Lu Bode (; –?) was a Chinese military general during the

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring in ...

. Lu was from Pingzhou (平州) in the Xihe (西河) region of western China (present-day

Lishi District Lishi District () is the only district and the seat of the city of Lüliang, Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the pro ...

Lüliang Lüliang ( zh, s=吕梁 , t=呂梁 , p=Lǚliáng), also spelled as Lvliang or Lyuliang, is a prefecture-level city in western Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Shaanxi province across the Yellow River to the west, Jinzhong ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

). In 119 BCE,

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong, was the seventh Emperor of China, emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years – a record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi ...

dispatched Lu along with Huo Qubing on an expedition north to attack the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

. After a successful campaign Lu was awarded the title General Fubo (伏波; literally "subduer of the waves"), a title later awarded to other illustrious military leaders such as

Ma Yuan Ma Yuan may refer to: * Ma Yuan (Han dynasty) (馬援; 14 BC – 49 AD), general of the Han dynasty * Ma Yuan (painter) (馬遠; 1160–1225), painter of the Song dynasty * Ma Yuan (judge) (:zh:馬原 (政治人物), 馬原; born 1930), a former V ...

. Lu along with General Yang Pu was one of the leaders of the five armies who advanced towards

Panyu Panyu, formerly romanized as Punyü, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. Since January 1975, Panyu County has been under Guangzhou's administration. In 1992, Panyu C ...

(present-day

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

) near the Giaochi border to conquer Nanyue and annex it into the Han empire. Thereafter, Lu also attacked the island of

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

off the south eastern coast of the Chinese mainland. After a successful assault, he divided the new territory into the twin prefectures of Zhuya (珠崖郡) and Dan'er (儋耳郡) thus also annexing Hainan island into the Han empire. Despite these military successes, Lu was later demoted for an unspecified transgression. The last known military action he participated was an unsuccessful Northern campaign (under General Li Guangli) against the

in 97 BCE.

References

Further reading