The Battle of Chengpu (城濮之戰) was a conflict between the states of Jin against Chu and its allies in China in 632 BC during the Spring and Autumn Period. It could be viewed as the first great battle in the protracted conflict between the states of the Yellow River valley, and the states of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) valley. The Jin victory confirmed the hegemony of Duke Wen and checked Chu ambitions in the north for at least a generation. The Spring and Autumn Period (Chinese: 春秋時代; Hanyu Pinyin: ) represented an era in Chinese history between 722 BC and 481 BC. The period takes its name from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the period whose authorship was traditionally attributed to Confucius. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC 610s BC 600s BC 590s BC 580s BC Events and Trends 637 BC - Josiah becomes king of Judah. ... Henan (Chinese: 河南; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Shāndōng; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern Peoples Republic of China. ... Categories: Ancient Chinese states | China-related stubs ... State of Qi (small seal script, 220 BC) See Qi (disambiguation) for other meanings of Qi. Qi (齊; pinyin: qi2) was a relatively powerful state during the Spring and Autumn Period and Period of the Warring States. ... State of Qin (small seal script, 220 BC) Qin or Chin (Wade-Giles) (秦) (778 BC-207 BC) was a state during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of China. ... We dont have an article called State of Song Start this article Search for State of Song in. ... State of Chu (small seal script, 220 BC) Chu (楚), originally known as Jing (荆) and then Jingchu (荆楚), was an independent state that existed during Chinas Spring and Autumn period and, subsequently, the Warring States period. ... Chen (陳) was a state of the Spring and Autumn Period in China. ... Categories: Ancient Chinese states | China-related stubs ... State of Chu (small seal script, 220 BC) Chu (楚) was a kingdom in what is now southern China during the Spring and Autumn period (722-481 BCE) and Warring States Period (481-212 BCE). ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC 610s BC 600s BC 590s BC 580s BC Events and Trends 637 BC - Josiah becomes king of Judah. ... The Spring and Autumn Period (Chinese: 春秋時代; Hanyu Pinyin: ) represented an era in Chinese history between 722 BC and 481 BC. The period takes its name from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the period whose authorship was traditionally attributed to Confucius. ... The Yellow River (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin:  ; Wade-Giles: Hwang-ho, sometimes simply called the River in ancient Chinese) is the second longest river in China (after Yangtze River) and the fifth in the world. ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Cháng Jiāng)   is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in... Duke Wen of Jin (晉文公) (697 BC - 628 BC) lead the state of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history from 636 BC to 628 BC. His name was Ji Chonger (姬重耳) and he was the son of Duke Xian (晉獻公). He was nicknamed Chonger (重耳), although there is...

Background

Following the death of Duke Huan of Qi in 643 BC, the state of Chu steadily extended its influence northward and had been absorbing half a dozen smaller states as its satellites. In 636 BC, Ji Zhonger, a prince and then Duke Wen of Jin who had spent fifteen years refuging in numerous states, came into power with the help of Duke Mu of Qin. Duke Wen assumed a position of leadership among the states and instituted numerous domestic reforms. In the years leading up to 632 BC, conflict between Jin and Chu was increasingly public and was characterised by frequent shifts in alliances between the various small states that lay in a band between the two giants. Duke Huan of Qi (齊桓公, Qí Huán Gōng, died 643 BC) was the best-known ruler of the state of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 690s BC 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC - 640s BC - 630s BC 620s BC 610s BC 600s BC 590s BC Events and Trends Assyrian king Ashurbanipal founds library, which includes our earliest complete copy of the Epic... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC 610s BC 600s BC 590s BC 580s BC Events and Trends 637 BC - Josiah becomes king of Judah. ... Duke Wen of Jin (晉文公) (697 BC - 628 BC) lead the state of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history from 636 BC to 628 BC. His name was Ji Chonger (姬重耳) and he was the son of Duke Xian (晉獻公). He was nicknamed Chonger (重耳), although there is... Duke Mu (穆公) (died 621 BC), born Ying Renhao (嬴任好), was a ruler of the State of Qin from 659 or 660 to 621 BC in China. ... Qin or Chin (Wade-Giles) (秦), pronounced something like Shin, (778 BC-207 BC) was a state during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of China. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC 610s BC 600s BC 590s BC 580s BC Events and Trends 637 BC - Josiah becomes king of Judah. ...

In the winter of 633 BC, King Cheng of Chu struck at Song, the ally of Jin most accessible from the south. In retaliation, an expeditionary force under Duke Wen marched south in the spring of next year and occupied Wei and Cao, both satellites of Chu. Both sides sought out alliances in the following months. The states of Shen, Xi, Chen, Cai, all immediately contiguous to Chu, sided with King Cheng, as well as the more distant Lu. Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC 610s BC 600s BC 590s BC 580s BC Events and Trends 637 BC - Josiah becomes king of Judah. ... We dont have an article called State of Song Start this article Search for State of Song in. ... The following details the state of Wei of the Warring States Period. ... Chen (陳) was a state of the Spring and Autumn Period in China. ... Lu (Chinese: 魯國; pinyin: ) was an ancient state in China during the Spring and Autumn Period. ...

Prelude

Jin is said to have retired "three stages" (45 km) before camping on the plain of Chengpu at the border of Wei and Cao, awaiting a decisive battle and thus fulfilling Duke Wen's promise to King Cheng during his refuge in Chu. The retirement also linked the Jin forces up with Qi and Qin reinforcements.

Only the central force of the Chu under supreme commander Ziyu was made up entirely of Chu troops. The left wing under Zixi incorporated soldiers from Chu's close satellites Shen and Xi. The right wing under Zishang comprised completely a separate detachment from the armies of Chen and Cai, perhaps numbering around a third (?) of the entire force.

The Jin force was expanded before the expedition from two armies into three: the upper, the central and the lower; these three were then regrouped into wings before the battle: the upper army at the right wing under commander Hu Mao and vice-commander Hu Yan, lower at left under Luan Zhi and vice Xu Chen, central remained at centre under Xian Zhen and vice Xi Zhen. Duke Wen did not direct or engage in the fighting.

Battle

On the fourth day of the fourth month of 632 BC, the rival forces met.

The battle commenced with the advance of both wings of the Jin army. The Chu right wing was reckoned to be the weakest and Xu Chen, commander of the Jin left wing, attacked. Xu armoured his chariot horses with tiger skins and launched an urgent, vigorous assault on the Chu right wing. The attack was rapidly successful, scattering and demolishing the enemy wing completely.

The Jin left then became holding force, fixing the Chu centre and preventing it from attacking the Jin centre or aiding the Chu left wing, since in either case the Jin left would have taken it in the flank and rear. Meanwhile Hu Mao's Jin right wing had skirmished with the enemy, faked a retreat and carried with them the two great banner of the Jin commander-in-chief himself. The Chu left, made up of levies from Shen and Xi, thought that the Jin right wing had lost and Ziyu ordered a pursuit. A contingent of chariots under Luan Zhi swept in front and dragged tree branches, raising a dust fog to obscure the movements of Hu Mao's men who were circling and reforming.

The Jin left continued to maintain position against the Chu centre, and was aided by the Chu centre. Though the Jin centre was temporarily disordered by an intense whirlwind, it was effective in preventing the Chu centre from supporting its left wing. As the Chu left advanced, it was caught in the flank by Duke Wen's bodyguards, composed of the sons of noble clansmen and sons of his close followers and thus flanked by the Jin central army. Meanwhile the entire force of the Jin right wing completed its recircling and was supported on its right by Luan Zhi's chariots to join the assault. The Chu left was completely destroyed. Seeing both his wings enveloped, Ziyu ordered a general retreat.

Evaluation

The Battle of Chengpu is probably the biggest of the Spring and Autumn Period and definitely the most detailed in the Zuo Zhuan. Nevertheless the location of the battle remains obscure: two inconclusive possibilities are the vicinity of Chenliu County, Henan and the southwest area of Juan County, Shandong. After returning to the north, Duke Wen was recognised by the King of Zhou as first among the feudal lords. A multi-state conference at Jiantu in 631 BC headed by Duke Wen confirmed their support for the Zhou royal family and swore a covenant of alliance. The battle, however, was not effective in the long term in restricting the power of Chu. The Spring and Autumn Period (Chinese: 春秋時代; Hanyu Pinyin: ) represented an era in Chinese history between 722 BC and 481 BC. The period takes its name from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the period whose authorship was traditionally attributed to Confucius. ... The Zuo Zhuan (Chinese: ; Wade-Giles: Tso Chuan) is the earliest Chinese work of narrative history and covers the period from 722 BCE to 468 BCE. It was traditionally attributed to Zuo Qiuming, as a commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals, although this has been questioned by some modern... Henan (Chinese: 河南; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Shāndōng; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern Peoples Republic of China. ... The Zhou Dynasty (Chinese: 周朝; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: chou chao; 11th century BC to 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC 650s BC 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC 610s BC 600s BC 590s BC 580s BC Events and Trends 637 BC - Josiah becomes king of Judah. ...