Zhou Yu 周瑜

His great-uncle Zhou Jing and Zhou Jing's son Zhou Zhong both served as Grand Commandant of the Han, and his father was Prefect of Luoyang. As he grew up, Zhou Yu was tall and strongly built, with a handsome appearance. When Sun Jian set out against Dong Zhuo and moved his family to Shu, Zhou Yu became especially close to Sun Ce, who was the same age; he gave Sun Ce a large house south of the road, went up into the hall to bow to his mother, and they shared whatever they had or lacked. Records, Wu 9 §2

When he went to pay his respects to his uncle Zhou Shang, then Administrator of Danyang, he received a letter from Sun Ce, who had come to Liyang to cross the river, and led troops to meet him. Sun Ce rejoiced, saying, "Now that I have you, things will go as I wish." Together they took Hengjiang and Dangli, defeated Ze Rong and Xue Li at Moling, and then entered Qu'e, whereupon Liu Yao fled. Zhou Yu returned to Danyang, but when Yuan Shu sent Yuan Yin to replace Zhou Shang, he went to Shouchun; judging that Yuan Shu would never achieve anything, he asked to be made Chief of Juchao, and in the 3rd year of Jian'an (198) he returned from Juchao to Wu. Records, Wu 9 §2–4

Sun Ce went out in person to welcome Zhou Yu, made him General of the Household Who Establishes Might (jianwei zhonglang jiang), and gave him 2,000 troops and 50 horses. He was then twenty-four, and the people of Wu called him "Zhou Lang" (Young Master Zhou). He guarded Niuzhu and concurrently served as Chief of Chungu, and when Sun Ce sought to take Jing Province, he became Central Protector of the Army (zhong hujun) and Administrator of Jiangxia and took Wan County. At this time they obtained the two daughters of Lord Qiao; Sun Ce took Daqiao as his wife and Zhou Yu took Xiaoqiao. He then defeated Liu Xun near Xunyang, attacked Jiangxia, pacified Yuzhang and Luling, and stayed behind to guard Baqiu. Records, Wu 9 §5–6

When Sun Ce died in the 5th year of Jian'an (200), Zhou Yu led his troops to the mourning and stayed on in Wu, where, as Central Protector of the Army, he took charge of affairs together with the Chief Clerk Zhang Zhao. The Dowager had Sun Quan serve Zhou Yu as an elder brother, and at a time when the generals and guests still observed only simple courtesies, Zhou Yu alone took the lead in observing the etiquette of a subject. Zhou Yu, who had earlier befriended Lu Su when Lu Su gave him an entire granary, held Lu Su back when he was about to go north and recommended him to Sun Quan. Records, Wu 9 §7 · 22 · 32–33 · 35–36

In the 11th year of Jian'an (206) he led Sun Yu and others to attack the two strongholds of Ma and Bao, and when Huang Zu sent his general Deng Long into Chaisang, Zhou Yu pursued him and captured Deng Long. In the spring of the 13th year (208), when Sun Quan attacked Jiangxia, he served as Chief Commander of the Vanguard (qianbu dadu). In the 9th month of that year Cao Cao entered Jing Province and Liu Cong surrendered; now also in possession of the navy, Cao Cao had ships and infantry numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and the officers and men were all afraid. Records, Wu 9 §8

When Sun Quan asked for plans, his officials said that Cao Cao held the Son of Heaven in his grasp and now shared the natural barrier of the Yangtze with them, so it would be better to welcome him. Zhou Yu, who had been away at Poyang and was summoned back at Lu Su's urging, said that Cao Cao was a traitor to the Han; that the north was not at peace and Ma Chao and Han Sui were still west of the passes; that fighting from boats was not the forte of men of the Central Plains; and that in the depth of winter there was no fodder for the horses, while the unfamiliar water and climate would surely bring sickness. He then asked for 30,000 picked troops to advance to Xiakou, promising to crush Cao Cao, and Sun Quan said that Heaven had given him to him. Records, Wu 9 §9–13 · 45

Sun Quan sent Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu and others to join forces with Liu Bei, and they met Cao Cao at Red Cliffs. Cao Cao's army, already stricken by disease, lost the first engagement and withdrew to the north bank of the river. When his subordinate general Huang Gai pointed out that the enemy's ships were lined up bow to stern and could be set on fire and put to flight, they filled several dozen mengchong assault ships and fighting vessels with brushwood and oil, and first sent a letter feigning surrender. Huang Gai cast the ships loose and set them alight; the wind happened to be very fierce, and even the camps on the riverbank burned down. Cao Cao fell back to Nan Commandery, then left Cao Ren and others at Jiangling and returned north. Records, Wu 9 §14–16

Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu advanced to Nan Commandery and faced Cao Ren across the river. He first sent Gan Ning to seize Yiling, and when Cao Ren surrounded Gan Ning, he followed Lü Meng's plan, leaving Ling Tong to guard the rear, and went in person with Lü Meng to relieve him. On the day set for the great battle, Zhou Yu rode out in person and swept through the enemy lines, but was struck in the right side by a stray arrow. When Cao Ren heard that Zhou Yu was lying in bed unable to rise, he drew up his troops for battle; Zhou Yu got up by himself, went round the camps and roused his officers and men, and Cao Ren withdrew. In the 14th year of Jian'an (209), after a standoff of more than a year, Cao Ren abandoned the city and fled. Records, Wu 9 §17–18Records, Wu 2 §15

Sun Quan made Zhou Yu Lieutenant General (pian jiangjun) and Administrator of Nan Commandery, granted him four counties as his fief, and stationed him at Jiangling. When Liu Bei came to Jing to meet Sun Quan, Zhou Yu submitted a memorial saying that Liu Bei had the makings of a fierce hero and commanded bear- and tiger-like generals such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, so he should be moved to Wu, where palaces and beautiful women would delight his eyes and ears, and the two generals should be separated from him; to carve off land for him, he warned, would be like letting a dragon obtain clouds and rain. Sun Quan, reasoning that with Cao Cao in the north he ought to gather heroes widely, and that Liu Bei would be hard to subdue quickly, did not accept it. Records, Wu 9 §19–20

When Liu Zhang, Governor of Yi Province, was invaded by Zhang Lu, Zhou Yu went to Jing and proposed that he and Sun Yu, General Who Displays Might (fenwei jiangjun), take Shu, absorb Zhang Lu and ally with Ma Chao, and then return to hold Xiangyang with Sun Quan and press Cao Cao hard. Sun Quan agreed, and on his way back to Jiangling to make preparations Zhou Yu died of illness at Baqiu, aged thirty-six. When his illness became critical he memorialized that Lu Su was fit to replace him. Sun Quan put on plain mourning clothes and wailed for him, went out as far as Wuhu to meet his coffin, and bore all the funeral expenses. The man who escorted the coffin to Wu was Pang Tong. Records, Wu 9 §20–21 · 47–48Records, Shu 7 §4

Zhou Yu was broad-minded and magnanimous and generally won people's hearts, but he did not get on with Cheng Pu alone. From youth he was expert in music, and even after three rounds of wine, if a performer made a mistake he would always notice and turn his head, so a song arose: "If the tune is wrong, Zhou Lang turns to look." His daughter married the Crown Prince Sun Deng. Later Zhuge Jin and Bu Zhi praised his merit, saying that Zhou Yu had crushed Cao Cao at Wulin and put Cao Ren to flight at Ying. Records, Wu 9 §22–25

In his assessment, Chen Shou said that when Lord Cao, using his position as Chancellor of the Han as a springboard, swept through Jing Province and cast his eyes eastward, all the advisers were doubtful and divided in mind, but Zhou Yu and Lu Su alone established the clear insight to decide on their own and rose above the crowd; they were truly men of extraordinary talent. He also judged apt, and so recorded, Sun Quan's assessment to Lu Xun: "Gongjin was heroic and fierce, his courage and strategy surpassed other men's, and so he defeated Mengde and opened up Jing Province." Records, Wu 9 §95 · 90