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Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions
Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions were a series of five military campaigns launched by the state of Shu Han against the rival state of Cao Wei from 228 to 234 during the Three Kingdoms period in China. All five expeditions were led by Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor and regent of Shu. Although they proved unsuccessful and ended up as a stalemate, the expeditions have become some of the best known conflicts of the Three Kingdoms period and one of the few battles during it where each side (Shu and Wei) fought against each other with hundreds of thousands of troops, as opposed to other battles where one side had a huge numerical advantage. The expeditions are dramatised and romanticised in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', where they are referred to as the "six campaigns from Mount Qi" (). This term is inaccurate, since Zhuge Liang only launched two of his expeditions (the first and the fourth) from Mount Qi. Background In 220, follow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China. At its height of power, the empire stretched from the Sea of Japan in the east to the Pamir Mountains in the west, and from the Mongolian Plateau in the north to the South China Sea in the south. Originally emerging from the Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin dynasty founded in 1616 and proclaimed in Shenyang in 1636, the dynasty seized control of the Ming capital Beijing and North China in 1644, traditionally considered the start of the dynasty's rule. The dynasty lasted until the Xinhai Revolution of October 1911 led to the abdication of the last emperor in February 1912. The multi-ethnic Qing dynasty Legacy of the Qing dynasty, assembled the territoria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guo Huai
Guo Huai (died 23 February 255), courtesy name Boji, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty under the warlord Cao Cao as a subordinate of Cao Cao's generals Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He. During the Three Kingdoms period, he served in Wei, the state established by Cao Cao's son Cao Pi, and lived through the reigns of four Wei emperors (Cao Pi, Cao Rui, Cao Fang and Cao Mao). From the 220s until his death in 255, he governed and defended Wei's western borders in Yong and Liang provinces (covering parts of present-day Gansu, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia). During this time, he resisted multiple invasions by Wei's rival state, Shu Han, and quelled some rebellions by local Qiang, Di and other non-Han Chinese tribes. Family background Guo Huai was from Yangqu County (), Taiyuan Commandery, which is located southwest of present-day Yangqu C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wang Ping (Three Kingdoms)
Wang Ping (died 248), courtesy name Zijun, was a military general of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a military officer serving under the warlord Cao Cao. In 219, he defected to Cao Cao's rival Liu Bei during the Hanzhong Campaign. Although he was a talented orator, Wang Ping never learned to read because he joined the army at a young age. However, he did not let this disadvantage stop him and had his clerk help him with his reports. Known for his self discipline, he steadily rose through the ranks to become a senior general. During his career, he defeated Zhang He, quelled Wei Yan's alleged rebellion and was the leading commander of the Shu forces during the Battle of Xingshi. The highest position he reached was Senior General Who Guards the North (). Early life Wang Ping was born in Dangqu County, Baxi Commandery (巴西郡), which is present-day Qu County, Sichuan. A native from the same commandery as another Shu Han general, Ju Fu. He wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chen Shi (Three Kingdoms)
Chen Shi ( 217–229) was a military officer of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. His name is sometimes recorded as Chen Jie. Life Little is recorded about Chen Shi in history. Information about him is scattered throughout the biographies of different persons and across different years in the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', the authoritative source for the history of the Three Kingdoms period. Chen Shi was first mentioned in 217 when he participated in the Hanzhong Campaign under Liu Bei's command. Liu Bei sent him and ten other officers to lead their troops to cut off the enemy's route along the gallery roads at Maminge Path (馬鳴閣道; in present-day Guangyuan, Sichuan). However, they were driven back by Xu Huang, a general under Liu Bei's rival Cao Cao, and many of Liu Bei's soldiers fell off the gallery roads into the deep valleys and died during the attack. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ma Su
Ma Su (190–228), courtesy name Youchang, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. Ma Su had conspicuous talent in military theories and was admired by the Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang. However, a tactical blunder by Ma Su at the Battle of Jieting resulted in Shu being dealt a huge defeat by Zhang He, a general of the rival state of Wei. He was a younger brother of Ma Liang. Much dramatisation shrouds the death of Ma Su. According to the biography of Ma Su's close friend Xiang Lang, Ma Su was said to have attempted to flee with no further information if it was after or during his defeat at Jieting, but was captured. Following this, he was executed on Zhuge Liang's order and seemed to have faced death with dignity. Most cultural depictions concentrate on the latter part, such as the historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' as well as the Peking opera ''Loss of Jieting''. Early life Ma Su was born in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deng Zhi
Deng Zhi (178 - 251), courtesy name Bomiao, was a government official, diplomat and military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. A descendant of Deng Yu, Deng Zhi started his career in the late Eastern Han dynasty under the warlord Liu Bei as a low-level officer in Pi County. After Liu Bei discovered his talent, Deng Zhi steadily rose through the ranks to become a county prefect and later a commandery administrator and imperial secretary. In 223, the Shu regent Zhuge Liang sent him as Shu's envoy to meet Sun Quan, the ruler of Shu's ally state Wu, and reestablish the Wu–Shu alliance against their common rival state Wei. Deng Zhi succeeded in his mission and earned praise from Sun Quan for strengthening Wu–Shu ties. In 227, Deng Zhi became a military general and he participated in the first Shu invasion of Wei by leading a decoy force with Zhao Yun to distract the Wei general Cao Zhen. Although they lost the battle, Deng Zhi and Zhao ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhao Yun
Zhao Yun ( ) (died 229), courtesy name Zilong (), was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the northern warlord Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun later came to serve another warlord, Liu Bei, and had since accompanied him on most of his military exploits, from the Battle of Changban (208) to the Hanzhong Campaign (217–219). He continued serving in the state of Shu Han – founded by Liu Bei in 221 – in the Three Kingdoms period and participated in the first of the Northern Expeditions until his death in 229. While many facts about Zhao Yun's life remain unclear due to limited information in historical sources, some aspects and activities in his life have been dramatised or exaggerated in folklore and fiction. In the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', he was lauded as a member of the Five Tiger Generals under Liu Bei. Historical sources on Zhao Yun's life ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wei Yan
Wei Yan () (died October 234), courtesy name Wenchang, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty, Wei Yan rose through the ranks and became a general after Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) in 214. His performance in battle helped him to become a prominent figure in the Shu military in a short period of time. He was later appointed as the Administrator of Hanzhong Commandery and as an Area Commander in 219. Between 228 and 234, he participated actively in the Northern Expeditions led by the Shu regent Zhuge Liang against Shu's rival state, Cao Wei. After Zhuge Liang's death in September 234, Wei Yan was executed by another Shu general, Ma Dai, for alleged treason. Early life Wei Yan was from Yiyang Commandery (), which covered parts of present-day Nanyang in southern Hena ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang () (181September or October 234), also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist, and inventor who lived through the End of the Han dynasty, end of the Eastern Han dynasty ( 184–220) and the early Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. During the Three Kingdoms period, he served as the Chancellor (China), Imperial Chancellor (or Prime Minister) of the state of Shu Han (221–263) from its founding in 221 and later as regent from 223 until his death in September or October 234. He is recognised as the most accomplished strategist of his era. His reputation as an intelligent and cultured scholar grew even while he was living in relative seclusion, earning him the nickname "Wolong" or "Fulong" (both meaning "Sleeping Dragon"). Zhuge Liang's methods of administration drew both from Legalism (Chinese philosophy), Legalism as well as Confucianism. He was critical of the Legalist thought of Shang Yang, and advocated benevole ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu Shan
Liu Shan (, 207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang and Imperial Secretariat Li Yan. His reign of 40 years was the longest of all emperors in the Three Kingdoms era. During Liu Shan's reign, many campaigns were led against the rival state of Cao Wei, primarily by Zhuge Liang and his successor Jiang Wei, but to little avail, due to their drastic mismatch in terms of population and geographic extent. Liu Shan eventually surrendered to Wei in 263 after Deng Ai led a surprise attack on the Shu capital Chengdu. He was quickly relocated to the Wei capital at Luoyang, and enfeoffed as "Duke Anle". There he enjoyed his last years peacefully before dying in 271, most probably of natural causes. Widely known to later generations by his infant name "Adou" (), Liu Shan was commonly perceived as an i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qin Lang
Qin Lang (199 – 238), courtesy name Yuanming, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Family background Qin Lang was born in the late Eastern Han dynasty and his ancestral home was in Xinxing Commandery (新興郡; around present-day Xinzhou, Shanxi). His father was Qin Yilu, a former subordinate of Lü Bu, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. His mother was Qin Yilu's ex-wife, Lady Du (杜氏), who was taken by the warlord Cao Cao as a concubine after Lü Bu's defeat and death at the Battle of Xiapi in 198-199. At a young age, Qin Lang accompanied his mother and joined Cao Cao's household. Cao Cao adopted Qin Lang as a son and doted on him. Once, during a banquet, Cao Cao told his guests, "Would someone love his foster son (referring to Qin Lang) in the same way as I do?" Due to his mother's second marriage, Qin Lang's half-siblings include Cao Gun, Cao Lin (Prince of Pei) and Princess Gaocheng. During Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xiahou Mao
Xiahou Mao ( 190s – 230s), courtesy name Zilin, was a military general and marquis of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Xiahou Dun, a general who served under the warlord Cao Cao, while Xiahou Mao was a close friend of the founding Emperor Cao Pi. Xiahou Mao married Princess Qinghe, one of Cao Cao's daughters, though the marriage would be an unhappy one and he once faced accusation of treason from his own family. Life From the Xiahou clan, which had long been allies to the Cao clan and supporters in the civil war, Xiahou Mao was a close friend of Cao Pi in Pi's youth. Xiahou Mao was appointed by Cao Cao to the secretariat and enoffed; he also married Cao Cao's eldest daughter. When Cao Pi brought about the abdication of Emperor Xian (the last emperor of the Han dynasty) in 220 and became the first emperor of Cao Wei, Xiahou Mao helped sponsor a commentary stele, perhaps as a proxy for his late father Xiahou Dun. Cao Pi mad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
