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Names
Simplified Chinese:	赵云
Traditional Chinese:	趙雲
Pinyin:	Zhao Yun
Wade-Giles:	Chao Yun
Zi:	Zilong (子龍)

Zhao Yun (168-229) was an important commander of the civil wars of the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period of China. For most of his career, Zhao Yun served the warlord Liu Bei, playing a part in the establishment of Shu Han. In literature and folklore he is lauded as the third member of the Five Tiger Generals.

Life

Circa 168, Zhao Yun was born in the Zhending (真定) county of Changshan (常山) province (now Hebei, northern China). He was over six feet tall and had a commanding presence. He joined Gongsun Zan, a warlord in the region, around the end of 191 A.D. or the beginning of 192 A.D. as commander of a small group of county volunteers. In 192 he was placed under the authority of Liu Bei, who at the time held only the rank of a major under Gongsun, as a commander of Liu’s cavalry. Liu Bei had a contingent of several thousand Wuhuan cavalry and Zhao Yun was put in charge of this force. Zhao Yun left Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei to attend his elder brother’s funeral soon after. He rejoined Liu Bei in 200 A.D. Evidently Zhao Yun had an extremely close relationship with Liu Bei. The Sanguo Zhi says that they slept in the same bed during the time the two were together in the City of Ye(鄴城). Around the same time, Liu Bei sent Zhao Yun to secretly recruit more men to reinforce Liu’s then battered army. From then on, Zhao Yun followed Liu Bei throughout his sojourns throughout northern China.

In 208, Zhao Yun distinguished himself at the Battle of Changban with the rescue of Liu Bei's son , Liu Shan and Liu Bei's wife, Lady Gan. He was promoted to "General of the Standard" (牙門將軍) when the battle ended. After the Battle of Red Cliffs he played a role in conquering the territories of Jiangnan (江南) and was recognized as one of Liu Bei's leading lieutenants and was awarded the positions of major-general (偏將軍) and Grand Administrator of Guiyang (桂陽太守). When Liu Bei led a force into Yi Zhou (益州, now Sichuan Province, 四川), he appointed Zhao Yun to be in charge of his main base in Gongan (公安, now in Hubei Province, 湖北) as Liu Yin Si Ma (留營司馬).

Later, Zhao Yun accompanied Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei into Shu. He held separate command, marching via Jiangzhou (江州)and Jianwei (犍為)to Chengdu (成都). Zhao Yun was named General Yijun (翊軍將軍) after Liu Bei claimed Chengdu. Upon Liu Shan's succession to the throne in 223 A.D., Zhao Yun was given the titles General Who Conquers the South (征南將軍) and Marquis of Yongchangting (永昌亭侯). He was soon promoted to the General Who Maintains Peace in the East (鎮東將軍)

In 227, Zhao Yun – by then one of the most venerable commanders in Shu - accompanied Zhuge Liang to Hanzhong( 漢中) on the first of the Northern Expeditions. The next spring, Zhao was directed a march through the Yegu (斜谷) as a decoy to the main force, which would travel left through Qishan (祁山). He was opposed in force by the great Wei commander Cao Zhen (曹真). After presenting a worthy defense against a far superior force, Zhao Yun was able to lead a relatively orderly retreat. He was demoted to the General Who Maintains Peace in the Army (鎮軍將軍).

About 229, Zhao Yun died at Hanzhong and this was much grieved in the Shu army. He received the posthumous appellation of Shunping Marquis (順平侯) from Liu Shan in 261 A.D.

Known to be a great warrior, Zhao Yun possessed many qualities unrivaled by heroes of his time. Although Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms greatly exaggerated his physical prowess, the real Zhao Yun was worthy of great respect and adulation for not only his courage, but also his wisdom, clear mind, and senses of honor and morality. He also attempted to persuade Liu Bei from invading the Kingdom of Wu for revenge, with clear and reasonable arguments. Comparatively speaking, he was in some ways similar to a latter fabled hero, Hua Rong of the Water Margin.

Zhao Yun was survived by two sons, Zhao Tong (趙統) and Zhao Guang (趙廣). The younger son was a subordinate of Jiang Wei( 姜維), and died in combat in Ta Zhong (沓中).

Cultural Impact

Zhao Yun has become a popular figure in Chinese culture, having been featured prominently in literature, art, anecdotes etc. Already a relatively well-known hero from the Three Kingdoms period told through folklores for centuries, Zhao Yun became a household name after the wide success of the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms created more than 1000 years after his death. It is said that Zhao Yun was one of the favorite characters of the author Luo Guanzhong. In the novel, Zhao Yun is described as being almost perfect, possessing unparalleled physical power as well as unwavering loyalty to his master, tremendous courage, keen intelligence and serene charisma.

Since the novel’s original Chinese publication, there have been many adaptations into various literary and art forms and translated into several other Asian languages, resulting in steadily growing popularity. Generations of people have become enthralled and mesmerized by his miraculous rescue of Liu Bei’s son Liu Shan at the Battle of Changban (as told by Luo’s novel and many legends, Zhao Yun single-handedly charged through one million men seven times and slaughtered numerous enemy generals and soldiers along the way in order to rescue his young master). Zhao Yun became a legend, and his name also became a synonym for courage and bravery.

Recently Zhao Yun’s popularity has moved well beyond Asia into the western world through various non-conventional media including the internet and computer games (represented by series of strategy/fighting games created by Koei). Zhao Yun is often portrayed as being youthful and handsome, fearless and invincible, calm and intelligent, genuine and selfless in today’s operas, novels, games, comics and plays. It is clear that the legends of Zhao Yun, told and enriched over seventeen hundred years, will continue to be passed on to many generations to come.

Folktales

1. There has been a second version of Zhao Yun's death which is mentioned in Chinese folktales, but the story itself is not mentioned in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Zhao Yun's wife's name was Sun Ruan Er. She was very beautiful, and was very outgoing. After she was married to Zhao Yun, they often joked with each other. Zhao Yun loved his wife as well.

One time, Zhao went to a battle and did not came back until a few months later. When he finally got back, his wife welcomed him. But after a while, Sun used a broom that she had been swiping the floor with to hit Zhao Yun and said, "How come you did not return? You deserve it." Zhao Yun, on the other hand, dodging the broom while he laughed, "Please stop, I will not be late next time." After he pleaded for a while, Lady Sun then stopped. From that time on, every time when Zhao Yun got back, Sun would scold him badly but he would not get angry at all. It was thus said that "hitting is a way to show close relation, and scolding is a way of showing love."

One day, Zhao Yun came back from the battlefield, and Sun was very happy and heated the water so he could take a bath. While she was sewing with a needle, Zhao took off his clothes. His skin was like jade, smooth and shiny without a scar anywhere. Sun was very curious, "General, even with a jade, there is a scar somewhere, how come you don't have any even though you have gone to battle so many times?" Zhao proudly declared, "Because I have never lost a battle, and never had a scar; why else would people call me the Ever Victorious General?"

After Sun heard that, she smiled and said, "Really? You have never lost a battle? I don't believe it."

Zhao Yun asked, "Then what can make you believe it?"

Sun laughs, "I would like you to bleed today". As she said it, she used her needle to poke him on the shoulder. She was just joking around with him, however, the small poke made him bleed a lot.

Zhao Yun cried, "No!"

Sun was really surprised and quickly moved to his side and helped him to cover up the bleeding point. But he could not stop bleeding and Zhao soon turned white. He looked at his crying wife and said, "I have never had a scar on the countless battles I have fought in, but today I will die from a needle of my beloved wife, what a pity!" Zhao Yun then died.

Sun never guessed that one small joke could kill her husband, she regretted it very much and cried, "I have killed my husband, I have killed my husband ... General, you are dead already, why would I want to live anymore?" So she used Zhao Yun's sword and killed herself.

2. Zhao Yun and the Origin of the Ring (Jie Zhi,戒指): A folktale contradicting the above one

It’s said that the Chinese tradition of wearing rings began with Zhao Yun. At the battle of Changban, Zhao Yun suffered an injury to one of his fingers, which left a visible scar. Apparently he had never had any injuries before (and had always had immaculate skin), thus the scar annoyed him. Someone presented him a gift, a beautiful gold band, which fit on his wounded finger, and covered the scar perfectly. Zhao Yun was no longer bothered by the scar, and he referred to the gold band as “Gai Zhi (蓋指, digit cover).” People of Jin Zhou admired Zhao Yun greatly, and when they saw the beautiful ring on Zhao Yun’s hand, they all wanted one! Soon many people started wearing rings. Eventually, the name for the gold band was mispronounced into “Jie Zhi (戒指).”

Notes

It has been misunderstood by some people that Zhao Yun mainly served as a bodyguard of Liu Bei at the beginning (or throughout his career). However, there are no historical records to support the bodyguard claim, and all evidence points to him being a commander of real combat forces from the beginning to the end.

Zhao Yun’s birth year is not known, although 168 AD seems very reasonable. The novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms contains conflicting accounts of his age, thus cannot be used to determine his birth year. His death year 229 AD has also generated quite a controversy. Some historians have argued he might have died in 228 AD.

Unfortunately, due to the limited historical records, many facts about Zhao Yun's life remain unclear or unknown. For example, what did he do between 193/4 AD-200AD? The original records in Chen Shou's San Guo Zhi are merely a couple hundred words. Thanks to Pei Songzhi's annotations, we now have a relatively clear, though still far from complete picture of Zhao's life.

Modern References

Zhao Yun has been the central character in all of the Dynasty Warriors video games. He is usually in a prominent position on the manual/cover of the game (no small feat when sharing space with 40+ other warriors) and is most often the character used by the Koei developers in screenshots of upcoming titles. Zhao is usually labelled as a "beginner's" character -- both due to his having no overt strong or weak stat areas and the wide, easy swings of his weapon. He is also one of the few playable officers that can be played from a fresh saved game (most have to be unlocked by completing certain requirements). His weapon is called the Dragon Spear, and features a good balance between crowd-clearing regular attacks and a single-enemy-targeted musou (special) attack. In this, he spins his spear repeatedly out in front, juggling an opponent for heavy damage. He is the main pick for any under level Warriors.

Weblinks

Template:People of the Three Kingdoms

• 168 births
• 229 deaths
• People of the Three Kingdoms