Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature
•
By the early 260s CE, Shu Han was in decline. Its wise statesmen – Jiang Wan and Fei Yi – were dead. Jiang Wei, now Grand General, inherited Zhuge Liang’s legacy and launched eleven northern expeditions against Cao Wei. Though he won tactical victories, Shu’s limited resources made strategic success impossible.
•
In July 219 CE, Guan Yu launched the Battle of Xiangfan, attacking Cao Cao’s forces. To prevent the front line from collapsing, he transferred troops from Jingzhou to reinforce the front, leaving Jingzhou’s defenses depleted. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lü Meng of Eastern Wu led his army across the Yangtze River and launched…
•
Was Lü Meng’s capture of Jing Province in AD 219 a betrayal of an ally? Some people argue that the Sun–Liu alliance effectively collapsed after the Xiang River Partition (circa AD 215), when Liu Bei and Sun Quan divided Jing Province along the Xiang River. However, primary sources from the Records of the Three…
•
In 219 CE, Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao and seized Hangzhog, then he declared himself King of Hanzhong in Chengdu. To honor Guan Yu, who had long guarded Jing Province, Liu Bei enfeoffed him as General of the Front. Eager to prove his worth, Guan Yu launched a bold offensive against Cao Cao’s forces…
•
Before the formal tripartite division of China into Wei, Shu, and Wu, Cao Cao stood closer than ever to unifying the empire – including the fertile and defensible province of Yizhou (modern Sichuan).
•
When Cao Cao learned that Liu Bei had taken control of Yizhou (Yi Province, modern Sichuan), he realized that unifying the empire would be impossible without securing the strategic corridor of Hanzhong, which lay directly north of Yizhou.
•
In 211 CE, news reached Liu Zhang, governor of Yizhou (modern Sichuan province), that Cao Cao planned to march through Guanzhong to attack Hanzhong – the northern gateway to Yizhou.
•
The Guanxi (Guanzhong and Liangzhou) region had long been under the control of two powerful warlords: Ma Teng and Han Sui. Ma Teng, a descendant of the famed Eastern Han general Ma Yuan, commanded deep loyalty among the frontier troops.
•
After retreating from Changban, Liu Bei stationed his forces at Fankou, awaiting news from Eastern Wu. When he learned that Zhou Yu’s fleet had arrived, Liu Bei immediately dispatched envoys to greet them.