Cheng Yu
| Cheng Yu | |
|---|---|
| Strategist of Cao Cao | |
| Born | 141 |
| Died | December 220 (aged 79) |
| Names | |
| Traditional Chinese | 程昱 |
| Simplified Chinese | 程昱 |
| Pinyin | Chéng Yù |
| Wade–Giles | Ch'eng Yü |
| Courtesy name | Zhongde (Chinese: 仲徳; pinyin: Zhòngdé; Wade–Giles: Chung-te) |
| Posthumous name | Marquis Su (traditional Chinese: 肅侯; simplified Chinese: 肃侯; pinyin: Sù Hóu; Wade–Giles: Su Hou) |
| Other names | Cheng Li (程立) |
Cheng Yu (141 – December 220), originally named Cheng Li (he changed his name to Yu (lit. "lifting the sun"), after dreaming of the sun on top of Mount Tai), courtesy name Zhongde, was one of the major strategists serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He died in the same year when the state of Cao Wei was established by Cao Cao's successor Cao Pi, which marked the start of the Three Kingdoms period. Cheng Yu was described as a very tall man (approximately 1.91m) with a beautiful long beard. He was from Dong'e County, Dong commandery (near present-day Liaocheng, Shandong). Cheng Yu was best known at his time for his abnormal approach to cope with a shortage of grain: instead of sending hostages to Yuan Shao for food, he advised Cao Cao to feed the army with human flesh. He was also noted for his expertise in military tactics, which helped Cao Cao defeat his rival Yuan Shao in northern China. It is widely agreed that his numerous contributions laid the foundation of Wei; the reason he was not promoted to the rank of a duke was only because of his afore-mentioned strategy to cope with the food shortage in Yan Province.
Cheng Yu was given the posthumous name of "Marquis Su", meaning "solemn marquis". Cheng Yu's son, Cheng Wu, continued to serve in Wei.
Born in Dong'e (modern Shandong, Yanggu, China) county of Yan Province, Cheng Yu's early life was unrecorded, but he was known as a brave man in the area during his early 40s. When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in the 180s, a county magistrate named Wang Du burned down the food stored in the warehouse, and instigated his subordinates to seize the city. The county prefect escaped the city and went into hiding, while the town residents took their families eastward and camped beside a mountain. After receiving intelligence from his spies that Wang had moved out and camped 1.3 to 1.6 miles away from the city, Cheng Yu reported to and told a local parvenu, Xue Fang, that Wang must not have the ability to control the situation, so they should retrieve the prefect and reoccupy the city. Xue Fang agreed to Cheng Yu's plan, yet the commoners refused to comply, wherein Cheng angrily said: "Stupid commoners lack the ability to plan." He then plotted with Xue Fang, and secretly sent several cavalry holding streamers to the hilltop, where they rode down toward the civilians. Xue Fang and his men then screamed upon sight of the riders, making the commoners mistake them for Yellow Turban rebels. Led by Xue Fang, the mass kept running until back into the city, where they realized that the rebels were not so terrifying and started to defend the city with the prefect, who was found by Cheng Yu.
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