Liu Biao

This article deals with General Liu Biao; for the cyclist, see Liu Biao (cyclist) .

Liú Biǎo ( Chinese  劉 表 , IPA ( standard Chinese) [ li̯oʊ̯35 b̥i̯ɑo̯214 ], majority name Jingsheng) (* 142 ; † 208 ) was the governor of Jing Province (now Hubei ) under the Han dynasty .

Liu Biao was a descendant of Emperor Jing of Han and thus a member of the imperial family. He first worked for Nanyang's administrator, Wang Chang . In the 160s, Liu Biao advocated administrative reform and joined the circle of Zhang Jian , who was accused of treason in 169. Liu Biao was kicked out of office and lived as a private citizen for several years. In 184 he was reassigned to the imperial administration and worked for the commander in chief of the armed forces He Jin .

During the reign of underage Han Emperor Xian , who was under the control of Warlord Dong Zhuo , Liu Biao was appointed inspector of Jing Province in 190. His predecessor Wang Rui was previously killed by General Sun Jian . Liu Biao went by secret routes to Jing Province, won the support of some local officers, and conquered the region around Xiangyang on Han Jiang . In 191 he defeated and killed General Sun Jian, who was in the service of the warlord Yuan Shu . With that, Liu Biao had consolidated his rule over Xiangyang. In 192 he declared allegiance to the emperor's new regents, Li Jue and Guo Si , and was appointed governor and general. He was able to suppress an uprising by his administrator Zhang Xiu in the late 190s.

For a long time Liu Biao stayed out of the fighting between Sun Quan in the south and Cao Cao in the north. However, he took in the fugitive officer Liu Bei and mediated by letter between Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan , the sons of the fallen warlord Yuan Shao . Through his mediation, they united their fragmented forces and resisted Cao Cao. However, Liu Biao did not take action against Cao Cao himself, who was expanding his power in the north.

In 208 Cao Cao mobilized his forces against Jing Province while Sun Quan defeated Liu Biao's officer Huang Zu from the south . In the fall of that year, Liu biao died. His sons Liu Zong and Liu Qi fought for succession while Cao Cao invaded and conquered the province.

literature

• Rafe de Crespigny : A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD) . Brill, Leiden and Boston 2007, pp. 485f., ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0