Ba Manzi was a Chinese military general of the ancient Ba kingdom in the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

(475 BCE - 221 BCE) of China and a legendary hero in the folk cultures of

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

. His stories were recorded in the ''

Chronicles of Huayang The ''Chronicles of Huayang'' or ''Huayang Guo Zhi'' ( zh, t=華陽國志, s=华阳国志, first=t, l=Records of the Lands South of Mt. Hua) is the oldest extant gazetteer of a region of China. It was compiled by Chang Qu during the Jin dynast ...

'', which was written in the Jin dynasty. Ba Manzi lived roughly in the 4th century BCE. He was a general guarding the town of Linjiang (near modern

Zhong County Zhong County or Zhongxian () is a county of Chongqing Municipality, China. The name "Zhong" (忠) means "loyalty." It is named after the historical story of General Ba Manzi, who chose to be killed to keep his Kingdom together. Emperor 李世民 ...

), one of important towns in Ba's eastern frontier where there were many salt fields. Shu, another ancient kingdom near Ba, attacked

Wanzhou Wanzhou District ( zh, s=万州区 , t=萬州區 , p=Wànzhōu Qū) is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing M ...

and supported a rebellion in Ba's capital city (near present-day

). The king of Ba ordered Ba Manzi to lead troops to reinforce the capital. Ba Manzi's army was not strong enough to fight both the rebellion and Shu kingdom at the same time, so Ba Manzi asked the Chu state for help. He made a promise to the king of Chu that he would cede three towns to Chu if Chu could help Ba put down the rebellion. The king of Chu sent out his troops and helped Ba Manzi defeat the rebels and Shu army. After that, the king of Chu sent out an envoy to Ba to take over three towns. Ba Manzi told the Chu envoy that, as a general, he could not cede those three towns to another kingdom, but he was willing to compensate for his promises with his life. He then committed suicide by slitting his throat. The Chu envoy took Ba Manzi's head back to his king. The king of Chu was so impressed by the bravery and loyalty that Ba Manzi showed that he had Ba Manzi's head buried with full honours. Ba Manzi's remains were transferred to Ba's capital and buried there. There is a memorial dedicated to Ba Manzi in present-day Yuzhong District, Chongqing.

References

{{reflist Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Generals of the Warring States period Suicides by sharp instrument in China