Zhang Jiao
Traditional Chinese: 張角
Simplified Chinese: 张角
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Zhang (張).

Zhang Jiao or Zhang Jue (died 184) was the leader of the Yellow Turbans during the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He was said to be a sorcerer, and was a follower of Taoism.

Contents

The Rebellion

Giving himself the title of "Great Teacher", he led the Yellow Turban Rebellion with his younger brothers Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang in a campaign called "The Way of Heaven" or "The Way of Peace". He and his brothers had their own power: Zhang Bao was the General of Land, and his brother General of the People; and Zhang Jiao was the General of Heaven. The Yellow Turbans claimed to be Taoists, and rebelled against the Han because of the high taxes placed against them. They conquered much in the early years of the rebellion, but when the Han sent out a distress call, gaining the talent of people such as Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Jian, the lack of ability that his generals held clearly showed itself. As the Yellow Turbans still remained somewhat capable even in face of their more powerful foe, they were nonetheless torn apart upon the death of their leader, Zhang Jiao, and were ultimately quelled in subsequence.

It is said that Zhang Jiao is the grandson of the founder of the Tianshi Dao--Celestial Masters--Sect of Taoism, Zhang Daoling.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Zhang Jiao (Zhang Jue) also features in the historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Zhang's character is introduced in the Chapter One:

At that time, there lived three brothers in Julu Commandery: Zhang Jue,[1] Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang. Zhang Jue was a failure in the county level examination. He had gone into the mountains to gather some medicinal herbs, when he came across an old man; the old man had a youthful countenance, and was carrying a fat-hen walking stick. The old man beckoned Jue into a cave, presented him with a book in three volumes which had come from the heavens, then said, "This book is called The Essential Art of Great Peace. Once you have mastered its contents, you will represent the heavens in spreading this knowledge, and thereby save all of mankind. If you start to have second thoughts, there will be terrible consequences for you." Jue enquired as to the old man's name. The old man said, "I am the old immortal spirit from the southern lands."[2] With that, the old man vanished into thin air. Upon receiving this book, Jue practiced night and day. Eventually, he could summon the wind and rain, and came to be known as the Great Peace Daoist. (Wikisource translation)

He then goes on to found the rebellion known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Little time is devoted to Zhang Jue in the book, and his death is given a line in the second chapter: "Zhang Jue had died before his (Huangfu Song's) arrival."

Modern references

Zhang Jiao as he appears in Koei's Dynasty Warriors 6.
Zhang Jiao as portrayed in the 84-episode TV serial Romance of the Three Kingdoms
  • Zhang Jiao is a playable character in the Koei video game series, Dynasty Warriors. He is portrayed as a magician who uses fire-related magic. Many of his sayings during the his battles relate to his Taoism religion, occasionally mentioning "the heavens".

External links

Notes

  1. ^ Zhang's given name, while written the same way in Chinese, is either Jue or Jiao in English. Jue is the more traditional reading; Jiao is more modern.
  2. ^ Another name for Zhuangzi. After his death, Zhuangzi was deified by his followers. They said that he would later travel to the north, and ascend to the heavens as an immortal in a blaze of fire. In the first year of the Tianbao era (742), Emperor Xuanzong of Tang gave Zhuangzi the appellation true man from the southern lands. (三國演義校注, page 10, note 24, ISBN 957911305X)

References

See also

Preceded by
Founded		 Great Teacher of the Yellow Turbans
184-188		 Succeeded by
none
v • d • e
Prominent people at the end of the Han Dynasty
Emperors
Ling · Shao · Xian
Warlords
Cao Cao · Ding Yuan · Dong Zhuo · Gongsun Du · Gongsun Zan · Guo Si · Han Sui · Kong Rong · Li Jue · Liu Bei · Liu Biao · Liu Yu · Liu Zhang · Lü Bu · Ma Teng · Sun Jian · Sun Ce · Sun Quan · Yan Baihu · Yuan Tan · Yuan Shao · Yuan Shang · Yuan Shu · Zhang Jiao · Zhang Lu · Zhang Xiu
Advisors
Generals
Others
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Jiao"


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