Zhang Xiu

Zhāng Xiù ( Chinese  張繡  /  张绣 , IPA ( standard Chinese) [ [d̥ʐ̥ɑŋ5 ɕi̯oʊ̯51] ], W.-G. Chang Hsiu ; † 207 ) was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms of ancient China .

Zhang Xiu was born in Zuli (present-day Jingyuan , Gansu ). He was a distant nephew of the cavalry general Zhang Ji , who served the tyrannical warlord Dong Zhuo . After Dong Zhuo's death in 192 , he and Zhang Ji and other former Dong Zhuo generals occupied the capital Chang'an , for which he received the titles of general who builds loyalty (建忠 將軍) and marquis Xuanwei (宣威 侯).

After Zhang Ji's death, Zhang Xiu took over his troops and conquered Wancheng (present-day Nanyang , Henan ). He allied himself with Liu Biao , the governor of Jingzhou , who was one of the more important warlords at the time. In 197 Cao Cao began his southern campaigns. When he got to the Bai River , Zhang Xiu surrendered to him and kept his command in Wancheng.

Cao Cao adopted Zhang Ji's widow as a concubine , which annoyed Zhang Xiu. Cao Cao planned to murder him because of this. But because this plan got through to Zhang Xiu, he took the initiative and launched a surprise attack on Cao Cao's camp. Cao Cao escaped with the help of his bodyguard Dian Wei , his son Cao Ang and his nephew Cao Anmin , who all lost their lives.

For the next three years, Cao Cao repeatedly sent troops to defeat Zhang Xiu, but always unsuccessfully. In 200, Zhang Xiu accepted the advice of his advisor Jia Xu and submitted to Cao Cao, who welcomed him with open arms and held a banquet in his honor . Cao Cao also wed his son Cao Jun to Zhang Xiu's daughter.

At that time Cao Cao was fighting the powerful warlord Yuan Shao , who had control of the northern central plains of China. For his success in the Battle of Guandu , in which Yuan Shao was decisively defeated, Zhang Xiu received the title General who defeated the Qiang (破 羌 將軍). The Qiang had very good connections with Yuan Shao at the time.

In 207, Zhang Xiu died on the way to Liucheng during a campaign against the Wuhuan tribe. He was posthumously appointed Marquis Ding (定 侯), the "unshakable Marquis".

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Zhang is the family name here, Xiu is the first name.