The Battle of Xiangyang was fought between the warlords

Sun Jian Sun Jian () () (155–191?), courtesy name Wentai, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed ...

and

Liu Biao Liu Biao () () (151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Jing Province (covering ...

in 191 in the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a w ...

. Liu Biao emerged victorious against Sun Jian's forces. Shortly after their coalition had ousted

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25� ...

from the capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 18 ...

and

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 ...

, two feudal lords vying for power, had formed alliances against one another, with

Gongsun Zan Gongsun Zan () (before 161 - April or May 199), courtesy name Bogui, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. Life Little is known of Gongsun Zan's early life. He and Liu Bei stu ...

supporting Yuan Shu while Liu Biao supported Yuan Shao.Chen Shou. ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', Volume 46, Biography of Sun Jian. Yuan Shu sent his subordinate Sun Jian to attack Liu Biao in order to extinguish Yuan Shao's influence in the southern half of China. Although Sun Jian initially outmaneuvered and outfought Liu Biao, he was killed in action and his army forced to retreat.

The battle

Sun Jian and his forces encountered the forces of Liu Biao's general,

Huang Zu Huang Zu (, ) (died 208) was Chinese military general and politician during the Eastern Han dynasty. . He served as the Administrator of Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei) under Liu Biao, the Gover ...

, between Fancheng and Deng (near present-day

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

). There, he easily routed Huang's forces and surrounded the city of Xiangyang itself. Within the confines of the city, Liu Biao again sent Huang Zu out, this time to make a surprise attack. However, Huang was again defeated, and when he attempted to withdraw to the city once more, Sun Jian cut off his line of retreat, and he fled to Mount Xian. Sun pursued Huang, hoping to follow up on his success. According to Sun Jian's official biography in ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

'', he was fatally wounded by an arrow fired by a soldier in Huang Zu's unit, who was hiding in a bamboo grove. Sun's men carried him away from the battlefield and he died from his injury later. Other theories of Sun Jian's death include Sun being killed while fighting in the wilderness, or being crushed to death by boulders rolled down by the enemy from above.''Record of Heroes''

Aftermath

Sun Jian's death effectively ended the battle, although Liu's forces suffered far more casualties.

Huan Jie Huan Jie ( 190s–220s), courtesy name Boxu, was a Chinese official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and served under the warlord Cao Cao. After the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, he briefly served in the state of Cao Wei during ...

, an official under Sun Jian, successfully negotiated for his lord's corpse to be returned, and Sun Jian's army temporarily came under the control of Sun Jian's nephew, Sun Ben. Sun Ben then went to join Yuan Shu with most of Sun Jian's followers. Sun Ce, Sun Jian's oldest son, was given Sun Jian's marquisate, but chose to pass the position down to his youngest brother, Sun Kuang, who was still young then. Liu Biao's success allowed him to expand his influence in

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the '' Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and ''Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Emp ...

. Though he would be unable to defeat either Sun Ce or his successor,

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...

, he would nonetheless remain an influential figure in the Han dynasty until his death in 208.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

The battle and its justifications were altered in the 14th-century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD an ...

''. In this fictionalized account, Sun Jian attacked Liu Biao for revenge because Liu's forces routed his army during his withdrawal from the

coalition against Dong Zhuo The Campaign against Dong Zhuo was a punitive expedition initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against the warlord Dong Zhuo in 190 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The members of the coalition claimed that Dong had the i ...

. Sun Jian's younger brother,

Sun Jing Sun Jing ( 190s–200s), courtesy name Youtai, was the youngest brother of the warlord Sun Jian, who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He served as a general under Sun Ce, Sun Jian's son and successor, and later under Sun Quan ...

, attempted to dissuade him from this course of action, but Sun Jian refused to listen. Sun Jian's oldest son, Sun Ce, was granted a command position and performed well in his first battle. After initially defeating Huang Zu, Sun Jian's army surrounded Xiangyang. Two commanders under Liu Biao, Chen Sheng () and Zhang Hu (), were killed by Sun Jian (or in some versions, Sun Ce) and

Han Dang Han Dang (died 227), courtesy name Yigong, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under Sun Quan's predecessors – Sun Jian (Su ...

, respectively. Sun Jian was killed in a rockslide after being lured into a trap by Lü Gong and

, according to a ploy by Liu Biao's advisor Kuai Liang. Sun Jian's generals Huang Gai and Cheng Pu managed to capture Huang Zu and kill Lü Gong, respectively, while Sun Ce was forced to withdraw. Huan Jie's involvement in recovering Sun Jian's corpse is similar in the novel to the historical account. However, in the novel, Huang Zu was released in exchange for Sun Jian's corpse, when there is no mention of Huang Zu's capture in historical texts.

Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese writer who lived during the Ming dynasty. He was also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo was attri ...

. ''

''.

In popular culture

The Battle of Xiangyang is featured in video games such as

Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its ''Dynasty Warriors'' games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based on ...

's ''

Dynasty Warriors is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now is Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of the ...

'', but the name of the battle changes with almost every release. After Sun Jian is killed, Sun Ce takes command of the army instead of Sun Ben. Sun Jian's death also changes with each game release, as a possible reflection of the confusion as to his actual cause of death.

References

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