Gongsun Zan () (before 161 - April or May 199),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theo ...

Bogui, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

Life

Little is known of Gongsun Zan's early life. He and

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

studied under the tutelage of Lu Zhi. At the time, the administrator of his home commandery appreciated Gongsun Zan's impressive looks and booming voice, so he arranged for his daughter to marry him. Gongsun Zan was deployed by

He Jin He Jin () (died 22 September 189), courtesy name Suigao, was a Chinese military general and politician. He was the military Grand Marshal and regent of the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an elder half-brother of Empress He, the emp ...

to quash rebellions in the north which he did successfully. Following a misunderstanding with his lord, Liu Yu, Gongsun attacked Liu and killed him, thus winning control of the surrounding areas. However, contrary to popular belief, he was never formally appointed as a commandery administrator. During this time, his former classmate Liu Bei came to serve him and was allocated the city of Pingyuan to defend. Zhao Yun shows his valor to Gongsun Zan

To the south, the two brothers

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred t ...

in the north and

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189 ...

in the south vied for supremacy over central China. Gongsun Zan formed an alliance with Yuan Shu and sent his second cousin, Gongsun Yue, to help Yuan Shu's general,

Sun Jian Sun Jian () () (155–191?), courtesy name Wentai, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed ...

, retake Yangcheng. However, Gongsun Yue died in the campaign. Using this as pretext, Gongsun Zan attacked Yuan Shao after his initial plan to gain Han Fu's lands went awry. However, Gongsun Zan was defeated by Yuan Shao at the Battle of Yijing. He committed suicide by setting himself on fire, after killing his sisters, wife and children.(紹設伏，瓚遂大敗，復還保中小城。自計必無全，乃悉縊其姊妹妻子，然後引火自焚。) ''Book of the Later Han'' vol. 73.

Family

* Gongsun Yue (), Gongsun Zan's younger second cousin. Gongsun Zan sent him with 1,000 troops and supplies to assist the warlord

, who was in a proxy war with his half-brother

. Gongsun Yue died after being hit by a stray arrow during the

Battle of Yangcheng The Battle of Yangcheng was a battle fought between the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu as the coalition against Dong Zhuo fell apart in 191 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Sun Jian, Yuan Shu's nominal subordinate returning from his triumphan ...

in 191 while fighting alongside

(Yuan Shu's proxy) against

Zhou Yu (Renming) Zhou Yu ( 190s), courtesy name Renming, was a Chinese military general and politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was from Kuaiji Commandery, which is around present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang. He had two brothers: Zh ...

(Yuan Shao's proxy). Gongsun Zan used Gongsun Yue's death as an excuse to declare war on Yuan Shao. ** In the 14th-century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...

'', Gongsun Yue is Gongsun Zan's younger brother. Gongsun Zan sends Gongsun Yue as a messenger to demand that Yuan Shao keep his promise by dividing

Ji Province Ji Province, also known by its Chinese name Jizhou, was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. It is referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the '' Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Rites of Zhou,Offices of Summer (� ...

between him and Gongsun Zan after seizing it from Han Fu, but Yuan Shao refuses. While Gongsun Yue is on his return journey, Yuan Shao orders his men to pretend to be

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minist ...

's soldiers and then ambush and kill Gongsun Yue. Gongsun Zan sees through Yuan Shao's ruse and subsequently declares war on him. * Gongsun Fan (), Gongsun Zan's younger second cousin. He leads troops from

Bohai Commandery Bohai Commandery (勃海郡 or 渤海郡) was a commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. It was centered around modern southern Hebei province. The commandery was established during Emperor Gaozu of Han's reign. In Western Han, it ad ...

() to join Gongsun Zan. He also fought in the

Battle of Jieqiao The Battle of Jieqiao, also known as the Battle of Jie Bridge, was fought between the warlords Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in 191 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. It was the first significant clash of arms between the rival warlords in the conte ...

alongside Gongsun Zan against Yuan Shao. * Gongsun Xu (), Gongsun Zan's son. During the Battle of Yijing (198–199), Gongsun Zan sent him to seek reinforcements from the Heishan bandits led by Zhang Yan. They returned too late as Gongsun Zan had already been defeated by Yuan Shao and had committed suicide along with the rest of his family. Gongsun Xu later met his end at the hands of the Tuge (), a

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

tribe.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Gongsun Zan is a character in the 14th-century historical novel ''

'', which romanticises the events before and during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period of China. He leads an elite cavalry unit called the "White Riders" and has served on the northern and eastern frontiers of the Han Empire by defending the borders from incursions by various non-

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

tribes. In 191, Gongsun Zan joins the coalition against

, the warlord who seized power in

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyan ...

and holds the figurehead Emperor Xian hostage. After the coalition breaks up, he gets into a rivalry with

over the territories in northern China and engages him in a series of battles throughout the 190s, starting with the

and ending with his defeat and death at the Battle of Yijing. In the novel, Gongsun Zan is nicknamed "White Horse General" because the elite cavalry unit he leads is made up completely of horses of pure white. The reason for doing so is that he knows that the non-Han Chinese tribes consider white horses sacred animals so they will run away when they encounter an enemy unit riding white horses in battle.

In ''Records of the Three Kingdoms''

Gongsun Zan's white horse volunteers () has historical basis, and appears in the historical records as an elite mounted unit on white horses which formed the core of his fighting force. The Records of Three Kingdoms describes how their "flags and armour lit up Heaven and Earth" at the

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Fan, Ye (5th century). ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'' (''Houhanshu''). * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Gongsun, Zan Han dynasty warlords * Year of birth unknown 2nd-century births 199 deaths Suicides in the Han dynasty Chinese politicians who committed suicide Filicides Han dynasty generals from Hebei Han dynasty politicians from Hebei Murder–suicides in China Political office-holders in Beijing Political office-holders in Hebei Politicians from Tangshan Sororicides Suicides by self-immolation Uxoricides

Life

Family

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

In ''Records of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

References