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Gongsun Zan (? - 199), styled Bogui. A native of Liaoxi, he was a warlord with fierce reputation during the late Eastern Han Dynasty era of China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
.

much is known of his early life but that he studied under Lu Zhi with his future ally Liu Bei
Liu Bei

Liu Bei , Chinese style name Xu?nd? , was a general, warlord, and later the founding emperor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China....
. He was deployed by He Jin
He Jin

He Jin was the elder half-brother of Empress He , consort to Emperor Ling of Han China of the late Eastern Han Dynasty in China. He shared power with his sister as regents in 189, following the death of Emperor Ling....
 to quash a rebellion of Zhang Yan in the north which he did successfully. After He Jin's death Dong Zhuo
Dong Zhuo

Dong Zhuo was a powerful warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He seized control of Luoyang in 189 after the capital fell into chaos following the death of Emperor Ling of Han China and a bloody clash between the powerful eunuch faction and the court officials....
 rose to the fore and Gongsun Zan joined other leaders in the fight against him.






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Gongsun Zan (? - 199), styled Bogui. A native of Liaoxi, he was a warlord with fierce reputation during the late Eastern Han Dynasty era of China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
.

Life

Not much is known of his early life but that he studied under Lu Zhi with his future ally Liu Bei
Liu Bei

Liu Bei , Chinese style name Xu?nd? , was a general, warlord, and later the founding emperor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China....
. He was deployed by He Jin
He Jin

He Jin was the elder half-brother of Empress He , consort to Emperor Ling of Han China of the late Eastern Han Dynasty in China. He shared power with his sister as regents in 189, following the death of Emperor Ling....
 to quash a rebellion of Zhang Yan in the north which he did successfully. After He Jin's death Dong Zhuo
Dong Zhuo

Dong Zhuo was a powerful warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He seized control of Luoyang in 189 after the capital fell into chaos following the death of Emperor Ling of Han China and a bloody clash between the powerful eunuch faction and the court officials....
 rose to the fore and Gongsun Zan joined other leaders in the fight against him. Following the break up of the alliance he returned to his power base at Beiping.

Following a misunderstanding with his lord, Liu Yu, he attacked him, winning and taking control of the surrounding area. Contrary to popular belief he was never formally given the title Prefect. During this time his former class mate Liu Bei came to serve him and he got allocated the city of Pingyuan to defend.

Two cousins now formed the power in China, Yuan Shao
Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao was a powerful warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He occupied the northern territories of ancient China during the massive civil war towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era....
 in the north in direct competition with Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shu
Yuan Shu

Yuan Shu was a warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han court in 189....
. Following a disagreement between the two, Gongsun Zan formed an alliance with Yuan Shu and when he attacked Liu Biao
Liu Biao

Li? Biao was the governor of the Jingzhou during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He was a member of the same extended family as the Han emperors....
, an ally of Yuan Shao, he sent his brother Gongsun Yue
Gongsun Yue

Gongsun Yue , a minor figure who made passing appearance in relate to larger events during the transitional years leading to the end of Han Dynasty in China....
 to help. Gongsun Yue died fighting in the campaign.

Following this Gongsun Zan fought against Yuan Shao after a plan to gain Han Fu
Han Fu

Han Fu was a bureaucrat during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He was the governor of Jizhou when the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184....
's lands went ary. However Gongsun Zan eventually lost this and committed suicide killing also his wife and son Gongsun Xu
Gongsun Xu

Gongsun Xu was the son of Gongsun Zan, a warlord during the civil strife preceding the Three Kingdoms period in China....
.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms

He was commander of a cavalry force and served on the northern and eastern frontiers of the Han Dynasty empire fighting against various non-Chinese peoples. In 191, Gongsun enlisted as part of the coalition
Campaign against Dong Zhuo

The Campaign against Dong Zhuo in the year 190 was initiated by a coalition of regional officials hoping to end Chancellor of China Dong Zhuo's influence in the ailing Han Dynasty court in China....
 against Dong Zhuo
Dong Zhuo

Dong Zhuo was a powerful warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He seized control of Luoyang in 189 after the capital fell into chaos following the death of Emperor Ling of Han China and a bloody clash between the powerful eunuch faction and the court officials....
, the warlord who had seized power in Luoyang
Luoyang

Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of China, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast....
 and held the emperor hostage, but used the opportunity to enlarge his territories. In late 191, Gongsun Zan appointed the later great Shu Han
Shu Han

Shu Han , sometimes known as the Kingdom of Shu was one of the Three Kingdoms competing for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty, based on areas around Sichuan which was then known as Shu ....
 general, Zhao Yun
Zhao Yun

Zhao Yun was a major military general during the civil wars of the late Han Dynasty and during the Three Kingdoms era of China. For most of his career, Zhao Yun served the warlord Liu Bei, playing a part in the establishment of Shu Han....
. Zhao Yun later joined another member of the attack on Dong Zhuo, Liu Bei
Liu Bei

Liu Bei , Chinese style name Xu?nd? , was a general, warlord, and later the founding emperor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China....
 who also served him at one point along with his comrades Guan Yu
Guan Yu

Guan Yu was a general under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the Shu Han, of which Liu Bei was the first emperor....
 and Zhang Fei. Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei had known each other for years having studied together in their younger days. Throughout the 190s he fought a series of battles with the warlord Yuan Shao
Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao was a powerful warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He occupied the northern territories of ancient China during the massive civil war towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era....
 for control of north China, starting with the Battle of Jieqiao
Battle of Jieqiao

The Battle of Jieqiao or Battle of Jie Bridge was a military engagement fought between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in 191, at the beginning of the civil wars in China leading up to the End of the Han Dynasty of the Han Dynasty and was a result of the Battle of Yangcheng....
. He was defeated by Yuan in 199 in the Battle of Yijing
Battle of Yijing

The Battle of Yijing took part shortly before the End of the Han Dynasty of the Han Empire in China, which began the era known as the Three Kingdoms....
 and committed suicide by burning the pagoda he was on.

Gongsun Zan was known as the General of Baima and renowned for his brigade of elite cavalry from Baima, made up completely of horses of pure white (Bai Ma means white horse in Chinese). It seems he hit on the tactic of using all white horses in battle when he learned the barbarians he was then fighting against considered the animals sacred and would run from them instead of fighting.

Personal information

  • Son
    • Gongsun Xu
      Gongsun Xu

      Gongsun Xu was the son of Gongsun Zan, a warlord during the civil strife preceding the Three Kingdoms period in China....
  • Cousin
    • Gongsun Yue
      Gongsun Yue

      Gongsun Yue , a minor figure who made passing appearance in relate to larger events during the transitional years leading to the end of Han Dynasty in China....
    • Gongsun Fan
      Gongsun Fan

      Gongsun Fan was an official during the end of Han Dynasty in China who played a minor role in relate to larger event.As a result of the fallouts that followed the dissolution of the coalition against Dong Zhuo, Gongsun Zan used the death of Gongsun Yue, another cousin of his, as pretext to wage war on Yuan Shao....


See also


  • Three Kingdoms
    Three Kingdoms

    The Three Kingdoms period is a period in the history of China, part of an era of disunity called the Six Dynasties following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty emperors....
  • Personages of the Three Kingdoms
    Personages of the Three Kingdoms

    The following is a list of personages significant to the Three Kingdoms period of History of China. They provided the basis of what is often termed "Matter of the Three Kingdoms", a favourite subject for Chinese folklore....
  • Records of Three Kingdoms
    Records of Three Kingdoms

    The Records of Three Kingdoms , is the official and authoritative historical text on the period of Three Kingdoms covering from 189 to 280, that was written by Chen Shou in the 3rd century....
  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms
    Romance of the Three Kingdoms

    Romance of the Three Kingdoms , written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based upon events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of China, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in 280....