Bao Xin (152–192) was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

of China.

Life

Bao Xin was from Pingyang County (),

Taishan Commandery Taishan Commandery ( zh, 泰山郡) was a historical commandery of China in present-day Shandong province, existing from Han dynasty to Sui dynasty. Taishan Commandery was created in 122 BC, when the king of Jibei offered the land surrounding Moun ...

(), which is present-day Xintai County,

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

. His father, Bao Dan (), served as a Palace Attendant () in the Han central government. Bao Xin started his official career during the reign of Emperor Ling ( 168–189) and served as a Cavalry Commandant (). Around 189, the general

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 ...

sent Bao Xin back to Taishan Commandery to recruit soldiers to serve in the imperial army. However, before Bao Xin completed his mission, He Jin was assassinated by the eunuch faction, and the warlord

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (c. 140s – 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 ...

had taken advantage of the political vacuum to seize control of the Han central government in

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

. Bao Xin saw Dong Zhuo as a serious threat to the Han Empire, so he did not return to Luoyang. In early 190, a coalition of warlords from the east of

Hangu Pass Hangu Pass or Hanguguan was a fortified gateway that commanded the strategic mountain pass between the Yellow River and Qinling Mountains, forming the main choke point on the only land corridor between the Central Plain and the Guanzhong reg ...

started a military campaign aimed at freeing the central government and the figurehead

Emperor Xian Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until his abdication and subsequent end ...

from Dong Zhuo's control. Bao Xin brought along his younger brother Bao Tao () and his own troops to join the coalition and was appointed as acting General Who Destroys Barbarians (). The warlords nominated

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 tow ...

, who had the highest prestige among them, to be their leader. Bao Xin, however, saw great potential in another warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

and befriended him. Later, Bao Xin and Cao Cao fought together at the Battle of Bian River () against Dong Zhuo's forces and suffered a great defeat; Bao Xin's brother Bao Tao was killed in action and Bao Xin himself was wounded.(信乃引军还乡里，收徒众二万，骑七百，辎重五千馀乘。是岁，太祖始起兵于己吾，信与弟韬以兵应太祖。太祖与袁绍表信行破虏将军，韬裨将军。时绍众最盛，豪杰多向之。信独谓太祖曰：‘夫略不世出，能总英雄以拨乱反正者，君也。苟非其人，虽强必毙。君殆天之所启！’遂深自结纳，太祖亦亲异焉。汴水之败，信被疮，韬在陈战亡。) ''Wei Shu'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'', vol.12 After the coalition broke up, Bao Xin advised Cao Cao to establish his own base in the

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

region, while other warlords such as Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were fighting over territories. In 191, after Yuan Shao recommended Cao Cao to be the Administrator () of

Dong Commandery Dong Commandery ( zh, 東郡) was a commandery in historical China from the Warring States period to Sui dynasty. Its territories were situated in present-day Henan, Hebei and Shandong provinces. The commandery was established by the state of Qin i ...

(東郡; around present-day

Puyang Puyang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern shore of the Yellow River, it borders Anyang in the west, Xinxiang in the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Hebei ...

), Cao Cao in turn nominated Bao Xin to be the Chancellor () of the neighbouring Jibei State (濟北國; around present-day

Feicheng Feicheng ( zh, s=肥城, p=Féichéng) is a county-level city A county-level city () is a County-level divisions of China, county-level administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China. County-level cities have judiciary, judic ...

). In 192, when thousands of former Yellow Turban rebels swarmed into

Yan Province Yan Province or Yanzhou was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China, a list of regions compiled by Yu the Great when he toured the land after stopping the Great Flood and succeeding Emperor Yao. Description In the Shang Shu, translated b ...

from

Qing Province Qingzhou or Qing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China dating back to BCE that later became one of the thirteen provinces of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The Nine Provinces were first described in the ''Tribute ...

Liu Dai Liu Dai (died 192), courtesy name Gongshan, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Liu Dai was from Mouping County (牟平縣), Donglai Commandery (東萊郡), which is in present-day Muping Distr ...

, the Inspector of Yan Province, wanted to lead government forces to attack the rebels. Bao Xin advised Liu Dai against doing so because the rebels had superiority in numbers, but Liu Dai ignored him, went ahead and was killed in battle. Bao Xin then recommended Cao Cao to be the Governor of Yan Province to replace Liu Dai and take the lead in the fight against the rebels. Bao Xin and Cao Cao then led their troops to the east of Shouzhang County (壽張縣; southwest of present-day

Dongping County , other_name = , nickname = , settlement_type = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = BaifoShan Park.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_ ...

) to attack the rebels. During this time, they came under a sudden attack by the rebels and were overwhelmed. Bao Xin fought bravely to cover Cao Cao while he escaped, but ended up sacrificing himself in the process. After Cao Cao broke out of the encirclement, he reorganised his troops and returned to the battlefield to search for Bao Xin's body but could not find it. He then ordered his men to carve a wooden statue in Bao Xin's likeness and held a memorial service for Bao Xin, during which he wept bitterly. The rebels eventually surrendered to Cao Cao, who recruited them to form the elite Qingzhou Army. Bao Xin was 41 years old (by

East Asian age reckoning Traditional East Asian age reckoning covers a group of related methods for reckoning human ages practiced in the East Asian cultural sphere, where age is the number of calendar years in which a person has been alive; it starts at 1 at birth and i ...

) when he died. As he led a frugal life and used his personal wealth to help his subordinates, his family did not own much property at the time of his death. In 212, Cao Cao wrote a memorial to Emperor Xian, asking him to honour Bao Xin and confer the title of a village marquis on Bao Shao (), one of Bao Xin's sons. Cao Cao also recruited Bao Xun, another of Bao Xin's sons, to serve as an official under him. Bao Xun continued serving as an official in the state of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period.

References

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

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated 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 the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Bao, Xin 152 births 192 deaths Generals under Cao Cao Han dynasty warlords Political office-holders in Shandong Politicians from Tai'an

Life

See also

References