 200, Sun Ce was assassinated and was succeeded by his younger brother, Sun Quan. Zhou Yu took control of military affairs while Zhang Zhao was in charge of domestic affairs. Around this time, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and demanded that Sun Quan send a family member hostage. Zhou Yu advised against sending a hostage. This raised Zhou Yu's prestige within the Sun family, and he was treated as an older brother by Sun Quan. In 206, Zhou Yu attacked the local bandits and captured over 10,000 people and resettled them. When he was stationed on the border, he repelled an attack by Liu Biao's general, Deng Long, who was captured in the battle.

In 208, Sun Quan ordered an attack on Jiangxia, which was controlled by Huang Zu. Zhou Yu was assigned the Grand Commander, Lü Meng the navy commander, and Ling Tong the vanguard commander for the campaign. Even the battles were harder than expected, Huang Zu was ultimately captured and executed.

Not long later, Cao Cao started a campaign aimed at wiping out all opposition in southern China. As his army conquered Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) and was closing in on Sun Quan, the latter's court was divided upon the issue of whether to surrender or resist. Sun Quan consulted Zhou Yu, who replied: "Although Cao Cao pretends to be a minister of the Han Dynasty, he is actually a thief who is attempting to steal the empire from Han. My lord, with your brilliant talent and your father and brother's military prowess, have ruled and pacified Eastern Wu. The territory stretches thousand of ''li'', the soldiers are well trained, brilliant advisors of great talents are at your disposal. It is the time to get rid of Cao Cao and restore the Han Dynasty. Cao Cao has come down south and presented himself as an opportunity for you, my lord. Now I will analyse for you the dire situation Cao Cao has placed himself into: Even if the north has been completely unified, can Cao Cao's ground based army fight against our superior navy and marines? The truth is that the north has not been completely pacified. Ma Chao will remain a thorn in Cao Cao's flesh. Cao Cao's superior cavalry is useless against the mountainous and watery terrain of the south. Winter is upon us, and yet Cao Cao's large army has to depend on a long supply line halfway across China. Cao Cao's army are mainly composed of northerners, and they are not used to the environment of the south, thus they will easily become sick. With all of these problems, I promise you that with 30,000 men, I can easily defeat him." Greatly relieved, Sun Quan decided to resist Cao Cao's invasion.

The Battle of Red Cliffs ensued. Contrary to popular belief, Zhuge Liang did not contribute much and Zhou Yu was the supreme commander of the united forces against Cao Cao. In this battle, a series of stratagems were employed by Zhou Yu to destroy Cao Cao's naval fleet. Huang Gai proposed a plan in which he pretended to surrender to Cao Cao and infiltrated the enemy camp. There, he set his own ships on fire and rammed them into Cao Cao's ships before jumping into the river. Many of Cao Cao's ships were set ablaze and he was forced to flee back to Xuchang.

Afterwards, Zhou Yu led his army in pursuit of Cao Cao's army and laid siege to Nan Commandery. While on the front lines, Zhou Yu was seriously wounded by a stray arrow and forced to withdraw from the direct command of troops. Cao Ren, the defending general, heard of Zhou Yu's injury and ordered his soldiers to yell insults outside Zhou's camp in an attempt to dishearten his army. Zhou Yu personally inspected his troops to raise their morale. Seeing that the advantages he had hoped to gain were lost, Cao Ren retreated. After a year of siege, Nan Commandery was taken and Zhou Yu was appointed governor of the commandery.

Death

In 210, Zhou Yu proposed to Sun Quan his plan to attack Liu Zhang of Yi Province (covering the Sichuan Basin) and unify all of southern China under Sun Quan to resist Cao Cao in northern China. In addition, he proposed an alliance with Zhang Lu of Hanzhong and Ma Chao of Liang Province (covering present-day Gansu), whom Zhou Yu correctly predicted would soon oppose Cao Cao (Ma Chao rebelled a year later, and Zhang Lu supported him). While preparing for the long campaign, he died at age 35 in Baqiu (present-day Yueyang, Hunan).

Zhou Yu was buried in his ancestral home in Lujiang. Lu Su succeeded him as commander-in-chief of Sun Quan's military, while his oldest son Zhou Xun inherited his title of nobility.

Family

Great-grandfather: Zhou Rong (周榮), served as Imperial Secretary during the reigns of Emperor Zhang and Emperor He

Grandfather: Zhou Jing (周景), served as Inspector of Yu Province, Imperial Secretary, and Grand Commandant

Father: Zhou Yi (周異), served as Prefect of Luoyang

Uncles:

*Zhou Shang (周尚), served as Grand Commandant

*Zhou Zhong (周忠), served as Administrator of Danyang

Spouse: Xiao Qiao

Children:

*Zhou Xun, oldest son, married Sun Quan's daughter Sun Luban, served as Cavalry Commandant, died at a young age

*Zhou Yin (周胤), second son, served as Commandant of Xingye, married a woman of the Sun clan, granted title of Marquis of Duxiang, later exiled to Luling Commandery for committing a crime, died of illness

*Lady Zhou (周氏), personal name unknown, married Sun Quan's oldest son Sun Deng

Nephew: Zhou Jun (周峻), son of Zhou Yu's older brother, appointed Lieutenant-General

Appraisal

Zhou Yu was an intelligent young man, who was considered handsome and good-looking by his contemporaries. He was open and made friends with his humility. Cheng Pu, a senior general who had served the Sun family since Sun Jian's time, made fun of Zhou Yu's young age, but Zhou took his remarks stoically and they became friends later. Zhou Yu was also a multi-talented person with interest in poetry and music. There was a saying at that time about Zhou Yu's skill in music, "If the tune has a problem, Zhou Yu will fix it." (曲有誤, 周郎顧). Zhou Yu was also well known for his loyalty towards his lord. Even though Sun Quan regarded him as an older brother, Zhou Yu always respected Sun as his lord and served him with humility and care.

In fiction and popular culture

In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', Zhou Yu is depicted as a rival of Zhuge Liang. He was extremely jealous of Zhuge Liang's talent and he relentlessly attempted to outwit the latter but never succeeded. His role in the novel was also overshadowed by Zhuge Liang, especially in the events of the Battle of Red Cliffs. Furthermore, Zhou Yu's death was dramatized in the novel and altered to be caused intentionally by Zhuge Liang. Zhou Yu sustained an arrow wound during the earlier Battle of Jiangling, and his condition deteriorated as he was infuriated by Zhuge Liang, who foiled his plans three times. On the third time, he coughed blood and lamented, "If (Zhou) Yu has already been born, why is (Zhuge) Liang to be born?" (既生瑜, 何生亮?), before collapsing and dying.

In Chinese opera, Zhou Yu is cast as a ''xiaosheng'' (young man) or ''wusheng'' (military dress man), even when he appears together with Zhuge Liang, who was actually younger than he was. In Kun opera, Zhou Yu appears as a ''zhiweisheng'', as in the scene ''The Swaying Reeds'', in which he is captured and later released by Zhang Fei.

Modern references

In the anime series ''Ikki Tousen'', the character Shuuyu Koukin is roughly based upon Zhou Yu. His cousin and ward, Sonsaku Hakufu, is based on Zhou Yu's close friend Sun Ce. Like his counterpart in ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', Shuuyu Koukin resents Zhuge Liang, though for a different reason.

In the anime series ''Koutetsu Sangokushi'', Zhou Yu (again in the original Japanese as Shuuyu Koukin) was not able to prevent Sun Ce's assassination, but serves as Sun Quan's level-headed advisor and admiral, as well as something of a story foil to the more impulsive and brash Taishi Ci (known as "Taishiji" in Japanese).

In the Koei video game series ''Dynasty Warriors'', Zhou Yu is portrayed as a intelligent and handsome long-haired young man. He wears a red gown with gold decorations and wields a long, lavishly decorated dao called "Elder's Sword". In ''Dynasty Warriors 6'', he has a ponytail, paler complexion, and wields a bo staff as his weapon.

In ''Warriors Orochi'', Zhou Yu was a prisoner of Orochi but was freed by Sun Ce. He fought alongside Sun Ce and helped him search for his father Sun Jian. In the Shu storyline, Zhou Yu fought alongside Sun Ce against Sima Yi. They were in danger of being captured but Zhao Yun, Yukimura Sanada and their allies came to their aid. In the Wei storyline he is seen on a ship alongside Sun Ce after Cao Pi allows them to escape. He also aided Nobunaga in the battle against Orochi by orders of Sun Ce, but Zhou Yu said it was Nobunaga that inspired him to fight Orochi.

In the collectible card game ''Magic: The Gathering'' there is a card named "Zhou Yu, Chief Commander" in the ''Portal Three Kingdoms'' set.

Hong Kong actor Tony Leung played the role of Zhou Yu in John Woo's 2008 epic war film ''Red Cliff''.

See also

List of people of the Three Kingdoms

List of Dynasty Warriors characters

Notes

References

Chen Shou. (c.280). ''Records of Three Kingdoms'', Volume 54, Biography of Zhou Yu.

Luo Guanzhong. (c.1321). ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' (A historical novel).

de Crespigny, Rafe (2007). ''A biographical dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD).'' Brill. p. 1152. ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0.

Category:175 births Category:210 deaths Category:People from Chaohu Category:Sun Ce and associates Category:Generals under Sun Quan

ca:Zhou Yu de:Zhou Yu es:Zhou Yu fr:Zhou Yu ko:주유 id:Zhou Yu it:Zhou Yu nl:Zhou Yu ja:周瑜 no:Zhou Yu pt:Zhou Yu ru:Чжоу Юй sh:Zhou Yu sv:Zhou Yu th:จิวยี่ vi:Chu Du zh-classical:周瑜 zh-yue:周瑜 zh:周瑜

Name	Tai Wu (Zi Mi) 太戊 (子密)
Ances-name	Zi (子)
Given-name	Mi (密)
Title1	King of Shang Dynasty
Post-name	Tai Wu (太戊)
Notes	}}

Tai Wu (Chinese: 太戊, born Zi Mi (Chinese: 子密) or Zi Zhou (Chinese: 子伷), was a Shang Dynasty King of China.

In the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' he was listed by Sima Qian as the ninth Shang king, succeeding his brother Yong Ji (Chinese: 太庚). He was enthroned with Bo (Chinese: 亳) as his capital. He appointed Yishe (Chinese: 伊陟) and Chenhu (Chinese: 臣扈) as his higher officers.

In the 7th years of his reign, a sang tree (Chinese: 桑) and millet (Chinese: 谷) were found growing together in his palace. In the 11th year of his reign, he ordered Wu Xian (Chinese: 巫咸) to pray at Shanchuan (Chinese: 山川). In the 26th year of his reign, the Queen of West Rong (Chinese: 西戎) sent an envoy to Shang, the king later sent Wangmeng (Chinese: 王孟) on a return visit. In the 31st year of his reign, he appointed Zhongyan (Chinese: 中衍) of Fee vassal (Chinese: 费侯) as position of Chezheng (Chinese: 车正). In the 35th year of his reign, he wrote a poem called Yanche (Chinese: 寅车). In the 46th year of his reign, there was a great harvest of crops. In the 58th year of his reign, he built the city of Pugu (Chinese: 蒲姑). In the 61st year of his reign, the nine east Barbarians Yi tribes (Chinese: 东九夷) sent envoys to Shang.

He ruled for 75 years, was given the posthumous name Tai Wu and was succeeded by his son Zhong Ding (Chinese: 太戊).

Oracle script inscriptions on bones unearthed at Yinxu alternatively record that he was the seventh Shang king succeeding his uncle Xiao Jia (Chinese: 大戊), given the posthumous name Da Wu (Chinese: 大戊) and succeeded by his brother Lu Ji (Chinese: 中丁).

References

Category:Shang Dynasty kings

ca:Tai Wu de:Tai Wu fa:تای وو fr:Tai Wu ko:태무 ja:太戊 sh:Tai Wu vi:Thái Mậu zh:太戊

Name	Lü Bu
Title	Minor warlord
Birth date	(Unknown)
Death date	February, 199
Simp	吕布
Trad	呂布
Pinyin	Lǚ Bù
Wg	Lü Pu
Zi	Fengxian (奉先)
Other	}}

Lü Bu (died February, 199) was a military general and later a minor warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. According to the ''Records of Three Kingdoms'', Lü Bu was highly-skilled in horse-riding and archery, and was thus nicknamed "Flying General". His image as a handsome and mighty warrior wearing a pheasant-tailed headdress and wielding a ''ji'' known as the "Sky Piercer" () on top of his steed Red Hare was later popularized by Luo Guanzhong's historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''. In the story, he is considered the single most powerful warrior in all of China.

Besides being matchless on the battlefield, especially in man-on-man duels, Lü Bu was also notorious for having betrayed and slain two separate lords (who were both his adoptive fathers). He is best known for his amorous relationship with the fictional maiden Diaochan, which eventually caused him to betray and kill Dong Zhuo out of jealousy. Throughout ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', Lü Bu has been depicted as a ruthless and impulsive warrior who has no sense of loyalty and sympathy.

Lü Bu was eventually defeated and captured by Cao Cao at the Battle of Xiapi. At Liu Bei's suggestion, Cao Cao had Lü Bu hanged.

Biography

Service under Ding Yuan

Lü Bu was a local of Jiuyuan County, Wuyuan Commandery (a district of present-day Baotou, Inner Mongolia). He started his career as the Chief Secretary under the governor of Bing Province (并州), Ding Yuan. In 189, Ding Yuan led his troops into the capital city of Luoyang to assist General-in-Chief He Jin in eliminating the Ten Attendants (a group of influential eunuch officials in the imperial court). He Jin was assassinated and Luoyang plunged into chaos when He Jin's supporters and the eunuch faction clashed.

Service under Dong Zhuo

Dong Zhuo, a warlord from Liang Province who was summoned to Luoyang by He Jin, seized control of the armed forces of Luoyang and rose to power. Lü Bu betrayed and killed Ding Yuan, severed Ding's head and presented it to Dong Zhuo as a gesture of allegiance. Dong Zhuo also acknowledged Lü Bu as his foster son. To consolidate power, Dong Zhuo deposed Emperor Shao and replaced him with Emperor Xian, who was actually a puppet ruler under his control, and moved the capital city to Chang'an in the west. Dong Zhuo's evident intention of usurping state power, compounded by his tyranny and cruelty, angered many loyalists and placed him in a vulnerable position to political assassination. For his personal safety, Dong Zhuo relied heavily on Lü Bu, who was promoted to "General of the Household" (中郎將). Lü Bu would be at Dong Zhuo's side almost all the time as a personal bodyguard.

In his frequent bouts of temper, Dong Zhuo would hurl a halberd at Lü Bu to vent his frustration. Lü Bu dodged the weapons easily and Dong Zhuo's fury subsided quickly. Nevertheless, Lü Bu bore a furtive displeasure towards his foster father for that. Moreover, as Lü Bu had access to Dong Zhuo's residence, he started an amorous affair with one of Dong's servant maids, and was constantly in fear of being discovered by his foster father.

In 192, with encouragement from Interior Minister Wang Yun, Lü Bu decided to kill Dong Zhuo. He brought a dozen trusted men, including Cavalry Captain Li Su, to greet Dong Zhuo one morning at the palace gate. Li Su stabbed Dong Zhuo and Dong cried out for Lü Bu to save him. However, Lü Bu said, "This is an imperial order." and delivered a fatal blow to Dong Zhuo.

Roaming the land

After Dong Zhuo's death, the central government refused to grant amnesty to Dong's former followers. In fear, Dong Zhuo's remnants, led by Li Jue and Guo Si, attacked Chang'an. Within ten days, Chang'an fell to Li Jue and Guo Si, and Lü Bu was forced to flee after his defeat. State power fell into the hands of Dong Zhuo's followers once more. Lü Bu went to the warlord Yuan Shu and requested to join him, but Yuan refused to accept him as he was deterred by Lü's fickleness.

Lü Bu then headed north to join Yuan Shao and he helped the latter defeat the bandit army led by Zhang Yan. As Lü Bu's force gradually grew in strength, Yuan Shao began to see him as a potential threat. Lü Bu was aware of that himself so he left Yuan Shao swiftly and avoided the assassins Yuan sent after him.

In 194, when Cao Cao was away on a campaign against Tao Qian in Xu Province, his subordinates Zhang Miao and Chen Gong rebelled and allowed Lü Bu's forces to take over Yan Province. Gao Shun helped Lü Bu defeat and drive away Cao Cao's army. When Cao Cao heard that Yan Province had fallen into Lü Bu's hands, he turned back and besieged Lü Bu at Puyang. After more than 100 days of stalemate, a famine forced Lü Bu to abandon the city.

Occupation of Xu Province

After abandoning Puyang, Lü Bu headed for Xu Province to seek refuge under the new governor, Liu Bei. In 196, Lü Bu turned against Liu Bei and seized the city of Xiapi, effectively taking over governorship of Xu Province, forcing Liu Bei to move to the nearby town of Xiaopei (小沛; present-day Pei County, Anhui).

In the same year, Yuan Shu sent an army led by Ji Ling to attack Liu Bei. As Lü Bu feared that the loss of Xiaopei would expose him to attack from Yuan Shu, he led his men to lay camp south of Xiaopei, where he sent invitations for Liu Bei and Ji Ling to meet him. Lü Bu urged both sides to make peace and extracted promises from them to withdraw their troops if he could hit the sharp tongue of a halberd, erected at the gate, with an arrow. From afar, Lü Bu fired an arrow and it came squarely on its target. Both Liu Bei and Ji Ling kept their promises and retreated.

To counter Cao Cao's rising power, Yuan Shu offered to form an alliance with Lü Bu. Lü Bu agreed initially but regretted afterwards. He sent his men to retrieve his daughter, who was on her way to be married to Yuan Shu's son. Lü Bu also imprisoned Yuan Shu's envoy and sent the captive to Cao Cao as a token of friendship.

Downfall and death

In 198, Lü Bu switched his allegiance to Yuan Shu again and attacked Liu Bei at Xiaopei. Liu Bei went to join Cao Cao and Cao led his army to attack Xu Province. After three months of siege and many consecutive defeats, Lü Bu's subjects were low in morale and some of them defected to Cao Cao's side. Lü Bu had no choice but to surrender eventually. In some accounts, Lü Bu was betrayed by his subordinates, who tied him up while he was asleep, and presented him to Cao Cao. Lü Bu was bound and brought before Cao Cao, to whom he pledged his service. When Liu Bei reminded Cao Cao about the fate of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao condemned Lü Bu to death by hanging.

In fiction

''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', a historical novel by Luo Guanzhong, was a dramatization of the events that occurred before and during the Three Kingdoms era. It portrayed Lü Bu as an invincible warrior but an incapable leader who is further marred by character flaws. While adhering to factual history in the general course of events, Luo Guanzhong exaggerated or sentimentalised many stories about Lü Bu, drawing inspirations from folklore and traditional operas. The following are some of the stories of Lü Bu in the novel that differ from historical accounts:

Defection to Dong Zhuo

Lü Bu first appeared in chapter 3 as the foster son of Ding Yuan. When Dong Zhuo proposed to depose Emperor Shao, Ding Yuan opposed Dong Zhuo's decision and denounced him as a traitor. Dong Zhuo wanted to kill Ding Yuan for the refute but refrained when Lü Bu stood forward to defend his foster father. Li Su, one of Dong Zhuo's followers who came from the same hometown as Lü Bu, volunteered to persuade Lü to defect over.

Li Su went to see Lü Bu, bringing with him the Red Hare, a thousand taels of gold, dozens of pearls and a jade belt. Li Su succeeded in persuading Lü Bu to defect, as Lü was moved by Dong Zhuo's gifts and he felt that following Ding Yuan would not brighten his future. That night, Lü Bu murdered and decapitated Ding Yuan, bringing the head to see Dong Zhuo the next morning. Dong Zhuo was overjoyed and accepted Lü Bu as his foster son, appointing him as a high-ranking military officer and showering him with gifts. Lü Bu served as Dong Zhuo's personal bodyguard from then on.

Battle with the three heroes at Hulao Pass

Dong Zhuo's tyranny and cruelty incurred the anger of many people, so in 190, several regional governors and warlords formed a coalition army under Yuan Shao's leadership to attack him.

The coalition forces were victorious in the early battles until they reached Hulao Pass, 50 ''Li'' away from the capital Luoyang. Lü Bu came forth to challenge the coalition army, riding on his Red Hare, clad in the finest silver armour and donning a pheasant-tail headdress. Generals from the coalition, Fang Yue and Mu Shun, were slain by Lü Bu in one-on-one duels, while Wu Anguo's wrist was cut off and had to retreat. The warlord Gongsun Zan fought with Lü Bu personally but was no match for him and had to retreat as well. Just then, Zhang Fei appeared, insulting Lü Bu as "a bastard slave with three family names (since he had his own name and had two adoptive fathers)". Zhang Fei struggled against Lü Bu for more than 50 rounds but neither side was able to win. Before long, Guan Yu and Liu Bei joined in the fight consecutively, but Lü Bu still managed to hold on. Eventually, as he grew weary, Lü Bu fought his way out and retreated back to the pass.

Killing Dong Zhuo

After Lü Bu's retreat, Dong Zhuo abandoned Luoyang and moved the capital city to Chang'an in the west. Interior Minister Wang Yun devised a plot to sow discord between Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo, intending to make use of Lü Bu to kill the tyrant. Wang Yun invited Lü Bu to his residence for a banquet one evening and captured Lü's attention with his servant girl Diaochan. Lü Bu was entranced by Diaochan's beauty and was overjoyed when Wang Yun promised to let her marry him. A few days later, Wang Yun repeated the scenario, this time with Dong Zhuo as the guest in his house. Wang Yun allowed Dong Zhuo to bring Diaochan home and she became Dong's concubine.

The angry Lü Bu confronted Wang Yun later and accused Wang of breaking his promise. Wang Yun feigned ignorance and lied to Lü Bu that Dong Zhuo had brought Diaochan home so he could see his prospective daughter-in-law before her marriage. Lü Bu's anger subsided after hearing that and he apologized to Wang Yun before leaving. The next morning, Lü Bu headed to Dong Zhuo's bedroom and saw Diaochan looking at him, with a sorrowful expression on her face. When Dong Zhuo fell ill, Lü Bu used the opportunity to see Diaochan under the pretext of visiting his foster father. When Dong Zhuo caught Lü Bu staring at his concubine, he was furious and forbid Lü from entering his inner rooms from then on.

One day, when Dong Zhuo was out, Lü Bu sneaked into his house to see Diaochan. At Fengyi Pavilion, Diaochan lied to Lü Bu that she was no longer a virgin and felt ashamed to see Lü. She attempted suicide but Lü Bu stopped her. Lü Bu was moved and believed that Dong Zhuo had taken Diaochan, rightfully his, from him by force. Just then, Dong Zhuo returned and saw the pair locked in a tight embrace. He was furious and chased after Lü Bu, who fled, with a halberd in hand. Dong Zhuo hurled the weapon at Lü Bu, who dodged it narrowly and escaped. Dong Zhuo returned to Diaochan and chided her for infidelity, but Diaochan replied indignantly that it was Lü Bu who embraced her against her consent. She attempted suicide once more to prove her loyalty to Dong Zhuo, who was moved and he trusted her.

After that incident, Lü Bu became increasingly displeased with Dong Zhuo, although Dong attempted to "patch-up" by sending him gifts. Wang Yun seized the opportunity to instigate Lü Bu into killing Dong Zhuo, by warning Lü that he would be remembered in history as a traitor and corrupt general for serving a villain like Dong Zhuo. When Lü Bu claimed that he could not bear to betray two adoptive fathers, Wang Yun replied, "Dong Zhuo's surname is Dong, while yours is Lü. Did he consider you as his son when he threw that halberd at you?". Lü Bu eventually made up his decision to kill Dong Zhuo. Wang Yun sent Li Su to fetch Dong Zhuo to the palace, claiming that the emperor had decided to abdicate and pass the throne to Dong. Dong Zhuo was ambushed by Wang Yun's men at the palace gate and he cried out for Lü Bu to save him. Lü Bu appeared and said coldly, "I've an imperial order to kill the traitor Dong Zhuo.", before delivering a fatal blow.

Downfall

In 198, Cao Cao and Liu Bei formed a temporary alliance against Lü Bu and attacked him in the Battle of Xiapi. Lü Bu's forces were besieged inside the city for two months. Cao Cao's advisors Xun Yu and Guo Jia then suggested to their lord to flood Xiapi by directing water from the Yi and Si rivers. Lü Bu's advisor Chen Gong suggested that he should lead a group of soldiers outside the city gate before the water level is too high, and to cut down Cao Cao's food supply. While Chen Gong himself will lead another group to a different direction. Both groups will then coordinate a two-pronged attack on Cao Cao's army and should be sufficient to force him to retreat. However, Lü Bu's wife, Lady Yan, complained that he hardly spent time with his family and persuaded him to stay in the city and defend it until Cao Cao's forces retreat. As the city gates were flooded, Lü Bu's men rushed to inform him but Lü dismissed the warning, thinking that his Red Hare would help him escape. Lü Bu was heavily indulging in alcohol and women at that time, but one day he decided to abstain from wine after seeing his own reflection in the mirror. He issued an order banning his men from consuming alcohol. One day, Hou Cheng, one of Lü Bu's generals, caught a defector attempting to steal 50 horses. He prepared some wine to celebrate his achievement with his colleagues and presented five bottles to Lü Bu. Lü Bu was enraged when he saw that Hou Cheng defied his order and had Hou flogged. The unhappy Hou Cheng then plotted with Song Xian and Wei Xu to defect over to Cao Cao. At night, Hou Cheng stole Lü Bu's Red Hare and fled from the city towards Cao Cao's camp.

The next morning, Cao Cao's troops launched a fierce attack on the city, forcing Lü Bu to participate in the defense personally. The battle dragged until late noon and the exhausted Lü Bu took a nap. Song Xian and Wei Xu took the opportunity to tie Lü Bu up and they hoisted a white flag and threw Lü Bu's weapon down the city wall. With help from the defectors, Cao Cao's army broke into the city and captured it swiftly. Lü Bu was bound and brought before Cao Cao at White Gate Tower. He pledged his service to Cao and Cao, who had a penchant for recruiting talents, was almost swayed by Lü Bu's words. Just then, Liu Bei reminded Cao Cao of the fates of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao changed his decision. Lü Bu stamped his foot in anger and hurled abuse at Liu Bei. Cao Cao then ordered for Lü Bu to be executed by hanging and ''xiaoshou'' (梟首; the corpse to be decapitated and the head put on display).

Family

The family members of Lü Bu mentioned in this section are based on the historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''.

Foster fathers:

*Ding Yuan, murdered by Lü Bu

*Dong Zhuo, murdered by Lü Bu in their dispute over Diaochan

Spouses:

*Lady Yan, Lü Bu's first wife, bore him a daughter

*Lady Cao (曹氏), Lü Bu's second wife, daughter of Cao Bao, died early, did not bear Lü Bu any children

*Diaochan, Lü Bu's concubine, never bore him any children either

Children:

*Daughter, unknown name (known as Lü Lingqi in Koei's video games), arranged to be married to Yuan Shu's son

Appointments and titles held

Commandant of Cavalry (騎都尉)

General of the Household (中郎將)

General Who Inspires Might (奮威將軍)

Marquis of Wen (溫侯)

Modern references

Because of his reputation as an unmatched and highly skilled warrior in the Three Kingdoms saga, Lü Bu is often held in high regard in works based on the Three Kingdoms, sometimes even in works not based on the Three Kingdoms. These include video games, where he is often given the highest War/Attack stats, and in anime and manga. Some examples for these are listed below.

Lü Bu is a character in Koei's video game series ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', usually as one of the icon characters. He is generally the only character in the game with the maximum "War" statistic, but has abysmal "Intelligence" and "Politics" statistics to reflect his historical failures. The sum of all of his statistics added up is only 266 out of a maximum of 500.

Lü Bu is a playable character in Koei's video game franchise ''Dynasty Warriors'', in which he is usually the strongest character and wields a powerful halberd. He is portrayed wearing a pheasant-tailed headpiece, In ''Dynasty Warriors 6'' he is given new all black armor and begins wielding the Sky Piercer (though it was changed to a star-shaped, four-bladed weapon) and riding the Red Hare, as consistent with his traditional image. In ''Dynasty Warriors 7'' he goes back to using the halberd though he remains in the same armor.

In Koei's ''Warriors Orochi'', Lü Bu serves Orochi as one of his top warriors. In this crossover series between ''Dynasty Warriors'' and ''Samurai Warriors'', Lü Bu finally found a worthy challenger to fight him, Honda Tadakatsu, who leads an independent force against Orochi, and is constantly looking for a chance to duel him. He also seeks to one day challenge Orochi himself. In the sequel game, he still served Orochi, but eventually went on to betray him too and formed up his own force, temporarily allying with Wu forces.

In Capcom's ''Destiny of an Emperor'' for the ''NES'' Lü Bu appears as a character with the highest attack stat. In the game, the player is capable of recruiting him into Liu Bei's party albeit only temporarily. Unique among the various portrayals of the character, in ''Destiny of an Emperor'' (and the manga it is based upon, ''Tenchi o Kurau'') Lü Bu is depicted as a singular blond Caucasian man among the other Chinese characters, suggesting that his uncommon strength and height was due to European, as opposed to Chinese, ancestry.

Lü Bu is one of the fighters in the Neo Geo's ''World Heroes 2 Jet'', although his name is instead "Ryofu," the Japanese pronunciation of his name.

The character Ryofu Housen (Japanese pronunciation of Lü Bu Fengxian), in the anime short series ''Ikki Tousen'', is also roughly based on Lü Bu.

In the manga and OVA anime ''Ryofuko-chan'', Lü Bu is reincarnated as the elementary school student Ryofuko.

In the collectible card game ''Magic: The Gathering'' there is a card named "Lu Bu, Master-at-Arms", in the ''Portal Three Kingdoms'' set.

In ''Fate/Extra'', Lü Bu is one of the Berserker-class Servants.

See also

List of people of the Three Kingdoms

List of Dynasty Warriors characters

References

Fan Ye. ''Book of the Later Han'', Volume 75, Biography of Lü Bu.

Category:Year of birth missing Category:199 deaths Category:2nd-century births Category:Dong Zhuo and associates * Category:People from Inner Mongolia Category:Executed Chinese people Category:People executed by hanging Category:2nd-century BC executions Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Han Dynasty warlords

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