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Dynasty Warriors (真・三國無双, Shin Sangokumusō^?, Shin Sangokumusou in Japan, literally translated as "True - Unrivaled in the Three Kingdoms") is a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series^[1] is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name.

The first game titled Dynasty Warriors, Sangokumusō in Japan, is a fighting game and different from the rest of the series. All English titles are a number ahead of their Japanese counterparts due to the English localization of naming Shin Sangokumusō, a spin-off of the previously mentioned Sangokumusō game, as Dynasty Warriors 2.

It is Koei's most successful franchise.^[2] Including its many spinoffs, 18 million copies of the Dynasty Warriors series have sold worldwide by 2011.^[3]

Main series[link]

The first Dynasty Warriors is a traditional one-on-one fighting game, released in 1997 for the PlayStation. Its gameplay style is reminiscent of Virtua Fighter and Tekken with the addition of weapons and some exotic moves.

The next game was released in Japan as Shin Sangokumusou. This game was released in other countries as Dynasty Warriors 2, leading to the discrepancy in title numbers. From this game onwards, the player chooses a playable character and plays a number of levels representing particular battles in the Three Kingdoms period, eventually defeating all other rival kingdoms and uniting China under a common ruler. In this game mode, known as "Musou Mode", the generals are usually chosen from one of the three kingdoms (Wu, Shu or Wei; however, from Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends onwards, independent generals were given full stories as well). Dynasty Warriors 3 has two secret characters, Nü Wa and Fu Xi, that are not playable in Musou Mode.

Dynasty Warriors 3, Dynasty Warriors 5 and Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce have individual Musou Modes for each character. In Dynasty Warriors 4 and Dynasty Warriors 7, each of the Three Kingdoms have its Musou Mode, in which all characters from a particular kingdom will play the same mode and the player can switch characters during the game. The stages are presented in a third-person view, with the camera set behind the player as they engage the enemy forces. Each scenario can have different win/lose conditions, but the common losing conditions (defeat of the commander-in-chief, health bar reaching zero and maximum time limit reached) still hold. As for the other characters not from either of the Three Kingdoms, their Musou story modes are purely fictional since in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, most or all of them were eliminated until only the Three Kingdoms were left.

In Dynasty Warriors 5, a relatively more realistic Musou Mode is introduced for each character. Instead of participating in the entire set of their kingdoms' events, the characters appear only in certain battles that they had fought in, as according to the novel or factual history. Therefore, characters will start at different points in time and they may never have opportunities to encounter some of the other characters (e.g.: Zhuge Liang will never meet Lü Bu or Dong Zhuo in his Musou Mode). In between stages there are some dramatic cutscenes, in which the character will express his/her thoughts on the situation, adding a more personal touch and keeping the player updated on the events. Besides, a character's Musou Mode may end before the unification of China at any point of time. However, some characters such as the three founders may continue to participate in battles that occurred after their deaths (e.g.: Cao Cao appearing in Battle of Wuzhang Plains).

[edit] Xtreme Legends and Empires

In 2002, an Xtreme Legends (Moushouden in Japan) was released as a supplement to Dynasty Warriors 3, featuring story modes for the characters in the Other category. XL also added new and more powerful weapons. A new Xtreme Legends game has been set to come out for the PS3 in Japan on September 29, 2011 for Dynasty Warriors 7.

In 2004, another expansion was released beginning with Dynasty Warriors 4. The Empires supplement uses the action gameplay of the regular series while combining strategical and tactical elements from Koei's earlier series Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Dynasty Warriors 5 also received an Empires expansion in 2006 and in 2009 for Dynasty Warriors 6.

Portable games[link]

In 2004, Koei created the first Dynasty Warriors title for portable game handhelds, Dynasty Warriors, on PlayStation Portable, and in the following year, Dynasty Warriors Advance for Game Boy Advance. In 2007, Koei released Dynasty Warriors DS: Fighter's Battle for the Nintendo DS. A PlayStation Vita game Dynasty Warriors Next was released in 2011 as a launch title, and a Nintendo 3DS game, Dynasty Warriors Vs. was released in 2012.

PC games[link]

Dynasty Warriors 4 Hyper in 2005 is marked as the first DW game for the PC. In 2006, Dynasty Warriors BB (renamed Dynasty Warriors Online in 2007) was released as an online game.

Next to Dynasty Warriors 4 Hyper, Dynasty Warriors 6 was released for PC.

Characters[link]

The Dynasty Warriors game series is known for changing the traditional ways of how some of the historical characters were depicted in Romance of the Three Kingdoms or in historical records. For example, Zhang He appears to be more feminine while Wei Yan becomes a bestial tribal warrior. Some of them also wield weapons that are anachronistic, such as Ling Tong's Nunchaku and Sun Ce's Tonfas. A touch of mysticism is also added, as some characters such as Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi and Zuo Ci have the ability to use magic in their attacks. Female characters (except Sun Shang Xiang, Zhu Rong and Wang Yi) who did not participate in any battles in the novel or in history are depicted as fearsome female warriors with exceptional fighting skills and weapons.

There are a total of 62 playable characters in the Dynasty Warriors game series as of the seventh installment. Four characters from the earlier installments were removed while an additional seven characters from the 48 characters in the fifth installment do not appear in Dynasty Warriors 6. Five, of the removed characters, make a come-back in Dynasty Warriors 7. Each of these characters is armed with a weapon that may be a conventional historical one, an exotic martial arts weapon or a magical weapon that enhances his/her mystical powers. From Dynasty Warriors 3 onwards, each character can choose from a range of weapons with their own power-ups and ability enhancements, as well as higher-level weapons that extend his/her attack chain.

Stages[link]

Many of the stages are recreations of notable battles in the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms periods, that are usually depicted in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There are also some original creations in the newer installments that are purely fictional, such as the battle between the Nanman and Wu. The following is a list of common stages featured in almost all the installments:

Music[link]

The music for the Dynasty Warriors game series is a mixture of traditional Chinese instrumentals, hard rock and heavy metal. Most stages have their own exclusive music tracks played and the tracks change according to the battle situation or events. Lü Bu, the most powerful character in the game, has his own theme song.

Spin-offs[link]

Following the success of Dynasty Warriors, Koei released Dynasty Tactics in 2002 and its sequel in the following year, focusing on strategy and tactics in the same Three Kingdoms setting.

Probably the third most recognized franchise of Koei, Samurai Warriors (Sengoku Musou in Japan) series, was introduced in 2004, instead using Japan's Sengoku Period while still retaining similar gameplay like its predecessor. Samurai Warriors was followed by Samurai Warriors 2 in 2006, Samurai Warriors: Katana in 2007, Samurai Warriors 3 in 2009 and Samurai Warriors: Chronicles in 2011.

2006 saw the release of Dynasty Warriors Mahjong (Jan Sangoku Musou in Japan), which is completely different from the rest of the series, as it has the same characters play the game of mahjong, rather than having the gameplay of the original games.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam (Gundam Musou in Japan) was released in 2007, combining the popular Gundam franchise with Dynasty Warriors gameplay.

Warriors Orochi (Musou Orochi in Japan) was released earlier that same year, combining the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series into a fictional crossover. A sequel to that game, Warriors Orochi 2, was released in April 2008 in Japan and in September in North America.

Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War, based on the Hundred Years' War between England and France in the 14th and 15th century was also released in 2007, using gameplay similar to Koei's earlier Kessen series.

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage Hokuto Musō (北斗無双^?), a spinoff based on the manga and anime seriesFist of the North Star,^[4] was released in 2010.

Warriors: Legends of Troy, the second game in the series to receive an M rating by the ESRB, released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors, a spinoff inspired by the anime and manga series One Piece was released in 2012.

Mispronunciation of names[link]

The English voice-overs of the Dynasty Warriors game series is often criticized about the mispronounciations of the Hanyu Pinyin names of characters and locations.^[5][6] For example, Cao Ren is mispronounced as "Ki-ao-ren" instead of "Ts'ao-ren". However, in Dynasty Warriors 6 Cao Cao's name is now correctly pronounced as Ts'ao Ts'ao not Cow Cow. This seems to be the only correction in the series. In Warriors Orochi and Warriors Orochi 2, "Cao Cao", "Cao Ren", and "Cao Pi" were all pronounced correctly. Currently, in Dynasty Warriors 7, all names are pronounced correctly.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Dynasty Warriors

• Official website of Koei
• Dynasty Warriors (series) - Koei Wiki

Sun Ce
Warlord
Born	175
Died	200 (aged 24–25)
Predecessor	Sun Jian
Successor	Sun Quan
Names
Simplified Chinese	孙策
Traditional Chinese	孫策
Pinyin	Sūn Cè
Wade-Giles	Sun Tse
Style name	Bofu (伯符)
Posthumous name	Prince Huan of Changsha (長沙桓王)
Other names	Little Conqueror (小霸王)

Sun Ce (175–200)^[1] was a military general and warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was the oldest of the children of Sun Jian who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when Sun Ce was only 16. Sun Ce then broke away from his father's overlord, Yuan Shu, and headed to southeastern China to establish his own power base there. With the help of several people, such as Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu, Sun Ce managed to lay down the foundation of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period.

In 200, when the warlord Cao Cao was at war with his rival Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu, Sun Ce was rumored to be planning an attack on Cao Cao's capital city of Xuchang. However, he was assassinated before he could carry out the plan. Sun Ce was posthumously honored as "Prince Huan of Changsha" (長沙桓王) by his younger brother Sun Quan when the latter became the first emperor of Eastern Wu.

Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms describes Sun Ce as a handsome man who was full of laughter. He was also a generous and receptive man who employed people according to their abilities. As such, his subjects were willing to risk their lives for him. One detractor named Xu Gong, in a letter to Emperor Xian, likened Sun Ce to Xiang Yu, the warrior-king who overthrew the Qin Dynasty. As a result, Sun Ce was also referred to as the "Little Conqueror" in popular culture.

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Born in 175, Sun Ce was the eldest among five sons and one daughter of Sun Jian, a military general loyal to the emperor of the Han Dynasty. In 190, a year after Emperor Ling died, the warlord Dong Zhuo usurped power, placing in the throne the puppet Emperor Xian. Regional warlords in eastern China then launched a campaign against Dong Zhuo. Sun Jian rendered his service to Yuan Shu, one of the leaders of the coalition. The attempt to oust Dong Zhuo soon failed and China slid into a series of massive civil wars. In the next year, Sun Jian was sent by Yuan Shu to attack Liu Biao, governor of Jing Province (荆州; covering present-day Hubei and Hunan), but he was killed in an ambush.

Sun Ce brought his father's body to Qu'e (曲阿; present-day Situ Town, Jiangsu) for burial and settled his mother down before heading for Danyang (丹楊; present-day Xuancheng, Anhui), where his uncle Wu Jing was the governor. There he raised a small militia a few hundred in strength. This small force was far from sufficient for him to establish his own power so in 194 Sun Ce went to Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu was very impressed with Sun Ce and often lamented that he had no son like him. He also returned Sun Jian's former division of troops to Sun Ce.

Initially, Yuan Shu promised to appoint Sun Ce the governor of Jiujiang but eventually gave the governorship to Chen Ji. Later, when Yuan Shu was denied a large loan of grains from the governor of Lujiang, he sent Sun Ce to attack the latter, promising to make Sun Ce the governor of Lujiang should he succeed. When Sun Ce did, however, Yuan Shu again went back on his words and appointed someone else instead. The disappointed Sun Ce then began to contemplate leaving.

Meanwhile, Liu Yao, who was by imperial decree the governor of Yang Province (揚州; covering present-day southern Jiangsu, southern Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Fujian), occupied Qu'e as the regional seat Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui) was already occupied by Yuan Shu. He then forced Wu Jing back west across the Yangtze River to Liyang (歷陽; present-day He County, Anhui) However, Yuan Shu claimed to be the rightful governor and sent Wu Jing and Sun Ce's elder cousin Sun Ben to attack Liu Yao. After they were unable to break down the defense for more than a year, Sun Ce requested to lead a force to assist the effort.

Conquest of Wu territory[link]

The northern part of Yang Province where Sun Ce was active. Several locales of relevance are pin-pointed on this map.

Though Yuan Shu knew Sun Ce intended to leave, he believed the latter would not be able to defeat Liu Yao. Thus he deployed the young general off with merely a thousand odd troops and a tiny cavalry force. Along with a few hundred more willing followers, Sun Ce proceeded to Liyang, where he boosted his strength to more than 5,000. He then launched an offensive across the Yangtze River and successfully occupied the strategic position of Niuzhu (牛渚; present-day Caishiji, southwest of Ma'anshan, Anhui) in 195.

Two of Liu Yao's allies then came south from Pengcheng and Xiapi respectively to aid him. Sun Ce chose to first attack one of them, Ze Rong, who made camp south of Moling. After suffering initial defeat in the hands of the aggressor, Ze Rong fell back in defense and refused to engage in battle. Sun Ce then marched further north and attacked Xue Li (薛禮) in Moling. Although Xue Li soon gave up the city and escaped, Liu Yao's subject Fan Neng and others had regrouped their forces and launched a renewed attack on Niuzhu. Turning back, Sun Ce defeated Fan Neng and secured Niuzhu. He then began a second offensive against Ze Rong. However, he was struck by a stray arrow in the thigh. Returning to Niuzhu, he sent out false words that he was killed in battle. The exalted Ze Rong then sent a force to attack. Sun Ce led the enemies into an ambush and annihilated them. When Ze Rong heard that Sun Ce was still alive, he further reinforced his defense works.

Sun Ce then temporarily gave up attacking Ze Rong and focused his forces on Qu'e. After all the surrounding areas were taken over by Sun Ce, Liu Yao gave up the city and escaped south to Yuzhang (豫章; present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi), where he would later die. As Sun Ce implemented strict discipline among his troops, he won the instant support of the local people and gathered many talented men, such as Chen Wu, Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, Qin Song, and Lü Fan. He then pushed his force deeper into Yangzhou and conquered Kuaiji (會稽; present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang), whose governor Wang Lang surrendered. Sun Ce made Kuaiji his base city and struck out at the wandering bandit army led by Yan Baihu. Yan Baihu sent his younger brother Yan Yu to offer Sun Ce a position alongside Yan Baihu, but Sun Ce showed no mercy and personally slew the emissary. As Yan Yu was known among Yan Baihu's men as a fierce warrior, his death struck fear into their hearts and they were soon defeated. Sun Ce then appointed his relatives and a trusted subject to govern Danyang and Yuzhang, from which he divided a new commandery named Luling (廬陵). His campaign, from the occupation of Niuzhu to the conquest of the entire region southeast of the Long River, took less than a year. He then defeated and received the services of Zu Lang (祖朗), the Chief of Danyang, and Taishi Ci, the leader of the remnants of Liu Yao's forces; he then urged the surrender of Hua Xin, another one of the remnants of Liu Yao's forces. Thus, with the exception of the scattered but still numerous army of Yan Baihu, the lands south of the Yangtze were mostly pacified.

The barbarians of Shanyue tribe, however, were not easily dealt with. To counter the frequent rebellions of the Shanyue (who would continue to rebel for many years), Sun Ce appointed a certain He Qi to a military rank with orders to subdue the Shanyue. He Qi would go on to become a highly successful general; truly, his appointment by Sun Ce was the first important step to Wu's eventual subjugation of the Shanyue.

Later life[link]

Statues of Sun Ce (right) and Sun Quan (left)

In 197, Yuan Shu declared himself the unrecognised "Zhongjia" Emperor. In a letter to Yuan Shu, Sun Ce denounced the move and broke ties with the former. In an effort to garner support from Sun Ce, the rising warlord Cao Cao then recommended him to be appointed the Rebellions-Suppressing General (討逆將軍) and enfeoffed as Marquis of Wu (吳侯).^[2] In 199 Yuan Shu died of sickness along with his short-lived dynasty. His cousin Yuan Yin feared Cao Cao and gave up Shouchun. Bringing along Yuan Shu's coffin and his former troops, he headed to Huancheng (皖城; present-day Qianshan County, Anhui) to seek refuge under Liu Xun (劉勳). As Liu Xun had insufficient food supplies in his realm to support the additional troops, he led a force south to pillage Haihun (海昏; east of present-day Yongxiu County, Jiangxi).

Sun Ce was en route to attack Huang Zu, who was Sun Jian's killer, in Xiakou (夏口; present-day Hankou District, Wuhan, Hubei) when he received the news. He then turned back and captured the poorly defended Huancheng, taking over all of Yuan Shu's 30,000 former troops. Hearing that his base city had been taken, Liu Xun headed west and sought help from Huang Zu, who sent a 5,000-strong naval force to assist him. Sun Ce pressed forward and defeated Liu Xun, who escaped north to Cao Cao. Sun Ce annexed more than 2,000 former troops and 1,000 ships of his enemy and came upon Huang Zu. Despite reinforcements from Liu Biao, Huang Zu was utterly defeated. During the battle, Sun Ce slew Liu Biao's officer, Han Xi (韓希), and completely routed Huang Zu's son, Huang She (黃射).

The victorious Sun Ce in 199 looked poised to take over the entire southern China. As he was threatened by rival Yuan Shao in the north and could not divide his attention, Cao Cao attempted to further reinforce the alliance with Sun Ce by marrying the daughter of his relative Cao Ren to Sun Ce's youngest brother Sun Kuang. Sun Ce in turn agreed to marry Sun Ben's daughter to Cao Cao's son Cao Zhang.

The former governor of Wu Commandery (吳郡; south of present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu) Xu Gong, had long opposed Sun Ce. Xu Gong wrote to Emperor Xian, recommending the emperor to summon Sun Ce to the capital as he deemed Sun Ce to be a hero comparable to Xiang Yu and too dangerous to be allowed to occupy a territory. However, the letter was intercepted by an official loyal to Sun Ce, who attacked and then had Xu Gong executed. Xu Gong's former servants then kept a low profile and waited for chance to revenge.

In the year 200, Cao Cao engaged in the decisive Battle of Guandu with Yuan Shao along the shores of the Yellow River, leaving the capital and his base city Xuchang poorly guarded. Sun Ce is said to have then plotted to attack Xuchang under the banner of rescuing Emperor Xian, who was a figurehead held under Cao Cao's control. Preparations were underway for the military excursion when Sun Ce ran into three former servants of Xu Gong during a solo hunting trip. One of them managed to plant an arrow into Sun Ce's cheek before Sun Ce's men arrived and slew the assassins. Many differing accounts of Sun Ce's death exist (see below). One generally accepted scenario is that he died that same night.

Another possible scenario has Sun Ce living for quite some time. The physician told Sun Ce to rest still for a hundred days to allow the wound to heal, but Sun Ce looked into the mirror one day and, seeing his scar, became so enraged that he slammed his table. The large movement caused the wound to break and he died in the same night. Although he was survived by one son, Sun Ce passed his legacy to his younger brother Sun Quan. When Sun Quan declared himself the first emperor of the state of Eastern Wu in 222, he bestowed upon Sun Ce the posthumous title of Prince Huan of Changsha (長沙桓王).

Sun Ce was succeeded by a posthumous son, Sun Shao, as well as at least two (possibly three) daughters, married to Gu Shao (顧卲) and later Zhu Ji (朱紀), and Lu Xun respectively. Sun Shao bore one son, Sun Feng (孫奉), who was executed by Sun Hao for alleged treason due to his popularity.^[3]

Dispute over cause of death[link]

Sun Sheng (孫盛) in his Exposition on Disparities and Similarities (異同評) discounted the theory that Sun Ce made plans to attack Xuchang. He believed that although Sun Ce was a rising power, he was threatened in the west by Huang Zu, who was defeated but not eliminated, in the north by Chen Deng, governor of Guangling (廣陵; present-day Yangzhou, Jiangsu), and in the south by indigenous tribes yet to be assimilated. These prevented Sun Ce from striking far out at Xuchang and moving the emperor to southeastern China. He further argued that Sun Ce died on the fifth day in the fourth month of 200, before the Battle of Guandu even took place.

Pei Songzhi, annotator of the Records of Three Kingdoms, rebutted Sun Sheng, arguing that Huang Zu was newly broken and had yet to recollect his forces while the indigenous tribes were scattered and not much of a threat. Pei Songzhi believed that the first objective of Sun Ce's planned northward excursion was to attack Chen Deng, which would provide a platform for capturing Xuchang. On the other hand, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had been engaging in skirmishes and small-scale battles before Sun Ce's death. Thus there was in fact no discrepancy in timing.

A historically implausible legend regarding Sun Ce's death involves a popular Taoist priest of his time named Gan Ji (干吉), whom he regarded as a sorcerer. Despite petitions from his subjects and his own mother, Sun Ce ordered Gan Ji's execution. According to In Search of the Supernatural (搜神記) by Gan Bao (干竇), a compilation largely based on legends and hearsay, Sun Ce began to see apparitions of Gan Ji ever since the execution of the latter. After he was injured by assassins, Sun Ce was told by the physician to rest still to allow the wound to heal. However, he looked into the mirror one day and saw Gan Ji's face, whereupon he let out a cry and slammed the mirror. His wound broke and he died shortly. This version was adopted and further dramatized by Luo Guanzhong in his historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which Gan Ji's name was taken to be "Yu Ji" (于吉).^[4]

Family[link]

• Father: Sun Jian

• Mother: Lady Wu

• Spouse: Daqiao

• Children:
  • Eldest daughter, personal name unknown, married Gu Shao (顧邵), may have later married Zhu Ji (朱紀) after Gu Shao's death.
  • Second daughter, personal name unknown, married Lu Xun.
  • Possible third daughter, personal name unknown, married Zhu Ji, may be the same person as the eldest daughter.
  • Sun Shao (孫紹), posthumous son, enfeoffed by Sun Quan as Marquis of Wu (吳侯), and later as Marquis of Shangyu (上虞侯).^[3]

• Grandchildren:
  • Sun Feng (孫奉), son and successor of Sun Shao, executed by emperor Sun Hao over suspicions of plotting a coup^[3]

• Other relatives:
  • Sun He (孫河), a distant cousin from the Yu (俞) clan that either Sun Ce or Sun Jian adopted into the Sun family. He served as Sun Ce's bodyguard and is sometimes considered a foster brother of Sun Ce.^{[citation needed]}

Modern references[link]

Chinese opera[link]

In Peking opera, Sun Ce's role is usually that of a hero or tragic hero, while his brother, Sun Quan is usually portrayed as a villain at worst or self-seeking at best. Several operas even toy with the idea that Sun Quan had Sun Ce assassinated so that he could take control of the warlord state, though there is no historical evidence to support this view. In the opera Fenghuang Er Qiao, Sun Ce borrows 3,000 troops from Yuan Shu and allies with the Qiao army, which is led by the Two Qiaos. Sun Ce, the protagonist of the opera, eventually gains Da Qiao's hand in marriage through a martial arts contest with the help of Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao.

Film[link]

In the Shaw Brothers Studio film The Weird Man, Sun Ce has Yu Ji executed and the sorcerer becomes a vengeful ghost. In this film Sun Ce is portrayed as the anti-hero and Yu Ji as the hero due to the controversy between them in the novel. The 1993 Hong Kong film Ninja in Ancient China is also adapted from this story.

Comics and anime[link]

In the anime Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi, Sun Ce fights alongside his father against Dong Zhuo and is befriended by Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, with whom he trains to become a hero.

The protagonist of the manga/anime Ikki Tousen, Sonsaku Hakufu, is loosely based on the historical figure Sun Ce ("Sonsaku Hakufu" being the Japanese reading of Sun Ce's name and style name). Her guardian, Shuuyu Koukin, bears the same name and personality as Zhou Yu.

In the anime Kōtetsu Sangokushi, Sun Ce is portrayed as a once kind-hearted and virtuous hero who was corrupted by the power of the Imperial Seal, causing him to kill its protector.

In the Chinese manhua The Ravages of Time, Sun Ce is a cunning, ruthless, and manipulative character.

Video games[link]

Sun Ce is featured as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors video game series, as well as Warriors Orochi, a crossover between Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors.

Card games[link]

In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering there is a card named "Sun Ce, Young Conqueror", in the Portal Three Kingdoms set.

See also[link]

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms
• List of Dynasty Warriors characters

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Chen Shou (2002). Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 46, Biography of Sun Ce. Yue Lu Shu She. ISBN 978-7-80665-198-8. 
• Luo Guanzhong (1986). Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Yue Lu Shu She. ISBN 978-7-80520-013-2. 
• Lo Kuan-chung; tr. C.H. Brewitt-Taylor (2002). Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8048-3467-4. 

Zhao Yun
Qing Dynasty illustration of Zhao Yun
General of Shu Han
Born	(Unknown)[1]
Died	229[2]
Names
Simplified Chinese	赵云
Traditional Chinese	趙雲
Pinyin	Zhào Yún
Wade-Giles	Chao Yun
Style name	Zilong (子龍)
Posthumous name	Marquis of Shunping (順平侯)

Zhao Yun (died 229^[2]) was a military general who lived during the late Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. For most of his career, Zhao served the warlord Liu Bei, playing a part in the establishment of state of Shu Han. In literature and folklore, he is lauded as the third member of the Five Tiger Generals.

Due to limits in historical records, many facts about Zhao's life remain unclear or unknown. The original records in Chen Shou's Records of Three Kingdoms are only a couple of hundred words long. Pei Songzhi's annotations provide a relatively clear, though still incomplete picture of Zhao's life.

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Zhao Yun was born in Zhending, Changshan (south of present-day Zhengding, Hebei). He joined the warlord Gongsun Zan around late 191 or early 192 as a commander of a small group of county volunteers. In 192, he became a subordinate of Liu Bei, who was serving as a major under Gongsun Zan then. Zhao commanded a contingent of several thousand Wuhuan cavalry under Liu Bei. He left Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei to attend his older brother's funeral later.

Zhao Yun rejoined Liu Bei in 200, when Liu was defeated by Cao Cao and was seeking shelter under Yuan Shao. Zhao Yun had a close friendship with Liu Bei, as they shared the same bed while they were living in Ye then. Around the same time, Liu Bei sent Zhao Yun to secretly recruit more men to join his army, while they were both still under Yuan Shao. Zhao Yun succeeded in recruiting a few hundred men, when asked, they all claimed to be Liu Bei's personal militia, and Yuan Shao was unable to know if his men deserted him for Liu. From then on, Zhao Yun followed Liu Bei in his sojourns throughout northern China.

"Zhao Yun's Fight at Changban" inside the Long Corridor on the grounds of the Summer Palace in Beijing, China. The rider in white is Zhao Yun.

In 208, Zhao Yun distinguished himself at the Battle of Changban against Cao Cao's forces. Liu Bei left his family behind while fleeing during the chaos. At the same time, Zhao Yun disappeared to the north, incurring suspicion that he had surrendered to Cao Cao. When someone reported that to Liu Bei, Liu angrily threw a handaxe and said, "Zilong (Zhao Yun's style name) would never desert me". As expected, Zhao Yun returned with Liu Bei's infant son Liu Shan and wife Lady Gan. For his success, Zhao Yun was promoted to "General of the Standard" (牙門將軍).

Efforts in establishing Shu[link]

After the Battle of Red Cliffs, Zhao Yun played a major role in conquering territories in Jiangnan for Liu Bei. He was promoted to Major-General (偏將軍) and appointed Grand Administrator of Guiyang, replacing Zhao Fan, who surrendered the area to Liu Bei's forces.

When Liu Bei entered Yi Province (covering the Sichuan Basin) with his major advisor, Pang Tong, he appointed Zhao Yun as the main officer overseeing his base in Gong'an. Liu Bei's wife, Lady Sun, was the younger sister of the warlord Sun Quan, who was Liu's patron and chief ally. Emboldened by her brother's power and influence, Lady Sun and her militia often ran wild and broke the law. Liu Bei considered Zhao Yun to be serious, firm and unwavering, so he granted Zhao special authority to oversee internal affairs in Gong'an, as well to keep close watch on Lady Sun and her followers. Not long after Liu Bei left Jing Province, Sun Quan secretly summoned his sister back to Jiangdong. Lady Sun wanted to bring the young Liu Shan along with her, but Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei stopped her on the Yangtze River and retrieved their lord's son.

In 214, Liu Bei's invasion of Yi Province, governed by Liu Zhang, faced desperate resistance when he reached the city of Luo (雒; northwest of Chengdu). There, rival generals Liu Xun, Zhang Ren, and Ling Bao played a staunch defense, and Pang Tong was killed in action. Zhao Yun accompanied Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang to Yi Province to assist in the war.^[3] Zhao Yun held a separate command, with his army marching from Jiangzhou (present-day Chongqing), through Jiangyang (present-day Luzhou) and Jianwei, to enter the region. The arrival of Zhao Yun replenished the tired soldiers who were worn by the three-year campaign, and together they surrounded Chengdu, forcing Liu Zhang to yield. Liu Bei appointed Zhao Yun as "General of the Flying Army" after occupying Chengdu. At that time, many suggested to Liu Bei to grant estates and plantations around Chengdu to his generals for them to settle in. Zhao Yun argued that it was more suitable to return the lands to the locals, and Liu Bei accepted his advice.

Battle of Han River[link]

In 219, Liu Bei and Cao Cao battled for control over Hanzhong in the Hanzhong Campaign. Cao Cao had huge amounts of food supplies stocked up near the north mountain. Zhao Yun sent his soldiers to follow Huang Zhong to attack Cao Cao's army and seize the supplies. When Huang Zhong did not return on time, Zhao Yun brought a dozen men with him to find Huang. They ran into Cao Cao's vanguard army and were preparing for engagement when Cao's main force arrived. The situation became perilous for Zhao Yun as he was vastly outnumbered. Zhao Yun attacked the frontline of Cao Cao's army, surprising the enemy and causing them to momentarily disperse. However, Cao Cao's troops soon regrouped and surrounded Zhao Yun, so Zhao fought his way towards his own camp. When Zhao Yun saw that his subordinate Zhang Zhu was injured and had fallen behind, he turned back to rescue him. Cao Cao's army pursued Zhao Yun back to his camp. Zhang Yi, Administrator of Mianyang, who was stationed in Zhao Yun's camp, thought it would be best to close all the gates. However, upon entering the camp, Zhao Yun ordered all flags and banners to be hidden, all drumming to be stopped, and the gates left completely open. Cao Cao's force feared an ambush in the camp and hastily retreated. Just then, Zhao Yun ordered his drummers to beat the drums loudly and his archers to fire arrows at the enemy. Cao Cao's army was taken by surprise and disintegrated into chaos. Many of Cao Cao's soldiers drowned as they tried to flee towards the Han River to escape.

The following day after the battle, Liu Bei arrived to inspect the battle situation. He praised Zhao Yun for the victory, "Zilong has valor through and through", and threw a feast in honor of Zhao. From then on, Zhao Yun became known as "General of Tiger's Might" (虎威將軍) in Liu Bei's army.

In 221, Liu Bei proclaimed himself Emperor of Shu Han, and declared war on Eastern Wu to avenge the death of Guan Yu and the loss of Jing Province. Zhao Yun attempted to dissuade Liu Bei from waging war on Wu, and advised him to attack Wei first, but Liu Bei ignored his advice. Liu Bei then left Zhao Yun in charge of Jiangzhou, while he personally led an army to attack Wu, but was defeated at the Battle of Xiaoting.

Later life[link]

Liu Bei died in 223 and was succeeded by his son, Liu Shan. In the same year, Zhao Yun was named "South Conquering General" (征南將軍) and "Central-Protector-of-Army" (中護軍), and received the title of "Marquis of Yongchang" (永昌亭侯). He was promoted to "East Guarding General" (鎮東將軍) subsequently. In 227, Zhao Yun followed Zhuge Liang to Hanzhong to prepare for the first Northern Expedition.

Zhao Yun's last battle[link]

During the first expedition, as opposed to what was mentioned in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the honor of being the vanguard did not go to Zhao Yun. Instead, Zhao Yun was sent as a decoy against the main Wei force in Ji Valley, led by Cao Zhen. With Cao Zhen's men mostly tied up by Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang's army marched without much opposition at first. Upon learning that the Wei emperor Cao Rui dispatched Zhang He as reinforcement, Zhuge Liang promoted Ma Su over more experienced generals such as Wei Yan and Wu Yi (吳懿) to the commander of the vanguard in order to fend off Zhang He at Jieting. Ma Su was defeated by Zhang He and the Shu forces were forced to retreat. Later, Zhuge Liang lamented on his loss in the first Northern Expedition, he pointed out "his huge army at Mount Qi and Zhao Yun's army in Ji Valley, were larger than that of the enemies."^[4] However, his defeat by a smaller force was largely a result of Zhuge Liang's allocation of resources. A log in Records of Three Kingdoms explains why Zhao Yun was defeated—the entry says " (Zhao) Yun and (Deng) Zhi's troops were weak, while the enemy was strong, so they lost at Ji Valley (雲、芝兵弱敵強，失利於箕谷)." From the record, Zhuge Liang had reserved the elite troops for his favorite, Ma Su, and himself; Zhao Yun was given only weaker soldiers.^[5] In the aforementioned dialogue of Zhuge Liang, Zhuge presumed that numbers alone would help him prevail over his rival, without considering giving more power to veteran generals like Zhao Yun, Wei Yan and others; it was only after his failure did Zhuge realize army size alone did not determine the outcome of a battle(今欲減兵省將，明罰思過，校變通之道於將來；若不能然者，雖兵多何益！).

Unable to muster a victory, Zhao Yun managed to minimize his losses by rallying his surviving men to firmly defend their positions, he then personally went to the rear to prevent enemy pursuit, and did not hurry his retreat, so supplies were not lost, and no one was left behind. When he safely returned to Hanzhong, Zhuge Liang was surprised by Zhao Yun's smooth retreat and told Zhao to distribute the excess silk fabrics to his soldiers as a consolation. However, Zhao Yun rebuked his supervisor, and said to the latter, "How can rewards be given when our campaign failed? Please store the silk in a warehouse, and distribute them in October."^[6] Zhuge Liang was delighted when he heard what Zhao Yun said. Zhao Yun was demoted to "General of Peace Maintenance" (鎮軍將軍) as an overall campaign failure, despite his role as a decoy.

Death[link]

Zhao Yun died in 229 in Hanzhong and was granted the posthumous title of "Marquis of Shunping" (順平侯) by Liu Shan in 261.^[7] Liu Shan's order for Zhao Yun to be honoured read, "When Zhao Yun was serving the late emperor (Liu Bei), his contributions were already remarkable. When I was young, I relied on his loyalty to save me from great danger. That is why I am bestowing upon him the honour." Zhao Yun was one of 12 Shu subjects to be granted posthumous titles of nobility.^{[citation needed]}

Zhao Yun had two sons, Zhao Tong (趙統) and Zhao Guang. The latter followed Jiang Wei on the campaigns against Wei, and was killed in action in Tazhong.

Appraisal[link]

Zhao Yun was a disciplinarian who was able to differentiate between personal friendship and official relation. In 202, he participated in the Battle of Bowang against Cao Cao's general Xiahou Dun. In that battle, he captured Xiahou Lan (夏侯蘭), an old acquaintance who was from the same hometown as him. Zhao Yun turned Xiahou Lan in to Liu Bei, despite their close tie, but pleaded for Xiahou's life, to which Liu agreed. Xiahou Lan, as a person who was proficient at laws, became a military judge under Zhao Yun's recommendation; however, Zhao never kept Xiahou close. Such was his carefulness in handling relationships.

Zhao Yun was also able to remain sensible when facing temptation. When Zhao Yun and Zhao Fan got acquainted, the latter proposed a marriage between the former and Lady Fan, the widowed wife of Zhao Fan's older brother, while Zhao Yun politely declined, saying to Zhao Fan, "I share the same surname with you, therefore I regard your older brother as mine." Zhao Yun explained later why he did not agree to the marriage, "Zhao Fan was forced to succumb, his intentions are not yet clear. Besides, there are many other women in this world."^[8] Zhao Fan indeed escaped, indicating he harbored ill intentions. On the other hand, Zhao Yun remained unharmed because of his rationalism.

In fiction[link]

Many of Zhao Yun's actual exploits were highly dramatized in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the novel, Zhao Yun is described as being almost perfect, possessing unparalleled physical power as well as unwavering loyalty to his lord, tremendous courage, keen intelligence and serene charisma. These traits have often been reflected in almost all modern material about Zhao Yun to date. The novel portrays him as a courageous, loyal, and heroic warrior, and depicting him surviving insurmountable odds many times single-handedly.

Rescuing Liu Shan in Changban[link]

The novel portrayed Zhao Yun quickly and single-handedly slaying numerous enemy generals as he rode from point to point during the Battle of Changban, while asking civilians the whereabouts of Lady Gan, Lady Mi, and Liu Shan. As proof of his resolve, he stated that he would search everywhere to find them and if he could not, he would die on the battlefield. One of the many generals that fell to Zhao Yun was Xiahou En, who carried one of Cao Cao's prized swords, the "Qinggang" (青釭). The sword was said to be able to cut through metal as if it were mud, and Zhao Yun took it with him after slaying Xiahou En. Upon finally finding Lady Mi and Liu Shan near an old well, Lady Mi, who was injured in the leg, gave the child to Zhao Yun and refused to go with him, saying that she would be a burden to them. With enemy soldiers approaching, the two argued until Lady Mi committed suicide by throwing herself into a nearby well. Zhao Yun strapped the child to his chest and covered him with his breast plate armour and fought his way out through overwhelming encirclement of enemy troops, armed with only a spear and the newly acquired Qinggang sword. Zhao Yun's valor impressed Cao Cao, who ordered his archers not to fire at Zhao, but capture him alive instead in hope that Zhao would surrender to him. Throughout the battle, Zhao Yun charged in and out of the enemy formation seven times, killing over 50 enemy commanders.

Zhao Yun eventually fought his way to Changban Bridge, where he met Zhang Fei, who stayed behind to block the incoming enemy troops. Zhao Yun finally returned to Liu Bei's side, returned Liu Shan to him and expressed remorse for his failure to bring back Lady Mi. Liu Bei threw the infant to the ground, saying that his son was not worth the risk taken by the general to save him. Zhao Yun barely caught the child in his arms.

Rescuing Liu Shan from Lady Sun[link]

In chapter 61 (a fictionalization of a real incident), Lady Sun returned to Jiangdong to visit her ill mother after receiving news from her older brother, Sun Quan. In fact, Sun Quan was lying, as he wanted to trick Lady Sun into bringing Liu Shan along, and hold the boy hostage in exchange for Jing Province from Liu Bei. When Zhao Yun heard that Lady Sun was leaving with Liu Shan, he rushed to the pier and saw that Lady Sun had just boarded the vessel bound for Jiangdong, manned by Zhou Shan.

Zhao Yun boarded a small fishing boat and caught up with the vessel and leapt onto it. Zhao Yun fought his way through and managed to seize back Liu Shan from Lady Sun, but was unable to get off safely. Just then, the vessel was intercepted by a fleet led by Zhang Fei. Zhou Shan attempted to stop them but was slain by Zhang Fei. Lady Sun eventually agreed to let Liu Shan leave with Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun while she returned home alone.

Modern references[link]

Zhao Yun has been featured prominently in Chinese popular culture, literature, art and anecdotes. Zhao Yun was already a relatively well-known hero from the Three Kingdoms period, as folk tales about his heroics have been passed down through centuries. He became a famous household name due to the popularity of the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Recently, Zhao Yun's popularity has moved beyond Asia and into the Western world, through various media, including the Internet and video games.

Film and television[link]

A dramatised version of Zhao Yun's life story is featured in the 2008 film Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon, starring Andy Lau as "Zhao Zilong" (a reference to Zhao Yun by his style name). Hu Jun played Zhao Yun in Red Cliff, another film based on the Three Kingdoms that was released later in the same year. In the 2010 television series Three Kingdoms, directed by Gao Xixi, Zhao Yun was portrayed by Nie Yuan.

Video games[link]

Zhao Yun appears as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series. He is usually featured prominently on the cover of each title, and is most often used by the developers in screenshots and other promotional materials for upcoming releases. He also appears in all installments of Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms strategy game series.

See also[link]

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms
• List of Dynasty Warriors characters

Notes[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zhao Yun

References[link]

• Chen Shou. Records of Three Kingdoms, with annotations by Pei Songzhi.
• Luo Guanzhong. Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
• ""Andy Lau to Star in Two Period Films - Stratege and Zhao Zilong" on MonkeyPeaches". http://www.monkeypeaches.com/0507M.html#02A. Retrieved 2007-03-03.