The Burning of Red Cliff (Huǒshāo Chìbì 火烧赤壁)

It was the time of the Three Kingdoms (Sānguó 三国, period 07), and CÁO Cāo 曹操 of the state of Greater Wèi 魏 was hoping to expand his realm south of the Yangtze river (Chángjiāng 长江). Cáo Cāo had about 800,000 men in arms, and he decided to cross southwards with about 200,000 men into the territory controlled by SŪN Quán 孙权 of the state of Wú 吴.

Sūn was very distressed at this, for he himself had but 50,000 soldiers. At last he decided that the best thing would be to join forces with LIÚ Bèi 刘备 of the state of Shǔ 蜀, although he knew that Liú was hoping to conquer everybody and become the emperor of a restored Hàn 汉 dynasty, so Sūn’s alliance with him probably could not last forever. For the time being, however, at least Liú Bèi agreed to cooperate in defending the south against Cáo Cāo’s expansion and leant him the famous strategist ZHŪGĚ Liàng 诸葛亮.

So Sūn Quán sent General ZHŌU Yú 周瑜 with 30,000 troops to Red Cliff Mountain (Chìbì Shān 赤壁山) to confront Cáo Cāo’s troops. With him went Liú’s strategist, Zhūgě Liàng. Together Sūn Quán and Zhūgě Liàng surveyed the battle zone and saw that Cáo’s troops had massed along the river, just at the foot of Red Cliff Mountain, ready to cross the river and fight their way south. Some ingenious measure was needed.

In the end the two deployed an elderly former commander, HUÁNG Gài 黄盖, who was sent to pretend to surrender to Cáo Cāo. Huáng was to lead several dozen “surrendering” boats along the river and in among Cáo’s craft. But they would floating tinder boxes, which would be ignited when they were close enough for the fire to spread to Cáo’s camp.

Huáng waited for a day with a perfect wind blowing out of the southeast across the river towards the vast Wèi encampment. Then the Wú troops headed slowly along and across the river toward the point of surrender, as Cáo’s troops stood in delight and amazement watching the humiliated vessels enact their surrender. They watched as the largest boats came first, towing small boats in long lines behind them.

Just as the first large boats reached the installations of Cáo’s forces, who were beginning to hop aboard, Huáng ordered his men to fire set fire to their loads, and flames suddenly rushed up and were carried by the wind to Cáo’s boats, and then on to his camp on the shore, burning everything around.

Meanwhile the men of Wú and Shǔ sent a hail of arrows toward the fleeing Wèi troops, and then quickly climbed into the small boats they had been towing and made their escape back south across the river. Cáo’s army was nearly destroyed, some by arrows, some by fire, some by drowning. Even Cáo Cāo and his generals barely escaped with their lives.

Today local people say that Red Cliff Mountain is red because of this great fire which changed its color.