Misplaced Pages

#233766

95-636: The inevitability of military conflict between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had become apparent by 196. Yuan Shao held control of the lands north of the Yellow River , namely the Hebei region, while Cao Cao controlled most of the lands south of the Yellow River after he defeated Lü Bu at the Battle of Xiapi in 199 and kept Emperor Xian with him in the new capital city of Xu . The warlords saw each other as

190-433: A battalion toward Yan Ford as a feint to trick Yuan Shao into believing that Cao Cao would attack his camp on the other side of the river. Yuan Shao split off his troops from Liyang to counter Cao Cao's attack, leaving Yan Liang without any support at Boma. Cao Cao then struck eastward to lift the siege on Boma. In the ensuing battle, Yan Liang was killed by Guan Yu and Yuan Shao's army was routed. Cao Cao decided to abandon

285-669: A drastic eastward turn at its confluence with the Wei at Tongguan in Shaanxi . However, the official division for the middle reaches of the river run from Hekou in Togtoh County , Inner Mongolia , to Zhengzhou , Henan . The middle reaches are 1,206 km (749 mi) long, with a basin area of 344,000 square kilometers (133,000 sq mi), 45.7% of the total, with a total elevation drop of 890 m (2,920 ft), an average drop of 0.074%. There are 30 large tributaries along

380-719: A failed attempt to protect his realm's capital from the Later Tang . A similar proposal from the Song engineer Li Chun concerning flooding the lower reaches of the river to protect the central plains from the Khitai was overruled in 1020: the Chanyuan Treaty between the two states had expressly forbidden the Song from establishing new moats or changing river courses. Breaches occurred regardless: one at Henglong in 1034 divided

475-466: A large ditch dug within his lines to block the tunnels. Subsequently, neither side could overcome each other as Cao Cao and Yuan Shao became locked in a stalemate. Before long, Cao Cao's army began to run short of supplies and Cao Cao was in a dilemma on whether to retreat in order to lure Yuan Shao deeper into his territory. Xun Yu , the defender of the capital Xu, sent Cao Cao a letter dissuading him from retreat. He wrote, drawing historical examples from

570-411: A major flood of the regional center Sizhou and Pan's dismissal from court. Subsequently, the river's 1680 flood entirely submerged Sizhou and the nearby Ming Zuling tombs beneath Hongze Lake for centuries until modern irrigation and flood control lowered the water level enough to permit their excavation and the tombs' restoration. Between 1851 and 1855 , the Yellow River returned to the north amid

665-452: A new channel and inundating most farmland, cities or towns in its path. The traditional Chinese response of building higher and higher levees along the banks sometimes also contributed to the severity of the floods: When flood water did break through the levees, it could no longer drain back into the river bed as it would after a normal flood, as the river bed was sometimes now higher than the surrounding countryside. These changes could cause

760-548: A north–south extent of about 1,100 km (680 mi). Its total drainage area is about 795,000 square kilometers (307,000 sq mi). According to the China Exploration and Research Society, the source of the Yellow River is at 34°29′31″N 96°20′25″E  /  34.49194°N 96.34028°E  / 34.49194; 96.34028 in the Bayan Har Mountains near the eastern edge of

855-482: A position with so few men. Yuan Shao's Attendant Officer ( 從事 ) Ju Shou had reservations about concentrating all of the main army at Yangwu, and suggested leaving a garrison at Yan Ford as a precaution in case the attack on Guandu did not go well. Yuan Shao ignored the suggestion again. Ju Shou, in despair, tried to excuse himself by claiming to be ill, but Yuan Shao became annoyed at him and would not grant him leave. Instead, he divested Ju Shou's men and divided them under

950-401: A reinforcement unit from Yuan Shao and attacked Wuchao. Chunyu Qiong's initial defences were overrun, and he retreated to hold his forts, which Cao Cao attacked and set on fire. When Yuan Shao's camp received the news that Wuchao was under attack, Zhang He urged Yuan Shao to send reinforcements to Wuchao to save the supplies, on which the fate of the campaign hinged. Guo Tu, however, advocated

1045-747: A standard military tactic during the Warring States period . As the Yellow River valley was the major entryway to the Guanzhong area and the state of Qin from the North China Plain , Qin heavily fortified the Hangu Pass ; it saw numerous battles and was also an important chokepoint protecting the Han capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang . Major flooding in AD 11 is credited with the downfall of

SECTION 10

#1732775687234

1140-498: A war of attrition, denying Cao Cao a decisive battle. Another advisor, Xu You suggested that Yuan Shao should maintain the front at Guandu but at the same time send men to circle around and capture the emperor in Xu. Yuan Shao accepted neither plan, saying he preferred to capture the emperor with a direct advance. In the eighth month, Yuan Shao's army slowly advanced southward from Yangwu and engaged Cao Cao's men in trench warfare , behind

1235-693: A year. In this situation his strength will be exhausted and there must arise some crisis. This is the time for employing unexpected stratagems; you may not miss this opportunity. Cao Cao followed this advice and held fast to his ground. In the ninth month, Xun Yu pointed out that Yuan Shao had been storing supplies at a depot in the village of Gushi (故市; southwest of present-day Yanjin County, Henan), guarded by Han Meng. Cao Cao sent out small cavalry units led by Xu Huang and Shi Huan ( 史渙 ) to attack this position. They succeeded, routing Han Meng, disrupting Yuan Shao's supply lines, and burning his grain carts. Yuan Shao

1330-401: Is continuously deposited along the bottom of its channel. The sedimentation causes natural dams to slowly accumulate. These subaqueous dams are unpredictable and generally undetectable. Eventually, the enormous amount of water needs to find a new way to the sea, forcing it to take the path of least resistance . When this happens, it bursts out across the flat North China Plain , sometimes taking

1425-568: Is running to the sea with sufficient volume, 1.4 billion tons are carried to the sea per year. One estimate gives 34 kilograms of silt per cubic meter, as opposed to 10 for the Colorado and 1 for the Nile . Its average discharge is said to be 2,110 cubic meters per second (32,000 for the Yangtze), with a maximum of 25,000 and minimum of 245. However, since 1972, it often runs dry before it reaches

1520-514: Is skeptical of the traditional viewpoint and questions Yuan Shao's supposed advantage over Cao Cao. De Crespigny argues that Yuan Shao's hold on his nominal territories were not as secure as Cao Cao, who had aggressively campaigned to stabilize his surroundings. Taking note that Yuan Shao took ten years to eliminate the isolated Gongsun Zan, de Crespigny suggests that it was not due to indecisiveness that Yuan Shao did not take advantage of Cao Cao's temporal weaknesses, but that Yuan Shao might not have had

1615-668: Is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of 5,464 km (3,395 mi) and a watershed of 795,000 km (307,000 sq mi). Beginning in the Bayan Har Mountains , the river flows generally eastwards before entering the 1,500 km (930 mi) long Ordos Loop, which runs northeast at Gansu through the Ordos Plateau and turns east in Inner Mongolia . The river then turns sharply southwards to form

1710-585: The 1332–33 flood or 1344 Yellow River flood during the Yuan dynasty , the 1887 flood during the Qing dynasty which killed anywhere from 900,000 to 2 million people, and a Republic of China era 1931 flood (part of a massive number of floods that year ) that killed 1–4 million people. The cause of the floods is the large amount of fine-grained loess carried by the river from the Loess Plateau , which

1805-479: The 1494 flood . The river flooded many times in the 16th century, including in 1526, 1534, 1558, and 1587. Each flood affected the river's lower course. The 1642 flood was man-made, caused by the attempt of the Ming governor of Kaifeng to use the river to destroy the peasant rebels under Li Zicheng who had been besieging the city for the past six months. He directed his men to break the dikes in an attempt to flood

1900-560: The Bayan Har Mountains , and the Anemaqen ( Amne Machin ) Mountains in Qinghai. The river water is clear and flows steadily. Crystal clear lakes are characteristic of this section. The two main lakes along this section are Lake Gyaring (Zhaling) and Lake Ngoring (Eling), with capacities of 4.7 billion and 10.8 billion m (166 and 381 billion ft ), respectively. At elevations over 4,290 m (14,070 ft) above sea level they are

1995-507: The Chu–Han Contention : ...your military supplies are low, but they are not as bad as the situation of Chu and Han at Xingyang and Chenggao. At that time neither Liu nor Xiang were willing to be the first to retreat. The first to retreat reveals that his strength is exhausted. You, Duke, with one-tenth of the enemy's force you have held the ground you marked, and gripping him by the throat, have not let him advance for already half

SECTION 20

#1732775687234

2090-462: The Gulf of Bohai , draining a basin of 752,443 square kilometers (290,520 sq mi) which nourishes 140 million people with drinking water and irrigation. The Yellow River passes through seven present-day provinces and two autonomous regions , namely (from west to east) Qinghai , Sichuan , Gansu , Ningxia , Inner Mongolia , Shaanxi , Shanxi , Henan , and Shandong . Major cities along

2185-531: The Late Miocene , Pliocene or Pleistocene , as a result of the Tibetan Plateau being uplifted. The river has long been critical to the development of northern China, and is regarded by scholars as a cradle of civilization . Flooding of the river has also caused much destruction, including multiple floods that have resulted in the deaths of over one million people. Among the deadliest were

2280-719: The Second Sino-Japanese War , Nationalist troops under Chiang Kai-shek broke the levees holding back the river near the village of Huayuankou in Henan, causing what has been called by Canadian historian, Diana Lary, a "war-induced natural disaster". The goal of the operation was to stop the advancing Japanese troops by following a strategy of "using water as a substitute for soldiers". The 1938 flood of an area covering 54,000 km (20,800 sq mi) took some 500,000 to 900,000 Chinese lives, along with an unknown number of Japanese soldiers. The flood prevented

2375-705: The Shaanxi loess plateau, it is referred to as 'river, my lord' ( 老爺河 , [lo˦˩˨ i˧ xɤu̯˧] ) in the Jin language. In Mongolian , it is called Šar mörön ( Шар мөрөн 'yellow river') or Khatan gol ( Хатан гол 'queen river'). The river is mentioned in the Kul Tigin stele as the 'green river' ( Old Turkic : yašïl ügüz , 𐰖𐱁𐰞𐰽𐰺𐰍). The Tibetan name is "River of the Peacock" ( Tibetan : རྨ ་ ཆུ , Wylie : rma.chu , THL : Ma chu ; 玛曲 ; 瑪曲 ; Mǎ qǔ ). The Yellow River first formed sometime during

2470-553: The Xia dynasty originated on its banks around 2100 BC; Sima Qian 's Shiji ( c.  91 BC ) record that the Xia were founded after the tribes around the Yellow River united to combat the frequent floods in the area. The river has provided fertile soil for agriculture, but since then has flooded and changed course frequently, with one estimate counting 1,593 floods in the 2,540 years between 595 BC and 1946 AD. As such,

2565-535: The Yangtze : one in the western headwaters of the rivers where they are closest to one another, another from the upper reaches of the Han River , and a third using the route of the old Grand Canal . Due to its heavy load of silt the Yellow River is a depositing stream – that is, it deposits part of its carried burden of soil in its bed in stretches where it is flowing slowly. These deposits elevate

2660-643: The Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture . The source tributaries drain into Gyaring Lake and Ngoring Lake on the western edge of Golog Prefecture high in the Bayan Har Mountains of Qinghai . In the Zoige Basin along the boundary with Gansu , the Yellow River loops northwest and then northeast before turning south, creating the " Ordos Loop ", and then flows generally eastward across the North China Plain to

2755-421: The 'Earth Suspended River' . At Kaifeng , Henan, the Yellow River is 10 meters (33 ft) above the ground level. Tributaries of the Yellow River listed from its source to its mouth include: The lower reaches of the Yellow River have no tributaries. The Yellow River is notable for the large amount of silt it carries—1.6 billion tons annually at the point where it descends from the Loess Plateau . If it

2850-483: The 11th century reigns of the Renzong and Shenzong emperors, when the river repeatedly broke its levees and migrated north and west, officials battled over whether expensive measures should be taken to return the river to its former channels. The Shenzong emperor ultimately decreed that the river be allowed to remain in its new course. Traditional flood control techniques made use of levees , revetments to absorb

2945-530: The 1970s, and until recently, the river frequently did not reach the sea. Since 2003, China has been working on the South–North Water Transfer Project to alleviate the strain on the river's water supply. When the Yellow River was still somewhat clear, it was simply referred to as 'the river' ( 河 , Old Chinese : *gâi ). Observations made at the Yumenkou gorge, where the river leaves

Battle of Guandu - Misplaced Pages Continue

3040-506: The Bayan Har Mountains and ending at Hekou Town ( Togtoh County ), Inner Mongolia just before it turns sharply to the south. This segment has a total length of 3,472 kilometers (2,157 mi) and total basin area of 386,000 square kilometers (149,000 sq mi), 51.4% of the total basin area. Along this length, the elevation of the Yellow River drops 3,496 meters (11,470 ft), with an average grade of 0.10%. The source section flows mainly through pastures, swamps, and knolls between

3135-475: The Chinese Nationalists and Communists have picked up on this battle and made their own interpretations, in various degrees of objectivity. The Nationalists followed traditional Chinese historiography in that they judged the battle in terms of personalities, rather than the situations and the tactics involved. For example, Cao Cao was seen as capable, decisive, and far-sighted, while Yuan Shao

3230-718: The Japanese Army from taking Zhengzhou , on the southern bank of the Yellow River, but did not stop them from reaching their goal of capturing Wuhan , which was the temporary seat of the Chinese government and straddles the Yangtze River . In 1954, the People's Republic of China announced its General Plan to Fundamentally Control Yellow River Flood Disasters and Develop Yellow River Waterworks. It sought to address both flooding risks and to convert rainfall-fed fields of

3325-482: The Jinshan Valley. The abundant hydrodynamic resources stored in this section make it the second most suitable area to build hydroelectric power plants. The famous Hukou Waterfall is in the lower part of this valley on the border of Shanxi and Shaanxi . In the lower reaches, from Zhengzhou to its mouth, a distance of 786 km (488 mi), the river is confined to a levee -lined course as it flows to

3420-506: The North China Plain to irrigated agriculture. Construction began in earnest in 1957. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the dry-up trends accelerated, with the Yellow River failing to reach its mouth for an average of approximately 180 days per year in the 1990s. In 1997, the Yellow River did not reach the sea for 226 consecutive days. The Yellow River basin has an east–west extent of about 1,900 kilometers (1,180 mi) and

3515-477: The Yellow River Basin by the south dike of the Yellow River. The total drop in elevation of the lower reaches is 93.6 m (307 ft), with an average grade of 0.012%. The silts received from the middle reaches form sediments here, elevating the river bed. Excessive sediment deposits have raised the riverbed several meters above the surrounding ground. That is why this part of the river is called

3610-521: The Yellow River has been considered a blessing and a curse throughout history, and has been nicknamed both "China's Pride" and "China's Sorrow". The Yellow River's basin presently has a population of 120 million people, while over 420 million people live in the immediate provinces which rely on it as a water source. The basin comprises 13 percent of China's cultivated land area. The area receives very uneven rainfall, only 2 percent of China's water runoff —water and sediment flow has decreased five-fold since

3705-590: The Yellow River in time and were captured by Cao Cao, including Ju Shou. Some of these men had feigned surrender so they could escape later, thus Cao Cao had these men buried alive . In his proclamation of victory to Emperor Xian , Cao Cao claimed to have killed 70,000 enemy troops. Cao Cao's victory at the Battle of Guandu was a decisive one and marked the turn of the tide in his struggle for power with Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao died in June of 202 and his youngest son Yuan Shang

3800-421: The Yellow River is 3.91 billion tons in 1933. The highest silt concentration level was recorded in 1977 at 920 kg/m (57.4 lb/ft ). These sediments later deposit in the slower lower reaches of the river, elevating the river bed and creating the famous "river above ground". From Hekou to Yumenkou, the river passes through the longest series of continuous valleys on its main course, collectively called

3895-543: The Yellow River shifted completely south of Shandong Peninsula and flowed into the Yellow Sea . By 1194, the mouth of the Huai had been blocked. The buildup of silt deposits was such that even after the Yellow River later shifted its course, the Huai could no longer flow along its historic course, but instead, its water pools into Hongze Lake and then runs southward toward the Yangtze River . A flood in 1344 returned

Battle of Guandu - Misplaced Pages Continue

3990-532: The Yellow River south of Shandong. The Yuan dynasty was waning, and the emperor forced enormous teams to build new embankments for the river. The terrible conditions helped to fuel rebellions that led to the founding of the Ming dynasty . The course changed again in 1391 when the river flooded from Kaifeng to Fengyang in Anhui . It was finally stabilized by the eunuch Li Xing during the public works projects following

4085-532: The Yellow River, arranged according to the first year of operation (in brackets): As reported in 2000, the 7 largest hydro power plants (Longyangxia, Lijiaxia, Liujiaxia, Yanguoxia, Bapanxia, Daxia and Qinglongxia) had the total installed capacity of 5,618 MW. The main bridges and ferries by the province names in the order of downstream to upstream are: Shandong Yuanyang County, Henan Yuanyang County ( simplified Chinese : 原阳 县 ; traditional Chinese : 原陽縣 ; pinyin : Yuányáng Xiàn )

4180-471: The Yuan brothers' ally, in the Battle of White Wolf Mountain . Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi fled to Liaodong to seek shelter under the warlord Gongsun Kang in 207, but Gongsun killed them instead and sent their heads to Cao Cao. By then, most of northern China was unified under Cao Cao's control, and Cao Cao could begin to turn his attention to the south. Throughout the ages, Cao Cao's impressive victory at Guandu,

4275-451: The battle, which led to open warfare between the brothers. Yuan Tan eventually allied with to Cao Cao against Yuan Shang, but Cao Cao accused him of violating some terms of the alliance and killed him in battle. On the other hand, Yuan Shang suffered defeats at the hands of Cao Cao and fled north to join his second brother Yuan Xi . Cao Cao's forces pursued them and defeated the Wuhuan tribe,

4370-595: The border between Shanxi and Shaanxi , turns eastwards at its confluence with the Wei River , and flows across the North China Plain before emptying into the Bohai Sea . The river is named for the yellow color of its water, which comes from the large amount of sediment discharged into the water as the river flows through the Loess Plateau . The Yellow River basin was the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilization . According to traditional Chinese historiography ,

4465-415: The campaign against Cao Cao. The aide-de-camp ( 參軍 ) Tian Feng, who had urged Yuan Shao to attack Cao Cao while he was away, advised against such a campaign, reasoning that they had lost their chance and must wait. Yuan Shao ignored Tian Feng's repeated remonstrations and imprisoned him under charges of demoralizing the army. Shortly after, Yuan Shao had Chen Lin draft a document condemning Cao Cao in what

4560-454: The civilian community that could affect his army's morale. After the engagements at the river, Yuan Shao's army pushed to Yangwu (陽武; near present-day Yuanyang County , Henan), directly north of Guandu, and began constructing earthen fortifications. He ignored Cheng Yu 's bastion of 700 men at Juancheng and missed an opportunity to attack Cao Cao's eastern flank, exactly as Cheng Yu's predicted earlier when he guessed that Yuan Shao would ignore

4655-444: The climactic event of his life, has drawn analysis by both historical commentators and militarists hoping to imitate his success. The Song dynasty historian Sima Guang , compiler of the chronicle Zizhi Tongjian , remarked that while Yuan Shao was generous, elegant and able, he was also obstinate, self-satisfied, and seldom heeded reasonable advice. These negative attributes were the cause of his defeat. In more recent times, both

4750-569: The commands of Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong . Yuan Shao reorganized his forces and sent Liu Bei with an army to support the rebellions against Cao Cao in Yinjiang (㶏疆; southwest of present-day Xuchang ), just 20 li south of the capital. Although Cao Cao was concerned about such developments in his rear, his cousin Cao Ren observed that Liu Bei could not have too much control over his new men given by Yuan Shao. So Cao Cao sent Cao Ren to deal with

4845-420: The course in three and repeatedly flooded the northern regions of Dezhou and Bozhou . The Song worked for five years futilely attempting to restore the previous course – using over 35,000 employees, 100,000 conscripts, and 220,000 tons of wood and bamboo in a single year  – before abandoning the project in 1041. The more sluggish river then occasioned a breach at Shanghu that sent

SECTION 50

#1732775687234

4940-444: The death. The raid on Wuchao was a great success, inflicting over a thousand casualties. Yuan Shao's officers Lü Weihuang ( 呂威璜 ), Han Juzi ( 韓莒子 ), Sui Yuanjin ( 眭元進 ), and Zhao Rui ( 趙叡 ) were decapitated; Chunyu Qiong was captured by Yue Jin and had his nose cut off. Almost all of Yuan Shao's food supplies at Wuchao were burnt. By dawn, Wuchao had turned into an inferno and the morale of Yuan Shao's army plummeted sharply due to

5035-431: The earthen embankments that both sides made. Both sides harassed each other with engines of war. Yuan Shao had erected siege-ramps and high platforms which allowed his men to rain arrows onto Cao Cao's forces. In response, Cao Cao's men had to carry their shields above their heads, and retaliated with traction trebuchets that destroyed the archer platforms. Yuan Shao also tried to tunnel under Cao Cao's fort, but Cao Cao had

5130-484: The energy of the water, overflow basins, drainage canals and polders . Treatises on traditional flood control techniques were written by officials such as Pan Jixun , who argued that joining branches of the river increased the water's power and this in turn increased its ability to flush sediment. The difficult situation around the confluence of the Yellow River, the Huai, and the Grand Canal, however, still led to

5225-545: The first month of 200, Liu Bei rebelled against Cao Cao and seized Xu Province after killing Che Zhou ( 車冑 ), Cao Cao's appointed Inspector ( 刺史 ) of Xu Province. Cao Cao, in an unexpected move, left his northern front exposed to Yuan Shao and turned east to retake Xu Province. Yuan Shao tried to use the opportunity to start a campaign south, but was daunted by Yu Jin, the defender of Yan Ford. When Cao Cao returned to Guandu after his victory over Liu Bei, who sought refuge under Yuan Shao afterwards, Yuan Shao decided to renew

5320-541: The floods that provoked the Nien and Taiping Rebellions . The 1887 flood has been estimated to have killed between 900,000 and 2 million people, and is the second-worst natural disaster in history (excluding famines and epidemics). The Yellow River more or less adopted its present course during the 1897 flood . The 1931 flood killed an estimated 1,000,000 to 4,000,000, and is the worst natural disaster recorded (excluding famines and epidemics). On 9 June 1938, during

5415-511: The fort and evacuate its occupants to the south. Taking advantage of the situation, Wen Chou and Liu Bei led 6,000 horsemen in pursuit. Cao Cao anticipated the attack and prepared a distraction tactic. He ordered his troops to discard their steeds, weapons and other valuables along the way. Yuan Shao's forces broke their ranks to grab the valuables lying ahead. Just as they were claiming the items, 600 of Cao Cao's elite cavalry that had been lying in ambush attacked them. Yuan Shao's commander Wen Chou

5510-450: The frontline included Liu Yan ( 劉延 ) at Boma (白馬; near present-day Hua County , Henan), Yu Jin at Yan Ford, Cheng Yu at Juancheng (鄄城; near present-day Juancheng County , Shandong ), and Xiahou Dun at Meng Ford (孟津; present-day Mengjin County , Henan). At the same time, Cao Cao sent Zang Ba to harass Qing Province ( 青州 ), which was governed by Yuan Shao's son Yuan Tan , to prevent his eastern flank from coming under attack. In

5605-456: The ice dams before they become dangerous. Before modern dams appeared in China, the Yellow River used to be extremely prone to flooding. In the 2,540 years from 595 BC to 1946 AD, the Yellow River has been reckoned to have flooded 1,593 times, shifting its course 26 times noticeably and nine times severely. These floods include some of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded. Before modern disaster management, when floods occurred, some of

5700-549: The loss of food supplies. Cao Cao also cut off the noses of the dead, mixed them with noses and lips of oxen and horses, and showed them to Yuan Shao's men, as a form of intimidation. Meanwhile, at Guandu, Yuan Shao's army led by Zhang He and Gao Lan failed to break through the enemy lines. Affected by the news of the defeat in Wuchao and rumors of Guo Tu making slanderous remarks about them, Zhang He and Gao Lan surrendered to Cao Hong and destroyed their weapons. Cao Cao's forces seized

5795-623: The main outlet north towards Tianjin in 1048. In 1128, Song troops under the Kaifeng governor Du Chong ( 杜 充 , Dù Chōng , d.   1141) breached the southern dikes of the Yellow River in an effort to stop the advancing Jin army. The resulting major river avulsion allowed the Yellow to capture the Si and other tributaries of the Huai River . For the first time in recorded history,

SECTION 60

#1732775687234

5890-585: The men to spare for such ventures. From such a perspective, Yuan Shao, faced with the ever-growing threat of his former ally Cao Cao, concentrated his force in a direct approach to Cao Cao's headquarters in hope that such a strike would overwhelm his enemy. Though he was outwitted and defeated by Cao Cao, Yuan Shao's decisions might not have been so foolish as numerous traditional historians and commentators have said. 34°54′26″N 114°37′13″E  /  34.90722°N 114.62028°E  / 34.90722; 114.62028 Yellow River The Yellow River

5985-433: The middle reaches, and the water flow is increased by 43.5% on this stage. The middle reaches contribute 92% of the river's silts. The middle stream of the Yellow River passes through the Loess Plateau , where substantial erosion takes place. The large amount of mud and sand discharged into the river makes the Yellow River the most sediment -laden river in the world. The highest recorded annual level of silts discharged into

6080-426: The modern Loess Plateau , indicated the river changed to muddy sometime between 367 BC and 165 AD, according to chronicles' records. The alternative names 'murky river' ( 濁河 , *drôk-gâi ) and '(muddy) yellow river' ( 黃河 , *gwâŋ-gâi ) were attested in 145 BC and in 429 AD respectively. The name Yellow River fully replaces Murky River by the end of Tang dynasty , for unclear reasons. In

6175-472: The northeast across the North China Plain before emptying into the Bohai Sea . The basin area in this stage is only 23,000 square kilometers (8,900 sq mi), a mere 3% of the total, because few tributaries add to the flow in this stage; nearly all rivers to the south drain into the Huai River , whereas those to the north drain into the Hai River . The Huai River Basin, for example, is separated from

6270-501: The obvious impediment to their individual ambitions to conquer and rule China. Some years before the battle, Yuan Shao's advisors Ju Shou and Tian Feng warned that Cao Cao would become a threat to their lord in his ambition to dominate China. They advised Yuan Shao to attack Cao Cao when the latter was still building up his forces, but Yuan Shao ignored their advice as Cao Cao was still nominally an ally. Tension between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao increased after Cao Cao moved Emperor Xian from

6365-455: The old capital Luoyang . The geographical position of Guandu (官渡; northeast of present-day Zhongmu County , Henan ) made it a strategically vital position. It was near Yan Ford (延津; north of present-day Yanjin County , Henan) on the Yellow River and lay on the road leading to the capital city Xu. Cao Cao recognized its strategic importance and in the autumn of 199, he stationed troops there and prepared fortifications. Other deployments along

6460-450: The opportunity to launch the full attack on Yuan's army. Yuan Shao's numerous armies were destroyed and much of his supplies were captured by Cao Cao. Yuan Shao himself fled north across the Yellow River with only about 800 cavalry, which was what was left of his army. Order was restored only when Yuan Shao reached the camp of his general Jiang Yiqu ( 蔣義渠 ), from where he gathered his straggling troops. Some of Yuan Shao's men could not cross

6555-401: The opposite: attack Cao Cao's base at Guandu with the hope that Cao Cao will abandon the raid on Wuchao. Yuan Shao used Guo Tu's idea and sent Zhang He and Gao Lan to lead his main army to attack Cao Cao's main camp at Guandu, while only sending a small cavalry unit to reinforce Wuchao. Cao Cao ignored pleas to split off his force to deal with the reinforcements and readied his men to fight to

6650-575: The population might initially die from drowning and many more would suffer later from the ensuing famine and spread of diseases. In Chinese mythology , the giant Kua Fu drained the Yellow River and the Wei River to quench his burning thirst as he pursued the Sun. Historical documents from the Spring and Autumn period and Qin dynasty indicate that the Yellow River at that time flowed considerably north of its present course. These accounts show that after

6745-540: The present course of the Yellow River include (from west to east) Lanzhou , Yinchuan , Wuhai , Baotou , Luoyang , Zhengzhou , Kaifeng , and Jinan . The current mouth of the Yellow River is located at Kenli County , Shandong. The river is commonly divided into three stages. These are roughly the northeast of the mountainous Tibetan Plateau , the Ordos Loop and Loess Plateau , and the North China Plain . However, different scholars have different opinions on how

6840-441: The rainy season from July to October, when 60% of the annual volume of the river flows. Maximum demand for irrigation is needed between March and June. In order to capture excess water for use when needed and for flood control and electricity generation, several dams have been built, but their expected life is limited due to the high silt load. A proposed South–North Water Transfer Project involves several schemes to divert water from

6935-553: The rebellion. Cao Ren succeeded, killing the rebel leader Liu Pi and routing Liu Bei. Yuan Shao also tried to cut off Cao Cao from the west by sending Han Meng ( 韓猛 ) southwest. Cao Ren again responded to the threat by defeating Han Meng at Mount Jiluo (雞洛山; 50 li northeast of present-day Xinmi , Henan). Yuan Shao did not send any detached force into Cao Cao's territory after this. At Yangwu, several war plans were presented to Yuan Shao. Ju Shou observed that Cao Cao's men were running out of grain, and thus it would be proper to enter

7030-502: The rebels, but destroyed his own city instead: the flood and the ensuing famine and plague are estimated to have killed 300,000 of the city's previous population of 378,000. The once-prosperous city was nearly abandoned until its rebuilding under the Kangxi Emperor in the Qing dynasty . The question of how aggressively flooding should be controlled, and whether it should be steered back to its original channels when it migrated,

7125-477: The regions along the river are mostly deserts and grasslands, with very few tributaries. The flow is slow. The Hetao Plain has a length of 900 km (560 mi) and width of 30 to 50 km (19 to 31 mi). It is historically the most important irrigation plain along the Yellow River. The Ordos Loop formed by an enormous twist of the Yellow River, beginning at Zhongning County in Ningxia and ending with

7220-406: The relation between topography , logistics , and tactics over Yuan Shao. It was the issue about logistics that prompted Cao Cao to abandon the defence at the Yellow River. By luring Yuan Shao far south into Guandu, Cao Cao had forcibly extended Yuan Shao's supply lines and was thus able to pounce on his logistical disadvantage to gain a decisive victory. The Australian sinologist Rafe de Crespigny

7315-441: The representative of the great landlord-official class, and Cao Cao as of the middle and small landlord class. The battle was thus a product of class conflict in which Yuan Shao's fall was inevitable. The historian Carl Leban attributes Cao Cao's victory to one single strategic decision — the defender's choice of location. Leban asserts that Cao Cao chose Guandu as the place to make his stand because of his superior understanding of

7410-455: The river passed Luoyang , it flowed along the border between Shanxi and Henan Provinces, then continued along the border between Hebei and Shandong before emptying into Bohai Bay near present-day Tianjin . Another outlet followed essentially the present course. The river left these paths in 602 BC and shifted several hundred kilometers to the east. Sabotage of dikes, canals, and reservoirs and deliberate flooding of rival states became

7505-693: The river skirts through the high-altitude peat bog known as the Zoigê Wetlands and makes a sharp turn towards the northwest forming the border between Maqu and Zoigê County in Sichuan . Flowing now along the northern edge of Amne Machin, the river reenters Qinghai and gradually curves north towards the Longyang Gorge at Xinghai . The valley section stretches from Longyang Gorge in Qinghai to Qingtong Gorge in Gansu. Steep cliffs line both sides of

7600-585: The river's mouth to shift as much as 480 km (300 mi), sometimes reaching the ocean to the north of the Shandong Peninsula and sometimes to the south. Another historical source of devastating floods is the collapse of upstream ice dams in Inner Mongolia with an accompanying sudden release of vast quantities of impounded water. There have been 11 such major floods in the past century, each causing tremendous loss of life and property. Nowadays, explosives dropped from aircraft are used to break

7695-501: The river. The water bed is narrow and the average drop is large, so the flow in this section is extremely turbulent and fast. There are 20 gorges in this section, the most famous of these being the Longyang , Jishi, Liujia , Bapan, and Qingtong gorges. The flow conditions in this section makes it the best location for hydroelectric plants. The Yellow River exits Qinghai for the second and final time in these gorges and enters Gansu for

7790-423: The riverbed which flows between natural levees in its lower reaches. Should a flood occur, the river may break out of the levees into the surrounding lower flood plain and take a new channel. Historically this has occurred about once every hundred years. In modern times, considerable effort has been made to strengthen levees and control floods. Below is an incomplete list of hydroelectric power stations built on

7885-491: The sea. The low volume is due to increased agricultural irrigation, increased by a factor of five since 1950. Water diverted from the river as of 1999 served 140 million people and irrigated 74,000 km (29,000 sq mi) of land. The Yellow River delta totals 8,000 square kilometers (3,100 square miles). However, with the decrease in silt reaching the sea, it has been reported to be shrinking slightly each year since 1996 through erosion. The highest volume occurs during

7980-592: The second time just before Liujia Gorge. Downstream from the Yanguo Gorge, the provincial capital of Lanzhou is built upon the Yellow River's banks. The Yellow River flows northeasterly out of Gansu and into Ningxia before the Qingtong Gorge. After emerging from the Qingtong Gorge, the river comes into a section of vast alluvial plains , the Yinchuan Plain and Hetao Plain . In this section,

8075-434: The short-lived Xin dynasty , and another flood in AD 70 returned the river north of Shandong on essentially its present course. From around the beginning of the 3rd century, the importance of the Hangu Pass was reduced, with the major fortifications and military bases moved upriver to Tongguan . In AD 923, the desperate Later Liang general Duan Ning again broke the dikes, flooding 1,000 square miles (2,600 km ) in

8170-693: The three stages are divided. This article mainly adopts the division used by the Yellow River Conservancy Commission . The Yellow River derived sediments have been transported out of the Bohai Sea, all way to the North Yellow Sea and South Yellow Sea, and formed a Distal Depocenter around the Shandong Peninsula. The upper reaches of the Yellow River constitute a segment starting from its source in

8265-649: The two largest plateau freshwater lakes nationwide. A significant amount of land in the Yellow River's source area has been designated as the Sanjiangyuan ("'Three Rivers' Sources") National Nature Reserve , to protect the source region of the Yellow River, the Yangtze , and the Mekong . Flowing east at the eastern edge of the Amne Machin Mountains, the Yellow River enters Maqu County in Gansu . Here,

8360-556: The weaker one yielding a step at first, pinned down the stronger one through delayed action and defeated him." Mao's words attracted some attention to the battle, and many papers were written to analyze the Battle of Guandu in Maoist terms. The Maoist interpretation, while taking note of Yuan Shao's serious errors of judgement, advocates that the strong enemy will make fateful errors, while the weaker opponent need only to await their appearance. The Marxist interpretation portrays Yuan Shao as

8455-559: Was a topic of controversy in the imperial court. Rival cliques made arguments based on budgetary, technical and strategic criteria. Geographer Charles Greer identifies two competing schools of thought on how to control the Yellow River. One, which he identifies as Confucian , advocated containing the river between higher levees, thus maximizing the amount of river basin land that could be cultivated. The other, which he associates with Taoism , favored lower levees separated by as much as 5-10 kilometers. In one particular long-running debate during

8550-421: Was derided as mediocre, slow, arrogant, and unable to employ men properly. The Communist leader Mao Zedong , in his writings about strategic retreat, used the Battle of Guandu along with the Battle of Chenggao , Battle of Kunyang , Battle of Red Cliffs , Battle of Xiaoting , and Battle of Fei River to illustrate the concept. In all of these battles, he wrote, "...the contestants were unequal in strength, and

8645-410: Was essentially a declaration of war , and marched his main army toward the forward base of Liyang (黎陽; northwest of present-day Xun County , Henan) north of the river. At the time, Yuan Shao's army boasted of numbers up to 110,000, including 10,000 cavalry. Yuan Shao's general Yan Liang crossed the Yellow River and besieged Cao Cao's fort at Boma . Heeding his advisor Xun You 's advice, Cao Cao led

8740-496: Was forced to call for relief supplies in response to this raid. In the tenth month, Yuan Shao's general Chunyu Qiong returned with an army of 10,000 from Hebei escorting large reserves of food supplies. Yuan Shao ordered Chunyu to escort the supplies to Wuchao (烏巢; in present-day Yanjin County, Henan), a place 40 li away from Guandu near Gushi, and placed him in charge of guarding the supplies there. Yuan Shao's advisor Ju Shou argued that Wuchao, being their important supply depot,

8835-524: Was killed and Liu Bei fled. Having lost two of their generals in these relatively minor skirmishes prior to the primary conflict at Guandu resulted in a crushing blow to the morale of Yuan Shao's army. Despite having won the preliminary battles, Cao Cao was still outnumbered. He abandoned the forward bases along the Yellow River in preparation for a determined defence at Guandu. Cao Cao also ordered his officials in charge of his lands in his absence to govern with lenience, so as to minimise chances of chaos within

8930-601: Was made his successor shortly thereafter. His oldest son Yuan Tan was furious with the succession and fought with his younger brother. This resulted in internal conflict within Yuan Shao's forces. Yuan Shao's pool of talented advisors and generals were also divided into two factions by the conflict – one supported Yuan Shang and the other supported Yuan Tan. Cao Cao seized the opportunity to launch an attack on Yuan Tan's base at Liyang . Though Cao Cao eventually withdrew, Yuan Tan came to resent Yuan Shang even more during course of

9025-859: Was too lightly guarded and insisted that Yuan Shao should send the general Jiang Qi ( 蔣奇 ) to serve as a perimeter guard to Chunyu Qiong and cut off any potential raids. Yuan Shao, again, did not heed Ju Shou's advice. Shortly after, Yuan Shao's advisor Xu You , who had harboured dissatisfaction against Yuan Shao for not following his plan and having his wife arrested by Shen Pei , defected over to Cao Cao. He understood Cao Cao's shortage of supplies and alerted Cao Cao to Yuan Shao's exploitable weakness at Wuchao. Cao Cao's generals were suspicious of this piece of intelligence, but his advisors Xun You and Jia Xu urged Cao Cao to put Xu You's plan to action. Thus at night, Cao Cao led 5,000 infantry and cavalry to attack Wuchao after leaving Cao Hong and Xun You in charge of his main camp at Guandu. Cao Cao's army disguised itself as

#233766