Zhang Jue

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhang.

Zhang Jue ([ʈʂáŋtɕɥě]; died c. October 184^[2]) was a Chinese military general and rebel. He was the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.^[1] He was said to be a follower of Taoism and a sorcerer. His name is sometimes read as Zhang Jiao ([ʈʂáŋtɕjàʊ]), since the Chinese character of Zhang's given name can be read as either "Jiao" or "Jue". "Jue" is the traditional or literary reading, while "Jiao" is the modern or colloquial one.

Zhang Jue 張角 Great Teacher (大賢良師) General of Heaven (天公將軍)
A Qing dynasty illustration of Zhang Jue
Born	Unknown Julu Commandery (in present-day Hebei province)
Died	184[1] Guangzong County, Julu Commandery (present-day Guangzong County, Hebei)
Occupation(s)	Military general, rebel
Relatives	Zhang Bao (brother) Zhang Liang (brother)

Yellow Turban Rebellion

The Yellow Turbans originated as a Taoist movement called the Tàipíng Dào or "Way of the Great Peace" (太平道), which had started well over a decade prior to the rebellion.^[3] Zhang Jue's followers hailed him as being able to cure patients who sought his help by giving them water blessed by his rituals; those who recovered then believed in him and his teachings, and his fame spread by word of mouth.^[4] Professor Rafe de Crespigny noted that disease outbreaks were reported in Han dynasty China in 171, 173, 179, 182, and 185 CE, with the potential cause theorized as the Antonine Plague of 165 to 180CE of smallpox or measles spreading along the Silk Road.^[5]

Giving himself the title of "Great Teacher" (大賢良師), Zhang Jue led the rebellion with his younger brothers Zhang Bao (張寶) and Zhang Liang (張梁). He and his brothers gave themselves titles: Zhang Bao was the "General of Earth" (地公將軍), Zhang Liang was the "General of the People" (人公將軍); and Zhang Jue was the "General of Heaven" (天公將軍).^[6] The Yellow Turbans claimed to be Taoists, and rebelled against the Han dynasty in response to burdensome taxes, rampant corruption, and famine and flooding, which were seen as indications that the Han emperor had lost the mandate of heaven.

During this time, Zhang spoke of the magic he thought himself capable of to his followers, and "promised that if they took his medicines, they would be immune from wounds and could fight in battle without fear".^[7]

The rebellion began in c.March 184.^[8] The Yellow Turbans conquered much in the early years of the rebellion, but later could not hold out against Han imperial forces led by He Jin, Lu Zhi, Dong Zhuo, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun and others. However, Zhang Jue died from sickness later in October 184.

Although the Yellow Turbans still remained capable even in face of their more powerful foe, they were nonetheless torn apart upon the death of their leader, and were eventually defeated and dispersed. Zhang Bao was defeated and killed by imperial forces led by Huangfu Song and Guo Dian (郭典) in December 184 or January 185^[9] at Xiaquyang County (下曲陽縣; west of present-day Jinzhou, Hebei),^[10] while Zhang Liang also met his end in November or December 184^[11] at the hands of imperial forces led by Huangfu Song at Guangzong County (廣宗縣; southeast of present-day Guangzong County, Hebei).^[12]

Large groups of Yellow Turbans roamed through China for years after the rebellion's defeat, most of them eventually joining the army of the warlord Cao Cao, whose agrarian reform policies closely matched Zhang Jue's own programme.^[13]

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Zhang Jue is also featured in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He is introduced in Chapter 1 as follows:

At that time, there lived three brothers in Julu Commandery: Zhang Jue, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang. Zhang Jue had passed the county-level civil service exam, but had failed to go any higher than that. He had gone into the mountains to gather some medicinal herbs, when he came across an old man; the old man had a youthful countenance, and was carrying a fat-hen walking stick. The old man beckoned Jue into a cave, presented him with a book in three volumes which had come from the heavens, then said, "This book is called The Essential Art of Great Peace. Once you have mastered its contents, you will represent the heavens in spreading this knowledge, and thereby save all of mankind. If you start to have second thoughts, there will be terrible consequences for you." Jue enquired as to the old man's name. The old man said, "I am the old immortal spirit from the southern lands."^[14] With that, the old man vanished into thin air. Upon receiving this book, Jue practiced night and day. Eventually, he could summon the wind and rain, and came to be known as the Great Peace Taoist. (Wikisource translation)

Zhang Jue then goes on to start the Yellow Turban Rebellion with his brothers. Little time is devoted to Zhang Jue in the book, and his death is given a line in the second chapter: "Zhang Jue had died before his (Huangfu Song's) arrival." After his death, his body was beheaded and his head sent to the capital Luoyang.^[15] In the novel, his brother Zhang Bao does not die in battle against imperial forces, but meets his end at the hands of a subordinate, Yan Zheng (嚴政), who cuts off his head and surrenders to imperial forces.^[16]

In popular culture

Zhang Jue appears as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video games series, as well as serving as an antagonist in Capcom's Destiny of an Emperor for the Nintendo Entertainment System. He is referred to as "Zhang Jiao" in these games. He is also seen as one of the antagonists of the light gun shooting game SEGA Golden Gun.^{[citation needed]}

In Total War: Three Kingdoms' fourth DLC installment, Mandate of Heaven, Zhang Jue and his brothers lead the playable Yellow Turban factions who seek to overthrow the failing Han dynasty and establish a new order in China.

In the action role-playing game Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Zhang Jue and his brothers appear as separate boss fights.

In the Japanese mobile gacha game Fate/Grand Order, Zhang Jue is a summonable character the player can use in battles. According to the game's story, Zhang Jue is a magic-user who serves an alien life form in Area 51.

See also

• Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms

References

1. de Crespigny (2007), p. 1058.
2. Emperor Ling's biography in Book of the Later Han recorded that Zhang Liang was captured by Huangfu Song in the 10th month of the first year of the Zhongping era, and that Zhang Jue had died by then. The month corresponds to 21 Nov to 20 Dec 184 in the Julian calendar. ([中平元年]冬十月，皇甫嵩与黄巾贼战于广宗，获张角弟梁。角先死...) Houhanshu vol.08. Thus, Zhang Jue likely died in Oct 184.
3. Hendrischke, Barbara. "Taiping jing". The University of British Columbia Database of Religious History. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
4. (咒符水以疗病，令病者跪拜首过，或时病愈，众共神而信之。角分遣弟子周行四方，转相诳诱，十馀年间，徒众数十万，....) Zizhi Tongjian, vol.58
5. deCrespingy, Rafe (October 27, 2016). Fire Over Luoyang: A History of the Later Han Dynasty 23-220 AD (1 ed.). Brill Publishers. pp. 388–418. ISBN 9789004325203.
6. (角稱「天公將軍」，角弟寶稱「地公將軍」，寶弟梁稱「人公將軍」， ...) Houhanshu vol. 71.
7. Bauer, Susan Wise (2007). The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome (1st ed.). New York: W. W. Norton. pp. 749–750. ISBN 978-0-393-05974-8.
8. 2nd month of the 1st year of the Zhong'ping era, per Emperor Ling's biography in Book of the Later Han. The month corresponds to 29 Feb to 29 Mar 184 in the Julian calendar.
9. Emperor Ling's biography in Book of the Later Han recorded that Zhang Bao was killed by Huangfu Song in the 11th month of the 1st year of the Zhongping era. The month corresponds to 21 Dec 184 to 18 Jan 185. ([中平元年冬]十一月，皇甫嵩又破黄巾于下曲阳，斩张角弟宝。) Houhanshu vol.08.
10. (嵩復與鉅鹿太守馮翊郭典攻角弟寶於下曲陽，又斬之。) Houhanshu vol. 71.
11. Emperor Ling's biography in Book of the Later Han recorded that Zhang Liang was captured by Huangfu Song in the tenth month of the first year of the Zhongping era. The month corresponds to 21 Nov to 20 Dec 184. ([中平元年]冬十月，皇甫嵩与黄巾贼战于广宗，获张角弟梁。) Houhanshu vol.08.
12. (嵩與角弟梁戰於廣宗。梁眾精勇，嵩不能剋。明日，乃閉營休士，以觀其變。知賊意稍懈，乃潛夜勒兵，雞鳴馳赴其陳，戰至晡時，大破之，斬梁，獲首三萬級，赴河死者五萬許人，焚燒車重三萬餘兩，悉虜其婦子，繫獲甚眾。) Houhanshu vol. 71.
13. Pletcher, Kenneth (2010). The History of China. New York: Rosen Publishing. ISBN 9781615301096.
14. Another name for Zhuangzi. After his death, Zhuangzi was deified by his followers. They said that he would later travel to the north, and ascend to the heavens as an immortal in a blaze of fire. In the first year of the Tianbao era (742), Emperor Xuanzong of Tang gave Zhuangzi the appellation true man from the southern lands. (三國演義校注, page 10, note 24, ISBN 978-957-9113-05-2)
15. Luo Guanzhong. The Three Kingdoms. Translated by Yu Sumei. Edited by Ronald C. Iverson. Volume 1 The Sacred Oath. Tuttle, 2014. pg 24-25. ISBN 978-0-8048-4393-5
16. (賊勢危急，賊將嚴政，刺殺張寶，獻首投降。) Sanguo Yanyi ch. 2.

• Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
• de Crespigny, Rafe (2007). A biographical dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD). Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0.
• Fan, Ye (5th century). Book of the Later Han (Houhanshu).
• Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi).
• Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).