Zhang He | |
|---|---|
| 張郃 | |
 A Qing dynasty illustration of Zhang He | |
| General of Chariots and Cavalry Who Attacks the West (征西車騎將軍) | |
| In office 229 – July or August 231 | |
| Monarch | Cao Rui |
| General of the Left (左將軍) | |
| In office 220–229 | |
| Monarch | Cao Pi |
| General Who Defeats Bandits (盪寇將軍) | |
| In office 215–220 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Xian of Han |
| Chancellor | Cao Cao |
| General of the Household Who Brings Peace to the State (寧國中郎將) (under Yuan Shao) | |
| In office 199–? | |
| Monarch | Emperor Xian of Han |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown Maozhou, Hebei |
| Died | July or August 231[a] Qinzhou District, Tianshui, Gansu |
| Children |
|
| Occupation | General |
| Courtesy name | Junyi (儁乂) |
| Posthumous name | Marquis Zhuang (壯侯) |
| Peerage | Marquis of Mao (鄚侯) |
Zhang He () (died July or August 231),[a][2] courtesy name Junyi, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei under its first two rulers, Cao Pi and Cao Rui, during the Three Kingdoms period until his death.
Zhang He began his career under Han Fu, the governor of Ji Province, in the 180s when he joined the Han imperial forces in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion. He became a subordinate of the warlord Yuan Shao in 191 after Yuan Shao seized the governorship of Ji Province from Han Fu. Throughout the 190s, Zhang He fought in the battles against Yuan Shao's northern rival, Gongsun Zan. In 200, Zhang He initially fought on Yuan Shao's side at the Battle of Guandu against Cao Cao, a warlord who controlled the Han central government. However, he defected to Cao Cao after Yuan Shao's defeat at Guandu in the same year.[b] Since then, he had fought in several wars under Cao Cao's banner, including the campaigns against Yuan Shao's heirs and allies (201–207), the expeditions in northwestern China (211–214), and the battles around Hanzhong (215–219). After Cao Cao's death in 220, Zhang He served in Wei and fought in battles against Wei's rival states, Shu Han and Eastern Wu. His best known victory was at the Battle of Jieting in 228, in which he defeated the Shu general Ma Su by cutting off the enemy's access to water supplies and then attacking them. In 231, he was killed in an ambush laid by Shu forces during the Battle of Mount Qi while he was reluctantly pursuing a retreating enemy force.
Chen Shou, who wrote the third-century historical text Sanguozhi, named Zhang He as one of the Five Elite Generals of his time, alongside Yu Jin, Yue Jin, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang.[3]
- ^ Chen and Pei (429), 33.896: "[建興九年]夏六月，亮糧盡退軍，郃追至青封，與亮交戰，被箭死。
- ^ de Crespigny (2007), p. 1048.
- ^ (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.
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