Yu Jin | |
|---|---|
| 于禁 | |
 | |
| General Who Stabilises Distant Lands (安遠將軍) | |
| In office 221 | |
| Monarch | Cao Pi |
| General of the Left (左將軍) | |
| In office ?–219 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Xian of Han |
| Chancellor | Cao Cao |
| General of Tiger's Might (虎威將軍) | |
| In office 206–? | |
| Monarch | Emperor Xian of Han |
| Chancellor | Cao Cao (from 208) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown Tai'an, Shandong |
| Died | 221[1] |
| Children |
|
| Occupation | Military general |
| Courtesy name | Wenze (文則) |
| Posthumous name | Marquis Li (厲侯) |
| Peerage | Marquis of Yishou Village (益壽亭侯) |
Yu Jin (died c.September 221[2]), courtesy name Wenze, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He joined Cao Cao in 192 around the start of the civil wars leading to the collapse of the dynasty, and fought in many of the campaigns which established the warlord's position as a central figure in that period. In 219, Yu Jin was tasked with leading forces to relief Cao Cao's general Cao Ren, who was being besieged in Fancheng by Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, but his armies were destroyed in a flood due to heavy rains. Yu Jin surrendered to Guan Yu and became a prisoner-of-war, but was transferred to the custody of another warlord, Sun Quan, after Sun Quan's forces captured Guan Yu's bases in late 219. Sun Quan treated Yu Jin like a guest and in 221 sent him back to the state of Cao Wei, which was founded in late 220 by Cao Cao's successor, Cao Pi, who ended the Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Pi pardoned Yu Jin and restored him to the position of a general. However, Yu Jin died later that year in regret after visiting Cao Cao's tomb, where he saw illustrations of the Battle of Fancheng depicting his surrender to Guan Yu.[1]
Chen Shou, who wrote the third-century historical text Sanguozhi, named Yu Jin as one of the Five Elite Generals of his time, alongside Zhang He, Yue Jin, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang.[3]
- ^ a b de Crespigny (2007), p. 995.
- ^ Vol.69 of Zizhi Tongjian indicated that Yu Jin died soon after his return to Wei in the 8th month of the 2nd year of Cao Pi's reign, which corresponds to 5 Sep to 3 Oct 221 in the Julian calendar.
- ^ (評曰：太祖建茲武功，而時之良將，五子為先。于禁最號毅重，然弗克其終。張郃以巧變為稱，樂進以驍果顯名，而鑒其行事，未副所聞。或注記有遺漏，未如張遼、徐晃之備詳也。) Sanguozhi vol. 17.