A city of Dangyang, half the book of the Three Kingdoms
2023-07-06 21:07:03
The Three Kingdoms heritage of Dangyang
The Three Kingdoms period (220-280) is one of the bloodiest in Chinese history. It is also one of the most romanticized, popularized in operas, folk stories, novels, films, television and video games.
The best known fictional treatment of the period is Luo Guanzhong's Ming dynasty novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. In it, the city of Dangyang is frequently cited.
Events such as Zhao Zilong rescuing Liu Shan at Changban, Zhang Yide defeating Cao Cao's army at Dangyang Bridge, Guan Yu struggling to protect Maicheng, and Guan Yu returning to heaven in Guanling Temple took place in Dangyang. These are recorded in important historical documents such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the Chronicles of Huayang, and the Tongjian of Zizhi.
Dangyang, which lies 85 km to the east of Yichang, is where Emperor Jing of Han established his administration during the Western Han Dynasty just before the eruption of the Three Kingdoms period.
Dangyang Guanling Temple is located 3 kilometers northwest of Dangyang City. The body of General Guan Yu – a byword for loyalty and righteousness in China – is buried there. Dangyang Guanling Temple is a major tourist attraction and one of the three major Guan temples in China, the other two being Guandi Temple in Jiezhou and Guanlin in Luoyang.
Changban in Dangyang City was the place where Zhao Yun rescued Prince Adou. In 208 AD, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao led his army southward to conquer Jingzhou, prompting Liu Bei to retreat to Jiangling with his army and civilians.
As Cao Cao chased Liu Bei, the two armies met and fought at Changban, Dangyang. Chaos ensued.
Liu Bei ended up fleeing with only a few bodyguards, leaving Zhao Yun to fight Cao Cao's army. Zhao is reputed to have single-handedly killed more than fifty of Cao's generals while successfully protecting Prince Adou's life. Arriving at Dangyang Bridge, Zhao Yun got support from his comrade Zhang Fei, who stood proudly in front of Dangyang Bridge with a spear in his hand and screamed at Cao's chasing army.
In the highly romanticized version of the battle presented in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhang's thunderous voice broke the Dangyang Bridge and scared Cao's General Xia Houjie to death, driving Cao's entire army back.
For Dangyang, the mighty struggle represented by the Battle of Changban is associated with the city’s values of honesty and loyalty and has been set to music in generations of songs.
