Qian Zhao

Historical Record

Qian Zhao, courtesy name Zijing, was a native of Anping in Jizhou. His early life is unclear, but it is known that he was a disciple of Yue Yin. While Yuan Shao served as Governor of Jizhou, Qian Zhao was recruited as Army-Supervising Attendant and concurrently commanded the Wuhuan cavalry. He governed his troops with strict discipline; once, when a retainer of Yuan Shao violated military law, he executed him and only reported to Yuan Shao afterward. Far from blaming him, Yuan Shao deeply admired his decisive manner. ^c:2698

After Yuan Shao died, Qian Zhao continued to serve Yuan Shao's son Yuan Shang. In the ninth year of Jian'an, when Cao Cao besieged Ye, Yuan Shang sent Qian Zhao to Shangdang to supervise the transport of grain. Before Qian Zhao returned, Yuan Shang was defeated and fled to Zhongshan. At that time Yuan Shang's cousin Gao Gan served as Inspector of Bing Province. Qian Zhao, assessing the situation, considered that Bing Province had the natural defense of Mount Heng on the left and the strong barrier of the great river on the right, possessed fifty thousand elite troops, and could resist the strong nomads to the north; he therefore urged Gao Gan to take in Yuan Shang, jointly bide their time, and seek to make a comeback. Gao Gan, however, failed to adopt his advice and instead secretly conceived a plan to harm Qian Zhao. Upon detecting this, Qian Zhao secretly departed; as the roads were blocked he was unable to follow Yuan Shang, and in the end traveled east to join Cao Cao. After Cao Cao took over Jizhou, he recruited Qian Zhao as an Attendant. ^c:2698

When Cao Cao was preparing to campaign against Yuan Tan, the Wuhuan tribes of Liucheng intended to send troops to aid Yuan Tan. Because Qian Zhao had experience commanding the Wuhuan, Cao Cao sent him to Liucheng. When Qian Zhao arrived, the Wuhuan chieftain Qiaowang was just about to send five thousand horsemen to support Yuan Tan. At that time the Administrator of Liaodong, Gongsun Kang, styled himself Governor of Pingzhou and sent an envoy, Han Zhong, bearing a chanyu seal and ribbon to confer the title upon Qiaowang. Qiaowang convened an assembly of the tribal chiefs, and Han Zhong was also present. Qiaowang asked Qian Zhao: "In the past Lord Yuan claimed to have received the Son of Heaven's mandate and conferred upon me the title of chanyu; now Lord Cao again says he will report to the Son of Heaven and confer upon me the true title of chanyu; and Liaodong has also brought a seal and ribbon. In all this, who exactly is the legitimate authority?" Qian Zhao replied: "In the past Lord Yuan acted under delegated authority and was able to confer titles; midway he erred, and the Son of Heaven ordered Lord Cao to replace him, saying he would report to the Son of Heaven and confer the true title of chanyu—this is the correct principle. Liaodong is no more than a minor commandery; how dare it presume to confer titles?" Han Zhong retorted: "Our Liaodong lies east of the blue sea, possesses a million troops, and has the help of Fuyu and Huimo; in the present situation the strong are honored—on what grounds does Cao Cao alone claim legitimacy?" Hearing this, Qian Zhao was furious and rebuked Han Zhong: "Lord Cao is sincere, respectful, wise, and discerning; he assists the Son of Heaven, campaigns against rebels, and pacifies the four seas. You, ruler and subjects, are stubborn and unyielding; now relying on remoteness and difficult terrain you betray the royal command, intending to confer titles on your own authority, mocking the sacred instruments of state. You ought to be slaughtered—how dare you slight and slander a great man?" So saying, he seized Han Zhong by the head and struck it, drawing his sword to behead him. Qiaowang was aghast and, barefoot, embraced Qian Zhao and pleaded for Han Zhong, and all those around were astonished. Only then did Qian Zhao return to his seat and analyze for Qiaowang and the others the considerations of success and failure, and where fortune and misfortune lay. Qiaowang and the rest all left their seats and prostrated themselves, respectfully receiving his instruction; they then dismissed the Liaodong envoy and disbanded the cavalry that had been preparing to set out. ^c:2700

After Cao Pi ascended the throne, he appointed Qian Zhao Colonel Who Protects the Xianbei, bearing the Staff of Authority, stationed at Changping. At that time the people of the frontier had scattered into the mountains and marshes, or fled into the Xianbei tribes, numbering several thousand. Qian Zhao broadly extended kindness and good faith, summoning and inducing them to surrender. The Establishing Righteousness General of the Household Gongsun Ji and others led their personal troops and all submitted to him, and were sent back to their original homes. Qian Zhao also won over the Xianbei tribes of Suli, Mijia, and others, numbering more than a hundred thousand, all of whom submitted to the frontier. ^c:5871

After Emperor Ming of Wei ascended the throne, he granted Qian Zhao the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. In the second year of Taihe, the Colonel Who Protects the Wuhuan Tian Yu was besieged by Kebineng at the old city of Mayi and sought aid from Qian Zhao. Qian Zhao immediately mustered his troops and prepared to go to the rescue. The officials of Bing Province obstructed Qian Zhao with the standard regulations, but Qian Zhao held that when the chief general is in distress one cannot be bound by clerks' deliberations, so he submitted a memorial on his own authority and set out at once. He also issued an urgent feather-summons, describing the situation and declaring that he would strike the enemy's rear from the northwest, then advance east to join Tian Yu in slaying the enemy chief. When the feather-summons reached Tian Yu's army, morale soared. Qian Zhao also deliberately dropped one feather-summons on a road the enemy would take; learning of it, the enemy was at once thrown into panic, and the tribes dispersed. When Qian Zhao's army reached the old city of Pingcheng, the enemy had already collapsed and fled. Kebineng again assembled a great army and reached the old frontier of Pingzhou to the north. Qian Zhao secretly advanced and made a surprise attack, capturing and beheading large numbers. Because Zhuge Liang of Shu Han repeatedly sent out troops, and Kebineng was cunning and changeable and might collude with him, Qian Zhao submitted a memorial advising stronger defenses. At the time the court's deliberators considered the frontier remote and paid it no heed. It happened that when Zhuge Liang was at Mount Qi, he indeed sent envoys to contact Kebineng. Kebineng arrived at the old Beidi Stone City and echoed Zhuge Liang from afar. Emperor Ming then issued an edict ordering Qian Zhao to act as circumstances allowed and campaign at his discretion. By this time Kebineng had already returned to Monan, and Qian Zhao consulted with Inspector Bi Gui, saying: "The nomads migrate without fixed abode. If we exhaust our troops in a distant pursuit, then slow and swift will not match up. If we wish to make a stealthy raid, then the mountains and streams are perilous, and the transport of supplies cannot be conducted secretly. We may order the defense of the two garrison-gates of Xinxing and Yanmen, station troops north of the Xing range, outwardly to pacify and inwardly to make them farm the land and stockpile supplies; then, waiting until autumn and winter when the horses are fat and the prefectural and commandery troops have assembled, seize the moment to campaign—victory is sure to be complete." Yet before this plan could be carried out, Qian Zhao fell ill and died. Qian Zhao had been in his commandery for twelve years, his prestige spreading far. His achievements in governing the frontier were second only to Tian Yu's, and the people remembered him with unceasing longing. ^c:2701

In the Novel

Romance of the Three Kingdoms gives no independent or detailed depiction of Qian Zhao. His life and achievements—such as executing the offending retainer under Yuan Shao, urging Gao Gan to take in Yuan Shang, and pacifying the Wuhuan and Xianbei frontier troubles in the Cao Wei period—all fail to appear in the novel. Thus Qian Zhao has almost no presence in the novel; his image and role are entirely overshadowed by history, and the many brilliant events and his personal boldness and stratagems recorded in the histories find no expression in the novel.

Key Relationships

* Yue Yin: Qian Zhao's teacher, of whom Qian Zhao was a disciple. ^c:2698
* Yuan Shao's Faction: The party Qian Zhao served in his early years; he was Yuan Shao's Army-Supervising Attendant and concurrently commanded the Wuhuan cavalry. ^c:2698
* Yuan Shang: After Yuan Shao died, Qian Zhao continued to serve Yuan Shang and supervised the transport of grain for him. ^c:2698
* Gao Gan: Yuan Shang's cousin and Inspector of Bing Province. Qian Zhao urged Gao Gan to take in Yuan Shang, but Gao Gan failed to adopt this and instead sought to harm Qian Zhao. ^c:2698
* Cao Cao: After being obstructed at Gao Gan's, Qian Zhao joined Cao Cao, was later recruited as an Attendant, and was charged with handling Wuhuan affairs. ^c:2700
* Gongsun Kang: Administrator of Liaodong, who styled himself Governor of Pingzhou and sent the envoy Han Zhong to confer a chanyu seal upon Qiaowang of the Wuhuan, coming into conflict with Qian Zhao among the Wuhuan tribes. ^c:2700
* Qiaowang: Chieftain of the Wuhuan tribes; Qian Zhao went to his tribe and persuaded him to reject Gongsun Kang's overtures and to withdraw his troops from aiding Yuan Tan. ^c:2700
* Tian Yu: Colonel Who Protects the Wuhuan, who was besieged by Kebineng at the old city of Mayi and sought aid from Qian Zhao, who swiftly sent troops to relieve the siege. ^c:2701
* Kebineng: Chieftain of the Xianbei tribes, who besieged Tian Yu and later colluded with Zhuge Liang; Qian Zhao made military deployments and defensive preparations against him. ^c:2701
* Bi Gui: Inspector of Bing Province, with whom Qian Zhao consulted on strategy against Kebineng. ^c:2701

Signature Scenes

* Executing Yuan Shao's retainer: While serving as Army-Supervising Attendant under Yuan Shao, Qian Zhao, when Yuan Shao's retainer broke the law, decisively executed him first and reported afterward; far from blaming him, Yuan Shao praised his boldness. ^c:2698 This event fully displays Qian Zhao's strict discipline in governing troops and his fearlessness before the powerful.
* Outwitting Han Zhong among the Wuhuan: On Cao Cao's orders Qian Zhao went to Liucheng to persuade Qiaowang of the Wuhuan. At Qiaowang's assembly he confronted the Liaodong envoy Han Zhong face to face, refuted Han Zhong with righteous words, and even drew his sword to behead him, ultimately succeeding in persuading Qiaowang to reject Gongsun Kang's overtures and withdraw his troops from aiding Yuan Tan. ^c:2700 This scene is a concentrated embodiment of Qian Zhao's diplomatic talent and personal valor.
* Relieving Tian Yu: When the Colonel Who Protects the Wuhuan Tian Yu was besieged by Kebineng, Qian Zhao, disregarding the obstruction of the Bing Province officials, submitted a memorial on his own authority and sent out troops to the rescue. By issuing feather-summonses to disrupt the enemy, he ultimately relieved the siege and counterattacked Kebineng's forces. ^c:2701 This action demonstrates Qian Zhao's decisiveness and military talent, as well as his deep camaraderie with his colleagues.
* Winning over more than a hundred thousand Xianbei tribes: While serving as Colonel Who Protects the Xianbei, Qian Zhao broadly extended kindness and good faith, winning over the Xianbei tribes of Suli, Mijia, and others, numbering more than a hundred thousand, and bringing stability to the frontier. ^c:5871 This reflects his outstanding policy toward the tribes and his ability to govern the borderlands.