3 -Wu Qi (440 – 381 BC)
This military leader often ranks #2 in lists of the greatest Chinese military commanders behind the incomparable Sun Tzu. He was a prominent general during the Warring States period and was renowned not only for being an exceptional leader of men, but also an incredible military strategist. A number of Chinese military experts believe Wu Qi was a better commander than Sun Tzu and he also has the city of Wu Cheng named after him. He is sometimes referred to as ‘The Flawed Perfect General’ because despite his dubious character, Wu Qi was a feared and respected general who won an extraordinary amount of battles.
Wu Qi grew up in the village of Way in China’s Central East region and showed little sign of his later military prowess as a child. Legend has it that young Wu bit his arm and swore a blood oath to leave his village and not return until he had become famous with a carriage of riches and honor. His initial aim was to become a courtier and he studied Confucian classics. His hard work soon paid off as a minister of the Qi kingdom visited Wu’s school and was so impressed by the young man that he gave one of his daughters to Wu to be his wife.
A few years later, Wu became a minister of the Court in the Lu Kingdom under the watch of Duke Mu. Meanwhile, the prime minister of the Qi Kingdom, Tien He, usurped the throne and became king. Tien He was related to Wu Qi by marriage, a fact that concerned Mu who questioned his minister’s loyalty. Wu responded by presenting the duke with the severed head of his wife. He received command of the Lu Kingdom army and so began a brilliant military career. He gained the loyalty and respect of his men by walking beside his troops, eating with soldiers and sleeping on the ground. The general even carried his own rations and equipment while marching.
Wu’s Lu army destroyed the Qi forces and the general’s reputation as a great leader was sealed. However, he switched sides and joined the Qi court soon after. When Duke Hei of the Ch’in kingdom died, Wu captured five Ch’in cities and blocked the kingdom’s eastward expansion. He was apparently the first person ever to create a national system for training and maintaining a standing army of professional troops. He demanded the best from his troops and would-be recruits had to pass a series of grueling physical tests. For example, prospects had to carry several weapons, armor, and three days of dried rations while marching 40 kilometers in half a day.
One of his most famous triumphs occurred at Yin Ghin in 389 BC where he defeated a Ch’in army despite being hugely outnumbered. However, prime minister Gong Zu was afraid that Wu Qi would try and seize power so he was kicked out of the Qi court. He ended up fighting for the Chu Kingdom and changed their military system. Alas, King Diao, the man who hired Wu Qi, died in 381 BC and during a court revolt in the aftermath of the king’s death, many of the men removed from the positions during Wu’s tenure in Chu chased him into the royal palace where arrows killed him.
According to legend, Wu pulled out some of the arrows and stuck them into King Diao’s body which lay in state. Diao’s successor, his son Shu, hunted down the rebels who had ‘desecrated’ his father’s body. Even in death then, Wu Qi gained revenge on those who assassinated him. In the field, he was an all-time great commander and had Diao lived a decade longer, Wu Qi could have helped the Chu Kingdom dominate China.