The Three Rebellions in Shouchun (also known as the Three Rebellions in

Huainan Huainan () is a prefecture-level city with 3,033,528 inhabitants as of the 2020 census in north-central Anhui province, China. It is named for the Han-era Principality of Huainan. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south, Lu'an ...

) were a series of revolts that occurred in the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period. The rebellions broke out in the later years of Wei when the Sima clan, headed by

Sima Yi Sima Yi ( ; 179 CE – 7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 un ...

, usurped state power. The military governors of Shouchun (present-day

Shou County Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city A prefectur ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

) rose in revolt thrice in the name of a rebellion to oust the Sima clan from power. The respective leaders of the three rebellions were Wang Ling, Guanqiu Jian and

Wen Qin Wen Qin (died February or March 258), courtesy name Zhongruo, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He served as the Inspector of Yang Province during the reign of t ...

, and Zhuge Dan. All the revolts were eventually suppressed.

Background

In 249, during the Incident at Gaoping Tombs,

seized power from Cao Shuang in a ''coup d'état'' and had Cao Shuang's entire clan executed. Since then, the Wei government was effectively controlled by the Simas. After Sima Yi's death, the power was inherited by his eldest son

Sima Shi Sima Shi () (208 – 23 March 255), courtesy name Ziyuan, was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, all ...

, and was later passed on to his second son

Sima Zhao Sima Zhao () (211 – 6 September 265), courtesy name Zishang, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Sima Zhao capably maintained control of Wei, which had been ...

when Sima Shi died.

The rebellions

Wang Ling's Rebellion

After the Incident at Gaoping Tombs, Sima Yi promoted Wang Ling, the general in charge of Shouchun, to the rank of Grand Commandant (太尉). Wang Ling and his nephew Linghu Yu (令狐愚) felt that the emperor Cao Fang was too young to rule, and saw that Sima Yi was actually the one in control of state power. They planned to depose Cao Fang and replace him with Cao Biao, the Prince of Chu. Linghu Yu sent his subordinate Zhang Shi (張式) to contact Cao Biao. In the spring of 251, Wang Ling seized the opportunity to send a petition to the Wei court, asking for permission to attack

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

forces in Tushui (塗水). The campaign against Wu was actually a mask for Wang Ling's intention to rebel. Wang Ling did not receive any reply so he sent Yang Hong (楊弘) to inform Huang Hua (黃華), the Inspector of

Yan Province Yan Province or Yanzhou was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), it covered roughly present-day southwestern Shandong, eastern Henan, and the northwestern corner of Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ...

, of their plans, in the hope that Huang would support him. However, Yang Hong and Huang Hua reported Wang Ling to Sima Yi instead. News of the revolt reached the Wei emperor Cao Fang in June 251.''Sanguozhi'' vol. 4. Sima Yi then personally led an army to suppress the revolt. Wang Ling was aware that he was outmatched so he agreed to surrender after Sima Yi promised to pardon him for treason. Wang Ling knew that he would be sentenced to death anyway, so he committed suicide on 15 June 251 while being escorted to 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 ...

. Wang Ling's clan was also exterminated and Cao Biao was ordered to take his own life.

Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin's Rebellion

died in 251 and his eldest son

inherited his position in the Wei imperial court. In 254, Li Feng, Xiahou Xuan and

Zhang Ji Zhang Ji may refer to: * Zhang Ji (Han dynasty) (張濟) (died 196), official under the warlord Dong Zhuo * Zhang Zhongjing (150–219), formal name Zhang Ji (張機), Han dynasty physician * Zhang Ji (Derong) (張既) (died 223), general of Cao Wei ...

(張緝) planned to overthrow Sima Shi, but their plan was leaked out and they were all executed. The emperor Cao Fang was unhappy with Sima Shi's authoritarian attitude and incurred the latter's displeasure. Months later, Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang and replaced him with Cao Mao. Guanqiu Jian, who was stationed in Shouchun, and

, the Inspector of

Yang Province Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and ''Rites of Zhou''. Name There are four different theories regarding the origin of the ...

, heard news about the deaths of Li Feng, Xiahou Xuan and Zhang Ji, and became afraid of being implicated. Guanqiu Jian's son Guanqiu Xun kept urging his father to stage an uprising to defend their state's sovereignty from Sima Shi. The following year, Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin rose in revolt in Shouchun against Sima Shi and attacked Xiangcheng (present-day Xiangcheng City,

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

). News of the revolt reached

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

, and the Wu emperor Sun Liang sent troops to support Guanqiu Jian. The Wu forces were led by their

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Sun Jun, Lü Ju and

Liu Zan Liu Zan (183–255), courtesy name Zhengming, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlord Sun Quan (later the founding emperor of Wu) in the late Eastern Han ...

. Sima Shi personally led an army to suppress the revolt. He sent Wang Ji, the Inspector of

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 Empe ...

, to capture Nandun (南頓) before the rebels did. The armies led by Zhuge Dan, Hu Zun (胡遵) and Deng Ai arrived and merged with Sima Shi's main force. Sima Shi ordered his troops not to advance any further. Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin were unable to engage the enemy and were worried that they might be ambushed if they retreated back to Shouchun. As most of the rebels' families were in the region north of the

Huai River The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

, their morale gradually plunged and they deserted. Only newly recruited civilians remained in the rebel army. At the same time, Deng Ai led his troops to garrison at Yuejia (樂嘉). Guanqiu Jian saw that Deng Ai's army was quite weak so he sent Wen Qin to attack. When Wen Qin reached there he saw that Sima Shi's main army had arrived so he ordered a retreat. Sima Shi sent his Chief Clerk Sima Ban (司馬班) to give chase. Wen Qin's army was routed and he managed to escape barely as his son Wen Yang fought bravely to protect him. The palace guard Yin Damu (尹大目) caught up with Wen Qin and attempted to persuade him to surrender but Wen refused. When Guanqiu Jian heard of Wen Qin's defeat, he escaped at night and his army was disbanded. Guanqiu Jian was later killed by a civilian called Zhang Shu (張屬) in Shen County (慎縣) and his head sent to the capital

. When Wen Qin returned to Xiang County (項縣) he saw that Shouchun had fallen to Zhuge Dan and the rebel army had disbanded. He fled to Eastern Wu. When the Wu forces led by Sun Jun arrived at Dongxing (present-day Dongxing,

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

), they heard that Shouchun had been overtaken by Zhuge Dan so they retreated as well. Zhuge Dan sent Jiang Ban (蔣班) to pursue and attack the retreating Wu forces. The Wu general Liu Zan was killed in the ensuing battle.

Zhuge Dan's Rebellion

Not long after the revolt by Guanqiu Jian and

was suppressed,

died of illness and his second brother

inherited his place in the Wei court. Shouchun was guarded by Zhuge Dan after the second rebellion was suppressed. Zhuge Dan had witnessed the deaths of Wang Ling and Guanqiu Jian after their failed rebellions and he felt uneasy. He tried to increase his popularity amongst the people in the

region and gain their support. At the same time, he hired a group of bodyguards to protect himself. Sima Zhao wanted to eliminate the remaining loyalists to the state, so he heeded

Jia Chong Jia Chong (217–19 May 282), courtesy name Gonglü, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Three Kingdoms period and early Jin dynasty of China. He started his career as an advisor to Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, the regents of the ...

's advice to force Zhuge Dan to rebel. Zhuge Dan received an imperial decree to report to the Wei court and assume the post of Excellency of Works. However, Zhuge Dan became afraid after receiving the decree, so he killed Yue Lin, the Inspector of

, and rebelled against Sima Zhao. He sent his Chief Clerk Wu Gang (吳綱) to

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

with his son

Zhuge Jing Zhuge Jing (fl. 257-284), courtesy name Zhongsi, was a Chinese military general and politician of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Though originally from Cao Wei, he was sent to Wu as a hostage during the rebellion of his ...

as a hostage, asking for reinforcements from Wu. Sima Zhao personally led 260,000 troops to suppress the rebellion and stationed his army in Qiutou (丘頭). He sent Wang Ji and Chen Qian (陳騫) to lead an army to besiege Shouchun. He sent Shi Bao (石苞), Hu Zhi (胡質) and

Zhou Tai Zhou Tai () (died 223), courtesy name Youping, 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 Ce, Sun Quan's elder brother a ...

to hold off the Wu forces. The Wu forces led by

Tang Zi Tang Zi ( 225–262) was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. In 258, he defected to Wu's rival state, Cao Wei, and became a general under Wei. Life Tang Zi was from Licheng Comman ...

and Quan Yì (全懌) managed to enter Shouchun before the encirclement by the Wei forces was completed. Subsequently, Wen Qin led his men to break out of the siege several times but failed. The Wu general Zhu Yi garrisoned at Anfeng (安豐), southwest of Shouchun, as backup, but was defeated by Zhou Tai. Sun Chen moved his army to

Chao Lake Chao Lake (), also known by its Chinese name Chao Hu, is a lake wholly situated in Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province. It is the largest lake in Anhui and one of the five largest freshwater lakes in China. Mythology According to legend, the ...

. He sent Zhu Yi, along with Ding Feng and Li Fei (黎斐) to break the siege on Shouchun, but were defeated by Shi Bao and Zhou Tai. The Wei general Hu Lie (胡烈) led a surprise attack on the Wu forces and succeeded in destroying the enemy's supplies. Zhu Yi's army was unable to advance any further as they had lost their supplies. Sun Chen was furious and had Zhu Yi executed. Sun Chen then ordered a retreat to the Wu capital Jianye (present-day

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

). Zhuge Dan's forces were besieged in Shouchun for a long time without any reinforcements arriving. Zhuge Dan's deputies Jiang Ban (蔣班) and Jiao Yi (焦彝) advised him to concentrate on attacking a single flank of the encirclement to break the siege. Wen Qin opposed the suggestion and insisted that Wu reinforcements will arrive soon. Zhuge Dan did not heed Jiang Ban and Jiao Yi's advice and wanted to kill them instead. Jiang Ban and Jiao Yi escaped from Shouchun and defected over to Sima Zhao's side. Sima Zhao followed Zhong Hui's strategy, by faking letters from Quan Hui (全輝) and Quan Yí (全儀) to trick Quan Yī (全禕) and Quan Duan (全端) to surrender. When Quan Yī received the letters, he thought that they were real and surrendered to Sima Zhao. Zhuge Dan's forces were taken by surprise. In February 258, Zhuge Dan, Wen Qin and Tang Zi attempted to break out of the siege again but failed and suffered heavy casualties. By then, supplies in the city were running out soon and several troops had surrendered. Wen Qin suggested releasing the northerners and Wu forces in the city to conserve supplies. Zhuge Dan ignored Wen Qin's suggestion and had him killed in anger. Wen Qin's sons, Wen Yang and Wen Hu, heard of their father's death and escaped from Shouchun and surrendered to Sima Zhao. The surrender of Wen Yang and Wen Hu caused the rebel army's morale to further plummet. In March or April 258, Sima Zhao's forces succeeded in penetrating Shouchun. Zhuge Dan fled from the city and was killed by Hu Fen (胡奮)'s men during his escape. The Wu general Yu Quan was killed in battle while Tang Zi and Wang Zuo (王祚) of Wu surrendered to Sima Zhao.

Aftermath

The failure of the three rebellions strengthened the influence of the Sima clan in Wei as several loyalists to the state were eliminated. After the rebellions, most officials in Wei turned to support

. In 260, the emperor Cao Mao led a coup to oust Sima Zhao from power but failed and was killed by Sima's men. In 263, Wei

invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

Shu and annexed it within a year. Not long after Sima Zhao's death in September 265, his son Sima Yan forced the last Wei ruler

Cao Huan Cao Huan () (245/246–302/303), courtesy name Jingming, was the fifth and last emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. On 4 February 266, he abdicated the throne in favour of Sima Yan (later Emperor Wu of the Jin dyn ...

to abdicate in his favour in February 266, thus ending Wei's existence and founding the Western Jin dynasty, which united the land after Wu, the last of the

, surrendered in 280.

Order of battle

Wang Ling's Rebellion

Wang Ling's forces * Wang Ling ** Wang Huo (王彧) * Cao Biao, Prince of Chu * Linghu Yu (令狐愚) ** Zhang Shi (張式) Wei forces *

Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin's Rebellion

Zhuge Dan's Rebellion

In popular culture

All the three rebellions were featured as playable stages in the seventh installment of

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 ...

'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 ...

'' video game series.

References

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

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– ...

'' (''Sanguozhi'') vols. 4, 28. * Fang, Xuanling (648). ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...

'' (''Jin Shu'') vols. 1, 2. 250s conflicts 3rd-century rebellions Campaigns of the Three Kingdoms Cao Wei Rebellions in China

Background

The rebellions

Wang Ling's Rebellion

Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin's Rebellion

Zhuge Dan's Rebellion

Aftermath

Order of battle

Wang Ling's Rebellion

Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin's Rebellion

Zhuge Dan's Rebellion

In popular culture

See also

References