Battle of Mount Dingjun
| Battle of Mount Dingjun | |||||||
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| Part of the Hanzhong Campaign | |||||||
 Caltrops excavated from Mount Dingjun, dated to the Three Kingdoms period |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Liu Bei | Cao Cao | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Liu Bei Huang Zhong |
Xiahou Yuan † | ||||||
| Battle of Mount Dingjun | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 定軍山之戰 | ||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 定军山之战 | ||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Dìngjūnshān Zhī Zhàn |
The Battle of Mount Dingjun was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Liu Bei's victory in the battle marked a major milestone in his Hanzhong Campaign.
In 217, Liu Bei led a campaign to attack Hanzhong, which was under the control of Cao Cao. His force met with resistance led by Xiahou Yuan at Yangping Pass (陽平關). The confrontation dragged on for more than a year until one night, Liu Bei set fire to the barbed fence around Xiahou Yuan's camp at the foot of Mount Dingjun. Alarmed by the attack, Xiahou Yuan sent Zhang He to defend the eastern corner of the camp, while he guarded the south. Liu Bei's main force pressed against Zhang He, outmatching the latter. Xiahou Yuan had to dispatch a fraction of his own troops to Zhang He's rescue.
Accompanied by drums, the division led by general Huang Zhong then descended upon Xiahou Yuan's dwindling force. The battle became a rout and Xiahou Yuan and his son Xiahou Rong were both killed in action along with his deputy.
In chapter 71 of Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Xiahou Yuan had his camp set up on Mount Dingjun, so he could easily see the enemy camp at the bottom of the mountain. Huang Zhong moved his camp nearer and nearer to Xiahou Yuan's camp every few days.
Later, Xiahou Yuan came up with a strategy to lure Huang Zhong and capture him. He sent Xiahou Shang to Huang Zhong's camp, challenging Huang to come out and fight him. However, Chen Shi, Huang Zhong's subordinate, volunteered to fight Xiahou Shang. Xiahou Shang feigned defeat and retreated. Chen Shi would not give up and pursued Xiahou Shang, but fell into an ambush set by Xiahou Yuan and was captured. Xiahou Yuan was not very happy as he had expected to capture Huang Zhong. Xiahou Shang was later captured by Huang Zhong in battle.
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Wikipedia