Zhou Yu

This article describes the Chinese general. For the Chinese table tennis player, see Zhou Yu (table tennis player) .

Illustration in a Qing edition of the Three Kingdoms Story .

Zhou Yu ( Chinese  周瑜  /  周瑜 , Pinyin Zhōu Yú , W.-G. Chou Yü ), majority name Gōngjǐn ( 公瑾 ; * 175 ; † 210 ) was a famous general and strategist of the Wu Kingdom . He served his close friend, the warlord Sun Ce , during the period of the late Han Dynasty in Chinese history. After Sun Ce's death, Cao Cao , another famous warlord, led a massive force south with the intention of conquering the Jiangdong region. Zhou Yu was appointed naval commander of the defending armed forces by Sun C's younger brother and successor, Sun Quan , and with this he defeated Cao Cao in the decisive battle of Chibi (English: red rock) in 208. In the subsequent battle for the region Jiangling, in which Lieutenant General Zhou Yu served as commander in chief of Sun Quan's armed forces, he consolidated the survival of the future Eastern Wury regime. Years later after Zhou Yu's death, Sun Quan praised him as the person to whom he owed the imperial throne.

Early life and career

Zhou Yu was born in Lujiang Commandery into an influential family with many members who served in high-ranking positions in the government. Zhou Yu's grandfather Zhou Jing and one of his sons both assumed the office of Grand Commander at the Han Imperial Court. Zhou Yu's father, Zhou Yi, was the head of the capital Luoyang. When the coalition against Dong Zhuo was formed, Zhou Yi's family migrated to Lujiang. There, Sun Jian's son Sun Ce and Zhou Yu studied together and became lifelong friends. Zhou Yu's uncle later became the governor of Danyang under the warlord Yuan Shu. Zhou Yu visited him there and stayed there while his best friend, Sun Ce, planned the independence of the Jiangdong region.

On behalf of Yuan Shu, Sun Ce entered the Yang area to assist his relatives, Wu Jing and Sun Ben, who were attacked by Liu Yao. When Sun Ce was about to cross the Yangtze River to begin his campaign in Jiangdong, he sent a letter to Zhou Yu stating his ambitions. In response, Zhou Yu mobilized all of his troops and led them to Liyang to catch up with Sun Ce. Upon arrival, Sun Ce shouted that Zhou Yu could achieve greatness.

Service under Sun Ce

Zhou Yu participated in the unification of Yang Province in the first half of Sun C's campaign. To achieve this, the local warlords had to be defeated. Through him the two cities of Hengjiang and Dangli (in today's Anhui Province ) were taken. Then Zhou Yu Sun Ce followed to cross the Yangtze and took Huji (today Husu, Jiangsu Province ), Jiangchen (near today's Nanjing ) and Qu'e (today Situ ). When Sun C's strongest adversary, the inspector of Yang Province, Liu Yao, fled Mogling (near present-day Nanjing), several local farmers had already joined his troops and they numbered tens of thousands of men. With his new troop strength, Sun Ce was able to achieve his goals and asked Zhou Yu to return to Dangyang to defend it. Yuan Shu's ambition, with Sun C's recent victories over his longtime rivals, had grown to such an extent that he wished to declare himself emperor. Citing his loyalty to the Han Emperor , Xian , Sun Ce sent Yuan Shu a letter and tried to dissuade him from this plan, which fell on deaf ears.

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