Neutral Mystic
Zhang Jiao, the General of Heaven
張角died 1843 star
In short
Zhang Jiao (died 184) was the founder of the Way of Great Peace and the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. A healer from Julu, he gathered several hundred thousand followers across eight provinces in about ten years. In 184 they rose under the slogan that the Azure Heaven was dead and the Yellow Heaven would stand. Zhang Jiao died of illness within months, and the armies raised against him never went home.
| Lived | died 184 |
|---|---|
| Name in Chinese | 張角 |
| Served | no one; he called himself the General of Heaven |
The history
Zhang Jiao was from Julu, in Ji Province. He called himself the Great Worthy and Good Teacher and followed a teaching that mixed the philosophy of Huang Lao with healing. The sick knelt, confessed their faults, and drank water in which a written charm had been burned. Many recovered, and the cures were credited to him. The 170s and 180s were years of flood, epidemic and tax, and people sold what they owned to walk to him.
He sent eight disciples through the empire. In a little over ten years he had several hundred thousand followers in eight provinces, and he organized them into thirty six divisions, each under a commander. Some officials reported it. The court did nothing, and some of the palace eunuchs were in contact with him.
The rising was set for the spring of 184, the year jiazi. A disciple betrayed the plan early, and the agent in the capital was torn apart by chariots. Zhang Jiao sent word to rise at once. His followers tied on yellow headcloths, burned government offices, and killed officials. He took the title General of Heaven, and his brothers Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang were Generals of Earth and of Man.
The court lifted its ban on the scholar factions, opened the arsenals, and sent Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun. Zhang Jiao was besieged at Guangzong and died there of illness. Huangfu Song stormed the town in the winter and killed Zhang Liang.
The men who made their names that year included Cao Cao, Sun Jian and Liu Bei. To put the rebellion down the court let its governors raise armies of their own, and it never got them back.
The novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms opens with him. An old immortal gives him three scrolls called the Essential Arts of Great Peace, and he learns to call the wind and the rain. The book’s first battle is against his armies, and its three heroes meet because of him.
Zhang Jiao in the game
In Warlords of the Three Kingdoms Zhang Jiao is the General of Heaven: a 3 star mysticwho serves no Kingdom. The game's line for him: “A healer with a book of the Great Peace, whose followers rose in yellow turbans across eight provinces at once.”
| Kingdom | Neutral, sworn to no Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Role | Mystic |
| Rarity | 3 star |
| Base attack and defense | 10 and 13 |
| Where from | Won by mastering the boss campaign of chapter 1, Yellow Turban Rebellion, to three stars. |
Book of Great Peace is his signature: holding it raises his attack and defense by 15%.
Three star is where he starts. Duplicates become shards, shards add stars, and each star adds a tenth to both numbers.
Questions
What was the Yellow Turban Rebellion?
A religious peasant rising against the Han dynasty that broke out in 184, named for the yellow cloth its followers tied around their heads. The main force was beaten within the year, but bands went on fighting for two decades.
What did the Yellow Turbans' slogan mean?
It ran: the Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven will stand, the year is jiazi, great fortune for all under heaven. The Azure Heaven was the Han. The year jiazi, 184, began a new sixty year cycle.
How did Zhang Jiao die?
Of illness in the autumn of 184, while the imperial armies were closing on his base at Guangzong. His brothers Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao were killed in battle soon after, and his body was dug up and beheaded.
Is it Zhang Jiao or Zhang Jue?
Both are the same man, 張角. The character can be read either way, and English books use both.
How do you get Zhang Jiao in Warlords of the Three Kingdoms?
Won by mastering the boss campaign of chapter 1, Yellow Turban Rebellion, to three stars.
Sources
The history follows Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, written in the third century, with Pei Songzhi's annotations of the fifth, and Fan Ye's Book of the Later Han for the years before the Han court fell apart. What the page calls the novel is Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, of the fourteenth century. Where the two disagree, the page says which is speaking. For more on him, see Zhang Jiao on Wikipedia.
Written by Gitkonek Studio, .
Keep reading
- Diaochan, the Beauty Who Shamed the MoonA singer in Wang Yun's house who set Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu against each other, and so ended a tyranny.
- Lu Bu, the Flying GeneralHe served Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, killed them both, and was surprised when no one else would trust him.
- Dong Zhuo, the Tyrant of LuoyangHe entered the capital to restore order, deposed an emperor, burned the city, and stored grain for thirty years.