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Following the pivotal Battle of Red Cliffs (208 CE), the alliance between Sun Quan and Liu Bei had successfully repelled Cao Cao’s southern advance. However, victory left a complex territorial puzzle. While Cao Cao retained control of northern Jing Province, the southern portion – especially the critical commandery of Nan Commandery (Nanjun) centered on…
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The popular saying – “Liu Bei borrowed Jing Province and never returned” – is deeply entrenched in Chinese folklore, largely due to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Yet historical records tell a far more nuanced story. In fact, the very notion of “borrowing Jingzhou” is something of a misleading construct, if not a…
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Chapter 51 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms exposes the fragile nature of wartime alliances through a tale of military valor undone by political cunning. Fresh from the triumph at Red Cliffs, Zhou Yu engages Cao Ren in a fierce struggle for Nan Commandery (Nan Jun), only to see his hard-won gains snatched away…
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After being defeated by Cao Cao, Liu Bei fled south to Jingzhou (Jing Province) and sought refuge with the governor of Jingzhou, Liu Biao. Liu Biao not only sheltered Liu Bei and his remaining forces but also generously granted him a city to recuperate. Moreover, Liu Biao actively involved Liu Bei in the administration…
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Liu Bei is not the most brilliant strategist, nor the fiercest warrior, nor the most cunning politician of the Three Kingdoms. Yet across centuries – through both historical records like Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi) and the romanticized drama of Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms – he remains the…