Cao Cao then retreated north to his home base of Ye, leaving Cao Ren and Xu Huang to guard Jiangling, Yue Jin stationed in Xiangyang, and Man Chong in Dangyang (Chen c. 280). The Han Dynasty still technically ruled China because Emperor Xian still lived at Cao Cao’s court. Among the many problems the southern campaign presented to him was transporting land troops by water. The eunuchs discovered He’s plan and assassinated him, but this did them little good since Yuan Shao then slaughtered them all when he arrived at the city and found He Jin dead. Moreover, one candidate site, Puqi (蒲圻), was renamed "Chibi City" (赤壁市) in 1998 in a direct attempt to tie this location to the historical battlefield.[10]. A combination of Cao Cao's strategic errors and the effectiveness of Huang Gai's ruse had resulted in the allied victory at the Battle of Red Cliffs. For example, although modern Huarong city is located in Hunan, south of the Yangtze, in the 3rd century the city of that name was due east of Jiangling, considerably north of the Yangtze (Zhang 2006:229; de Crespigny 1990:256 78n). Other regional governors had likewise flexed their new muscles, now becoming warlords and, after the rebellion was put down, set about administering their provinces as they chose and claiming lands without reference to the emperor or court policy. There are also characters engraved in the cliffs (see image at the top of this page) suggesting that this is the site of the battle. The Battle of Red Cliffs occurred in 208 CE during the Han dynasty. He was finally killed by his confidante and bodyguard Lu Bu and, after his death, the coalition broke apart and turned on each other. With the 20,000 soldiers that Liu Bei had gathered, the alliance consisted of approximately 50,000 marines who were trained and prepared for battle (de Crespigny 1990:252, 255). When Jing Province fell, Liu Bei quickly fled south, accompanied by a refugee population of civilians and soldiers. According to Zhang (2006), many of the current debates stem from the fact that the course and length of the Yangtze River between Wuli and Wuhan has changed since the Sui and Tang dynasties (Zhang 2006:225). The state of Shu Han, in particular, was viewed by later literati as the "legitimate" successor to the Han dynasty, so fictionalised accounts assign greater prominence than the historical records warrant to the roles of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and other heroes from Shu. The decisive blow to Cao came shortly afterwards, though the sources vary on whether Liu or Sun struck it. He then completed a successful campaign against the Wuhuan in the winter of the same year, thus securing his northern frontier. However, the Chinese characters are completely different (赤鼻) as is their meaning ("Red Nose Hill"). Other games utilise the Battle of Red Cliffs as their central focus. The allied forces of the southern warlords Liu Bei from the Kingdom of Shu and Sun Quan from the Kingdom of Wu successfully won against the northern warlord Cao Cao from the Kingdom of Wei. The unmanned fire ships, carried by the southeastern wind, sped towards Cao Cao's fleet and set it ablaze. While the eunuchs and their supporters were being massacred, the young emperor, his brother Liu Xie, and their family escaped the city and were on their way to Chang'an when they were intercepted by Dong Zhuo, marching toward Luoyang. A classic battle in Chinese history famous for the smaller and weaker defeating the bigger and stronger. The engagement leveled the playing field of the central antagonists as, previously, Cao Cao had been the most powerful and commanded the largest army. China would remain divided along these lines until it was unified by the Jin Dynasty in 280 CE. He was too young to rule, however, and so a regent – his uncle He Jin – was placed over him. A 2008 film titled Red Cliff,[12] directed by John Woo, showcased the Red Cliff legacy and was a massive box-office success in China. While Cao Cao was on the march, a new coalition had formed against him headed by Liu Bei of Han and Sun Quan of Wu but including a number of notable generals such as the great Guan Yu (d. 220 CE), so famous for his martial skills and personal honor that he was later deified as Guan Gong (also known as Guandi), god of war and protection, and the brilliant strategist Zhou Yu (d. 210 CE). Historical records state that Cao Cao's forces retreated north across the Yangtze after the initial engagement at Red Cliffs, unequivocally placing the battle site on the south bank of the Yangtze. This argument was first proposed in the early Tang dynasty (Zhang 2006:217). Embark on an adventure of the high seas with the tale of ancient China which sees three fearsome generals go to war. This is generally accomplished by minimising the importance of Eastern Wu commanders and advisors such as Zhou Yu and Lu Su (de Crespigny 1990:xi). One popular candidate for the battle site is Chibi Hill in Huangzhou, sometimes referred to as "Su Dongpo's Red Cliffs" or the "Literary Red Cliffs" (文赤壁). Dong Zhuo assassinated by his bodyguard Lu Bu. If Cao Cao was to have any hope of reuniting the sundered Han empire, he had to achieve naval control of the middle Yangtze and command the strategic naval base at Jiangling as a means of access to the southern region (de Crespigny 2003). In 2008 CE, director John Woo released the film Red Cliff to popular and critical acclaim and the battle is the subject of video games and other works. Upon his return in 208, he was appointed Chancellor, a position that granted him absolute authority over the entire imperial government (de Crespigny 1969:253, 465 6n). The eunuchs were originally no more than harem guards, chosen to ensure the safety and sexual purity of the Chinese emperor’s many concubines, but their proximity to the emperor and ready access to court intrigues made them valuable assets to the nobility. As the ships burst into flames, Zhou Yu burst onto Cao Cao’s encampment with a land contingent, killing and scattering Cao’s men. Observing this, divisional commander Huang Gai sent Cao Cao a letter feigning surrender and prepared a squadron[7] of capital ships described as mengchong doujian (蒙衝鬥艦). Cao Cao also had little support among the people of Jing Province, and thus lacked a secure forward base of operations (Eikenberry 1994:60). The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. The romantic tradition that originated with the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms differs from historical accounts in many details. Lingdi died in 189 CE, leaving the throne to his son Liu Bian, at that time around the age of 12, who became Emperor Shao of Han. Cao Cao now held the key to legitimate rule with the emperor and Imperial Seal within his borders. The Persian conqueror Xerxes had defeated a coalition of Hellenic defenders at the Battle of Thermopylae, and his forces had sacked Athens and torched the Acropolis. This site is also on the north bank of the Yangtze, and is directly across from Fankou rather than upstream from it (Zhang 2006:215). Once Cao Cao was back in Wei, he resigned himself to his defeat, proclaimed himself king of his territories, & established the Kingdom of Cao Wei. Between 200-207 CE, Cao Cao continued his campaigns, building a tremendous army, until all he needed to do was march south and join those territories to his own in order to unify China under his rule. He met no resistance on his march toward Jiangling, but he knew the other warlords would be waiting for him once he reached the city. To restore order, a detachment led by Sun Quan's general Gan Ning established a bridgehead in Yiling to the north, and only a staunch rearguard action by Cao Ren prevented further catastrophe (Eikenberry 1994:60; de Crespigny 2007:239). Battle of Red Cliffs; Part of the wars of the Three Kingdoms: Engravings on a cliff-side mark one widely accepted site of Chibi, near present-day Chibi City, Hubei.The engravings are at … The Han Dynasty had ruled China for four centuries. Dong actually favored the emperor’s younger brother, Liu Xie, for rule and, in 190 CE, had Emperor Shao executed and Liu Xie became Emperor Xian. Posted by 8 months ago. Cao Cao set off in the late summer of 208 CE with an army (according to his own estimation) of almost 800,000 warriors. Cao Cao would probably have won at this point, but his men were tired from the long march and, unused to the southern climate and terrain, they were disoriented, many of them ill. Guan Yu was able to easily rescue Liu Bei’s troops whereas, in the past, Cao Cao had proven himself a thorough strategist who planned for every contingency and would never have let that happen. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Battle_of_Red_Cliffs/. The Yangtze River in the area of Jing Province was key to the success of this strategy. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Battle of Red Cliffs. Huang Gai then filled the boats with flammable materials and oil and had a skeleton crew sail them out onto the river. Cao Cao recognized the day was lost completely and sounded a general retreat back north with Zhou Yu, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan’s forces pursuing them. In reality, none of the parties who met at the Battle of Red Cliffs had the people of China’s interest at heart and none of them had a legitimate claim to the Mandate of Heaven. Based on this media – as well as operatic performances and artwork – Cao Cao is routinely depicted as the ultimate villain, intent on conquering China at any cost, while Liu Bei and Sun Quan are seen as the patriotic heroes defending the freedom of their homeland against a ruthless tyrant. Cao Cao happily accepted his offer and awaited his arrival. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and Michigan State University and University of Missouri. The battle is considered the turning point in the conflict between various warlords who assumed control of their regions and then extended their reach in the waning days of the Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE). Historical accounts also establish east and west boundaries for a stretch of the Yangtze which encompasses all possible sites for the battlefield. [22] His men, used to land battles, became seasick and, probably in response to this, Cao Cao had the boats lashed together to prevent rocking so the fleet was one entire block of ships rather than separate boats able to maneuver. In 480 B.C., Ancient Greece was fighting for its life. The Battle of Changban is the highlight of Zhao Yun's and Zhang Fei's story mode in Koei's video game series Dynasty Warriors. The romances added wholly fictional and fantastical elements to the historical accounts and these were repeated in popular plays and operas. The Yellow Turban Rebellion (so-called because of the yellow headgear rebels wore, symbolizing the earth) soon had active enclaves all over China and Zhang worked to arm the peasants for the conflict he knew would come when the Han chose to act. 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