Bai Qi (; – 257 BC), also known as Gongsun Qi (), was a Chinese military general of the Qin state during the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

. Born in Mei (present-day Mei County,

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

), Bai Qi served as the commander of the Qin army for more than 30 years, being responsible for the deaths of over one million, earning him the nickname (; ). According to the

Shiji ''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 his ...

, he seized more than 73 cities from the other six hostile states, and to date no record has been found to show that he suffered a single defeat throughout his military career. He was named by Chinese historians as one of the four greatest generals of the late Warring States period, along with

Li Mu Li Mu (; died 229 BC), personal name Zuo (繓), courtesy name Mu (牧), was a Chinese military general of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period. He was named by Chinese historians as one of the four greatest generals of the late W ...

, Wang Jian, and Lian Po; he is also remembered as the most fearsome amongst the four.

Life

In 293 BC, Bai Qi led the Qin army to victory against

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

() and Han () forces at the Battle of Yique (in present-day Longmen (), southeast of

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of 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 southeast, Nanyan ...

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 a ...

), reportedly slaughtering around 240,000 enemy soldiers in total while capturing some cities. In 292 BC, he was promoted from Zuo Shu Zhang (左庶長; ''Vice Prime Minister of Qin'') to Da Liang Zao (大良造; ''Prime Minister of Qin'') by

King Zhaoxiang of Qin King Zhaoxiang of Qin (; 325–251 BC), or King Zhao of Qin (秦昭王), born Ying Ji (, was the king of Qin from 306 BC to 251 BC. He was the son of King Huiwen and younger brother of King Wu. King Zhaoxiang reigned as the King of Qin for 5 ...

. In 278 BC, he led the Qin army to capture

Ying Ying may refer to: People * Yíng (嬴), a Chinese surname, the ancestral name of Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of China in the Qin Dynasty, and some contemporary rival royal families such as the Zhaos * Yīng (应), a Chinese surname from the Z ...

(), the capital city of Chu, in the process seizing considerable amounts of territory. As a reward, he was given the title Lord Wu'an (武安君; literally: ''Lord of Martial Peace''). Reportedly drowning 100000 people in a flood attack. In 273 BC, the Qin army under his command defeated the joint armies of

Zhao Zhao may refer to: * Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname ** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions ** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation ** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chine ...

() and

at Huayang (華陽; south of present-day

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the Nationa ...

(),

), where he massacred the submitting soldiers, reportedly numbering around 150,000 troops in total: 130,000 Wei soldiers with a further 20,000 Zhao soldiers being killed and thrown into a river. In 264 BC, he successfully besieged 5 Han fortresses and thereafter decapitated the 50,000 enemy soldiers. During the

Battle of Changping The Battle of Changping () was a military campaign during the Warring States period of ancient China, which took place from 262 BC to 260 BC at Changping (northwest of present-day Gaoping, Shanxi province), between the two strongest militar ...

in 260 BC, he succeeded Wang He as the commander of the Qin army, and soon defeated the

army commanded by the inexperienced Zhao Kuo, who himself had replaced Lian Po as acting commander. The Zhao army was split into two parts and its supply lines and retreat route cut off by Bai Qi. More than 400,000 Zhao soldiers, including the

Shangdang Shangdang Commandery or Shangdang Prefecture (, also named Shangtang) was an administrative subdivision of ancient China from the time of the Spring and Autumn period (771–403 BCE). Consisting of a number of districts or ''Zhōu'' (, or prefe ...

people who surrendered after Zhao Kuo was shot dead by Qin archers, were slain (坑殺; buried alive) on the orders of Bai Qi. Bai Qi wanted to end Zhao once and for all, as they were weary and psychologically affected by the losses incurred from the Battle of Changping, but the prime minister of Qin, Fan Ju (), who was persuaded by a talker from Zhao, feared Bai Qi's rising power, and recommended that the king stop the attack on the pretext that the Qin troops ought to be rested, and to accept a ceded territory negotiation. Bai Qi stopped the attack; on his return journey to the State of Qin, he fell ill. According to the

, in the year 257 BC, Qin started to besiege

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shan ...

, the capital of Zhao. Because Bai Qi was ill, the Qin king used another prominent general, Wang Ling (), who subsequently lost the battle. After about four months, when Bai Qi seemed to have recovered, the king asked him to return to his post as commander, but Bai Qi held a different opinion, he argued that Qin no longer had enough resources for such a long-range war, and the other states would soon attack Qin since Qin had been contrary to the negotiation. However, the king insisted on continuing the attack. Bai Qi refused the king's command, using his illness as an excuse. The king, therefore, had to use Wang He (), another prominent Qin general, instead of Bai Qi, as the commander. This decision did not help the Qin army in the battle at all; Chu and Wei soon sent troops to assist Zhao. After more than five months of continuous defeat at Handan, Qin had suffered major losses. The king asked Bai Qi to become commander again, but he once more used his illness to refuse the request. In the '' Zhan Guo Ce'', his true intentions were supposedly revealed when he stated that he would rather be executed for refusing the king's order, than lose his long undefeated fame on the battlefield. Having been refused several times, the king became angry, removed all titles from Bai Qi, and forced him to leave Xianyang, the Qin capital. In addition, Fan Ju persuaded the king that Bai Qi would join another state as a general and become a threat to the State of Qin. Convinced by Fan Ju's information, the king then forced Bai Qi to commit suicide in Duyou (). Before he committed suicide, Bai Qi stated that he deserved such a tragic ending after having killed so many people.

Legacy

Bai Qi sometimes appears 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 ...

on Chinese 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, ''guà ...

s, usually paired with

. He is noted in Chinese history as a symbol of brutality rather than for his military talent. The traditional

Tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super f ...

dish of

Gaoping Gaoping () is a county-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jincheng. It has a history stretching back to the Warring States period (403–221 BCE). Part of the city wa ...

, today's Changping, called Bai Qi meat, is well known. Some stories have been written about Bai Qi suffering for his brutal actions, such as one mentioned in the '' Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms'', which says that an ox with two Chinese characters, 'Bai Qi', tattooed on its back, was executed by lightning during the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. Human remains used to and still continue to be found at the site of the

around Gaoping. The

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762), personal name Li Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the early ...

once decided to dedicate a temple over a collection of the remains there.

In popular culture

*Bai Qi is played by Sun Ting in the 2012 television series '' The Qin Empire II: Alliance'' and by Xing Jiadong in its 2017 sequel ''

The Qin Empire III ''The Qin Empire III'' is a 2017 Chinese television series based on Sun Haohui's novel of the same Chinese title, which romanticizes the events in China during the Warring States period primarily from the perspective of the Qin state under King Zh ...

''. *Bai Qi, also known by the Japanese reading of his name, "Haku Ki", was the leader of the former generation of the "Qin Six Great Generals" in the manga series '' Kingdom''. He was one of the best tacticians of his era and one of the most feared Generals in China, he personally led the infamous

, and under his cold gaze, executed and buried alive 450,000

soldiers. *Bai Qi is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI'' 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 ...

. He has the highest military leadership statistics of all the characters, tied only to

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 e ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Hawkes, David, translator and introduction (2011 985. Qu Yuan ''et al.'', ''The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets''. London: Penguin Books.

Further reference

* 西漢, 司馬遷.''史記卷七十三白起王翦列傳''(Western Han Dynasty, Sima Qian, ''Biography of Wang Jian and Bai Qi'', Volume 73 of ''Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji)'') * 清, 蔡元放. ''東周列國志''(Qing dynasty, Cai Yuanfang. ''Records of the states during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty'')

External links

*
Bai Qi Time Line
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bai, Qi 257 BC deaths 3rd-century BC executions Ancient people who committed suicide Chinese gods Deified Chinese people Executed Qin dynasty people Forced suicides of Chinese people Generals from Shaanxi People executed by the Qin dynasty People from Baoji Qin dynasty generals Suicides by sharp instrument in China Suicides in China Year of birth unknown Zhou dynasty generals Qin state people