Bai Qi
Encyclopedia
Bái Qǐ (died 257 BC
) was an outstanding military
leader of the State of Qin
during the Warring States Period
of Chinese history. Born in Mei (now Mei County in Shaanxi Province), as commander of the Qin army for more than 30 years, Bai Qi was responsible for the deaths of a total over 890,000 enemy soldiers, earning him the nickname Ren Tu (人屠 literally: human butcher). He seized more than 73 cities from the other six Warring States in the Warring States Period and to date no record has been found to show that he suffered a single defeat throughout his military career.
to Da Liang Zao
by King Zhaoxiang of Qin
. He had commanded war
s against the states of Han, Wei, Zhao and Chu
, seizing large areas of territory. In 278 BC
, he led the army
from Qin to capture Ying
, capital of the State of Chu. As a reward, he was given the title Lord Wu An (武安君 literally: martial peace), since he brought peace to Qin by conquering its enemies.
During the Battle of Changping
in 260 BC
, he succeeded Wang He
as the commander of Qin army, and soon defeated the Zhao
army commanded by Zhao Kuo
. The Zhao army was split into two parts and its supply lines and retreat route cut off by Bai Qi. More than 400,000 Zhao soldiers, including the Shangdang
people who surrendered after Zhao Kuo was shot dead by Qin archers, were slain on the orders of Bai Qi.
Bai Qi wanted to end Zhao once and for all, as the Zhao troops were psychologically affected by the Battle of Changping. But the prime minister of Qin, Fan Sui, who was persuaded by a talker from Zhao, feared Bai Qi's rising power, and recommended the king to stop the attack on pretext that the Qin troops ought to be rested and to accept a ceded territory negotiation. Bai Qi hence stopped the attack and on his return journey to the State of Qin, he fall ill.
In 257 BC, Qin started to besiege Handan
, capital of Zhao. Because Bai Qi was ill the Qin king had used another prominent general, Wang Ling (王陵) who subsequently lost the battle.
After about four months, when Bai Qi seemed to have recovered, the king asked Bai Qi to return to his post as commander. But Bai Qi held a different opinion, he argued that Qin had no longer enough resources on such long-range war, and the other states would soon attack Qin since Qin had been contrary to the negotiation. However, the king insisted on continuing the attack. Bai Qi refused the command of the king with an excuse of his illness. The king, therefore, had to use Wang He
(王齕), another prominent general of Qin, instead of Bai Qi, as the commander.
This decision did not help the Qin army in the battle at all. Chu and Wei soon sent troops to assist Zhao. After more than five months of continuous defeat at Handan, Qin had suffered major losses. The king asked Bai Qi to become commander again. Bai Qi once more used that he was sick to refuse the request. Having been refused several times, the King become angry, removed all titles from Bai Qi and forced him to leave Xianyang, the capital of Qin. In addition, Fan Sui, persuaded the King of Qin that Bai Qi would join another state as a general and become a threat to the State of Qin. Convinced by Fan Sui's information, the King of Qin then forced Bai Qi to commit suicide in Duyou (杜邮).
dish of Gaoping
, today's Changping, called Bai Qi meat is well known. Some stories have been written about Bai Qi suffering for his brutal actions.
Bai Qi is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei. He has the highest military leadership statistics of all the characters.
257 BC
Year 257 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Regulus and Blasio...
) was an outstanding military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
leader of the State of Qin
Qin (state)
The State of Qin was a Chinese feudal state that existed during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of Chinese history...
during the Warring States Period
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
of Chinese history. Born in Mei (now Mei County in Shaanxi Province), as commander of the Qin army for more than 30 years, Bai Qi was responsible for the deaths of a total over 890,000 enemy soldiers, earning him the nickname Ren Tu (人屠 literally: human butcher). He seized more than 73 cities from the other six Warring States in the Warring States Period and to date no record has been found to show that he suffered a single defeat throughout his military career.
Career
He was promoted from Zuo Shu ZhangZuo Shu Zhang
Zuo Shu Zhang is both a bureaucracy and nobility in State of Qin in the Warring States Period. Zuo Shu Zhang was a rank of Qin's bureaucracy to give nonroyal ministers the supreme political power....
to Da Liang Zao
Da Liang Zao
Da Liang Zao , the highest rank of Qin's bureaucracy, had supreme political and military power . It's a title of nobility as well. Also known as Da Shang Zao . The function of Da Liang Zao was replaced by "Xiang Guo" after King Huiwen of Qin, left it as a name of nobility only. It was inherited by...
by King Zhaoxiang of Qin
King Zhaoxiang of Qin
King Zhaoxiang of Qin or King Zhao of Qin was the son of King Huiwen and younger brother of King Wu. After the death of Wu in 306 BC, Zhao contended for the crown of Qin with his younger brother. With the support of King Wuling of Zhao, Zhao finally ascended the throne...
. He had commanded war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
s against the states of Han, Wei, Zhao and Chu
Chu (state)
The State of Chu was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state in present-day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States Period . Its ruling house had the surname Nai , and clan name Yan , later evolved to surname Mi , and clan name Xiong...
, seizing large areas of territory. In 278 BC
278 BC
Year 278 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Luscinus and Papus...
, he led the army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
from Qin to capture Ying
Ying (Chu)
Yǐng was a capital city of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of Chinese History.In the early years of Chu’s development, the state capital was located at Danyang , near modern day Xichuan County in Henan Province...
, capital of the State of Chu. As a reward, he was given the title Lord Wu An (武安君 literally: martial peace), since he brought peace to Qin by conquering its enemies.
During the Battle of Changping
Battle of Changping
The Battle of Changping was a military campaign that took place during the Warring States Period in China. It concluded in 260 BC with a decisive victory by the State of Qin over the State of Zhao, and ultimately allowed Qin to conquer and unify China decades later...
in 260 BC
260 BC
Year 260 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asina and Duilius...
, he succeeded Wang He
Wang He
Wang He is a male Chinese sports sailor who competed for Team China at the 2008 Summer Olympics.-Major performances:*2005 Canadian Royal Sailing Club;*2005 Hainan Senior Sports School;*2006 National Team-References:...
as the commander of Qin army, and soon defeated the Zhao
Zhao (state)
Zhao was a significant Chinese state during the Warring States Period, along with six others...
army commanded by Zhao Kuo
Zhao Kuo
Zhao Kuo was a general of the States of Zhao in Warring States Period , son of the famous general Zhao She, during the epic Battle of Changping between the States of Zhao and Qin in ancient China. ."...
. The Zhao army was split into two parts and its supply lines and retreat route cut off by Bai Qi. More than 400,000 Zhao soldiers, including the Shangdang
Shangdang
The Shangdang Prefecture or commandery , was an administrative subdivision of ancient China from the time of the Spring and Autumn Period...
people who surrendered after Zhao Kuo was shot dead by Qin archers, were slain on the orders of Bai Qi.
Bai Qi wanted to end Zhao once and for all, as the Zhao troops were psychologically affected by the Battle of Changping. But the prime minister of Qin, Fan Sui, who was persuaded by a talker from Zhao, feared Bai Qi's rising power, and recommended the king to stop the attack on pretext that the Qin troops ought to be rested and to accept a ceded territory negotiation. Bai Qi hence stopped the attack and on his return journey to the State of Qin, he fall ill.
In 257 BC, Qin started to besiege Handan
Handan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China.- History :Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period , after the capital moved from Zhongmu. The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of...
, capital of Zhao. Because Bai Qi was ill the Qin king had used another prominent general, Wang Ling (王陵) who subsequently lost the battle.
After about four months, when Bai Qi seemed to have recovered, the king asked Bai Qi to return to his post as commander. But Bai Qi held a different opinion, he argued that Qin had no longer enough resources on such long-range war, and the other states would soon attack Qin since Qin had been contrary to the negotiation. However, the king insisted on continuing the attack. Bai Qi refused the command of the king with an excuse of his illness. The king, therefore, had to use Wang He
Wang He
Wang He is a male Chinese sports sailor who competed for Team China at the 2008 Summer Olympics.-Major performances:*2005 Canadian Royal Sailing Club;*2005 Hainan Senior Sports School;*2006 National Team-References:...
(王齕), another prominent general of Qin, instead of Bai Qi, as the commander.
This decision did not help the Qin army in the battle at all. Chu and Wei soon sent troops to assist Zhao. After more than five months of continuous defeat at Handan, Qin had suffered major losses. The king asked Bai Qi to become commander again. Bai Qi once more used that he was sick to refuse the request. Having been refused several times, the King become angry, removed all titles from Bai Qi and forced him to leave Xianyang, the capital of Qin. In addition, Fan Sui, persuaded the King of Qin that Bai Qi would join another state as a general and become a threat to the State of Qin. Convinced by Fan Sui's information, the King of Qin then forced Bai Qi to commit suicide in Duyou (杜邮).
Popular culture
Bai Qi is noted in Chinese history as a symbol of brutality rather than for his military talent. The traditional TofuTofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
dish of Gaoping
Gaoping
Gaoping is a county-level city in Shanxi Province, China with a history stretching back to the Warring States Period . Part of the city was formerly known as Changping where a noted battle took place in 260 BCE between forces from the rival States of Qin and Zhao.Gaoping is also famed as the...
, today's Changping, called Bai Qi meat is well known. Some stories have been written about Bai Qi suffering for his brutal actions.
Bai Qi is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei. He has the highest military leadership statistics of all the characters.
Battles commanded
- 293 BCE Battle of YiqueBattle of YiqueBattle of Yique 293 BC, fought by King Zhaoxiang of Qin against the alliance of Wei and Han at Yique . For background see Warring States Period#The period of Qi . The Qin commander was general Bai Qi. With half of the alliance force, Bai Qi's army took the alliance's strongholds one by one...
. Killed 240,000 State of Wei and State of Han troops. - 272 BCE Besieged a Wei Fortress and killed 130,000 Wei soldiers. He then killed a further 20,000 Zhao soldiers and threw them into a river.
- 263 BCE Sieged 5 Han fortresses and killed 50,000 Han soldiers.
- 260 BCE Battle of ChangpingBattle of ChangpingThe Battle of Changping was a military campaign that took place during the Warring States Period in China. It concluded in 260 BC with a decisive victory by the State of Qin over the State of Zhao, and ultimately allowed Qin to conquer and unify China decades later...
. Defeated State of Zhao in battle and killed all surrendered Zhao soldiers except for 240 men in order to inform Zhao. Total Zhao losses about 450,000 men.
See also
- Sima QianSima QianSima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
Records of the Grand HistorianRecords of the Grand HistorianThe Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
(Biography of Wang JianWang JianWang Jian , courtesy name Guangtu , formally Emperor Gaozu of Shu , was the founding emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Former Shu...
and Bai Qi) Bai Qi Time Line 西汉, 司馬遷.史記 卷七十三 白起王翦列傳（Western Han Dynasty, Sima QianSima QianSima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
, Biography of Wang JianWang JianWang Jian , courtesy name Guangtu , formally Emperor Gaozu of Shu , was the founding emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Former Shu...
and Bai Qi, Volume 73 of ShijiRecords of the Grand HistorianThe Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
） 清, 蔡元放. 東周列國志（Qing dynasty, Cai Yuanfang. Records of the states during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty）