The Battle of Red Cliffs and the Period of the Three Kingdoms is one of the best-known and most highly romanticized engagements and eras in Chinese history thanks to the 14th-century CE bestselling novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong. Zhang condemned the Han as selfish and self-seeking aristocrats who had lost the Mandate of Heaven by which they had the right to rule. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}29°52′11″N 113°37′13″E / 29.86972°N 113.62028°E / 29.86972; 113.62028, Sun Quan and Liu Bei decisively defeat Cao Cao in 208, "The engagement at the Red Cliffs took place in the winter of the 13th year of Jian'an, probably about the end of 208." He has taught history, writing, literature, and philosophy at the college level. There is a local belief in Wuhan that the battle was fought at the junction of the rivers, southwest of the former Wuchang city, which is now part of Wuhan (de Crespigny 1990:256 n 78). By the end of 209, the post Cao Cao had established at Jiangling fell to Zhou Yu. By c. 130 CE, the eunuchs were the actual power behind the throne, manipulating the government & pushing through their various agendas. Modern-day scholars and even Cao Cao’s contemporaries claim this is a wild exaggeration and he probably had closer to 250,000 men, but even so, this was an incredibly large army, especially when one considers that his opponents could field only between 10,000-50,000 troops. Battle of Red Cliffs. With the 20,000 soldiers that Liu Bei had gathered, the alliance consisted of approximately 50,000 marines who were trained and prepared for battle (de Crespigny 1990:252, 255). By the time Zhuge Liang arrived, Cao Cao had already sent Sun Quan a letter boasting of commanding 800,000 men and hinting that he wanted Sun to surrender. Video games based on the Three Kingdoms era (such as Koei's Dynasty Warriors series, Sangokushi Koumeiden, Warriors Orochi series, Destiny of an Emperor, Kessen II and Total War: Three Kingdoms) have scenarios that include the battle. A key advisor, Jia Xu, had recommended after the surrender of Liu Cong that the overtaxed armies be given time to rest and replenish before engaging the armies of Sun Quan and Liu Bei, but Cao Cao disregarded the advice (Eikenberry 1994:60). The emperor Lingdi (r. 168 -189 CE) had continued the policies of his predecessors in elevating regional governors to military positions to guard the borders against invasions by the nomadic Xianbei and Xiongnu and many of his best generals were therefore far from the capital. Related Content Cao Cao set off in the late summer of 208 CE with an army (according to his own estimation) of almost 800,000 warriors. The Yellow Turban Rebellion (so-called because of the yellow headgear rebels wore, symbolizing the earth) soon had active enclaves all over China and Zhang worked to arm the peasants for the conflict he knew would come when the Han chose to act. Which commander was part of the battle of red cliffs?. These include titles popular in Asia, such as the original Japanese version of Warriors of Fate and Dragon Throne: Battle of Red Cliffs. There, the admiral Themistocles hatched a plan to strike a last-ditch blow agai… Lingdi sent his generals Huangfu Song (d. 195 CE), Lu Zhi (d. 192 CE), and Zhu Jun (d. 194 CE) against the rebels but as soon as one enclave was crushed, another appeared elsewhere. However, the crossing of the Yangtze River dissolved into chaos as the allied armies converged on the riverbank and fought over the limited number of ferries. The Battle of Red Cliffs was fought to try to reunite China. Modern-day scholars and even Cao Cao’s contemporaries claim this is a wild exaggeration and he probably had closer to 250,000 men, but even so, this was an incredibly large army, especially when one considers that his opponents could field only between 10,000-50,000 troops. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. Examples from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms include Zhuge Liang pretending to use magic to call forth favourable winds for the fire ship attack, his strategy of "using straw boats to borrow arrows", and Guan Yu capturing and releasing Cao Cao at Huarong Trail. [11] Citing several historical-geographical studies, Zhang (2006) shows that earlier accounts place the battlefield in Wuchang. This site is also on the north bank of the Yangtze, and is directly across from Fankou rather than upstream from it (Zhang 2006:215). This may be attributed to the ethos of later times, particularly of the Southern Song dynasty(de Crespigny 2007:483). One of these regional officials was Cao Cao who seized on the new freedom and crushed the rebellion within a year. Ancient History Encyclopedia. They united China but they could not keep their power forever. "Battle of Red Cliffs." The romantic tradition that originated with the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms differs from historical accounts in many details. Upon his return in 208, he was appointed Chancellor, a position that granted him absolute authority over the entire imperial government (de Crespigny 1969:253, 465 6n). He was finally killed by his confidante and bodyguard Lu Bu and, after his death, the coalition broke apart and turned on each other. Heavy rains had made the road so treacherous that many of the sick soldiers had to carry bundles of grass on their backs and use them to fill the road to allow the horsemen to cross. Although Cao Cao had boasted command of 800,000 men, Zhou Yu estimated Cao Cao's actual troop strength to be closer to 230,000. (de Crespigny 1990:273) The battle has been called the largest naval battle in history in terms of numbers involved. Former Ode on the Red Cliffs, A famous poem by Su Shi written during the Song dynasty – National Palace Museum. Cao Cao, Battle of Red Cliffsby Shizhao (CC BY-SA). The path the retreating army needed to take, the Huarong Road, was a muddy track which made for slow going and many of the men were sick, all of them most likely demoralized, and more died on the retreat north than at the brief Battle of Red Cliffs. [5] The faction led by Sun Quan's Chief Clerk, Zhang Zhao, advocated surrender, citing Cao Cao's overwhelming numerical advantage. At this point historical accounts are inconsistent; Lu Su may have successfully encouraged Liu Bei to move even further east, to Fankou (樊口; around present-day Ezhou, Hubei). Experience the rich history of China in 3 Kingdoms – Battle of Red Cliffs, the 3×5, 25 lines videoslot. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. Even the first title presents Chi Bi as a background for Wu characters, one version including a flaming fleet of ships at nightfall. Cao Caoby The Creative Assembly (Copyright). However, weapons shortage was not the only problem the allied force faced. 3 Kingdoms - Battle of Red Cliffs Slots. Zhang (2006:215, 223) asserts that the Chibi battlefield was one of a set of hills in Wuchang that were levelled in the 1930s so that their stone could be used as raw material. The unmanned fire ships, carried by the southeastern wind, sped towards Cao Cao's fleet and set it ablaze. Cao Cao then retreated north to his home base of Ye, leaving Cao Ren and Xu Huang to guard Jiangling, Yue Jin stationed in Xiangyang, and Man Chong in Dangyang (Chen c. 280). With Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang, Chen Chang. Despite the strategic acumen Cao Cao had displayed in earlier campaigns and battles, in this case he had simply assumed that numerical superiority would eventually defeat the Sun and Liu navy. Unlike Wu and Wei which had resources and dynasties behind them, Shu was started by band of three sworn brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who swore for a common goal of restoring the Han dynasty. Excluding tone marks, the pinyin romanization of this cliff's name is "Chibi", the same as the pinyin for Red Cliffs. [9] Scholarly debates have continued for at least 1,350 years (Zhang 2006:215), and a number of arguments in favour of alternative sites have been put forward. Last modified January 21, 2020. The once-efficient bureaucracy of the Han declined as more and more of the upper class, who had no training in government administration, filled the posts, collected their pay, and neglected their duties. The Chinese battle of the Red Cliffs is surely decisive though it should be noted that the historical record is inconsistent and heavily debated. Guandong Coalition of warlords unite against Dong Zhuo. (, (江表傳載曹公與權書曰：「近者奉辭伐罪，旄麾南指，劉琮束手。今治水軍八十萬衆，方與將軍會獵於吳。」權得書以示羣臣，莫不嚮震失色。), The number of vessels in the squadron is unclear. In 1983, a statue of prominent Song dynasty poet, Su Shi, was erected at the Huangzhou site of 'Su Dongpo's Red Cliffs' in tribute to his writings regarding Red Cliff (Xinhua 1983). Plagued by disease and low morale due to the series of forced marches they had undertaken on the prolonged southern campaign (de Crespigny 2003), Cao Cao's men could not gain an advantage in the small skirmish which ensued, so Cao Cao retreated to Wulin (north of the Yangtze River) and the allies pulled back to the south (de Crespigny 1990:257). Cao Cao's army attempted a retreat along Huarong Road, including a long stretch passing through marshlands north of Dongting Lake. Zhang focused his movement on the principle of jiazhi (“worth”), the fundamental, intrinsic value of an individual and, by extension, the actions of that individual. The battle of Red Cliffs was the only thing between Cao Cao and his domination of China. … The novel was incredibly popular and is still read in the present day. Each vied with the other purely out of their own self-interest, and the people they were supposed to be fighting for paid the price for their ambition. Redcliff Elite Commander Left Arm. Beijing Opera The Battle of Red Cliffs: Zhou Yu, the command-in-chief of Wu Kingdom, played by Ye Shaolan; Huang Gai, a Wu general, played by Shang Changrong. Find answers for Rise of Kingdoms on AppGamer.com By c. 130 CE, the eunuchs were the actual power behind the throne, manipulating the government and pushing through their various agendas. The Han Dynasty, which had liberated China after the repressive rule of the Qin (221-206 BCE), had become increasingly corrupt by c. 130 CE. The Battle of Red Cliffs took place in 208 A.D. The Yangtze River in the area of Jing Province was key to the success of this strategy. The generals Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan bring their entire army on stacked reels. Many of these soldiers drowned in the mud or were trampled to death in the effort. While the eunuchs and their supporters were being massacred, the young emperor, his brother Liu Xie, and their family escaped the city and were on their way to Chang'an when they were intercepted by Dong Zhuo, marching toward Luoyang. Close. A court official (who was also a regional governor) named Liu Yan (d. 194 CE), suggested that the emperor empower his provincial and regional officials by releasing them from imperial dictates and allowing them to handle the rebellion in their own territories as they best saw fit. Sun Quan's troops had suffered far greater casualties than Liu Bei's in the extended conflict against Cao Ren following the Battle of Red Cliffs and the death of Zhou Yu in 210 resulted in a drastic weakening of Sun Quan's strength in Jing Province (de Crespigny 1990:291–92, 197). Cao Cao also had little support among the people of Jing Province, and thus lacked a secure forward base of operations (Eikenberry 1994:60). For example, although modern Huarong city is located in Hunan, south of the Yangtze, in the 3rd century the city of that name was due east of Jiangling, considerably north of the Yangtze (Zhang 2006:229; de Crespigny 1990:256 78n). Historical accounts also establish east and west boundaries for a stretch of the Yangtze which encompasses all possible sites for the battlefield. A combination of Cao Cao's strategic errors and the effectiveness of Huang Gai's ruse had resulted in the allied victory at the Battle of Red Cliffs. Dong took the emperor and his entourage and, now holding the imperial seal, declared himself the supreme power. Mark, published on 21 January 2020 under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Cao Cao now held the key to legitimate rule with the emperor & Imperial Seal within his borders. Ancient History Encyclopedia. The eunuchs were originally no more than harem guards, chosen to ensure the safety and sexual purity of the Chinese emperor’s many concubines, but their proximity to the emperor and ready access to court intrigues made them valuable assets to the nobility. Moreover, if the allied Sun-Liu forces left from Xiakou rather than Fankou, as the oldest historical sources suggest,[4] then the hill in Huangzhou would have been downstream from the point of departure, a possibility which cannot be reconciled with historical sources. "Battle of Red Cliffs." Following the initial shock, Zhou Yu and the allies led a lightly armed force to capitalise on the assault. Cao Cao recognized the day was lost completely and sounded a general retreat back north with Zhou Yu, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan’s forces pursuing them. To this he needed to get control of the Yangtze River in order to have access to the rest of the southern region. While historical accounts describe Lu Su as a sensible advisor and Zhou Yu as an eminent military leader and "generous, sensible and courageous" man, Romance of the Three Kingdoms depicts Lu Su as unremarkable and Zhou Yu as cruel and cynical (de Crespigny 1990:300, 305–06 29n). By the early third century, the Han dynasty, which had ruled China for almost four centuries (albeit with a 16-year interruption, dividing the dynasty into its Western and Eastern periods), was crumbling. [8] The ships had been converted into fire ships by filling them with bundles of kindling, dry reeds, and fatty oil. He met no resistance on his march toward Jiangling, but he knew the other warlords would be waiting for him once he reached the city. Archived. The control of Jing Province provided Liu Bei with virtually unlimited access to the passage into Yi Province and important waterways into Wu (southeastern China) and dominion of the southern Yangtze River. Instead, Cao Cao and the others continued the power struggle, killing each other off and absorbing lands, while the emperor remained under the 'protection' of Cao Cao and could do nothing. Ranked as one of the most decisive military engagements of all time. During the majority of the series, Sun Quan is pres… Each person had a divine value, no matter their social class or contribution to society, and this was being ignored by the government officials who squandered resources, wasted time and energy, and pursued their own petty interests all at the expense of the people they were supposed to be serving. In 480 B.C., Ancient Greece was fighting for its life. The warlord Cao Cao built an army to crush his two southern rivals, Liu Bei … Observing this, divisional commander Huang Gai sent Cao Cao a letter feigning surrender and prepared a squadron[7] of capital ships described as mengchong doujian (蒙衝鬥艦). Liu Bei, on the other hand, had gained territory by taking over the four commanderies (Wuling, Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang) south of the Yangtze River. The warlords claimed they were fighting for the restoration of the Han Dynasty and to rescue the emperor while Dong claimed the emperor was his guest and in no danger. As Huang Gai's "defecting" squadron approached the midpoint of the river, the sailors applied fire to the ships before taking to small boats. The first objective was to capture the port city of Jiangling on the Yangtze River which would enable Cao Cao to control trade as well as supply troops quickly throughout the south. Cao Cao had gained a significant number of ships through his earlier victories and planned on using them to subdue the south along the Yangtze River. Some sources mention the south banks of the Yangtze in Jiayu County (嘉鱼县) in the prefecture-level city of Xianning in Hubei province as a possible location. Interesting Facts about the Battle of Red Cliffs Cao Cao boasted in a letter that he had 800,000 soldiers. I find start-ups similar to the Shu Kingdom. Emperor Xian had been a political figurehead since 189, with no control over the actions of the various warlords controlling their respective territories. Cao Cao would probably have won at this point, but his men were tired from the long march and, unused to the southern climate and terrain, they were disoriented, many of them ill. Guan Yu was able to easily rescue Liu Bei’s troops whereas, in the past, Cao Cao had proven himself a thorough strategist who planned for every contingency and would never have let that happen. The state of Shu Han, in particular, was viewed by later literati as the "legitimate" successor to the Han dynasty, so fictionalised accounts assign greater promin… Ancient History Encyclopedia, 21 Jan 2020. The romantic tradition that originated with the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms differs from historical accounts in many details. Battle of Salamis. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Battle_of_Red_Cliffs/. One popular candidate for the battle site is Chibi Hill in Huangzhou, sometimes referred to as "Su Dongpo's Red Cliffs" or the "Literary Red Cliffs" (文赤壁). This disorganised exodus was pursued by Cao Cao's elite cavalry, and was surrounded and decisively beaten at the Battle of Changban. The Eastern Wu forces look on as Liu Bei leaves the alliance. Check out the video to find out exactly what could have happened on that pivotal day: ... (Thx Records generals, never change) - but also shower properly the enemies only with repeating bolts, making the fight easier for my Pearl Dragons. One of the most powerful warlords in China was Cao Cao, who, by 207, had unified northern China and retained total control of the North China Plain. His men, used to land battles, became seasick and, probably in response to this, Cao Cao had the boats lashed together to prevent rocking so the fleet was one entire block of ships rather than separate boats able to maneuver. Battle of Red Cliffs; Part of the wars of the Three Kingdoms: Engravings on a cliff-side mark one widely accepted site of Chibi, near present-day Chibi City, Hubei.The engravings are at … They were literally kingdomless until after the Red Cliff battle. When they were halfway across, with the winds now moving them steadily forward, the sailors fired the ships and then slipped off onto smaller boats. The allied forces of the southern warlords Liu Bei from the Kingdom of Shu and Sun Quan from the Kingdom of Wu successfully won against the northern warlord Cao Cao from the Kingdom of Wei. A third ally, Liu Bei, was living in refuge with Liu Biao at the garrison in Fancheng, having fled from the northeast to Jing Province following a failed plot to assassinate Cao Cao and restore power to the imperial dynasty (de Crespigny 2007:480; de Crespigny 1969:258). (Chen c. 280:54:1265). Cao Cao defeated every opponent, steadily enlarging his territory until he held the entirety of the North China Plain. The borders of the land under Cao Cao’s control contracted about 160 kilometers (99 mi), to the area around Xiangyang. Cao Cao had chained his ships from stem to stern, possibly aiming to reduce seasickness in his navy, which was composed mostly of northerners who were not used to living on ships. The Mandate of Heaven, dating back to the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE), was a spiritual contract between the ruling house and the gods legitimizing a dynasty and evident in the ruling house’s care for the people. It was later recounted in the classic Chinese novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and retold in the 2008 movie Red Cliff. This argument was first proposed in the early Tang dynasty (Zhang 2006:217). 「Battle of Red Cliffs VR」 provides you with the chance to experience the great battle of Red Cliffs, one of the most historic battles from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The allied victory at Red Cliffs ensured the survival of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, gave them control of the Yangtze and provided a line of defence that was the basis for the later creation of the two southern states of Shu Han and Eastern Wu. The ships were coming too fast and were too close for Cao Cao to do anything to stop them and they slammed into his fleet, setting it on fire. The first chapter of a two-part story centered on a battle … This metropolis was incorporated by joining three cities. Liu Bei's main advisor, Zhuge Liang, was sent to Chaisang (柴桑; in present-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi) to negotiate forming a mutual front against Cao Cao with Sun Quan (de Crespigny 1969:263). To build Shu, the brothers stood by each other, despite how terrible the odds were. Zhang Jue was either killed in battle or executed and the revolt was crushed by the end of 184 CE. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. While Cao Cao was on the march, a new coalition had formed against him headed by Liu Bei of Han and Sun Quan of Wu but including a number of notable generals such as the great Guan Yu (d. 220 CE), so famous for his martial skills and personal honor that he was later deified as Guan Gong (also known as Guandi), god of war and protection, and the brilliant strategist Zhou Yu (d. 210 CE). Liu Bei followed suit in the south, founding the Kingdom of Shu Han and Sun Quan did the same with his Kingdom of Eastern Wu. Included Items. Puqi, now named Chibi City, is perhaps the most widely accepted candidate. Cite This Work Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and Michigan State University and University of Missouri. Although numerous, Cao Cao's men were already exhausted by the unfamiliar environment and the extended southern campaign, as Zhuge Liang observed: "Even a powerful arrow at the end of its flight cannot penetrate a silk cloth" (Military Documents 1979:193). Cao Cao set off in the late summer of 208 CE with an army (according to his own estimation) of almost 800,000 warriors. Total defeat seemed on the horizon, but the beleaguered Athenians managed to regroup with their allies on the nearby island of Salamis. Tropical diseases, to which the southerners were largely immune, were also rampant in Cao Cao's camps. At the same time, his naval commanders Cai Mao and Zhang Yun propose a new tactic of interlocking the battleships together with iron beams to minimize rocking when sailing on the river and reduce the chances of the troops falling seasick. [4] In either case, Liu Bei was later joined by Liu Qi and levies from Jiangxia (de Crespigny 1990:255). A large number of men and horses either burned to death or drowned (Chen c. 280:54, 1262–63). Ancient History Encyclopedia. The fictionalised accounts also name Zhuge Liang as a military commander in the combined forces, which is historically inaccurate (de Crespigny 1990:260–64). Directed by John Woo. The 26 warlords surrounded Luoyang with their armies but Dong escaped, setting the city on fire and herding the populace, including the emperor, toward Chang'an which he fortified. 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