#Zhuo Zhuo Feng Liu

[dangermousie]

I could get behind the new trend of ladies being bossy on top of their men.

The promos for this do not excite me (I don’t dislike them either, I am just vaguely “oh ok” about them) but I love the leads so I will check it out, especially since my track record in terms of being able to predict whether a cdrama will work for me based on a trailer is abysmal.

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: The Legend of Zhuohua (2023)

Gifs of Ending of cdrama “The Legend of Zhuohua”

La Leyenda de Zhuohua | Episodios 01 Completos (The Legend of Zhuohua) | WeTV

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf6MtDyxMOA

[remo-ny]

[shookethdev]

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

NAKU 🫵

[fandomside]

Nirvana in Fire Rewatch Episode Twenty-Three

Events:

Prince Yu agrees to get MCS in to talk to Xie Yu.

Fei Liu passes a message to Xia Dong, who's still grounded. Xia Jiang senses him but doesn't spot him.

MCS talks to Xie Yu in his prison cell. He starts out by gloating (because it's what Xie Yu expects of him). Then he points out that Xia Jiang might have Xie Yu killed once he is released from prison for the sake of his secrets. Xie Yu protests that he trusts Xia Jiang.

Meanwhile, Prince Yu visits Xia Jiang and says he heard that Zhuo Dingfeng killed a certain teacher, Li Chongxin, as a favour to Xia Jiang.

MCS explains that Xia Jiang now believes Xie Yu has betrayed him by telling Prince Yu about Li Chongxin. Xie Yu capitulates. He says that Li Chongxin forged the handwriting of the general Nie Feng (Xia Dong's dead husband) in a letter saying Lin Xie (Lin Shu's father) was rebelling. Xie Yu then pretended to receive the letter and rush to the aid of Nie Feng, only to ambush the Chiyan army and slaughter them.

Xia Dong and Jingyan are standing in the next cell listening to all of this. Afterward, Jingyan goes straight to his mother even though it's not his permitted day for seeing her.

MCS is brooding in his room; Li Gang and Zheng Ping are worried. He's interrupted by Jingyan in the secret passage. They talk about the Chiyan case. MCS points out there's no point bringing it to the emperor when the emperor was part of the reason why it happened.

Great-grandmother is dying. She calls for xiao-Shu and his mother (her granddaughter).

Characters:

Once again, Prince Yu is merely a convenient tool for MCS.

Xia Chun is the eldest of the three Xuanjing disciples.

The prison guard describes Prince Qi as 'unyielding'.

MCS is very polite to Xie Yu, addressing him by his title. But he's terrifying. Sinister, dangerous, arrogant.

Freshly-harvested tea is available in the markets, but Xia Jiang is being frugal and drinking old tea - or at least serving it to Prince Yu.

Xie Yu's instincts are telling him that MCS has a personal interest in this, but MCS has perfect control, although it's fraying a bit towards the end of their conversation.

As MCS exits the cell, he and Jingyan exchange glances and do this lovely little acknowledgement that just kills me.

Jingyan's first reaction is to think of xiao-Shu.

MCS is horrified at the thought Jingyan might have doubted the innocence of Prince Qi and Lin Xie.

MCS believes Xia Jiang got rid of Prince Qi for the emperor as a "who will rid me of this troublesome priest".

Misc

There's a special 'han' cell for members of the imperial family.

Yan-daifu wears his hair loose jianghu style.

The prison guards expositing for us are father and son.

[the-archlich]

Yuan Shao and his sons (+ Gao Gan), and also Yuan Shu, are widely. known. Were there any other important Yuans during the 3 Kingdoms period?

Here's the simplest way I can explain the Yuan family.

The common ancestor is Yuan Tang, grandfather of the Sanping warlords. The family was already powerful when he came of age, and they were known for their scholarship. He followed the family tradition, was admired for his good Confucian virtues, and encouraged the use of local histories to advocate for proper conduct.

During Emperor Shun's time, he became the director of the Secretariat and was closely affiliated with the Grand General Liang Shang. He remained closely associated with the Liang regime throughout the tenure of Liang Ji and engaged in some petty abuses of power. Eventually he was made one of the Nine Ministers and a marquis. Under Emperor Huan he served in all three offices of the Excellencies and left office due to unfavorable portents in 153. He passed away not long after that.

Yuan Tang had twelve sons but we really only need to note three in particular. The eldest surviving son was Cheng, who inherited the family estate. He was a trusted adviser to the dictatorial regent Liang Ji. He died relatively young and without an heir, so the family estate passed to his younger brother Yuan Feng.

Yuan Feng was widely respected as a generous and honorable man. He was liked by both the Liang and eunuch factions, so he prospered under both. He seems to have had some military pretentions. Although he became one of the Nine Ministers in 168, he was transferred to be one of the commanders of the Northern Army. In 178 he was made one of the Excellencies, but the next year he resigned to serve as Bearer of the Gilded Mace, head of Luoyang's police. He died not long after this.

Feng had three sons but we don't need to say much about them. The eldest was Ji, who inherited his estate. He doesn't appear to have been as ambitious as his younger brothers but presumably participated in their schemes. He became one of the Nine Ministers under Dong Zhuo in 190 but was then executed along with most of the family when his brothers revolted.

Feng's second son, by a concubine, was Shao. He was posthumously adopted to Cheng to maintain his lineage. Shu was Feng's youngest son. All of the Yuans you're thinking of are from this branch of the family.

The last of this second generation is Yuan Wei, a younger sibling of Cheng and Feng. He is probably the most important member of the family (at this specific point) people don't generally know about. Along with his brothers he prospered under the Liang and eunuch regimes. He eventually became one of the Nine Ministers and, in 172, Excellency of Works. He stepped down from this position for several years, serving as one of the Nine Ministers again, and then returned to being Excellency of Works in 182. By 189 he was also given the (at that point entirely honorary) position General of the Rear. Upon the death of Emperor Ling, he was made Grand Tutor to Liu Bian. Though theoretically very powerful, Yuan Wei does not appear to have exerted a strong influence. Instead he acted to rubber stamp the activities of He Jin and Dong Zhuo. Nevertheless, when his nephews revolted against Dong Zhuo, Wei was killed along with the rest of his family in Luoyang.

We also know of two in the third generation who are particularly noteworthy. Their fathers are unspecified siblings of Cheng, Feng, and Wei. Yuan Yi is described as a cousin of Shao and Shu and was evidently admired by Cao Cao. He served as the magistrate of Chang'an but was made head of Shanyang by Dong Zhuo in 190. Yi joined his cousins in revolting against Dong Zhuo and might have expected to lead the Suanzao camp. When the family split, he sided with Shao. In 193 he led troops to secure Yang province against Shu but was defeated. He was killed in a mutiny after that. Aside from Yuan Wei, he's probably the other most important relative who gets looked over.

Yuan Yin was another cousin, but he sided with Shu. Of note he was made head of Danyang in 195 but was driven out by Sun Ce in 197. Following Shu's death in 199 he led the family to seek shelter with Liu Xun and seems to have retired after that.

[eyenaku]

Ji ji fu ji ji

a o e i i er ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong i ia iao ie iu ian in iang ing iong u ua uo uai ui uan un uang ueng ü üe üan ün a o e er ai ao ou an en ang eng yi ya yao ye you yan yin yang ying yong wu wa wo wai wei wan wen wang weng yu yue yuan yun b ba bo bai bei bao ban ben bang beng bi biao bie bian bin bing bu p pa po pai pei pao pou pan pen pang peng pi piao pie pian pin ping pu m ma mo me mai mei mao mou man men mang meng mi miao mie miu mian min ming mu f fa fo fei fou fan fen fang feng fu d da de dai dei dao dou dan den dang deng dong di diao die diu dian ding du duo dui duan dun t ta te tai tei tao tou tan tang teng tong ti tiao tie tian ting tu tuo tui tuan tun n na ne nai nei nao nou nan nen nang neng nong ni niao nie niu nian nin niang ning nu nuo nuan nü nüe l la le lai lei lao lou lan lang leng long li lia liao lie liu lian lin liang ling lu luo luan lun lü lüe g ga ge gai gei gao gou gan gen gang geng gong gu gua guo guai gui guan gun guang k ka ke kai kei kao kou kan ken kang keng kong ku kua kuo kuai kui kuan kun kuang h ha he hai hei hao hou han hen hang heng hong hu hua huo huai hui huan hun huang z za ze zi zai zei zao zou zan zen zang zeng zong zu zuo zui zuan zun c ca ce ci cai cao cou can cen cang ceng cong cu cuo cui cuan cun s sa se si sai sao sou san sen sang seng song su suo sui suan sun zh zha zhe zhi zhai zhei zhao zhou zhan zhen zhang zheng zhong zhu zhua zhuo zhuai zhui zhuan zhun zhuang ch cha che chi chai chao chou chan chen chang cheng chong chu chua chuo chuai chui chuan chun chuang sh sha she shi shai shei shao shou shan shen shang sheng shu shua shuo shuai shui shuan shun shuang r re ri rao rou ran ren rang reng rong ru rua ruo rui ruan run j ji jia jiao jie jiu jian jin jiang jing jiong ju jue juan jun q qi qia qiao qie qiu qian qin qiang qing qiong qu que quan qun x xi xia xiao xie xiu xian xin xiang xing xiong xu xue xuan xun

[yeonchi]

Dynasty Warriors Online Weapon Moveset Counterpart Digest

During the years that Dynasty Warriors Online was in service, many weapons have been made available for players to choose from. The game started off with weapons from Dynasty Warriors 5 before later adding in weapons from 7, 8 and even 9 along with Warriors Orochi 2 and Samurai Warriors 3. Original weapons exclusive to the game have also been made available as well.

The list begins after the break. Please notes that the names for some weapons, particularly in later games, may be different to the names in the game that the movesets were taken from.

Crescent Blade 偃月刀 - Guan Yu (DW5)

Great Axe 大斧 - Xu Huang (DW5)

Great Club 砕棒 - Xu Zhu (DW5)

Iron Rod 鉄鞭 - Huang Gai (DW5)

Scimitar 朴刀 - Xiahou Dun (DW5)

Pirate Sword 甲刀 - Gan Ning (DW5)

Battle Rod 砕棍 - Xiahou Yuan (DW5)

Twin Rods 双鞭 - Taishi Ci (DW5)

War Axe 戦斧 - Dian Wei (DW5)

Twin Picks 双戟 - Pang De (DW5)

Twin Sabers 双剣 - Lu Xun (DW5)

Twin Maces 双錘 - Diaochan (DW5)

Bronze Spear 直槍 - Zhao Yun (DW5)

Cudgel 長棍 - Original (DWO)

Twin Fans 桜扇 - Daqiao (DW5)

Strategist Fan 燕扇 - Sima Yi (DW5)

Vision Staff 幻杖 - Pang Tong (DW5)

Sorcerer's Staff 妖杖 - Zhang Jiao (DW5)

Iron Claw 鉄鈎 - Zhang He (DW5)

Nanman Gauntlets 蛮拳 - Meng Huo (DW5)

Iron Sword 鉄剣 - Zhou Yu (DW5)

Tyrant Sword 獄刀 - Dong Zhuo (DW5)

Battle Shield 戦盤 - Original (DWO)

Whip 多節鞭 - Original (DWO)

Curved Voulge 長双刀 - Wei Yan (DW5)

Pole Blade 鉤鎌刀 - Zhang Liao (DW5)

Noble Sword 宝剣 - Yuan Shao (DW5)

Iron Spear 鉄槍 - Ma Chao (DW5)

Wood Nunchaku 両節棍 - Ling Tong (DW5)

Chakram 夏圏 - Sun Shangxiang (DW5)

Bronze Pike 鉄矛 - Zhang Fei (DW5)

Iron Blade 斬馬刀 - Guan Ping (DW5)

Feather Fan 羽扇 - Zhuge Liang (DW5)

Boomerang 投弧刃 - Zhurong (DW5)

Wolf Sword 積刃剣 - Sun Quan (DW5)

Broad Sword 将剣 - Cao Cao (DW5)

Eastern Sword 弧刀 - Zhou Tai (DW5)

Tonfa 旋棍 - Sun Ce (DW5)

Buckler Blade 牙壁 - Cao Ren (DW5)

War Blade 盤刀 - Huang Zhong (DW5)

Dagger Axe 戦戈 - Yueying (DW5)

Flute 鉄笛 - Zhenji (DW5)

Twin Blades 双刃剣 - Cao Pi (DW5)

Apex Blade 尖剣 - Liu Bei (DW5)

Cursed Deck 呪符 - Zuo Ci (DW5)

Trident 三尖槍 - Jiang Wei (DW5)

Long Fork 叉突矛 - Xingcai (DW5)

Glaive 断戟 - Lu Meng (DW5)

Halberd 鉄戟 - Lu Bu (DW5)

Nodachi 野太刀 - Ranmaru Mori (SW3)

Horned Blade 麟角刀 - Original (DWO)

Jamadhar 穿刃 - Original (DWO)

Greatsword 巨剣 - Fu Xi (WO2)

Light Sword 細剣 - Nuwa (WO2)

Fang Sword 牙剣 - Sun Jian (DW5)

Double Fans 桃扇 - Xiaoqiao (DW5)

Fanged Club 狼牙棒 - Original (DWO)

Snake Sword 蛇剣 - Original (DWO)

Ogre's Fist 重手甲 - Original (DWO)

Dragon Barbs 龍牙鈎 - Original (DWO)

Marbles 堕落 - Da Ji (WO)

Throwing Knives 鏢 - Wang Yuanji (DW7)

Crimson Flute 紅蓮笛 - Zhenji (DW7)

Blue Dragon Sword 青龍刀 - Sima Zhao (DW7)

Lance 螺旋槍 - Deng Ai (DW7)

Thunder Spear 雷鳴槍 - Jiang Wei (DW7)

Wheels 火焔圏 - Sun Shangxiang (DW7)

Flying Swords 飛翔剣 - Zhong Hui (DW7)

Dragon Fan 龍扇 - Zhuge Liang (DW7)

Twin Axes 双鉞 - Zhang Liao (DW7)

Red Dragon Sword 紅龍刀 - Sun Quan (DW7)

Long Bow 長弓 - Huang Zhong (DW7)

Splendid Claws 飛麗爪 - Zhang He (DW7)

Heavy Axe 大鉞 - Xu Huang (DW7E)

Orb & Scepter 打球棍 - Guo Jia (DW7XL)

Twin Dragon Swords 双龍剣 - Liu Bei (DW7)

Striking Rods 打双鞭 - Taishi Ci (DW7)

Whirling Tonfa 旋撃棍 - Sun Ce (DW7)

Qilin Fang 麒麟刀 - Xiahou Dun (DW7XL)

Sword & Hook 撃剣 - Xu Shu (DW7E)

Chain Whip 月香鞭 - Diaochan (DW7)

Sky Piercer 方天戟 - Lu Bu (DW7)

Arm Blade 鉄舟 - Huang Gai (DW7E)

Pugil Sticks 双杖 - Daqiao (DW7E)

Iron Fan 鉄扇 - Xiaoqiao (DW7)

Waving Nunchaku 波闘棍 - Guan Suo (DW7)

Spinner 旋刃盤 - Bao Sanniang (DW7)

Rapier 刺剣 - Liu Shan (DW7)

Short Halberd 短戟 - Han Dang (DW8)

Long Blade 長刀 - Guan Yu (DW7XL)

Trishula 筆架叉 - Wang Yi (DW7XL)

Shaman Staff 錫杖 - Zhang Jiao (DW7)

Circle Blade 断月刃 - Ding Feng (DW7E)

Curved Blade 打刀 - Zhou Tai (DW7)

Lightning Sword 迅雷剣 - Sima Shi (DW7E)

Arm Cannon 連弩砲 - Guo Huai (DW8)

Pulverizing Club 潰棒 - Xu Zhu (DW8)

Dragon Spear 龍槍 - Zhao Yun (DW7XL)

Hand Axe 手斧 - Dian Wei (DW8)

Talisman Cards 導符 - Zuo Ci (DW8)

Flying Boomerang 飛刀 - Zhurong (DW8)

Great Iron Blade 大剣 - Guan Ping (DW8)

Dual Blade 双斬剣 - Cao Pi (DW8)

Crossed Pike 十字戟 - Lu Lingqi (DW8XL)

Double Trident 両刃槍 - Jiang Wei (DW8)

Bladebow 刃弩 - Yueying (DW8E)

Dagger 匕首 - Original (DWO)

Bow & Rod 鞭箭弓 - Xiahou Yuan (DW8)

Dual Hookblades 双鉤 - Yue Jin (DW8)

Twin Pistols 双短銃 - Original (DWO)

Battle Ge 闘戈 - Yueying (DW8)

Great Sickle 大鍘刀 - Zhou Cang (DW9)

Broad Axe 長鉞 - Xin Xianying (DW9)

Extension Blade 伸細剣 - Yuan Shao (DW9)

Nine Rings Blade 九環刀 - Sun Jian (DW9)

Winged Fan 翼扇 - Sima Yi (DW9)

Master Voulge 眉尖刀 - Wei Yan (DW9)

Battle Staff 闘棍 - Zhou Yu (DW9)

Piercing Spear 貫薙槍 - Ma Chao (DW9)

Swallow Swords 飛燕剣 - Lu Xun (DW9)

War Trident 三尖刀 - Yu Jin (DW9)

Ballistic Spear 射刃槍 - Man Chong (DW9)

Rake 九歯鈀 - Lu Su (DW9)

Sword & Shield 盾牌剣 - Xingcai (DW9)

Framed Halberd 画戟 - Lu Bu (DW9)

Mandarin Duck Hooks 鴛鴦鉞 - Lianshi (DW9)

Jeweled Pike 宝戟 - Lu Meng (DW9)

Striking Sword 烈撃刀 - Sima Zhao (DW9)

Falcon Axes 隼双鉞 - Ma Dai (DW9)

Emei Piercers 峨嵋刺 - Wang Yi (DW9)

Shadow Fan 翳扇 - Pang Tong (DW9)

Battle Gloves 眷手甲 - Meng Huo (DW9)

Flaming Sword 焔刃剣 - Sun Quan (DW9)

Chaos Rods 壊双鞭 - Taishi Ci (DW9)

Sky Splitter 裂空刀 - Guan Ping (DW9)

Crescent Edge 月牙鏟 - Li Dian (DW9)

Studded Club 裂棒 - Xu Zhu (DW9)

[natsunohitokimi]

[Drama]

ชื่อจีน: 灼灼风流

ชื่ออังกฤษ: Zhuo Zhuo Feng Liu

ชื่อไทย: ขุนนางหญิงยอดเสน่หา

วันออกอากาศ: 2023.08.19

ดูได้ทาง: WeTV

รับบท: หลิวเชิน

[kchasm]

Ryu Number: The Sengoku Period/Romance of the Three Kingdoms characters of Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate, Chapter 2, Part 2

The Fierce Tiger of Jiangdong

Hōjō Tsunashige

Hōjō Ujiyasu

Inomata Kuninori

Ishimaki Yasumasa

Lady Hayakawa

Ogasawara Yasuhiro

Ueda Norisada

Sanada Yukimura

Gracia

Ii Naotora

Guan Yinping

Sima Yi

Zhang Chunhua

Da Qiao/Daqiao (Historically 大 橋, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms 大 喬, Dai Kyou): One of the famous sisters known as the Two Qiaos of Jiangdong. Her name is historically lost; “Da Qiao” simply means “older Qiao.” In 199, she and her sister were taken captive by Sun Ce’s army; Da Qiao subsequently married Sun Ce. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, part of what presses Zhou Yu to convince Sun Quan to ally with Liu Bei against Cao Cao is Zhuge Liang convincing him that Cao wants the two sisters for himself.

Ding Feng

Lady Sun (孫 夫, Son-Fujin; her name is unknown, but Chinese opera often gives her the name Sun Shangxiang/孫 尚香/Son Shoukou, as does Warriors Orochi 4): Daughter of Sun Jian. In 209, she was married to Liu Bei as part of an alliance. She was known for her arrogant behavior. When Liu Bei left Jing Province in 211 to attack warlord Liu Zhang, Sun Quan fetched her back to Wu; she attempted to take Liu Bei’s son Liu Shan (who wasn’t even her son) but was stopped. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, she’s called Sun Ren (孫 仁, Son Jin) and commits suicide when she hears that Lou Bei has been killed at the 221-222 Battle of Xiaoting (which he hasn’t).

Lianshi

Liu Ping (留 平, Ryuu Hei): Served under the third emperor of Wu, Sun Xiu, and the fourth, Sun Hao. Unfortunately, Sun Hao was a real jerk. In 271, he launched an attack against Jin, but also brought his wife, mother, and harem along, which created real work for the army so much that grumblings of defection led Sun Hao to abort the deal. For this, Sun Hao began to bear a grudge against one of the generals there, Liu Ping. He tried to poison Liu Ping, which failed, but Ping ended up dying of stress anyway in 272.

Lü Fan (呂 範, Ryo Han): An official under warlord Yuan Shu who served under Sun Ce, both when Ce was a general under Shu and also afterward, when Ce became an independent warlord. Father of Lü Ju. Requested a low-ranking position so that he could more effectively manage and train troops. Served Sun Quan after Sun Ce’s death. Died of illness 228.

Pan Lin (潘 臨, Han Rin): The Shanyue were a collection of Yue hill tribes (and bandits) known for resisting Sun Ce and Sun Quan; Pan Lin led a group of them. Lu Xun defeated him. Some webpages say that Pan Lin subsequently served Wu, so assuming that’s true, I guess that’s why he’s here?

Sun Ben (孫 賁, Son Hon): Nephew of Sun Jian. After Sun Jian’s death c. 191, Sun Ben served Yuan Shu as Jian had. He broke ties with Yuan Shu after the latter declared himself emperor, and joined Sun Ce. Served in the 208-209 Battle of Red Cliffs, then died of illness.

Sun Ce (孫 策, Son Saku): Born 175. Warlord who laid the foundation of Wu. Oldest son of Sun Jian. Originally worked with Yuan Shu, but broke away from him after he declared himself emperor. He was assassinated in 200 by subordinates of a man he had had executed. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, his death is a lot more dramatic; after being badly wounded in an attempted assassination, he has a Taoist priest executed (unrelated to the assassination thing), and is subsequently haunted by the man’s specter to the point where basically a combination of the stress and the wound kill him.

Sun Huan (孫 桓, Son Kan): Born 198. Participated in the successful 219 invasion of Jing Province against Guan Yu’s forces. During the 221-222 Battle of Xiaoting, he was besieged by Liu Bei’s forces at Yidao and held out until Bei’s forces were defeated elsewhere and the siege was lifted.

Sun Jian (孫 堅, Son Ken): Born 155. Minor warlord, but influential. Father of Sun Ce and Sun Quan. During the Campaign against Dong Zhuo in 190, Sun Jian joined and became a subordinate of warlord Yuan Shu, accomplishing major success in his operations. In 191, he was sent by Yuan Shu to attack Liu Biao, the governor of Jing Province. His date of death is unclear; one source says he was killed in an ambush by Liu Biao’s men; another source says that he was killed in 193 by a different individual under Liu Biao.

Sun Jing (孫 靜, 孫 静, Son Sei): Youngest brother of Sun Jian. He aided Sun Ce, and his knowledge helped defeat warlord Wang Lang. Afterward, he refused an important position in favor of being assigned to the region of his family home, where he spent the rest of his life. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms he is mistakenly referred to as Sun Quan’s brother.

Sun Kuang (孫 匡, Son Kyou): Born after 184. Fourth and youngest son of Sun Jian. When Sun Ce began to consolidate power between 194 and 199, Cao Cao, who was wary of Ce’s growing influence, sought to arrange marital ties between his and Ce’s families; Cao’s niece (a daughter of Cao Ren) married Sun Kuang. However, Sun Kuang died in his early twenties before he could hold any of the offices he was nominated for. Some sources have him be the one who disastrously almost completely ruined the defense of Wu against Wei in 222, but that was most probably actually Sun Lang.

Sun Lang (孫 朗, Son Rou): Son of Sun Jian and half-brother of Sun Quan. In 222, when Wei attacked Wu, Wu military general Lü Fan prohibited fire attacks on account of unfavorable weather. Sun Lang sprung for one anyway and accidentally set his own camp on fire, and much of Lü Fan’s naval fleet ended up destroyed, which nearly spelled disaster for Wu as a whole, though it was all salvaged in the end. Sun Lang subsequently had his ranks stripped and spent his life under house arrest.

Sun Quan

Sun Tai (孫 泰, Son Tai): Son of Sun Kuang. Killed by an arrow in the 234 Battle of Hefei Xincheng (when Wu attacked the Wei city of Hefei).

Sun Xiu (孫 休, Son Kyuu): Born 235. Son of Sun Quan and third emperor of Wu. When the second emperor, Sun Liang attempted to get state power from his regent Sun Chen, Chen stopped the movement, unemperored Chen, and replaced him with Xiu in 258. Sun Xiu then had Sun Chen killed in 259. With incapable and corrupt subordinates, he was not an effective emperor. He died in 264 have designated his son Sun Wan as his heir; however, his wishes were ignored and the adult Sun Hao was emperored instead of the still-child Wan.

Quan Cong (全 琮, Zen Sou; sometimes mistranslated, as in Warriors Orochi 4, as Quan Zong): In a notable event, he gave away grain for free to hungry people instead of selling it. Began his career under Sun Quan. When Sun Quan ordered his crown prince Sun Deng to lead troops into battle, flouting custom, Quan Cong diplomatically advised him to do otherwise. When he led troops to attack Wei-controlled land in 233 and civilians fled, he refused to use his men to hunt them down. He became embroiled in the succession struggle between Sun Quan’s sons Sun He and Sun Ba, supporting Sun Ba, but died before the drama concluded in 250. He was either born 196 and died 247, or was born 198 and died 249.

Quan Xi (全 熈, 全 煕, Zen Ki): When disastrous Wu regent Zhuge Ke was ousted in 253, Quan Xi was one of the ones ordered to go and arrest Ke’s relative Zhuge Rong. When Wei general Zhuge Dan revolted in 257, Quan Xi was among those sent by Wu as support. At some point his family tried to leave Wu for Wei but the plan was found out and Quan Xi was killed. If this mini-biography is weirdly vague it’s because there is like, one Wikipedia article in Japanese about this guy and I trust machine translation as far as I can toss it.

Taishi Ci

Tang Zi (唐 咨, Tou Shi): In 225, a rebellion broke out in Licheng Commandery, with Tang Zi nominated to became the new leader, but Wei emperor Cao Pi suppressed the revolt and Zi fled to Wu. He was one of the ones sent by Wu to support Zhuge Dan’s rebellion in Wei in 257, but when the rebellion failed Tang Zi was captured by Wei and agreed to serve them.

Wang Dun (王 惇, Ou Ton): In 256, He conspired to kill Sun Chen, the cruel regent of Sun Liang, but the plot was discovered and Wang Dun was killed.

Wu Jing (吳 景, 呉 景, Go Kei): Brother of Sun Jian’s wife. Served Sun Jian, then (after Jian was killed in 191) warlord Yuan Shu, then (after Shu declared himself emperor) Sun Ce. Died 203.

Xiao Qiao/Xiaoqiao (Historically 小 橋, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms 小 喬, Shou Kyou): One of the famous sisters known as the Two Qiaos of Jiangdong. Her name is historically lost; “Xiao Qiao” simply means “younger Qiao.” In 199, she and her sister were taken captive by Sun Ce’s army; Xiao Qiao subsequently married Zhou Yu.

Yu Fan (虞 翻, Gu Hon): Born 164. Originally a served under Wang Lang, the Administrator of Kuaiji Commandery. After Wang Lang was defeated by Sun Ce, Yu Fan ended up working for Ce. After Sun Ce’s death, he served Sun Quan. Though he was accomplished, his straightforward nature and habit of insulting people eventually caused Sun Quan to exile him to Jiao Province. Died 233.

Zhang Cheng (張 承 Chou Shou) This Zhang Cheng had the courtesy name Zhongsi (仲嗣, Chuushi) Born 178. Served under Sun Quan. Said to be a good judge of character, forseeing Zhuge Ke as headed for nothing good. Two of his children were purged in the aftermath of Zhuge Ke’s downfall. Died 244.

Zhang Shao (張 紹, Chou Shou): There was a Zhang Shao with these characters who was the son of Zhang Fei and surrendered to Wei after Shu collapsed, but this is supposed to be a member of the Wu forces, so it shouldn’t be that guy, right? There’s a possibility that this is supposed to be Zhang Zhao (張 昭), whose name uses similar characters and is also pronounced “Chou Shou” in Japanese, but this is speculation. Or of course, perhaps there was an unrelated Zhang Shao who did serve Wu that I’m just not coming across. If this is supposed to be Zhang Zhao, suffice to say: Born 156, became an advisor to Sun Ce, significantly supported Sun Quan after Ce’s death, suggested in 208 that Quan surrender to Cao Cao because he felt Quan wasn’t going to win (Quan totally did), died 236, known for a stern and uncompromising personality.

Zhou Yu (周 瑜, Shuu Yu): Born 175. Strategist who initially served Sun Ce. He accompanied Sun Ce when Sun Ce still operated under Yuan Shu, and continued to follow and assist Sun Ce when Sun Ce broke ties with Yuan Shu after Shu declared himself emperor. After Sun Ce was assassinated in 200, he was succeeded by his younger brother Sun Quan, and Zhou Yu began to assist him. He was influential in convincing Sun Quan to fight back against Cao Cao when Cao Cao began to threaten him in 208, and helped defeat Cao Cao’s numerically superior force at the Battle of Red Cliffs. Died of illness 210.

Zhu En (朱 恩, Shu On): Subordinate of Zhuge Ke; served in Ke’s personal police force. When Zhuge Ke was killed by Sun Jun, Zhu En died in the subsequent purges.

Zhu Ran

Zhu Zhi (朱 治, Shu Chi): Born 156.Served Sun Jian and participated in the campaign against Dong Zhuo, then served Sun Ce, then Sun Quan. Known for his modesty, including politically. Retired to his hometown. Died 224.

Sima Yi

Zhang Chunhua

Protecting the Bracelet

Asano Nagaakira (浅野 長晟): Born 1586. Served Toyotomi Hideyoshi, then, in 1594, began serving Tokugawa Ieyasu, and was allied with him in the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara and the 1614-1615 Siege of Osaka. Died 1632.

Ii Naotora

Ikeda Shigeyasu (池田 重安): He originally served vassals of the Takeda clan, but by the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara, he was under Sanada Nobuyuki (in the Eastern Army). Though Shigeyasu appears as a dot on the map, it’s not really possible to see him before he’s defeated by Nezha and disappears, so this may not count as an appearance.

Naitō Tadaoki (内藤 忠興): Born 1592. Served Tokugawa Ieyasu. Rode out against orders to serve Tokugawa Ieyasu directly during the 1614 Siege of Osaka. Died 1674.

Sakakibara Yasumasa

Yūki Hideyasu (結城 秀康): Born 1574. Second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he was adopted first by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and then by Yūki Harumasa. During the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara, he helped prevent the western advance of Uesugi Kagakatsu. Afterward, he returned to his father’s original surname, Matsudaira. Died 1607. Though Hideyasu appears as a dot on the map, it’s not really possible to see him before he’s defeated by Nezha and disappears, so this may not count as an appearance.

Sanada Yukimura

Fūma Kotarō

Akechi Hidemitsu

Akechi Mitsuhide

Gracia

Hachisuka Koroku

Kuki Yoshitaka

Mori Ranmaru

Nakagawa Kiyohide (中川 清秀): Surrendered to Oda Nobunaga in 1571 and began serving him. When Araki Murashige rebelled in 1578, Kiyohide also rebelled, but then surrendered to Oda Nobunaga and went back to serving him. In the Oda succession crisis, Kiyohide sided with Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobukatsu; he died in the 1583 Battle of Shizugatake against Shibata Katsuie and Oda Nobutaka forces.

Nō

Ogawa Suketada (小川 祐忠): Born 1535. Served Oda Nobunaga, but went to Akechi Mitsuhide’s side after the 1582 Honnō-ji Incident. Afterward, he ended up serving Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He joined the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara on the side of the Western Army, but defected to the Eastern Army. Died 1601.

Oda Nobukatsu

Saitō Toshimitsu

Yamauchi Kazutoyo

Yasuda Kunitsugu (安田 国継): Born 1556. Served Saitō Toshimitsu and Akechi Mitsuhide. Participated on Akechi’s side at the 1582 Honnō-ji Incident; some say that he was the one who killed Oda Nobunaga there. Died 1597 on the same day that Oda Nobunaga died; it’s said he committed suicide due to a boil on his cheek and that he was cursed for killing Nobunaga.

Guan Yinping

Hu Ji ( 胡 濟, 胡 済, Go Sei): General of Shu. He was unable to meet up with Jiang Wei’s forces in a 256 campaign against Wei, leading to Jiang Wei’s defeat.

Liu Bei

Shi Bao (石 苞, Seki Hou): A minor government official who got by by selling weapons. His talents were recognized and he was made into a governor. Helped defeat Zhuge Dan’s rebellion in 257-258. Continued his service when Wei became Jin in 266. Was suspected of Being Treasonous for some time but was cleared. Died 273.

Sima Fu (司馬 孚, Shiba Fu): Born 180. Brother of Sima Yi. Notably loyal to the Wei emperors despite the machinations of his family; when Cao Mao died in 260 trying to seize back power he was one of the few who wept at his funeral. When Sima Yan, his grandnephew, finally made himself emperor of Jin, Sima Fu refused any title of nobility. Died 272.

Sima Jin

Sima Shi (司馬 師, Shiba Shi): Born 208. First son of Sima Yi, who he assisted in removing Cao Shuang from the picture in 249 so that Yi should have all the Wei regency powers for himself (some sources say Sima Shi was the only one Yi planned it with). He became regent after Sima Yi’s death in 251. Nominal emperor Cao Fang sought to get his power back in 254, but Sima Shi got an inkling of discontent and made him step down in favor of Cao Mao. She died after putting down another rebellion, in 255, from complications from an operation that removed a tumor from his eye.

Sima Yi

Sima You (司馬 攸, Shiba Yuu): Born 246. Second son of Sima Zhao. Sima Yan, emperor of Jin, wanted his developmentally disabled son Sim Zhong to be the next emperor, and was concerned that people favored Sima You, so he had You sent away from Politics to his fiefdom in 282. Died in 283 of stress.

Sima Zhao

Wang Yuanji

Xiahou Xuan

Xin Chang

Zhang Chunhua

The Young Dragon Obeys the Goddess

Kunoichi

Sanada Yukimura

Takeda Shingen

Fūma Kotarō

Uesugi Kenshin

Sanada Nobuyuki

Bao Sanniang (鮑 三娘, Hou Sanjou): Fictional wife of the fictional Guan Suo. In folklore, she’s a warrior who Guan Suo hears tell of and challenges to a spar; when he defeats her, she proposes. After her husband dies in battle, she guards Jiameng Pass until her death. Or maybe dies defending it. Or dies of illness there. That’s folklore, my dudes.

Chen Dao (陳 到, Chin Tou): Served Shu. Little is known about him, but he was the leader of one of Liu Bei’s elite units. Active from the 190s to the 230s.

Guan Ping

Guan Suo (關 索, 関 索, Kan Saku): In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a fictional son of Guan Yu who served Shu. He is often folklorically described as being handsome and having many wives.

Guan Xing (關 興, 関 興, Kan Kou): Son of Guan Yu and younger brother of Guan Ping. When he became an adult, he became an official in Shu, but died some years later. Romance of the Three Kingdoms gives him a larger role and has him in more of a warrior role; he kills Pan Zhang (the Wu general who captured Guan Yu) and kills two former Liu Han whose defections to Sun Quan led to the event.

Guan Yi (關 彝, 関 彝, Kan I): Grandson of Guan Yu and son of Guan Xing. Some sources say he died after Shu’s 263 fall; in Romance of the Three Kingdoms he’s killed by Wei soldiers during Zhong Hui’s attempted rebellion in 264.

Guan Yinping

Liu Bei

Liu Ning (劉 寧, Ryuu Nei): Shu General. In the 221-222 Battle of Xiaoting, Liu Bei’s attempt to take back Jing Province from Wu, Liu Ning was defeated and forced to surrender.

Wu Lan (吳 蘭, 呉 蘭, Go Ran): Served Shu. Killed during the Hanzhong Campaign in 217, either in battle by Cao Hong and Cao Xiu’s forces, or after fleeing by the Di leader Qiangduan (the Di were an ethnic group of western China).

Xingcai (星彩, Seisai):Empress Zhang (張 皇后, Chou Kougou) was the daughter of Zhang Fei, who became an Imperial Consort of Shu emperor Liu Shan. She became empress in 238, after the previous empress, her elder sister, died. After Shu was conquered in 264, she joined Liu Shan in Luoyang. Koei gives her the fictional identity of Xingcai.

Zhang Bao (張 苞, Chou Hou): Son of Zhang Fei who died early. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he fights Guan Xing because he wants to lead forces into the 221-222 Battle of Xiaoting and Liu Bei has to break them up. In Zhuge Liang’s Third Northern Expedition (in 229), he dies of injuries from falling into a gully.

Zhao Yun (趙 雲, Chou Un): Served Shu. Originally served warlord Gongsun Zan, and there met Liu Bei, who was sheltering under Zan at the time. Continued his service under Liu Bei’s son Liu Shan and participated in the first of Zhuge Liang’s failed northern expeditions in 228. Died 229. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms he is one of the Five Tiger Generals of Shu. A popular folktale says that he was never scarred in battle, but died of fatal hemorrhage when his wife playfully pricked him with a pin.

Showdown with the Demon King

Sanada Yukimura

Ii Naotora

Sanada Nobuyuki

Akechi Mitsuhide

Gracia

Ishida Mitsunari (石田 三成): Born 1560. Served under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s death in 1598 he was in a very politically unstable position, not helped by Tokugawa Ieyasu’s willingness to ascend to power himself despite being nominally one of the regents of Hideyoshi’s heir. Mitsunari formed a coalition to stand against Tokugawa Ieyasu, culminating in the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara, with Mitsunari’s Western Army against Tokugawa’s Eastern Army, but Mitsunari’s unpopularity with potential allies saw his loss. He attempted to escape but was captured and killed.

Kuki Yoshitaka

Yamauchi Kazutoyo

Mori Nagayoshi (森長 可): Born 1558. Older brother of Mori Ranmaru. Served Oda Nobunaga, then Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Shot and killed at the 1584 Battle of Komaki and Nagakute.

Mori Ranmaru

Niwa Nagahide

Nō

Oda Nobunaga

Saitō Toshimitsu

Shibata Katsuie

Takigawa Kazumasu (滝川 一益; possibly Takigawa Ichimasu): Born 1525. Served Oda Nobunaga. After Nobunaga’s death, he opposed Toyotomi Hideyoshi alongside Shiba Katsuie, siding with Oda Nobutaka, but was defeated and submitted to Hideyoshi in 1583. After performing suboptimally at the 1584 Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, he retired and became a monk, and died 1586.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣 秀吉; also “Toyotomi no Hideyoshi”, i.e. Hideyoshi of the Toyotomis): Born 1537. Rose from a peasant background to become one of Nobunaga’s most prominent retainers. Famously built a castle on the edge of enemy territory in a very short amount of time in order to gain an advantage in the 1567 Siege of Inabayama Castle against the Saitō clan. After Nobunaga’s death in 1582, Toyotomi was in a strong position politically. He came into conflict with Shibata Katsuie and Oda Nobutaka when it came time to determine Nobunaga’s heir (being allied with Oda Nobukatsu instead), but prevailed. He completed the unification of Japan under a single rule that had been started by Oda Nobunaga. Later, he attempted a Japanese conquest of China through Korea, but this turned out to be a failure that lost him political strength. When he died in 1598 the invasions were called off. He declared his son Toyotomi Hideyori as his heir and entrusted his care to a Council of Five Elders, but that Didn’t Work Out and Tokugawa Ieyasu (one of the elders) ended up rising to power instead.

Guan Yinping

Liu Bei

Cao Pi (曹 丕, Sou Hi): Second son of Cao Cao and first emperor of the state of Wei. He succeeded his father when Cao Cao died in 220. In the same year, he deposed Emperor Xian, finally making the Cao explicitly emperors. Though Sun Quan was nominally one of his vassals, he broke ties with Wei, declaring independence in 222. Died 226.

Cao Zhen (曹 珍, Sou Chin): Wei general who worked with Zhuge Dan (back when Dan was still not-rebelling). In 255, he was killed in Gaoting in a clash with Wu forces who were receiving the defecting Wen Qin.

Guo Huai

Lady Zhen (甄夫人, Shin-Fujin; referred to in Warriors Orochi 4 as Zhenji/甄 姬/甄 姫/Shin-Ki, which means approximately the same, unless you count that second 姬/姫 character as a forename instead of an affix, which I cheerfully refuse to do because that means I can’t connect this Lady Zhen with other generic non-specific Lady Zhens): Born 183. Well-read and socially adept from a young age. Married Yuan Xi, son of warlord Yuan Shao, though Zhen lived apart from him in the administrative center of Shao’s territory. In 204, after Yuan Shao’s death, Cao Cao’s forces were able to take control of this territory, and Cao Pi met Zhen and married her. She kept the peace among the other wives and encouraged Pi to take more concubines. However, after Cao Cao died in 220 and Cao Pi became emperor, his favor toward other concubines led Zhen to complain; for this or some other unknown offense, Pi responded by forcing her to take her own life in 221. Her son Cao Rui would become the next emperor of Wei.

Wen Hu (文 虎, Bun Ko): Son of Wen Qin and brother of Wen Yang. After Sima Shi deposed Wei emperor Cao Fang and replaced him with Cao Mao in 254, Wen Qin started a rebellion, but this was quickly suppressed and he and his family were forced to defect to Wu. When Wei general Zhuge Dan rebelled against Sima Zhao in 257, the Wen family was among those sent to support him. However, the relationship between Wen Qin and Zhuge Dan deteriorated, and when Zhuge Dan had Wen Qin executed, Wen Hu and Wen Yang fled back and surrendered to Sima Zhao.

Wen Yang (文 鴦, Bun Ou): Born 238. Son of Wen Qin and brother of Wen Hu. After Zhuge Dan’s rebellion was defeated, Wen Yang went back to serving Wei, and after its formation, Jin. However, in 291, he was falsely accused of being involved in a failed rebellion by Sima Yao, Zhuge Dan’s grandson (not the emperor Sima Yao—different hanzi), and was executed along with his family

Yang Xin (楊 欣, You Kin): Served Wei. Assisted Deng Ai in the 263 conquest of Shu. Continued serving Jin. Died in 276 fighting against the nomadic Xianbei people.

Zhuge Dan

[dangermousie]

Tencent press conference also released a bunch of posters and here are some that caught my eye for a variety of reasons.

As a poster it’s just heads but I am here for the chaos that will ensue from mashing a bunch of Jin Yong novels together in New Jin Yong Wuxia Universe. Is it going to be a disaster? Probably. Am I here for it? With bells on. PS hi Zhou Yi Wei and Vengo Gao and Peter Ho, at least no matter the content of this, my eyeballs will feast mmmmm

I don’t do moderns and thus have no interest in The Snowstorm of Love despite my fondness for both Wu Lei and Zhao Yinmai, but I had to post the poster because good god that poster is heinous and all I can think of is frostbite.

Zhuo Zhuo Feng Liu poster is a bit generic but in exactly the way I like - men in armor (with handsome horse in background), lady in court robes, forearm holding and staring, classics are classics. And it’s not swimming in pastels, already a win.

Have you guys ever been big into 1970s fantasy with those delightfully trippy covers? Because this is the vibe the poster is giving me and I love it. This is where the casting carousel of The Guide to Capturing the Black Lotus stops and we get Esther Yu and Ding Yuxi apparently and NGL I am loving that casting and that pairing for those characters.

The Wonderland of Love poster is as good as its trailer and its trailer was by far my favorite out of the entire tencent conference.

Liu Shishi’s Fox Spirit Matchmaker @aceinthetrap let me know is not FSM it’s a different drama (apparently called Love Beyond the Grave? Why am I thinking zombies and romantic poets in cravats?) looks beyond gorgeous. This is how you do it, people!

Tho if you got to go for cliches, you could do worse than Everlasting Longing which continues to push the sexy barbarian chief thing like everything depends on it, which I suppose for the drama it does. Luckily my main emoji on seeing it is 😍😍😍😍

God damn you! Hands off 1000 Miles of Bright Moonlight. I do not want an adaptation of this because they are going to ruin it utterly. They already ruined my n1 het web novel with the travesty that was the adaptation of Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir and now time to go for my second most favorite? Between censorship regulations and cdramas’ own narrative tendencies in recent years, they are just gonna do a terrible job, leave it alone pls.

I like this poster for Liu Shui Tiao Tiao because it’s not like anything else and is not drowning in pastels; it’s probably my favorite poster out of the entire conference.

Thanks to my dealer @aysekira who linked me to a bunch of these and, as always, a fun game of “how many of these will actually air? And in some reasonable timeframe?” starts now. Plus don’t ever air, 1000 Miles of Bright Moonlight, pls don’t ever even get made!

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: The Legend of Zhuohua (2023)

Almost holding hands.😁 #lovestory #wetv #chinese#shorts #thelegendofzhuohua

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ACgmvY3KFpc

[zhaolie-the-benevolent]

The Generalissimo, Yuan Shao

The leader of the coalition needs no introduction. Any person who has delved into the Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Dynasty Warriors knows who Yuan Shao is. He always stood out to me, because he showed a great authoritative character in the coalition stages and he appeared to be a great ruler, only to become a clown by the time Guandu rolls in. So, I decided to write a bit about this man, Yuan Shao of Runan, styled Benchu.

Early life

Yuan Shao was a grandson of Yuan An, one of the Three Excellencies during the reign of emperor Zhang of the Eastern Han dynasty, who ruled from the years 75 to 88 AD. For several generations, the Yuan family would occupy important positions of government, and the Yuan clan’s influence would extend throughout the entirety of the empire. His date of birth is not entirely clear, but since he was friends with Cao Cao from a young age, their ages might not have been that far apart (155 AD in the case of Cao Cao).

Shao was the son of Yuan Feng by a concubine, but he was later adopted into the family of his uncle Cheng to continue his lineage. The sources are a bit unclear about this, however, as the Records of Heroes by Wang Can states that, while he was mourning the death of his father, the Excellencies Yuan Wei and Yuan Feng favored him, meaning that Yuan Shao was Yuan Cheng’s own flesh and blood:

Yīngxióngjì states: Shào was born and his father died, and the two Excellencies [Yuán Féng and Yuán Wěi] favored him. When young he was employed as a Cadet, when capped sent out as Púyáng Chief, and had pure reputation. He encountered his mother’s funeral, his mourning was completed, and also in recollection of his father had mourning, altogether at the mound hut for six years. The ritual was completed, and he lived in seclusion in Luòyáng, did not rashly communicate with guest retainers, and if it was not someone well known within the Seas, he did not meet him. […]

Your Servant Sōngzhī comments: Wèishū says: “Shào was [Yuán] Féng’s [concubine-born] lesser son, sent out as descendant to his father’s elder brother [Yuán] Chéng.” If it is like this record [Yīngxióngjì] says, then it seems he truly was by [Yuán] Chéng begat. Recollection and mourning for parents still alive, the Lǐ has no such writing, so all the more how could one be a descendant and yet act like this! The two books are unclear in which is correct. 

Yuan Shao’s biography in the SGZ6, translated by Yang Zhengyuan.

As a young man, Yuan Shao would earn the admiration of many as he was a charismatic and handsome man. However, Yuan Shu, son of Yuan Feng by his wife, was not fond of his half-brother/cousin, and often referred to him as the family slave. The conflict between these two members of the Yuan clan was very important, for it shaped the initial struggles in the fight for the Central Plains when the warlords rose up.

For now however, the two half-brothers/cousins would remain united with the purpose of committing vile deeds like the extermination of the palace eunuchs. In a power struggle between He Jin and the eunuchs, He Jin was assassinated and the carnage that followed took many lives. The records even state that those beardless men that could be mistaken for eunuchs were killed in the ensuing struggle as well, so the two Yuan were not very fond of the eunuchs to say the least. This isn’t surprising, for Shao urged He Jin to take action against them in the past.

The coalition against Dong Zhuo

Becaue He Jin had invited Dong Zhuo to the capital, it was him who put the capital in order and took control of state affairs. Dong Zhuo, however, was incredibly bold and lacked political subtlety, so one of his first acts in his newly found position of power was to depose emperor Ling’s heir Liu Bian and put the younger Liu Xie on the throne (future emperor Xiaomin of Han). The Xiandi Chunqiu records the following exchange between Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao on the question of Liu Xie’s enthronement:

“Brat! How can the realm Under Heaven’s affairs not be decided by me? I now will do it, who dares not follow? Do you say that I Dǒng Zhuó’s saber is not sharp?” Shào said: “The realm Under Heaven’s powerful, is there only your Excellency Dǒng?” He drew his belt’s saber to salute and went out.

Yuan Shao’s biography in the SGZ, translated by Yang Zhengyuan

Pei Songzhi, however, says this incident is fake. Even though it makes Yuan Shao look like a really strong and authoritative individual, I am inclined to agree, since Yuan Shao drew his sword against Dong Zhuo and nothing happened to him on the spot. We all know how Dong Zhuo liked to operate, so it seems strange he wouldn’t call the guards on him.

Regardless of how the exchange took place, Yuan Shao clearly opposed the decision and promptly fled the capital to Bohai to raise troops against the tyrannical rule of the evil usurper Dong Zhuo. This rhetoric was quite effective, and even though it wasn’t Yuan Shao who first sent a proclamation against Dong Zhuo, many regional lords joined the call to arms and Yuan Shao was elected leader, which speaks of his charisma and the influence of the powerful Yuan clan.

One has to question the rhetoric of the righteous troops rising to punish a tyrannical ruler, however. It is true that Dong Zhuo was a pretty ruthless man who was looking to monopolize imperial authority, but Yuan Shao tried to et up a parallel court under Liu Yu (that Liu Yu himself rejected). Perhaps setting up a new ruler would give Yuan Shao the opportunity to earn merits and influence under him. If an emperor rises to power, it’s easy to see why the man that put him in that position of power would want to receive some favor and recognition. This is my guess however, and it is also possible that he wanted to simply set up another court simply to legitimize what is essentially his rebellion. This possibility is likely considering that Liu Yu enjoyed a great deal of prestige.

Regardless, on the year 190 the lords gathered up at Suanzao in current Henan and not too far from the capital at the time, Luoyang. However, the forces of the coalition were too busy claiming grand titles and feasting rather than actually fighting. Yuan Shao claimed the title of General of the Chariots for himself, but despite being the leader, he didn’t show any initiative. That initiative came from Yuan Shu’s general Sun Jian, who found success. Cao Cao also brought the fight to Dong Zhuo with poor results.

Despite his conniving nature and the accumulation of enough treacherous deeds to overflow Heaven itself, Cao Cao was undeniably a clever man, and seeing the failure of his battle against Dong Zhuo, he thought of a different approach. Let us look at the following map, taken from de Crespigny’s Imperial Warlord:

Cao Cao’s plan was for the army to advance and take positions in Rongyang and the passes. With an advance from the south by Yuan Shu’s forces, there would be no need to fight Dong Zhuo in order to exhert pressure on him. If the other lords saw that progress was being made, it would be enough to make them all join the fight against Dong Zhuo and finally reclaim the capital by just appearing to be threatening but without engaging in combat.

This proposal was not accepted. Any attempts to make peace were rejected as well, for Yuan Shao executed the envoy of Dong Zhuo, causing part of the Yuan clan to be exterminated in the capital. The coalition would fail, but the opportunity for Yuan Shao’s rise had presented itself.

Yuan Shao’s rise to power and his clash with Gongsun Zan

The righteous rebels that Yuan Shao raised were in the end scattered without putting much of a fight. Luoyang was sacked and burnt and the court fled west to Chang’an. Yuan Shao returned to Ji province and began his own designs to take the land.

Being a subordinate officer of Ji province’s governorn Han Fu, one of Yuan Shao’s subordinates, Pang Ji, thought of a brilliant plan to seize Ji province without bloodshed. The plan was to call in Gongsun Zan of You province and plot with him to split Ji province between the two. Meanwhile, a persuader would only need to convince Han Fu to surrender Ji province to Yuan Shao as the only man who can face Gongsun Zan and then the deal will be settled. The plan worked wonders, but obviously Gongsun Zan was not exactly thrilled by this development of events. Gongsun Zan also had a grudge against Yuan Shao because previously, Shao sent some Zhou Ang to seize Sun Jian’s headquarters during the fight against Dong Zhuo. During the ensuing fight, Gongsun Yue, a cousin to Gongsun Zan, was killed, and therefore blamed his death on Yuan Shao. The war between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao finally started, and the conflict between these two would last for a few years.

The advice given to Yuan Shao by Ju Shou is telling of the strategic situation he found himself in. It reads as follows:

You General when capped ascended to Court,then you spread your name Within the Seas; right at the time of the deposing and enthroning, then your loyalty and righteousness was roused; alone you rode out in exile, then Dǒng Zhuó harbored fear; crossing the Hé and going north, then Bóhǎi bowed head. You shook the whole prefecture’s soldiers, gathered Jì Province’s army, your authority shakes the Hé’s north, your name heavy Under Heaven. Though the Yellow Headscarves are crafty and chaotic, the Black Mountains domineering, if you raise the army and eastward go, then Qīng Province can be settled; return to suppress the Black Mountains, then Zhāng Yān can be exterminated; return the army to north head, then Gōngsūn [Zàn] will certainly be a corpse; shake and coerce the Róng and Dí, then the Xiōngnú will certainly obey. Stretch across the Great Hé’s north, unite Four Province’s lands, collect heroes’ talents, embrace a million army, welcome the Imperial Chariot from the western capital, restore the Ancestral Temples at Luò city, announce order Under Heaven, to suppress the not yet submitted, and by this contend and strive, who is able to oppose you? Within a few years, this achievement will not be difficult.

Biography of Yuan Shao on the SGZ, translated by Yang Zhengyuan.

Yuan Shao agreed with the assessment. As we can see, the situation in the land was complicated. The remnants of the Yellow turbans rose in Qing province and were dealt with by Gongsun Zan, while in Bing provinces the Black Mountain bandits came and went as they pleased.

The more pressing menace however, was Gongsun Zan, who was encroaching on Ji province and enjoyed some initial support from the local rulers. Yuan Shao set out to march and in the year 191 both forces clashed at Jie bridge, in Julu commandery at the north of Ji province. Gongsun Zan’s troops numbered 30.000 troops of infantry and 10.000 cavalry divided into two wings. Yuan Shao’s numbers aren’t clearly stated, using vague terms like “tens of thousands”, but he sent Qu Yi to the front with roughly 2000 men to the front. Gongsun Zan then sent the cavalry forward to meet Qu Yi, but their men greatly defeated Gongsun Zan’s cavalry and, taking advantage of the momentum, Qu Yi bravely pushed forward and took Gongsun Zan’s main camp, causing the army to scatter and winning a great victory.

Qu Yi was an experienced fighting man from the frontier that had experienced troops with him and proved their worth on the battlefield and were a good asset for Yuan Shao’s forces. He also found further success in 195 against Gongsun Zan.  However, Qu Yi grew arrogant and insubordinate, so Yuan Shao had him executed. While it’s easy to criticize Yuan Shao’s decision here, it’s important to note that an arrogant and capable general was a threat to the ruler. It is likely that Yuan Shao felt his position threatened by him and decided to take care of him before he became a bigger nuisance. Talent is of no use if it works against you. Qu Yi also rebelled against Han Fu when Yuan Shao came into Ji, so who says Qu Yi wouldn’t be willing to defect once more once he sees the opportunity? I don’t think the decision to get rid of Qu Yi was a bad one. Nobody wants to have a Wei Yan situation. But Qu Yi was certainly capable and a great asset, so getting rid of him before he could realize his full potential was a bad choice. It was a matter of timing, not whether the execution itself was a bad decision or not.

Gongsun Zan, on his end, still had a personal vendetta because of the death of his cousin in a fight against one of Yuan Shao’s appointed officials. This was a symptom of the land splitting into two factions according to which one of the two half- brothers of the Yuan clan they supported, Yuan Shu (Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian) or Yuan Shao (Liu Biao, Cao Cao).

After the great victory at Jie bridge, however, there was not a lot of time for celebration, for the Black Mountain bandits were threatening Ye, Wei commandery’s capital and Yuan Shao’s base of power. Swiftly returning, Yuan Shao marched and campaigned in the mountains, defeating many bandit chiefs and taking a lot of their positions. In his fight against the Black Mountains, Yuan Shao also employed Lü Bu to great effect, breaking Zhang Yan’s formations in Zhongshan and adhieving some merits. Yuan Shao, once again, wanted to dispose of his successful general and sent assassins against Lü Bu, but he had already fled. Ironically, his intention to kill Lü Bu was beneficial in hindsight. Because Lü Bu was threatened, he escaped and took the opportunity presented by Zhang Miao to rise up against Cao Cao in Yan province, so he kept his future rival busy dealing with other affairs.

When Gongsun Zan murdered Liu Yu, several of his officers wanted to avenge him, and Yuan Shao participated in these campaigns, sending the valorous Qu Yi against him. After successive defeats, Gongsun Zan stationed himself at Yi and erected a great fortress. As Gongsun Zan was losing support, Yuan Shao was acquiring more and more land. He sent Yuan Tan to Qing province, Gao Gan to Bing province and had planned for his other sons to be in charge of the different provinces as well in order to gauge which of them was worthiest of succession. This earned him heavy criticism from Ju Shou, who thought this would bring ruin to the Yuan clan:

Shortly afterward, he struck and defeated [Gōngsūn] Zàn at Yìjīng, absorbing his armies. (3) He sent out his eldest son [Yuán] Tán to Qīng Province. Jǔ Shòu remonstrated Shào: “This will certainly be disaster’s beginning.” Shào did not listen, and said: “I wish to order my various sons to each occupy a province.”

Biography of Yuan Shao, SGZ 6, translated by Yang Zhengyuan.

The whole “Shao did not listen” part will be prevalent in Yuan Shao’s career, or better said, Shao did not listen to good advice when it was offered to him. These events I have described took place at the end of the 190s, but in the middle of it, on the year 196, the conflict at the capital between the different forces at Chang’an caused the young emperor to flee. Yuan Shao was approached to meet him and give him some refuge, but fearing that the emperor would be controlling him instead of the other way around, Yuan Shao declined. Here is the passage from his own biography:

Previously, Heaven’s Son’s enthronement was not Shào’s intention, and when at Hédōng, Shào sent Yǐngchuān’s Guō Tú as envoy. [Guō] Tú returned and advised Shào to welcome Heaven’s Son to set capital at Yè, but Shào did not listen. (1) It happened that Tàizǔ [Cáo Cāo] welcomed Heaven’s Son to set capital at Xǔ, collected the Hé’s south’s lands, and Guānzhōng all attached to him. Shào was regretful, and wished to order Tàizǔ to move Heaven’s Son’s capital to Juànchéng to be closer to him, but Tàizǔ resisted this.

Other sources claim it was Ju Shou who argued in favor of the emperor and Guo Tu was the one that gave advice against it:

Guō Tú and Chūnyú Qióng said: “The Hàn House has declined, and has for a long time. Now wishing to raise it, is it not also difficult! Moreover now heroes occupy and hold provinces and prefectures, armies move in the tens of thousands, this is what is called Qín losing its deer, the first to obtain it is King. If you invite Heaven’s Son to be near you, every move must be memorialized and reported, if following him then your power is little, if disobeying him then you oppose command, this is not the best plan.”

Both this and the previous passage were translated by Yang Zhengyuan.

There is a clear contradiction here and no sure way to know which one is correct, but regardless of who advised against it, the fact of the matter remains: Yuan Shao did not welcome the imperial court and deeply regretted it. Upon the Son of Heaven’s arrival in Xudu, Cao Cao was quick to grab titles for himself. Yuan Shao was named Grand Commandant and marquis of Ye, but he was vexed and refused the appointment for he was lower in rank than Cao Cao, so Cao Cao instead chose the Excellency of Works, lowest of the Three Excellencies, and ceded the position of General in Chief to Yuan Shao. With this move, Yuan Shao was trying to exhert his authority and remind Cao Cao who was the dominant power of the land. However, this is all an empty fit of indignation, because had he listened to the advice of Ju Shou/Guo Tu, he would be the one giving orders and choosing what ranks to get for himself. He has nobody else to blame but himself for that lack of foresight.

Regardless of any maneuvers to appease Yuan Shao, conflict between Cao Cao and him was inevitable. Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan and the Black Mountains, and he also sent his eldest son Yuan Tan to battle Tian Kai. Yuan Tan also managed to defeat and completely destroy Kong Rong’s forces, making him one of the greatest military geniuses in Chinese history.

With this, Yuan Shao effectively had control over the lands north of the Yellow River (with some caveats that I will explain later), and if he wished to expand somewhere it would have to be through his dangerous rival’s lands south of his own. With a grand proclamation, the Generalissimo unleashed the dogs of war and prepared to fight Cao Cao.

However, there are a few problems that we will explain here. The battle of Guandu and the whole campaign surrounding it took place on the year 200. However in 199, Liu Bei liberated Xu Province as per the Son of Heaven’s wishes and enjoyed widespread support, with tens of thousands joining him.

This was perhaps a good opportunity to strike. Let’s look at the map:

This map that I used on my write-up on Emperor Zhaolie of Han is perfect to describe this situation. Liu Biao in Jing had already fought Cao Cao in the past, Liu Bei was certain to fight him and Yuan Shao was breathing down his neck, Cao Cao’s situation could have been quite dire if all of his borders were attacked in a semi-coordinated manner. Liu Bei, however, was defeated in a lightning campaign that struck him before he could completely consolidate his position. Liu Biao was probably preoccupied with Sun Ce’s expansion, considering the personal vendetta Ce had against Huang Zu for the death of his father Jian. And what was our unlikely hero doing on the meantime? He was too busy taking care of his kid:

Tián Fēng advised Shào to attack Tàizǔ‘s rear, but Shào declined as his son was ill, and would not agree. [Tián] Fēng raised his cane and struck the ground saying: “This is encountering a difficult to obtain opoortunity, but due to an infant’s illness to lose this chance, a pity!” Tàizǔ arrived, struck and defeated [Liú] Bèi, and [Liú] Bèi fled to Shào. 

Biography of Yuan Shao, SGZ6, Yang Zhengyuan.

I however object to this account. While it’s certainly possible that Yuan Shao was indeed taking care of his sick child (it’s not clear who it is, as it could be Yuan Shang or Yuan Mai), this account makes Shao look like a complete moron for missing the opportunity to strike, taking care of minute things and thereby losing the empire. However, I believe the situation was more complicated than that. Yuan Shao’s biography goes on to state:

Before this, Tàizǔ sent Liú Bèi to visit Xú Province to resist Yuán Shù. [Yuán] Shù died, and [Liú] Bèi therefore killed the Inspector Chē Zhòu, leading the army to garrison Pèi. Shào sent cavalry to assist him. Tàizǔ sent Liú Dài and Wáng Zhōng to strike him, but was unsuccessful.

Biography of Yuan Shao, SGZ6, Yang Zhengyuan. 

As it can be seen here, Yuan Shao was not blind to opportunity, he was not so tunnel-visioned by his own son’s sickness that he forgot everything else. He did indeed send a cavalry detachment in assistance. If he did not commit more heavily to the attack is because he likely could not send more men. Let’s use another map.

Yuan Shao was in control of You, Ji, Qing and Bing provinces, while Cao Cao owned Xu, Yu, Yan and Sili provinces. While 4 provinces is an impressive number, this is deceptive. Yuan Shao’s positions were not secure in all four of these provinces. He still had to deal with the threat of the Black Mountain Bandits of Zhang Yan and You province was recently conquered. The local families were still enjoying autonomy and influence, and some of them even threw their lot with Cao Cao.

Though he had eliminated his enemy, Yuan Shao did not gain a great deal more from the victory. He established a loose hegemony over the north, granting seals and insignia to various Wuhuan chieftains, but several local Chinese leaders maintained their independence, and Xianyu Fu in Yuyang, a former officer of Liu Yu, sent envoys to Cao Cao and was named Area Commander over six commanderies of You province; the appointment was meaningless, but indicates that Yuan Shao had limited authority in the region.

de Crespigny, Imperial Warlord, page 123

What about Qing province? As I have said, Yuan Tan had previously conquered it, but his management of the province was absolutely abysmal:

The poor and weak were many, so that they fled and hid in the hills and wilderness, and troops were sent to capture and search, as if hunting for birds and beasts. Cities with ten thousand households, the registers did not pass several hundred, and collecting taxes, out of three not even one entered. He sought worthy scholars, but did not obtain them; he did not deploy armies by season, and the resident clan factions, he also could not punish.

SGZ 6, Yang Zhengyuan

He scared off the people, who took refuge in the mountains, leaving them outside of the government’s control as well as letting the local gentry take over affairs. He was incapable of being of much use in this state and Qing might as well have been Kong Rong’s for all that it was worth, though obviously Kong Rong would have been able to defeat both Shao and Cao and we wouldn’t be talking about these two right now.

This is why Tian Feng and Ju Shou time and time again remonstrated with Yuan Shao and tried to have him adopt a more protracted strategy that consisted of resting the people, filling the granaries and raid Cao Cao’s position so as to somewhat weakening him without committing to a full assault.

Meanwhile, Cao Cao’s positions were more solid. He had defeated Zhaolie and secured the loyalty of Zhang Xiu, as well as preparing defenses at Guandu, a naturally defensive position in the first place.

Regardless, despite Yuan Shao’s initial reluctance to attack when Zhaolie was gathering troops, he shortly after changed his mind and in the year 200 launched his campaign south. Yuan Shao’s army of 100.000 men was impressive, and it was in his hope to win with force of numbers as Shen Pei and Guo Tu suggested:

Shěn Pèi and Guō Tú said: “By the principles of military books, ten besiege five attack, the enemy then can be battled. Now with your enlightened excellency’s divine martial ability, spanning the Hé’s north’s strong armies, to campaign against Cáo, it is like turning a hand; if now you do not use this time to take him, later it will be difficult to plan.”

SGZ 6, Yang Zhengyuan

The initial assault was against Cao Cao’s positions at Baima. General Yan Liang laid siege to Baima, but Cao Cao outflanked him, threatening Yuan Shao’s positions across the river. Cao Cao sent a detachment to relieve Baima, where the mighty Guan Yu slayed Yan Liang. Yuan Shao then sent Zhaolie and Wen Chou to Yanyin, where they fell into an ambush and Wen Chou was killed.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou were Yuan Shao’s most fearsome generals, so their loss was a blow to the morale of the army. Despite these setbacks, Yuan Shao managed to push Cao Cao back to Guandu, where Cao Cao put up a formidable defense. Guandu was besieged for months with back and forth between the different parties, but Yuan Shao’s officer Xu You defected as he felt mistreated, revealed to Cao Cao the location of his provisions at Wuchao and essentially led to Yuan Shao’s defeat. The supplies at Wuchao burnt while Yuan Shao was unable to break the defenses at Guandu. With the army scattered, Yuan Shao fled north. Several cities in Ji province rebelled but were quickly suppressed and Yuan Shao managed to regroup. On the year 202, he finally went to the Nine Golden Springs.

Yuan Shao is mostly remembered by his loss at Guandu, a tale of a man who wasted his resources through poor decisions and got destroyed by an inferior force. There has been some debate on this, however, with Pei Songzhi questioning whether Yuan Shao’s numbers were truly that much greater than Cao Cao’s. Sun Sheng, on the other hand, argues that Ji province was certainly densely populated enough to field that many men. Professor de Crespigny states that Yuan Shao simply did not have as much resources as Cao Cao in history becaue he did not stop and develop his land. If we take his opinion, then it makes sense why Yuan Shao was fixated on a decisive strike and end the war early: if he had waited and consolidated, Cao Cao would grow even stronger, and he couldn’t allow this to happen. It’s an interesting angle and it gives some insight into his decision, even if it was flawed.

Conclusions

So, how was Yuan Shao at the end of the day? He was certainly a charismatic leader and had a huge advantage as a member of the Yuan family. He had many connections and prestige, and he gathered a group of followers that were incredibly competent in their own right: Pang Ji, Tian Feng, Zhang He, Qu Yi, Ju Shou…

What went wrong, then? Nothing. Nothing really went wrong. Yuan Shao was never exceptionally talented to begin with. In war he found success against the bandits and Gongsun Zan, but it took him a very long time to defeat the latter.

In governance he was weak, with ravaged lands that could not be used very effectively. While Cao Cao was using the military colonies system, Yuan Shao had to feed his men with mulberries:

Yuan Shao was north of the Yellow River, and the men of his army ate mulberries, Yuan Shu was by the Yangzi and the Huai, and his soldiers took clams and mussels. Many turned to cannibalism, and all the country was abandoned and desolate.

To Establish Peace, de Crespigny

So, while he certainly had to have some qualities and didn’t completely stumble into a position of power, he could not make use of his provinces because they were either ravaged or not under his complete control.

Finally, Yuan Shao completely botched his succession. The eldest son was Yuan Tan, but he favored the young Yuan Shang, barely of age at the time of Yuan Shao’s death. He never formally declared an heir, though he definetely showed deference to Shang over Tan. The conflict between the two brothers allowed Cao Cao to take the north, slowly but surely.

Yuan Shao decided to give a province to each of his sons and see how they did as governors. Yuan Tan proved to be an absolutely disastrous ruler, so it’s no wonder he’d be disinheritted. However, Yuan Shao did not do anything to relieve him of his command or curb his military power, so as soon as he was dead, Tan had free reign to lead his men against his own brother.

However, Yuan Shao’s biggest failure was definetely what ended up crippling his family beyond repair. Let us see this passage:

Shào’s favored his young son Shàng, who had beautiful looks, and wished to have him be successor but did not yet reveal it. (1) Shěn Pèi and Páng Jì with Xīn Píng and Guō Tú fought for power. [Shěn] Pèi and [Páng] Jì with Shàng joined, [Xīn] Píng and [Guō] Tú with Tán joined. Everyone because Tán was the eldest, wished to establish him. [Shěn] Pèi and the rest feared that if Tán was established [Xīn] Píng and the rest would harm them, and went along with Shào’s original intentions, and so had Shàng succeed Shào’s position. Tán arrived, could not be established, and declared himself Chariots and Cavalry General. Because of this Tán and Shàng had discord.

SGZ 6, Yang Zhengyuan

This right here was Yuan Shao’s greatest failure: he had failed as a ruler. He showed favoritism to certain subjects, listened to their slander and alienated otherwise competent people. He executed Tian Feng because of slander, he allowed infighting within his own court and when he died, it’s not a surprise that advisors and officers started scheming against each other to try and settle grudges and achieve more recognition. This is the kind of environment he allowed.

As if that were not enough, because of his lacking government and his lack of energy to react to changing events, Yuan Shao did not make full use of the land he had, and by the time he wanted to act against an upstart like Cao Cao, it was already too late. He didn’t stand a chance.

I think he is treated unfairly in fiction, as a complete and utter moronic and indecisive ruler, a fatuous lord who didn’t know what he was doing. In reality, Yuan Shao was not erratic and had a strategy in place, it just so happens he didn’t have the right strategy and had many flaws as a ruler. It’s not that he was stupid and indecisive, it’s that he was incompetent and slow to react. Had he been more humble, he would certainly be remembered as one of the great leaders of the age. He certainly had the manpower to achieve great things, but alas, he lacked the discernment of a man born to rule.

[cfensi]

Government-endorsed COVID-19 drama series releases trailer

Government-endorsed COVID-19 drama series releases trailer

Standing Together 在一起 revolves around China’s pandemic response, and will be split into 10 X 2 episode stories:

The Turning Point: Zhou Yiwei, Tan Zhuo, Zhang Tian’ai, Mei Ting

Ferryman: Lei Jiayin, Ni Ni, Zhang Jingchu, Jiang Xin

Rescuer: Zhu Yawen, Xu Lu

Together: Yang Yang, Zhao Jinmai, Zhang Yunlong, Ren Zhong

24 Hour Search: Huang Jingyu, Li Xiaoran

Wuhan People: Liu Mintao, Jia Nailiang, Ni…

[wuxian-vs-wangji]

‘The Untamed’ Actors: Oldest to Youngest

Because I think the most shocking part of the show for many of us are the actors real ages XD

*List omits the ‘adult-ier adults’

**Americans: I did the birthdays Year.Month.Day, I know it’s not our normal system so just wanted to warn you.

*** Ages as of 2020.01.31

30

Zhang Jing Tong (Madam Yu; 1989.04.24)

He Peng (Wen Chao; 1989.08.12)

Wang YiZhou (Nie Mingjue; 1989.12.18)

29

Xuan Lu (Jiang Yanli; 1991.01.15)

28

Feng Cong (Su She; 1991.03.17)

Yu Bin (Wen Ning; 1991.06.03)

Xiao Zhan (Wei Wuxian; 1991.10.05)

27

Li Bowen (Song Lan; 1992.12.24)

26

Cao Yu Chen (Jin Zixuan; 1993.03.15)

25

Liu Hai Kuan (Lan Xichen; 1994.08.03)

Guo Cheng (Lan Jingyi; 1994.08.18)

24

Jin Lu Ying (Qin Su; 1995.06.21)

Zhu Zanjin (Meng Yao/Jin Guangyao; 1995.09.16)

Wang Hao Xuan (Xue Yang; 1995.11.02)

Meng ZiYi (Wen Qing; 1995.12.05)

23

Wang Zhuo Cheng (Jiang Cheng; 1996.11.19)

22

Ji Li (Nie Huaisang; 1997.03.16)

Qi Pei Xin (Jin Ling; 1997.06.02)

Wang Yibo (Lan Wangji; 1997.08.05)

Chen Zhuo Xuan (A-Qing of the Yi City Arc; 1997.08.13)

Song Jiyang (Xiao Xingchen; 1998.01.26)

21

Zheng Fanxing (Lan Sizhui/Adult Wen Yuan; 1998.09.05)

20

Cao Jun Xiang (Ouyang Zizhen; 1999.02.21)

**Updated via @zokso @wirwerdensiegen and @estefanirose

[the-archlich]

Besides Zhang Jue, do you think any of the Turbans or their successor bandit groups were significant enough to merit inclusion in DW? Did they have any people who became accomplished? (I would have said Liao Hua but I read somewhere he wasn't really a Turban).

Significance is a relative question. Obviously the farther you get from the rebellion itself, the less important its remnants are. There are a few groups I think are noteworthy though. I think if one wants to extend the story of the Turbans or add more recognizable faces to the faction for the sake of a story, that's the place to look.

There was a group of Turbans who settled down in Hedong, In Bobo/White Wave Valley. They opposed Dong Zhuo but later helped Li Jue reclaim the capital from Wang Yun. They supported the junta for a bit, but later helped Liu Xie escape. Members of this group included Han Xian, Hu Cai, Li Le, Yang Feng, and Guo Da. After turning the emperor over to Cao Cao, Yang Feng and Han Xian briefly served Lu Bu before being killed (Yang Feng by Liu Bei, Han Xian by a local man). Interestingly, Xu Huang (a Hedong native) was also part of this group, although he does not appear to have joined until after they started fighting Dong Zhuo.

The Turbans in Qing province were numerous and weren't really suppressed the way those elsewhere were. They ravaged Qing for years, before moving west. After being defeated by Gongsun Zan, then migrated south into Yan, where they were finally subdued by Cao Cao. The best of their fighters became part of his army. As far as I know, the names of these individuals are not recorded. There is, however, a Qing turban named Guan Hai who is famous for attacking Kong Rong (where he was rescued by Taishi Ci and Liu Bei) and could be a representative of this faction; though there's no evidence he was one of the ones who went to serve Cao Cao.

The Turbans of Runan were actually key supporters of the Yuan family. They joined with Yuan Shu to fight against Dong Zhuo, and against Cao Cao. Many of them were killed in 196, but the group persisted. Liu Bei joined up with them in 200 to harass Cao Cao's rear while he was engaged at Guandu, though to no significant effect. After Cao Cao's victory at Guandu, he returned to Runan and crushed the Turbans for good. Members of this group included Liu Pi, Huang Shao, He Man, and He Yi.

So there's a collection of names. The most important, in my opinion, are Yang Feng, Han Xian, Guan Hai, and Liu Pi. The others (Hu Cai, Li Le, Guo Da, Huang Shao, He Man, He Yi) less so. If you want to flesh out the group, those are the people to use, since they were the ones who did things of note after the larger rebellion was settled.