Peng Yue (died 196 BC),
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Zhong, was a Chinese military general and politician in the late
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...
and early
Western Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
. He was involved in the
Chu–Han Contention
The Chu–Han Contention ( zh, , lk=on) or Chu–Han War () was an interregnum period in ancient China between the fallen Qin dynasty and the subsequent Han dynasty. After the third and last Qin ruler, Ziying, unconditionally surrendered t ...
– a power struggle between the Han dynasty's founder,
Liu Bang (Emperor Gao), and his rival,
Xiang Yu
Xiang Yu (, –202 BC), born Xiang Ji (), was the Hegemon-King (Chinese: 霸王, ''Bà Wáng'') of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynas ...
– as an ally of Liu Bang. In recognition of his contributions, Liu Bang granted Peng Yue the title "King of
Liang" () after the Han dynasty was established.
Life
Uprising
Peng Yue was a native of Changyi (present-day
Jinxiang County
Jinxiang County () is a county of southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangsu province to the southeast. It is under the administration of Jining
Jining () is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong ...
,
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
), and was originally a fisherman. Following the
Dazexiang Uprising
The Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising (), July–December 209 B.C., was the first uprising against the Qin dynasty following the death of Qin Shi Huang. Led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, the uprising helped overthrow the Qin and paved the way for the ...
in 209 BC, Peng Yue was nominated by his fellows to be their leader and he led an uprising against the
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...
. Initially, Peng Yue was reluctant to rebel, but obliged eventually and he arranged for his supporters to meet him the next morning. However, his men did not arrive in time and the last one came at noon. Peng Yue said, "Since everyone has chosen me to be the leader, there must be discipline. As there are too many people who were late today, I cannot possibly punish all of them. The last man to arrive will be executed."
Sima Qian
Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...
. ''Records of the Grand Historian
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...
'', Volume 90.
Chu-Han Contention
In 205 BC, Peng Yue allied with
Liu Bang
Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Emper ...
, the King of Han, and became one of Liu's generals after Liu promised to grant him land and the title of a vassal king. Earlier on, Peng Yue had refused to send his troops to help Liu Bang, that resulted in the latter's defeat by
Xiang Yu
Xiang Yu (, –202 BC), born Xiang Ji (), was the Hegemon-King (Chinese: 霸王, ''Bà Wáng'') of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynas ...
at the
Battle of Guling. Three years later, Peng Yue conquered more than 20 cities around Changyi and acquired a large amount of supplies. He then led his troops southwards and joined the armies of
Han Xin
Han Xin (; 231/230–196 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the ear ...
and Liu Bang at the
Battle of Gaixia
The Battle of Gaixia was a last stand fought in December 203 BC during the Chu–Han Contention between the forces of Liu Bang (later Emperor Gaozu of Han) and Xiang Yu. The battle concluded with victory for Liu Bang, who proclaimed himself Emp ...
against Xiang Yu. Peng Yue's contributed greatly to the eventual Han victory over Xiang Yu. After Liu Bang founded the
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 warr ...
, Peng Yue was conferred the title of "King of
Liang" () and granted the lands of former
Wei state as his kingdom.
Death
In 196 BC, Liu Bang led an army to suppress a rebellion by Chen Xi, the Marquis of Yangxia, and he requested reinforcements from Peng Yue. Peng Yue claimed to be ill and sent his subordinates to help Liu Bang in place of himself. After Chen Xi's rebellion was quelled, Liu Bang heard rumours that Peng Yue was intending to rebel against him as well, and he had Peng arrested. Peng Yue was demoted to the status of a commoner and exiled to the remote Qingyi County (in present-day
Ya'an
Ya'an (, Tibetan: Yak-Nga ) is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province, China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau. The city is home to Sichuan Agricultural University, the only 211 Project university and the largest ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
). Along the way, Peng Yue encountered
Empress Lü Zhi
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...
, who wanted to have him killed. He pleaded with her to spare his life and let him return home to Changyi, and the empress pretended to agree. Peng Yue was brought back to
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 ...
where he was subsequently executed. Empress Lü ordered his clan be put to death as well.
Peng Yue's corpse was minced into pieces, salted like meat, and distributed to all the noble families of China, who found this very disturbing.
Sima Qian
Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...
. ''Records of the Grand Historian
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...
'', Volume 91.
Legacy
Peng Yue is sometimes venerated as a
door god
Menshen or door gods are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones. They began as the divine pair Shenshu ( ) and Yulü () under the H ...
in
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
and
Taoist temple
A Taoist temple (, also called ''dàoguàn'' and , is a place where the Tao is observed and cultivated it is a place of worship in Taoism.
Structure and function can vary according to the Taoist school the temple belongs to. For example, ''guàn ...
s, usually partnered with
Ying Bu
Ying Bu (died 195 BC) was a warlord and vassal king who lived in the early Han dynasty. He was a native of Lu County (六縣; present-day Lu'an, Anhui). In his early life under the Qin dynasty, Ying Bu was convicted and sentenced to ''qing'' (黥 ...
. He is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game ''
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI
''Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI'', also known as ''Sangokushi 11'' (三國志11), is the 11th installment in the ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sangokushi'') grand strategy game series by Koei. The game was released for the PC on March ...
'' by
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 p ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peng, Yue
196 BC deaths
Year of birth unknown
2nd-century BC executions
Chinese gods
Chinese princes
Chu–Han contention people
Deified Chinese people
Emperor Gaozu of Han
Executed Han dynasty people
Executed people from Shandong
Han dynasty generals from Shandong
Han dynasty politicians from Shandong
People executed by the Han dynasty by decapitation
Politicians from Heze