Han Dang (died 227),

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 Theo ...

Yigong, was a military general serving under the warlord

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 ...

during the late

Eastern 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 ...

and early

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 Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period of China. He previously served under Sun Quan's predecessors –

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 ...

(Sun Quan's father) and

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175–200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when ...

(Sun Quan's elder brother).

Life

Han Dang was from Lingzhi County (),

Liaoxi Commandery Liaoxi Commandery ( zh, 遼西郡) was a commandery in imperial China from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. It was located in modern eastern Hebei and western Liaoning, to the west of the Liao River. The commandery was created by the ...

(), which is in present-day

Qian'an, Hebei Qian'an () is a county-level city in the northeast of Hebei province, China. It is under the administration of Tangshan Tangshan () is a coastal, industrial prefecture-level city in the northeast of Hebei province. It is located in the east ...

. He possessed great physical strength and was highly skilled in archery and horse riding. The warlord

recognised his abilities and recruited him. Han Dang accompanied Sun Jian on his military exploits throughout the 180s until 191, from the

Yellow Turban Rebellion The Yellow Turban Rebellion, alternatively translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt in China against the Eastern Han dynasty. The uprising broke out in 184 CE during the reign of Emperor Ling. Although the main rebelli ...

to the

campaign 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 ...

. He was hardworking and made many contributions in battle. However, even though he was serving in an army, he was actually more of a '' youxia'' or

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

, so he was not awarded any titles for his achievements. He remained as a Major of Separate Command () under Sun Jian. After Sun Jian's death in 191, Han Dang continued serving under Sun Jian's eldest son,

. He accompanied Sun Ce on his conquests in the Jiangdong (or Wu) region. The captured territories later served as the foundation of the state of

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

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

. Han Dang was promoted to Colonel Who is First to Ascend () and given 2,000 troops under his command and 50 horses. In 200, Han Dang pledged allegiance to Sun Ce's younger brother,

, after Sun Ce was assassinated in a hunting expedition. He participated in the battle against a minor warlord Liu Xun, the

Battle of Jiangxia The Battle of Jiangxia was a battle fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Liu Biao in 208 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle was the last part of a series of military engagements between Sun Quan and Liu Biao's general Huang Zu in J ...

, and the campaign at Poyang (). He was later appointed as the Chief () of Le'an County (樂安縣; northeast of present-day Dexing,

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

). The

Shanyue The Shanyue (山越) were an ancient conglomeration of upland Yue hill tribes living in what is today the mountainous regions of Southern China and Northern Vietnam during the Han dynasty. Since the Southern part of China was not yet controlle ...

– tribal peoples in the Wu territories – were afraid of him and submitted to his administration. Han Dang participated in various battles and campaigns during his service under Sun Quan. In the winter of 208–209, he fought against

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

's forces under the command of

Zhou Yu Zhou Yu (, ) (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin (), was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Quan, ...

at the

Battle of Red Cliffs The Battle of Red Cliffs, also known as the Battle of Chibi, was a decisive naval battle in the winter of AD 208–209 at the end of the Han dynasty, about twelve years prior to the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history ...

. In 219, he joined

Lü Meng Lü Meng () (178 – January or February 220), courtesy name Ziming, was a Chinese military general and politician who served under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Early in his career, he fought in several batt ...

in the successful

invasion 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 ...

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 ...

, which resulted in Sun Quan seizing all territories in the province which used to be under

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

's control. Han Dang was promoted to Lieutenant-General () and appointed as the Administrator () of Yongchang Commandery (). Between 221 and 222, Liu Bei launched a campaign against Sun Quan to retake Jing Province, leading to the

Battle of Xiaoting The Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭之戰), also known as the Battle of Yiling and the Battle of Yiling and Xiaoting, was fought between the state of Shu and the state of Wu, between the years 221 and 222 in the early Three Kingdoms period of Chin ...

. Han Dang fought in the battle and he, together with

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. ...

Zhu Ran Zhu Ran (182 – March or April 249), born Shi Ran, courtesy name Yifeng, was a Chinese military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Despite being a childhood friend of Wu's founding emperor, Sun Quan, h ...

and others, scored a major victory over Liu Bei. For his contributions, Han Dang was further promoted to General of Vehement Might () and received the title of a Marquis of a Chief Village (). In 223, Han Dang participated in the Battle of Jiangling and resisted the

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 ...

forces led by

Cao Zhen Cao Zhen (died April or May 231), courtesy name Zidan, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was an adopted son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power in the late Eastern Han dynasty and l ...

. In 223, Han Dang was granted the title "Marquis of Shicheng" (), promoted to General of Illustrious Martial Might (), and appointed as the Administrator of Guanjun Commandery (). He was later given an additional appointment of Area Commander () to oversee the military affairs in his jurisdiction. When some bandits caused trouble in Danyang Commandery (), Han Dang led 10,000 elite troops to attack the bandits and defeated them. Han Dang died in 227, about two years before Sun Quan officially declared himself emperor and established the state of Eastern Wu.

Family

Han Dang's title and military command were passed on to his son, Han Zong (). In 227, when

was attacking Shiyang (), he did not bring Han Zong along because he feared that Han would cause trouble. Han Zong was stationed at Wuchang (武昌; present-day

Ezhou Ezhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hubei Province, China. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,079,353, of which 695,697 lived in the core Echeng District. The Ezhou - Huanggang built-up (''or metro'') area was home ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

) then, and he behaved badly and abused his authority. Sun Quan did not pursue the matter in consideration of the meritorious service of Han Zong's late father. Han Zong wanted to rebel against Sun Quan but he feared that his subordinates would not agree. He told lies and forced his sisters and female relatives to marry his subordinates and gave his servants to his close aides to gain their trust and support. In January or February 228, he fled to the state of

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

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < Battle of Dongxing The Battle of Dongxing, also known as the Battle of Dongguan, was fought from January to February 253 between the states of Cao Wei and Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The battle concluded with a tactical victory for Wu. ...

, fought between Wei and Wu. He was defeated and killed in battle. The Wu commander

Zhuge Ke Zhuge Ke (203 – November or December 253), courtesy name Yuanxun (元逊), was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Zhuge Jin, a military gene ...

had Han Zong's body decapitated and sent Han's head to Sun Quan's temple as a propitiation, because Sun Quan – who died eight months before the battle – hated Han Zong when he was still alive.

Appraisal

Han Dang was known to be a good military commander who often encouraged his men to be united in spirit. He also respected his superiors and adhered to rules and regulations faithfully. Sun Quan was very pleased with him.(在外為帥，厲將士同心固守，又敬望督司，奉遵法令，權善之。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 55.

In popular culture

Han Dang is first introduced as a playable character in the eighth instalment 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 o ...

'' video game series. He is portrayed by Liu Jun in the 2010 Chinese television series ''

''.

Notes

References

* 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''). * * * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...