Zhao Yun (died 229), style name Zilong, was a military general who lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period. Originally a subordinate of the northern warlord Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun later came to serve Liu Bei and had since accompanied Liu on most of his exploits — from the Battle of Changban (208) to the Hanzhong Campaign (217–219). He continued serving in the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period, participating in the first of Zhuge Liang’s Northern Expeditions, until his death in 229. While many facts about Zhao Yun’s life remain unclear due to limited information in historical sources, some aspects and activities in his life had been highly dramatised or exaggerated in folklore and fiction, most notably in Luo Guanzhong’s historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which he was lauded as a member of the Five Tiger Generals under Liu Bei.
Service under Liu Shan
Liu Bei died in 223 and was succeeded by his son Liu Shan as the emperor of Shu, with the chancellor Zhuge Liang serving as the regent. After his enthronement, Liu Shan appointed Zhao Yun as "Central Protector of the Army" (中護軍) and "General Who Attacks the South" (征南將軍), and granted him the title of "Marquis of Yongchang Village" (永昌亭侯). Zhao Yun was later promoted to "General Who Guards the East" (鎮東將軍).(建興元年，為中護軍、征南將軍，封永昌亭侯，遷鎮東將軍。) Sanguozhi vol. 36.
First Northern Expedition
In 227, Zhao Yun followed Zhuge Liang to garrison at Hanzhong. The following year, Zhuge Liang launched the first of a series of Northern Expeditions against Shu’s rival state Wei, and he spread news that his army would be passing through Xie Valley (斜谷). In response, the Wei general Cao Zhen led a large army to resist the Shu forces. Zhuge Liang ordered Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi to lead a separate force to resist Cao Zhen and act as a decoy, while he led the main Shu army to attack Mount Qi (祁山). Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi’s troops were weaker than the Wei forces so they lost the battle in Ji Valley (箕谷). However, Zhao Yun managed to muster his men into putting up a firm defence, hence minimising their losses. After retreating back to Hanzhong, Zhao Yun was demoted to "General Who Guards the Army" (鎮軍將軍) for his defeat.(五年，隨諸葛亮駐漢中。明年，亮出軍，揚聲由斜谷道，曹真遣大衆當之。亮令雲與鄧芝往拒，而身攻祁山。雲、芝兵弱敵彊，失利於箕谷，然歛衆固守，不至大敗。軍退，貶為鎮軍將軍。) Sanguozhi vol. 36.
Zhuge Liang later lamented the failure of the first Northern Expedition. He noted, "Our armies at Mount Qi and Ji Valley together were superior to the enemy in numbers, but yet we lost the battles. This was not because we had insufficient troops, but rather, it was due to one man." Based on the earlier record in Zhao Yun’s biography, Zhuge Liang had most probably reserved the elite troops for himself and Ma Su; Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi were given the weaker soldiers. Ma Su lost to the Wei general Zhang He at the Battle of Jieting in 228 due to his incompetency even though he had the better soldiers; Zhao Yun lost the battle at Ji Valley as Cao Zhen’s army was far superior. (漢晉春秋曰：或勸亮更發兵者，亮曰：「大軍在祁山、箕谷，皆多於賊，而不能破賊為賊所破者，則此病不在兵少也，在一人耳。今欲減兵省將，明罰思過，校變通之道於將來；若不能然者，雖兵多何益！自今已後，諸有忠慮於國，但勤攻吾之闕，則事可定，賊可死，功可蹻足而待矣。」) Han Jin Chunqiu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 35.
After returning to Hanzhong, Zhuge Liang asked, "When our troops withdrew from Jieting, they were very disorganised. However, those who retreated from Ji Valley were orderly. Why is it so?" Deng Zhi replied, "Zhao Yun personally covered the retreat. He ensured that no equipment was discarded and that the men retreated in an orderly manner." As Zhao Yun still had some silk left in his army, Zhuge Liang wanted to have the silk distributed among the troops. However, Zhao Yun demurred, "The expedition was a failure, so why should rewards be given out? Please store the silk in the official treasury now and distribute them among the men later during the tenth month in winter." Zhuge Liang praised Zhao Yun for his suggestion.(雲別傳曰：亮曰：「街亭軍退，兵將不復相錄，箕谷軍退，兵將初不相失，何故？」芝荅曰：「雲身自斷後，軍資什物略無所棄，兵將無緣相失。」雲有軍資餘絹，亮使分賜將士，雲曰：「軍事無利，何為有賜？其物請悉入赤岸府庫，須十月為冬賜。」亮大善之。) Yun Biezhuan annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 36.
Death
Zhao Yun died in 229 and was posthumously honoured as "Marquis Shunping" (順平侯) by Liu Shan in 261.(七年卒，追謚順平侯。) Sanguozhi vol. 36.([景耀]四年春三月，追謚故將軍趙雲。冬十月，大赦。) Sanguozhi vol. 33.
During Liu Bei’s reign, only Fa Zheng received posthumous honours. In Liu Shan’s time, only three consecutive heads of government — Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan and Fei Yi — received posthumous titles. Later, Liu Shan also posthumously honoured Chen Zhi (陳祗), whom he favoured, and Xiahou Ba, a Wei general who defected to Shu. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Pang Tong, Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun were later granted posthumous titles by Liu Shan as well. The reception of such posthumous titles was regarded as a great honour at that time.(初，先主時，惟法正見謚；後主時，諸葛亮功德蓋世，蔣琬、費禕荷國之重，亦見謚；陳祗寵待，特加殊獎，夏侯霸遠來歸國，故復得謚；於是關羽、張飛、馬超、龐統、黃忠及雲乃追謚，時論以為榮。) Sanguozhi vol. 36.
Liu Shan’s imperial edict for granting Zhao Yun his posthumous title read: "Zhao Yun followed the Late Emperor and he made outstanding contributions. I was young then and experienced many difficulties, but I relied on his loyalty and faithfulness to get out of danger. I bestow this posthumous title upon him to recognise him for his meritorious service and also because there were others who advised me to do so." The name of Zhao Yun’s posthumous title was suggested by Jiang Wei and others — shun (順; literally: "obey / follow") because he was virtuous and kind, ping (平; literally: "peace / pacify") because he performed his duties up to standard and overcame chaos, so shun and ping became "Shunping".According to the "Rules of assigning posthumous names" chapter in the Yizhoushu, a person can be given a posthumous name "Ping" based on several criteria: administering without fault; complying with regulations when handling matters; enforcing rules and order. Jiang Wei also specifically mentioned that Zhao Yun’s ability to "overcome and pacify disasters and chaos" (克定禍亂) made him deserving of the "Ping" posthumous name. Based on the rules in the Yizhoushu, to qualify for the posthumous name "Shun", a person had to be highly respected and must be known for being kind and benevolent. Quote from Yizhoushu vol. 6. ch. 54: (治而無眚曰平。執事有制曰平。布綱持紀曰平 … 慈和遍服曰順。)(雲別傳載後主詔曰：「雲昔從先帝，功績旣著。朕以幼沖，涉塗艱難，賴恃忠順，濟於危險。夫謚所以叙元勳也，外議雲宜謚。」大將軍姜維等議，以為雲昔從先帝，勞績旣著，經營天下，遵奉法度，功效可書。當陽之役，義貫金石，忠以衞上，君念其賞，禮以厚下，臣忘其死。死者有知，足以不溺；生者感恩，足以殞身。謹按謚法，柔賢慈惠曰順，執事有班曰平，克定禍亂曰平，應謚雲曰順平侯。) Yun Biezhuan annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 36.
Descendants
Zhao Yun’s eldest son Zhao Tong (趙統) served as a military officer in Shu and his highest appointment was an Imperial Guard in the "Rapid as Tigers" division (虎賁中郎). Zhao Yun’s second son Zhao Guang (趙廣) served as an "Officer of the Standard" (牙門將) and followed Jiang Wei in the campaigns against Wei and was killed in action in Tazhong (遝中).(雲子統嗣，官至虎賁中郎，督行領軍。次子廣，牙門將，隨姜維遝中，臨陳戰死。) Sanguozhi vol. 36.
Notes
Modern references
Zhao Yun has been featured prominently in Chinese popular culture, literature, art and anecdotes. Zhao Yun was already a relatively well-known hero from the Three Kingdoms period, as folktales about his exploits have been passed down through centuries. He became a household name due to the popularity of the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Recently, Zhao Yun’s popularity has moved beyond Asia and into the Western world, through various media, including the Internet and video games.
Film and television
The 2008 Hong Kong film Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon is loosely based on stories related to Zhao Yun in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It was directed by Daniel Lee and starred Hong Kong actor Andy Lau as "Zhao Zilong". Mainland Chinese actor Hu Jun played Zhao Yun in John Woo’s Red Cliff, a two-part epic war film based on the Battle of Red Cliffs.
Notable actors who have portrayed Zhao Yun in television include: Zhang Shan, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms (1994); Nie Yuan, in Three Kingdoms (2010).
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