Zhou Yu

Biography

Zhou Yu was the brilliant young commander who won the most important battle of the Three Kingdoms. Handsome, cultured, and a gifted musician — 'Zhou Yu turns at the slightest flaw in the music' was a common saying — he was also a military genius who saw more clearly than anyone else the strategic opportunity at Red Cliffs. When Cao Cao's vast army descended on the Yangtze in 208, most of Sun Quan's advisors counseled surrender. Zhou Yu, then thirty-three, argued passionately for war and was given command of Wu's forces. His plan was as elegant as it was devastating: exploit Cao Cao's unfamiliarity with naval warfare, his troops' vulnerability to the southern epidemic, and the chained ships that made his fleet a single target. The fire attack at Red Cliffs shattered Cao Cao's ambitions and ensured that China would be divided for seven decades. Zhou Yu died just two years later at age thirty-five, possibly from an old arrow wound, cutting short what might have become the era's most remarkable career. His victory at Red Cliffs alone places him among the greatest commanders in Chinese military history.

Key Battles