Everything about Zhang He totally explained
Zhang He (
167 –
231) was a distinguished military general under the powerful warlord
Cao Cao during the late
Eastern Han Dynasty and
Three Kingdoms era of
China. He began his military career when the
Yellow Turban Rebellion erupted in
184 and subsequently served under
Han Fu and
Yuan Shao before defecting to Cao Cao during the
Battle of Guandu. He participated in many major campaigns, including those against
Yuan Tan,
Zhang Lu,
Ma Chao, and
Liu Bei. After Cao Cao's death in
220, Zhang He was primarily engaged with defending
Cao Wei against the
Northern Expeditions led by Chancellor
Zhuge Liang of the
Kingdom of Shu. He died from an arrow wound received during an encounter with Zhuge Liang's forces in 231.
Famed for his resourcefulness that even Zhuge Liang was said to be wary of, Zhang He was considered by
Chen Shou, author of the
Records of Three Kingdoms, to be one of the
five top generals of the Kingdom of Wei, along with
Zhang Liao,
Xu Huang,
Yue Jin and
Yu Jin. He was also said to be full of respect for
Confucian scholars, and supported the measure to adopt masters of the
Five Classics in
Cao Pi's court.
Life
Early career
A local of Mao (鄚, present day
Maozhou Town,
Hebei), the birth year of Zhang He wasn't recorded. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184, Zhang He joined the volunteer army under Han Fu, governor of
Jizhou (冀州, present day southern Hebei) to suppress the rebellion. He was appointed as a middle-ranking army commander. Although the rebellion was soon quelled, it led to the flourishing of many regional armies under the control of de facto warlords. After
Emperor Ling died in
189, one such warlord from
Liangzhou (涼州, present day western
Gansu) named
Dong Zhuo usurped power and placed in the throne the puppet
Emperor Xian. Warlords from eastern China formed a coalition against Dong Zhuo in
190. The attempt didn't pull through but did trigger a series of massive civil wars among the warlords themselves.
In
191, when Han Fu faced military threats from rival warlord
Gongsun Zan, who was based in
Youzhou (幽州, present day northern Hebei), he decided to turn over Jizhou to his ally Yuan Shao. Zhang He and his troops then came under command of the new lord. Yuan Shao promoted Zhang He to a high-ranking commanding post and charged him with defending the borders against Gongsun Zan. After he successfully defeated Gongsun Zan, Zhang He was further promoted to a junior general post.
Defection to Cao Cao
In
199, Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan at the decisive
Battle of Yijing and gained control of the four regions north of the
Yellow River. He then turned his attention to Cao Cao, a rising warlord gaining power in
Yanzhou (兗州, present day western
Shandong) just south of the river. In the autumn of the next year, the two sides clashed at
Guandu (官渡, northeast of present day
Zhongmu County,
Henan). Yuan Shao had his food supply stored at
Wuchao (烏巢, southeast of present day
Yanjing County, Henan), guarded by
Chunyu Qiong. Zhang He advised Yuan Shao to reinforce the defense at Wuchao as Cao Cao would certainly seek to seize the food supply. However, Yuan Shao eventually took the counsel of advisor
Guo Tu, who suggested concentrating forces on the base camp of Cao Cao should the latter decide to attack Wuchao.
Cao Cao indeed led a light force to attack Wuchao under the cover of the night. The food supply was lost and the massive army of Yuan Shao collapsed. The embarrassed Guo Tu then slandered Zhang He before Yuan Shao, accusing the general of taking pleasure in the defeat. The fearful Zhang He then decided to defect to Cao Cao along with colleague
Gao Lan. Cao Cao was very pleased and compared Zhang He's surrender to those of
Wei Zi (微子) and
Han Xin (Wei Zi was an advisor to
Di Xin but defected to
King Wen of Zhou and contributed greatly to the founding of the
Zhou Dynasty. Han Xin left
Xiang Yu to join
Liu Bang, who later founded the Han Dynasty.)
Henceforth, Zhang He participated in many campaigns Cao Cao waged, including a northern campaign against the heirs of Yuan Shao, a defensive campaign against Ma Chao and
Han Sui, and the offensive on Zhang Lu in
Hanzhong. For his achievements Zhang He was promoted to General Who Crushes Rebels (盪寇將軍) in
215 and deployed along with
Xiahou Yuan to the defense of the greater Hanzhong region against invasions of Liu Bei. In
219, Xiahou Yuan was killed in the
Battle of Mount Dingjun and Zhang He retreated to
Yangping (陽平, northwest of Hanzhong). Xiahou Yuan's deputy
Guo Huai threw his weight behind Zhang He, who then took over command of the late general's troops. According to
A Brief History of Wei (魏略) by
Yu Huan, although Xiahou Yuan was the overall in command of the defense force of Hanzhong, Liu Bei was really more worried about Zhang He. He was said to have expressed his disappointment that it was Xiahou Yuan instead of Zhang He who was killed in battle.
When Cao Cao received news of Xiahou Yuan's death, he personally came to Hanzhong to lead a counterattack against the enemy. Liu Bei held his position in the mountainous terrain and refused to engage in battles. Cao Cao was forced to retreat to
Chang'an two months later, giving up the strategic Hanzhong. Zhang He then garrisoned his troops at
Chencang (陳倉) to prevent further incursion by Liu Bei.
Zhang He is often associated with his loss to
Zhang Fei while attempting to conquer Dangqu. However, after the defeat he was promoted by Cao Cao to General who Agitates Bandits - possibly because during his campaign he conquered both the Baxi and Badong commanderies.
Late life
After Cao Cao died in 220, his successor Cao Pi promoted Zhang He to General of the Left (左將軍). Months later, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate and declared himself the first emperor of Cao Wei. Zhang He was then enfeoffed as Marquis of Mao. In
221 He was sent together with
Cao Zhen to subdue the
Lushui Hu (盧水胡) and Eastern
Qiang raiders in
Anding Commandery (安定, present day western Gansu and southern
Ningxia) on the western borders of China and was victorious. After an audience with the emperor in the capital
Xuchang, Zhang He, Cao Zhen and
Xiahou Shang were deployed south in
222 to seize
Jiangling, which was under the control of the
Kingdom of Wu. Although initial attacks were successful, an epidemic breakout forced the invaders to retreat.
When Cao Pi died in
226, he was succeeded by
Cao Rui. Zhang He maintained his position in the south to defend against the Kingdom of Wu. When Zhuge Liang of the Kingdom of Shu launched his Northern Expeditions against the Kingdom of Wei in
227, Zhang He was recalled to his old battlefield west of Chang'an to fend off the attack. In the next year, Zhang He scored a brilliant victory against
Ma Su at the
Battle of Jieting. Zhuge Liang was forced to retreat to Hanzhong and self-demote three grades to take responsibility for the loss of the strategic position. Zhang He also pacified the commanderies of
Nan'an (present day location unclear),
Tianshui and Anding, which were turned over to Zhuge Liang during initial attacks.
Zhang He was then sent to assist
Sima Yi, who was training a naval force in
Jingzhou (荆州, present day
Hubei and
Hunan) to prepare for an assault against the Kingdom of Wu. However, the waters of
Mian River (沔水, an alternate name for
Han River in ancient times) during the winter were too shallow for large ships to sail in and the attack was called off. Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang launched the second of his expeditions and attacked Chencang. Zhang He was again sent to the rescue. He correctly predicted that the enemy would retreat before he even arrived because of shortage of food supply. He was then recalled to the capital and promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry Who Campaigns the West (征西車騎將軍).
Death
In 231, Zhuge Liang launched the fourth of his expeditions. Zhang He was sent to assist Sima Yi in fending off the attack. After initial victories, Zhuge Liang's army again ran short of supplies and had to retreat. Sima Yi then ordered Zhang He to give pursuit, despite Zhang He's warnings of possible ambush. Zhang He was indeed ambushed by
crossbowmen as his force entered a narrow
defile named
Mumen Trail (木門道). An arrow struck him in his right knee and he died on the battlefield at the age of 64. He was posthumously titled Marquis Zhuang (壯侯), literally meaning the robust marquis.
Modern references
Zhang He appears in all 11 installments of Koei's
Romance of the Three Kingdoms strategy game. His statistics and skills place him in the top 5% of officers in every installment. Both his appearance and background are depicted in accordance with the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms' traditional historical depiction.
Zhang He is also a playable character in Koei's
Dynasty Warriors and
Warriors Orochi series. For more information, see
List of Dynasty Warriors characters.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Zhang He'.
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