Niu Jin () ( 208–238) was a military general serving under the warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

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 continued serving in the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < Cao Pi Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest s ...

, 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.

Life

Niu Jin participated in the Battle of Jiangling of 208, during which he volunteered to lead 300 horsemen to attack the enemy, but was only saved by

Cao Ren Cao Ren () (168 – 6 May 223), courtesy name Zixiao, was a military general serving during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China under the warlord Cao Cao, who was also his older second cousin. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei – ...

when he got surrounded. Years later, he participated in the counter-attack against the invading Shu forces in 231 and scored a victory over

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is ...

's unit, and pursued him to Mount Qi. In 234, he soundly defeated the Shu general

Ma Dai Ma Dai () ( 222–235) was a Chinese military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under his uncle Ma Teng, a warlord in northwestern China, during the late Eastern Han dynasty. After Ma ...

on the battlefield and killed thousands of enemies. In 238, he followed

Sima Yi Sima Yi ( ; 179 CE – 7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 un ...

on his campaign against Gongsun Yuan and was promoted to General of the Rear (後將軍). However, Niu Jin's accomplishments in his later years had only earned him the apprehension from the Simas, thus he was ordered to commit suicide by drinking poison. The exact reasons for his death as well as the year he died remain disputed. The ''Yuan Shi Juan'' states that the incident happened "after the Year of the Horse" and that Niu Jin was poisoned by drinking toxic wine. Other records state that it was because Niu Jin committed adultery with one of the Sima relatives and was assassinated with poison arrows "during the Year of the Cow".245 is a Year of the Cow. Since the next Year of the Horse is 257, by this theory, Niu Jin died in 245. This account is somewhat supported by Wei's records as they state that an illegitimate child was born in the Sima family. A story from unknown origin also states that Niu Jin was killed since he was actually a distant relative of the former emperor; his death date and the accuracy of this statement are difficult to verify.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

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 ...

'', Niu Jin was one of

's subordinates. He chased Gan Ning back to Yiling during the battle of Jiangling, but was surrounded by reinforcements led by

Zhou Yu Zhou Yu (, ) (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin (), was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Quan, ...

, and was ultimately defeated. Niu Jin then regrouped and planned a night attack on Zhou Yu's camp, but in the end he was once again beaten, suffering another great loss.

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:Niu, Jin Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Generals under Cao Cao Cao Wei generals Chinese politicians who committed suicide Suicides in Cao Wei

Life

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

References