Ying Bu

Ying Bu (died 196 BC), courtesy name Qing Bu, was a Chinese military general, rebel leader, and short-lived king who rose from convict status under the Qin dynasty to become a key figure in the overthrow of Qin rule and the Chu–Han Contention that established the Han dynasty.^[1]^[2] Originating from Liuxian in Jiujiang Commandery (present-day Lu'an, Anhui), Ying Bu was convicted of a crime under the Qin, subjected to facial tattooing as punishment, and conscripted for forced labor at the emperor's mausoleum on Mount Li.^[1]^[2] During the widespread uprisings against Qin in 209 BC, including Chen Sheng's revolt, he escaped and led a band of laborers southward, eventually aligning with local forces under Wu Rui and then Xiang Liang, who enfeoffed him as Lord of Dangyang.^[1]^[2] Under Xiang Yu, Ying Bu participated in decisive victories, such as the Battle of Julu against Qin forces, and was implicated in the mass execution and burial of 200,000 surrendered Qin troops at Xin'an.^[1] In the ensuing Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC), initially loyal to Xiang Yu—who had installed him as King of Jiujiang—Ying Bu defected to Liu Bang's side around 205 BC, providing critical military support that contributed to Liu's triumph at Gaixia and the suicide of Xiang Yu.^[1]^[2] Rewarded for his role in founding the Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu) enfeoffed him as Marquis of Dang and later King of Huainan in 202 BC, granting him control over a vast eastern territory as one of the early Han vassal kings.^[1]^[2] Ying Bu's defining later controversy arose in 196 BC when suspicions of disloyalty, fueled by Empress Lü Zhi's intrigues and Han court politics, prompted his rebellion; he killed the Prince of Jing (Liu Jia), a Han royal, and mobilized forces against the dynasty but was decisively defeated at the Battle of Qi (modern Suxian, Anhui).^[1]^[2] Fleeing southward, he was betrayed and executed in Chu territory by Wu You, King of Changsha, marking the end of one of the Han's early major internal threats and underscoring the fragility of Liu Bang's vassal system.^[1] His career exemplifies the volatile alliances and betrayals of the era, with primary accounts preserved in Sima Qian's Shiji, which dedicates a biography to him in its "Biographies of Dilapidated States" section.^[1]^[2]

Early Life

Origins and Criminal Background

Ying Bu was born in Lu County (六縣), located in the former state of Chu and corresponding to modern Lu'an in Anhui Province.^[1] Historical records provide scant details on his family origins, indicating he emerged from a commoner background amid the social stratification enforced by the Qin dynasty's centralized bureaucracy.^[1]^[3] In adulthood, Ying Bu violated Qin statutes, though the precise offenses remain unspecified in primary accounts, leading to his conviction under the dynasty's rigorous Legalist penal code.^[1] He received the punishment of qing (黥), entailing the tattooing of his face with ink to mark him as a criminal, from which derived his alias Qing Bu ("Tattooed Bu").^[1]^[3] This form of branding, rooted in pre-Qin traditions but systematized under imperial law, served as a permanent stigma to deter recidivism and enforce social control.^[1] Following the qing penalty, Ying Bu was consigned to convict labor (* tugao*) at Mount Li (驪山), where tens of thousands of forced workers toiled on Emperor Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum and associated projects from around 221 BCE onward.^[1]^[3] Qin's legal framework, emphasizing collective liability and severe corporal sanctions for infractions like tax evasion or minor theft, amplified discontent among such laborers, as the regime's emphasis on uniformity and state projects imposed unprecedented burdens on the populace.^[1] This environment of coerced toil underscored the dynasty's authoritarian approach, where punishments escalated from tattooing to mutilation or execution, contributing to latent instability without immediate prospect of relief.^[1]

Exile and Initial Rebellion

Ying Bu, a native of Lu County in the Chu region who had been convicted of crimes and forcibly tattooed as punishment, was conscripted into corvée labor at Mount Li under the Qin dynasty's harsh penal system. Amid the empire-wide unrest sparked by the Dazexiang Uprising in July 209 BCE, led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang against Qin's oppressive corvée demands and bureaucratic tyranny, Ying Bu seized the chaos to escape with a group of fellow laborers.^[1]^[2] Returning to the Jiang-Huai River region in eastern China, Ying Bu rapidly assembled a personal following of several thousand men, primarily drawn from convicts, vagrants, and local malcontents attracted by his physical prowess, martial skills, and assurances of shared spoils from raids.^[1] He initiated small-scale rebellions by attacking and seizing control of nearby commanderies and counties under Qin administration, exploiting the weakened local garrisons distracted by the broader anti-Qin momentum.^[1] Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian attributes this rapid rise to Ying Bu's charismatic leadership and the systemic grievances of Qin's convict laborers, many of whom, like Ying Bu himself, harbored resentment from forced relocations and brutal oversight, providing fertile ground for opportunistic desertions and localized uprisings that eroded Qin's control in peripheral areas.^[1] These early exploits demonstrated the causal role of Qin's overextended punitive policies in incubating rebel cadres, as escaped laborers formed autonomous bands that preyed on isolated officials while evading major imperial forces.^[1]

Military Rise Against Qin

Alliance with Xiang Liang

In 208 BCE, following the escalation of anti-Qin rebellions sparked by Chen Sheng's uprising the previous year, Ying Bu—leading his own band of convict soldiers and local insurgents in the Huai River valley—submitted his forces to Xiang Liang's Chu coalition as the latter crossed the Huai River westward from Wu commandery.^[2] This alliance integrated Ying Bu's approximately 8,000-10,000 troops, hardened by prior skirmishes against Qin garrisons, into Xiang Liang's expanding army, which had already absorbed defectors like Chen Ying's command and reached strengths of 40,000 to over 100,000 men through rapid recruitment in eastern China.^[1]^[4] Subordination to Xiang Liang provided Ying Bu with logistical support and a unifying Chu royal banner under the newly enthroned King Huai of Chu, elevating his status from independent warlord to a key subordinate while aligning his operations with broader strategic aims against the Qin heartland.^[2] Ying Bu's units excelled in vanguard roles during Xiang Liang's eastern campaigns, leveraging their familiarity with Huai River terrain for hit-and-run tactics that disrupted Qin supply convoys and outmaneuvered slower imperial detachments.^[2] He contributed decisively to victories over rival rebel factions, including the forces of Jing Ju and Qin Jia near Xue county, where his troops' aggressive assaults neutralized threats from competing insurgents vying for regional control.^[2] These engagements, fought amid Qin's fragmented command structure—with major armies under Zhang Han pinned down in northern theaters like Julu—their successes owed much to the dynasty's logistical overextension, as evidenced by repeated Qin failures to reinforce eastern fronts despite mobilizing over 200,000 troops across multiple rebellions.^[5] Ying Bu's combat effectiveness, marked by consistent frontline performance, earned him recognition as Dangyang Jun, a nominal fief reflecting his tactical value without independent authority.^[2] The alliance underscored Ying Bu's adaptability from bandit origins to disciplined rebel officer, with his forces' mobility exploiting Qin's reliance on conscript levies vulnerable to desertion and attrition far from supply bases in Guanzhong.^[1] Yet, outcomes remained contingent on coalition dynamics; Xiang Liang's decision to prioritize consolidation over immediate western pushes preserved Ying Bu's operational tempo but exposed flanks to Qin counteroffensives, as seen in probing attacks that tested rebel cohesion without decisive breakthroughs.^[5] This phase solidified Ying Bu's reputation for ferocity, tying his early gains to the interplay of local initiative and imperial exhaustion rather than isolated prowess.^[2]

Battles and Promotion Under Xiang Yu

Following the death of Xiang Liang in 208 BCE, Ying Bu aligned with Xiang Yu, Xiang Liang's nephew and successor in leading the Chu rebel forces against the Qin dynasty.^[1] In 207 BCE, Ying Bu played a pivotal role in the Battle of Julu by commanding the vanguard of Xiang Yu's army, which advanced to relieve the Zhao kingdom's forces besieged by a larger Qin army under Zhang Han. Leading rebel troops across the Yellow River, Ying Bu's vanguard engaged Qin detachments in successful skirmishes that disrupted enemy lines and facilitated Xiang Yu's main force crossing, culminating in a decisive Chu victory and Zhang Han's surrender of over 200,000 troops.^[1] This engagement highlighted Ying Bu's effectiveness in aggressive frontal assaults, as his unit crushed key Qin positions near modern Pingxiang in Hebei province.^[1] Subsequently, after the Qin capital Xianyang fell and the dynasty collapsed later in 207 BCE, Xiang Yu ordered the mass execution—reportedly by live burial—of approximately 200,000 surrendered Qin soldiers at Xin'an in Henan, with Ying Bu among the generals implementing the directive to prevent potential rebellion.^[1] By early 206 BCE, following Xiang Yu's self-proclamation as Hegemon-King of Western Chu, he redistributed former Qin territories into the Eighteen Kingdoms to consolidate alliances among victorious warlords. Ying Bu, valued for his proven combat leadership rather than prior loyalties, was enfeoffed as King of Jiujiang, encompassing regions in modern Anhui and surrounding areas, thereby elevating him to autonomous warlord status within Xiang Yu's feudal structure.^[1]

Involvement in Chu-Han Contention

Defection to Liu Bang

In late 205 BCE, following Han Xin's rapid conquests in the north—culminating in the victory at the Battle of Jingxing—Ying Bu, the King of Jiujiang under Xiang Yu's Western Chu, defected to Liu Bang's Han forces.^[6] This timing aligned with a cascade of Chu setbacks, as Han Xin's successes severed Xiang Yu's northern supply lines and exposed vulnerabilities in Chu's overstretched command structure, prompting several vassal kings to reassess loyalties. Liu Bang, recovering from his defeat at Pengcheng earlier that year, dispatched emissaries such as Wu Rui to negotiate with Ying Bu, leveraging the momentum shift to secure his allegiance without immediate military coercion.^[7] The defection stemmed primarily from Ying Bu's pragmatic calculus for self-preservation amid Xiang Yu's growing paranoia and pattern of purges. Xiang Yu had executed disloyal or suspected subordinates, including the Zhao king after Jingxing and earlier figures like Song Yi, fostering an atmosphere of distrust where even proven generals risked elimination for perceived hesitancy—such as Ying Bu's limited commitment of Jiujiang troops during Pengcheng. Liu Bang countered with assurances of autonomy, promising to uphold Ying Bu's kingship over Jiujiang and integrate his forces into Han's coalition without subordinating him directly, a stark contrast to Xiang's centralizing tendencies and reprisal-driven governance.^[6] This causal link from battlefield losses to personal defection underscored the fragility of Xiang's alliances, as regional warlords like Ying Bu prioritized survival over ideological fidelity in the fluid Chu-Han power struggle. Ying Bu's switch immediately reinforced Liu Bang's southern defenses, deterring Chu incursions from the Huai River region and allowing Han to stabilize its flanks amid ongoing northern and western campaigns. Without provoking large-scale clashes at the outset, the defection neutralized a key Chu buffer state, freeing Han resources for broader offensives while isolating Xiang Yu further from his eastern peripheries.^[6]

Major Campaigns and Strategic Role

Following his defection to Liu Bang in late 205 BCE, Ying Bu, ruling as King of Jiujiang, mobilized his forces to assail Xiang Yu's Chu territories from the east, initiating a series of offensives that strained Western Chu's defenses. Xiang Yu dispatched General Xiang Guang with an army to subdue the rebellion, but Ying Bu decisively defeated and killed Xiang Guang, securing his base and enabling further incursions into Chu-held regions.^[1] These advances disrupted Xiang Yu's supply lines and prevented reinforcements from bolstering central Chu fronts, compelling Xiang Yu to divert troops southward amid mounting pressures from Liu Bang's coalition.^[2] Ying Bu commanded semi-autonomous southern armies, operating independently yet in loose coordination with Han Xin's northern campaigns and Peng Yue's eastern strikes, forming a multi-pronged strategy that eroded Xiang Yu's strategic depth by 204–203 BCE. His forces harassed Chu garrisons and logistics routes originating from Jiujiang, contributing to the isolation of Xiang Yu's main army as Han forces advanced westward. This dispersed pressure exemplified Liu Bang's reliance on allied warlords for envelopment tactics, with Ying Bu's mobility proving essential in pinning down secondary Chu units.^[1] In the culminating phase of the Chu-Han Contention, Ying Bu's troops joined the convergence at Gaixia in late 202 BCE, where they participated in the encirclement of Xiang Yu's remaining 100,000-strong force under Han Xin's overall direction. Coordinating with contingents from Zhou Yin and Liu Jia to the south, Ying Bu's northern flank advance helped seal escape routes, precipitating Xiang Yu's suicide and the collapse of Western Chu. His role underscored the value of regional commanders in executing Liu Bang's indirect approach, though successes hinged on synchronized allied movements rather than isolated brilliance.^[2]^[1]

Service and Enfeoffment Under Han

Rewards and Titles

Following the defeat of Xiang Yu at the Battle of Gaixia in 202 BCE and the founding of the Han dynasty, Emperor Gaozu (Liu Bang) enfeoffed Ying Bu as King of Huainan (淮南王), confirming his status as a vassal ruler with territory encompassing much of modern eastern Anhui province and his capital at Lu (present-day Lu'an, Anhui).^[1]^[8] This enfeoffment acknowledged Ying Bu's pivotal role in the Chu-Han Contention, including his defection from Xiang Yu in late 205 BCE and subsequent contributions to Han victories, such as providing troops for the campaign against Xiang Yu.^[2] The title granted Ying Bu extensive regional authority, including command over his personal armies numbering tens of thousands, control of local administration, and rights to collect taxes and mobilize resources within his fief—privileges that preserved his pre-existing power base from the Jiujiang kingdom under Xiang Yu.^[1] In return, Ying Bu offered nominal loyalty through tribute, attendance at court when summoned, and military support for Han campaigns, reflecting Emperor Gaozu's pragmatic approach to governance in the dynasty's fragile early years, where immediate disarmament of proven generals risked instability.^[9] This arrangement underscored Han's initial policy of integrating former adversaries and allies via feudal incentives rather than outright elimination, enabling rapid pacification of contested regions while deferring centralization efforts. Ying Bu's enfeoffment paralleled those of other high-ranking defectors, such as Peng Yue as King of Liang, prioritizing empirical stability through distributed military deterrence over ideological uniformity.^[1]^[9]

Court Politics and Rising Tensions

In the years following the Han dynasty's founding in 202 BCE, Emperor Gaozu (Liu Bang) pursued policies aimed at consolidating imperial authority by diminishing the autonomy of enfeoffed kings, particularly those unrelated by blood to the Liu clan, whom he viewed as potential threats based on precedents from the fallen Qin dynasty. This centralization effort involved systematically replacing non-Liu kings with imperial relatives, as recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian, where Gaozu expressed explicit distrust of generals who had risen through merit rather than kinship, stating that "the man who obtains the world through force will lose it through force."^[1] Such measures clashed with the de facto independence warlords like Ying Bu had maintained during the Chu-Han Contention, fostering systemic tensions between the throne and regional powers.^[1] These dynamics sharpened in 196 BCE amid high-profile purges of key vassals. Han Xin, the esteemed general and King of Qi (later downgraded to Marquis of Huaiyin), was accused of plotting rebellion—allegations amplified by court figures like Chancellor Xiao He—and executed in Changle Palace that October.^[10] Mere weeks later, in November, Peng Yue, King of Liang, faced similar charges after refusing to fully support suppression of the Chen Xi rebellion; he was demoted, exiled, and ultimately executed following a failed uprising.^[11] Ying Bu, as King of Huainan, perceived these events as harbingers of his own vulnerability, given his status as a non-Liu appointee with a formidable military background; his chancellor Xue Gong reportedly urged restraint by noting the executions' recency, yet the pattern of eliminating rivals eroded confidence in royal oaths.^[1] Compounding this unease, Ying Bu's obligations to lead campaigns against the Yue tribes in southern territories—expanding Han control into regions like Minyue—kept him physically and politically distant from the Chang'an court for extended periods starting around 202 BCE. These expeditions, while rewarding him with commendations upon return, isolated him from forging alliances among central officials or influencing policy amid the purges, leaving him reliant on distant reports of court intrigue.^[1] Gaozu's concurrent elevation of Liu kin to nearby thrones, such as transferring the King of Zhao to a Liu princess, further underscored the narrowing circle of trusted vassals, heightening Ying Bu's marginalization without direct confrontation.^[1]

Rebellion Against Han

Precipitating Factors

In 196 BCE, Ying Bu, enfeoffed as King of Huainan, rebelled against the Han dynasty due to well-founded fears of execution amid Emperor Gaozu's (Liu Bang) systematic purge of non-Liu clan vassal kings who had contributed to his victory over Xiang Yu. This apprehension stemmed directly from the recent executions of fellow generals Han Xin and Peng Yue, both instrumental in the Chu-Han Contention but eliminated on charges of treason to consolidate imperial power. Han Xin, previously King of Chu, was lured to Changan under false pretenses, accused of plotting rebellion, and put to death in early 196 BCE, with his clan exterminated. Peng Yue, King of Liang, faced similar suspicions of disloyalty linked to Han Xin's alleged conspiracy, resulting in his demotion, exile, and execution by carriage dismemberment later that year. These precedents provided a rational basis for Ying Bu's preemptive defiance, as they demonstrated Gaozu's pattern of betraying meritorious allies to eliminate potential threats, rather than reflecting unbridled personal ambition on Ying Bu's part.^[1]^[10]^[11] Gaozu's broader policy of aggressively curtailing vassal autonomy exacerbated these tensions, as he mobilized forces to replace non-kin kings with Liu family members and scrutinized their loyalty through informants and edicts. Accusations against Ying Bu specifically alleged disloyal communications and rebellious intent, prompting Gaozu to issue a summons for him to appear at court in mid-196 BCE—a maneuver interpreted by Ying Bu as a trap mirroring the fates of Han Xin and Peng Yue. Refusing compliance to preserve his independence, Ying Bu instead raised troops in his domain during the eighth lunar month (approximately August-September), initiating open rebellion by slaying the Han loyalist Liu Jia, Prince of Jing, and declaring autonomy from the central authority. This decision aligned with a strategy of self-preservation against imminent central aggression, underscoring the causal link between Gaozu's purges and vassal responses.^[1]

Military Engagements and Defeat

In 195 BC, Ying Bu initiated his rebellion by assassinating Liu Jia, the Han-appointed King of Jing, which enabled him to seize control of key Chu territories in the region.^[1] This bold strike disrupted Han administration in the south and allowed Ying Bu to rally local forces, achieving initial territorial gains through swift conquests of nearby commanderies vulnerable to his mobilized army.^[1] Ying Bu's forces pressed northward, engaging Han defenders in a series of skirmishes that yielded temporary advantages, including the capture of additional garrisons strained by the dynasty's recent consolidations.^[12] However, these advances overstretched his supply lines across expansive southern terrains, where reliance on local levies proved insufficient against Han's centralized resources and reinforcements.^[12] Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang responded by personally leading a substantial Han army southward, leveraging the dynasty's superior manpower and logistical network to counter the revolt.^[1] At Qi (modern Suxian, Anhui), Han forces decisively defeated Ying Bu's army in direct confrontation, exploiting the rebels' fatigue and dispersed positions.^[1] The engagement highlighted Han's strategic edge, as coordinated imperial columns encircled and overwhelmed Ying Bu's overstretched formations, forcing his retreat across the Yangtze River.^[1]

Death and Immediate Aftermath

Following his defeat at the Battle of Qi (modern Suxian, Anhui) in 195 BCE, Ying Bu fled southward across the Yangtze River into Chu territory.^[1] There, he was betrayed and executed by Wu You, king of Changsha—a son of the former independent ruler Wu Rui—who delivered Ying Bu's head to Emperor Gaozu's forces.^[1] Han reprisals targeted Ying Bu's immediate kin and adherents; his sons were put to death, and loyalists faced execution or exile, as documented in contemporaneous records of punitive measures against rebel lineages.^[1] Ying Bu's Huainan domain was promptly abolished and reorganized, with its territories divided among loyal Han appointees, including portions integrated into neighboring commanderies to prevent resurgence of autonomous power bases.^[1] The swift suppression eroded the military autonomy of surviving regional strongmen, underscoring the fragility of post-unification warlord networks and bolstering imperial consolidation under Gaozu, who sustained an arrow wound during the campaign.^[1]

Historical Legacy

Portrayal in Primary Sources

The primary source for Ying Bu's portrayal is Sima Qian's Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), completed circa 100 BCE, which chronicles his ascent from a tattooed convict in Lu County—punished for unspecified crimes with facial marking and corvée labor on the Qin First Emperor's mausoleum—to a pivotal warlord. During Chen Sheng's uprising in 209 BCE, Ying Bu mobilized fellow laborers to repel Qin troops, showcasing initial command skills that propelled him into Xiang Yu's service as a vanguard leader. Sima Qian details his role in the 207 BCE Battle of Julu, where Ying Bu's forces decisively routed Qin's army, followed by the mass execution and burial of 200,000 Qin soldiers at Xin'an, events reported as tactical necessities in the collapse of Qin rule rather than gratuitous cruelty.^[1] Sima Qian depicts Ying Bu's 205 BCE defection from Xiang Yu to Liu Bang as a calculated realignment amid the Chu-Han Contention's fluid power balances, yielding enfeoffment as King of Ji and later Huainan after Han victory in 202 BCE. His 196 BCE rebellion is framed through precipitating suspicions of imperial purge—triggered by the executions of allies Han Xin and Peng Yue—leading to invasions of Jingchu territories, defeats at Yongqiu and Yin, and flight southward before suicide upon capture. This narrative highlights Ying Bu's military competence, evidenced by sustained campaigns against superior Han forces, while attributing his side-switching and uprising to contextual survival imperatives in a era of winner-take-all conquests, eschewing blanket condemnation for event-driven causality.^[1] Ban Gu's Hanshu (Book of Han), finalized in 111 CE, aligns closely with the Shiji on Ying Bu's biography, replicating core facts of his convict origins, battlefield efficacy, alliance shifts, and fatal revolt without substantive deviations or added moral overlays. Both works prioritize verifiable sequences—such as his vanguard successes and post-enfeoffment tensions—over interpretive virtue ethics, yielding a consistent evidentiary foundation that underscores prowess amid instability rather than isolated perfidy.^[1]

Assessments of Character and Impact

Ying Bu's military achievements were instrumental in the collapse of the Qin dynasty and the early stabilization of Han rule, as he led vanguard forces that decisively defeated Qin armies, including at the Battle of Julu in 207 BCE, where his troops contributed to the broader coalition victory under Xiang Yu.^[1] His subsequent defection to Liu Bang's side in 206 BCE provided critical support during the Chu-Han Contention, enabling Han forces to secure key victories such as Gaixia, which solidified Liu Bang's claim to the throne.^[1] These feats elevated him from a convicted criminal—marked by facial tattooing under Qin law—to the enfeoffed King of Huainan, exemplifying rare upward mobility through martial merit amid the era's upheavals, where lowly origins rarely yielded such prominence without exceptional prowess.^[1] Historians critique Ying Bu's character for recurrent shifts in allegiance, beginning with his initial rebellion against Qin, service to Xiang Yu, pivot to Liu Bang, and ultimate uprising in 196 BCE, which undermined long-term trust among allies and precipitated his downfall.^[1] Sima Qian's Shiji implicitly portrays him as a capable yet opportunistic warrior whose fear-driven rebellion—sparked by suspicions of impending purge—mirrored the fates of contemporaries like Han Xin and Peng Yue, highlighting a pattern of political shortsightedness that prioritized personal survival over strategic loyalty.^[13] This opportunism eroded his standing, as Liu Bang's countermeasures against such defectors underscored the risks of empowering non-kin generals, fostering debates among scholars on whether his decisions reflected pragmatic adaptation to chaotic power dynamics or inherent unreliability.^[1] Ying Bu's rebellion accelerated Han's pivot from feudal enfeoffment of merit-based kings to a more centralized imperial structure, as Liu Bang responded by reallocating territories from rebellious or non-Liu appointees to imperial relatives, thereby diminishing autonomous regional powers and reinforcing bureaucratic commanderies over hereditary fiefs.^[1] His fate exemplified the Han purges of early supporters, which, while stabilizing the dynasty, eliminated key military talents and contributed to the erosion of the initial meritocratic ethos that had propelled figures like him to power.^[13] In modern analyses, Ying Bu occasionally serves as a case study in ancient China's limited class mobility, where wartime chaos enabled transient rises for the lowborn via battlefield success, but systemic centralization ultimately favored blood ties over individual merit, constraining such paths in peacetime.^[1]