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Bai Qi (simplified Chinese: 白起; pinyin: Bái Qǐ) (?-257 BC) was an outstanding military leader in the state of Qin in the Warring States Period, born in Mei (now the Mei County in Shaanxi Province, China). As a commander of Qin army for more than 30 years, Bai Qi was responsible for the death of a total over 1,650,000 enemy soldiers and civilians, earning him the nickname Ren Tu (人屠 "human butcher"), and seized 70 cities from the other 6 States in the Warring States Period. No record has been found to show that he was defeated even once all through his military career.
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Career
He was promoted from Zuo Shu Zhang to Da Liang Zao by King Zhaoxiang of Qin. He had commanded wars against the states of Han, Wei, Zhao and Chu, seizing large areas from these states. In 278 BC, he led the army from Qin to capture Ying, capital of the state of Chu. In reward of this, he was titled as Lord Wu An (武安 lit. Martial Peace), since he brought peace to Qin by conquering its enemies.
During the Battle of Changping in 260 BC, he succeeded Wang He as the commander of Qin army, and soon defeated Zhao army commanded by Zhao Kuo. Zhao army was split into two parts and its supply lines and retreat route were cut off by Bai Qi. More than 400,000 Zhao soldiers, including the Shangdang people who surrendered after Zhao Kuo was shot dead by Qin archers, was slain under order by Bai Qi.
Bai Qi wanted to finish Zhao off, since the remaining Zhao troops are young and inexperienced. But many Qin officials feared Bai Qi's raising power, and recommended to the king the stop the attack to rest the Qin troops. Bai Qi hence stopped the attack.
In 257 BC, Qin had a defeat in Handan, capital of Zhao, the King of Qin ordered him to take over the army as a commander. Bai Qi, however, believed that the best time to attack Zhao had passed. So he refused the command of the king with an excuse of his sickness. The Prime Minister of Qin, Fan Ju tried to persuade Bai Qi, but he failed. The king, therefore, had to use Wang Ling (王陵), another prominent military general of Qin, instead of Bai Qi, as the commander.
Nevertheless, this decision did not help Qin army in the battle at all. Chu and Wei soon send troops to assist Zhao. After more than 5 months continuous defeat in Handan, the king asked Bai Qi to be the commander again. In the letter the king stated that Bai Qi must command the Qin troops, even if he was so sick he had to do so lying in bed. Bai Qi, who believed Qin cannot gain a victory in this battle, refused the request with the excuse of his sickness, once more. Having been refused several times, the King, who had become angry, removed all titles from Bai Qi and forced him to leave Xianyang, the capital of Qin. In addition, the prime minister of Qin, Fan Ju, feeling he had lost face by Bai Qi's refusals, made the King of Qin believe that Bai Qi would join another state as a general and become a threat to the State of Qin. Convinced by Fan Ju, the King of Qin then forced Bai Qi to commit suicide in Duyou (杜邮).
Popular culture
Bai Qi was famous in Chinese history as a symbol of brutality rather than his military talent. Traditional Tofu dishes in Gaoping,[1] today's Changping, called Bai Qi meat is very famous. Some stories are about Bai Qi suffering for his brutal action.[2]
Bai Qi is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei. He has the highest military leadership stats of all the characters.
Battles commanded
- 293 BC Battle of Yique. Killed 240,000 State of Wei and State of Han troops.
- 272 BC. Sieged a Wei Fortress and killed 130,000 Wei soldiers. He further killed 20,000 surrendered soldiers by drowning them in a river.
- 263 BC. Sieged 5 Han fortresses and killed 50,000 Han soldiers.
- 260 BC Battle of Changping. Defeated State of Zhao in battle and killed all surrendered Zhao soldiers except for 240 young men. Total Zhao losses exceed 400,000 men.
Notes
References
- Sima Qian Records of the Grand Historian (Biography of Wang Jian and Bai Qi)
- (Chinese) Bai Qi Time Line
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