Ling Cao (died 203) was a Chinese military general serving under the warlords

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175–200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when ...

and

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime ...

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 ...

of China. He was the father of

Ling Tong Ling Tong () (189–217), courtesy name Gongji, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He started his service under Sun Quan when he was still a teenager and, throughout his ...

. He was killed by

Gan Ning Gan Ning () (early 170s - c. 220), courtesy name Xingba, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Originally a notorious pirate, he gave up the life of a marauder in the late 190s and beca ...

after his ambush at Xiakou.

Service under Sun Ce

Ling Cao was known for his bravery and devotion to gallantry in his youth. When Sun Ce first raised his banner in 194, Ling Cao joined him and participated in the latter's conquests in the Jiangdong region. He fought for Sun Ce in various battles and always charged ahead of others on the field. Within a few years, Sun Ce had completed the conquest of all of

Yang Province Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and ''Rites of Zhou''. Name There are four different theories regarding the origin of the ...

; however, the restless

Shanyue The Shanyue (山越) were an ancient conglomeration of upland Yue hill tribes living in what is today the mountainous regions of Southern China and Northern Vietnam during the Han dynasty. Since the Southern part of China was not yet controlle ...

tribes in southeastern China continued to pose a threat to Sun Ce's administration. Sun Ce appointed Ling Cao as the Chief (長) of Yongping County (永平縣; in present-day

Liyang Liyang () is a county-level city under the administration of Changzhou in the Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. In 2011, it had a population of about 781,500. It borders the prefecture-level divisions of Wuxi to the east, Xuanc ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

) to counter the Shanyue. During his tenure, Ling Cao pacified the Shanyue and maintained low crime rates in the region. He was promoted to Colonel Who Defeats Bandits (破賊校尉) for his achievements.

Service under Sun Quan

After Sun Ce was assassinated in the year 200, Ling Cao continued serving under

, Sun Ce's younger brother and successor. In 203, Sun Quan launched a campaign against

Huang Zu Huang Zu (, ) (died 208) was Chinese military general and politician during the Eastern Han dynasty. . He served as the Administrator of Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei) under Liu Biao, the Gove ...

, the Administrator (太守) of

Jiangxia Commandery Jiangxia Commandery ( zh, 江夏郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. Its territories were located in present-day eastern Hubei province. History Jiangxia Commandery was established during the reign of Emper ...

(江夏郡; around present-day

Xinzhou District, Wuhan Xinzhou () is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China, covering part of the city's northeastern suburbs and situated on the northern (left) bank of the Yangtze River. It is also the ea ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

), to avenge his father

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 ...

, whose death at the

Battle of Xiangyang The Battle of Xiangyang () was a protracted series of battles between the Yuan dynasty and the Southern Song dynasty from 1267 to 1273. The battle was a significant victory for the Yuan dynasty and ended a 30-year defensive campaign waged by ...

in 191 was caused by Huang. Ling Cao served as the vanguard of Sun Quan's fleet. Upon his arrival at Xiakou (夏口; present-day

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers whe ...

, Hubei), Ling Cao ordered a charge aimed at the enemy commanding unit. Ling Cao's uninterrupted dash broke the defence line immediately and threw Huang Zu's navy into confusion with his sudden attack. Ling Cao then advanced further on a light vessel, but was killed by a stray arrow in the midst of battle. The historical record ''Wu Shu'' (吳書; ''Book of Wu'') by Wei Zhao claimed that

fired the arrow.(吳書曰： ... 權討祖，祖軍敗奔走，追兵急，寧以善射，將兵在後，射殺校尉凌操。) ''Wu Shu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 55. Ling Cao's son,

, became a prominent general under Sun Quan. Due to his father's death, Ling Tong bore a grudge against

, who surrendered and came to serve Sun Quan.

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''). * * 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:Ling, Cao Year of birth unknown 203 deaths 2nd-century births Deaths by arrow wounds Generals under Sun Quan Han dynasty generals from Zhejiang Han dynasty people killed in battle People from Hangzhou Sun Ce and associates

Service under Sun Ce

Service under Sun Quan

See also

References