Most memorable war/battle in ancient China? - Historum

Thessalonian · December 11th, 2011, 03:06 AM

Which one was it? Who were involved? Who won? Which historian recorded it? Experts of Chinese history, chime in!

**markdienekes** · December 11th, 2011, 03:23 AM

For me it's the Three Kingdoms period, but then that's because it's been excellently immortalized in fictional form by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th Century. If you haven't read them yet, do so!

I'm not very knowledgeable on Chinese history however, only this period... (thank you Koei)...

**Spartacuss** · December 11th, 2011, 03:37 AM

I am not very deep in Chinese history, so for me I will go with the Battle of the Badger's Mouth and the Mongol campaign against the Jin overall. The Jin had a good idea there, but underestimated the Khan's tactical ability.

**Kirialax** · December 11th, 2011, 10:19 AM

The Battle of Talas in 751 between T'ang China and the Abbasid Caliphate is certainly an important one, for it ensured Muslim influence in the Transoxiana region instead of Chinese.

bluesman · December 11th, 2011, 02:04 PM

The Battle at Red Cliff is one of the more famous ones out of the Three Kingdoms time period, but the most famous account is highly fictionalized (from Romance of the Three Kingdoms). Cao Cao's vaunted 'Million Man Army' was stopped while preparing to cross a river by the forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan who formed a temporary alliance. The allies set several ships on fire and crashed them into Cao Cao's invasion fleet, burning most of the ships and decimating his army. Very dramatic battle.

The battles of the Boxer Rebellion are also pretty interesting. There are at least three important factions to consider- the boxers, the Qing imperial military, and the foreign alliance. The foreign alliance consisted of Japan, Russia, Britain, Germany, Italy, the United States, and Austria-Hungary; they were very close to breaking out into hostility amongst themselves throughout the rebellion. However, the imperial Qing forces were fractured and factions supported both the boxers and the foreign militaries. The rebellion devastated the already weakened Qing court's power and led almost directly to the 1911 uprising that ended the dynastic period for good.

rehabnonono · December 12th, 2011, 06:16 AM

Battle of Hulao 621 Tiger Cage Pass. Henan China. Ensures Tang rule, thus opening a Golden Era for Chinese civilization. Li Shimin lay seige to the capital and thereby draws his warlord enemies and the self proclaimed emperor to him. Following the major battle in the pass, a comical turn of events as 13 Shaolin Monks appear in middle of the enemy's camp and force Li's enemy to surrender.