Zhou Bo

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Zhou Bo's ancestral home was Juan County in Henan Commandery (present-day Yuanyang County, Xinxiang, Henan), though his family later moved to Pei County in Sishui Commandery. Born into poverty, he made silkworm trays and played the xiao at funerals for a living. He later entered military service and became known as a strong archer. Sima Qian records in the Records of the Grand Historian that Zhou Bo “made his living weaving silkworm trays, often played the xiao for funeral services, and was a strong archer.” He was plain, hard, steady, and little interested in literary learning, qualities that led Liu Bang to regard him as a man capable of bearing great responsibility. When meeting Confucian scholars and persuasive advisers, he would sit facing east and urge them to state their business quickly, an illustration of his plain and unliterary temperament.

The Pei Uprising and the War against Qin

In 209 BCE, Liu Bang rose at Pei County, and Zhou Bo followed him as a zhongjuan, a court-attendant rank. He accompanied Liu Bang in attacks on Huling and Fangyu, helped suppress opposition at Fangyu, attacked Feng, fought Qin forces east of Dang, and then captured Dang itself. At Xiayi, Zhou Bo was first to scale the walls and was awarded the rank of Fifth Grandee. He then took part in operations against Meng and Yu, fought Zhang Han's chariot and cavalry forces, campaigned in Wei territory, and captured Yuanchi, Dongmin, and the area toward Li County. At Niesang he again climbed the walls first, defeated Qin troops below Dong'e, pursued them toward Puyang, and took Zhencheng. He also fought at Duguan and Dingtao, surprised Wanqiu, captured the magistrate of Shanfu, attacked Linji by night, took Shouzhang, broke Juan County's defenses, fought Li You beneath Yongqiu, and reached the walls first in the attack on Kaifeng.

In 208 BCE Zhang Han defeated and killed Xiang Liang, and Liu Bang and Xiang Yu withdrew east toward Dang Commandery. King Huai of Chu made Liu Bang Marquis of Wu'an and commandery chief of Dang; Liu Bang appointed Zhou Bo Commander of the Tiger Guards. Zhou Bo then followed Liu Bang west against Qin, fought the Dong Commandery commandant at Chengwu, defeated Wang Li's forces, was first into Changshe, took Yingyang and Goushi, cut the Yellow River crossings, defeated Zhao Ben north of Shixiang, attacked the Nanyang governor Lü Yi, broke Wuguan and Yaoguan, fought at Lantian, and finally entered Xianyang with Liu Bang as Qin collapsed.

The Chu–Han Contention and the Reconquest of the Three Qins

After Xiang Yu entered the passes, he made Liu Bang King of Han. Liu Bang gave Zhou Bo the title Marquis of Weiwu. Zhou Bo followed him into Hanzhong and was appointed general. In 206 BCE, as Liu Bang returned to reconquer the Three Qins, Zhou Bo helped seize Guanzhong and was granted Huaide as a fief. He distinguished himself at Huaili and Haozhi, fought Zhao Ben and the Interior Minister Bao near Xianyang, attacked Qi County to the north, fought Zhang Ping and Yao Ang, pacified Qian County, then returned to take Mei and Pinyang, besieged Zhang Han at Feiqiu, defeated forces under the assistant magistrate of Xi County, fought bandit troops under Ba, attacked Shanggui, and pacified Longxi Commandery.

Zhou Bo then followed Liu Bang east through Hangu Pass and fought on the Chu-Han front. He distinguished himself at Quni, returned to defend Aocang, and pursued Xiang Yu. In 202 BCE, Liu Bang and the allied lords met Xiang Yu at Gaixia. Zhou Bo and Chai Wu formed up behind Liu Bang; the Han army decisively defeated Chu and Xiang Yu later died at Wujiang. Zhou Bo then moved east to pacify the former Chu lands of Sishui and Donghai, taking twenty-two counties, before returning to garrison Luoyang and Yueyang. Liu Bang granted Zhongli County jointly to Zhou Bo and Guan Ying as a shared fief.

Campaigns against Rebellious Kings

In the seventh month of 202 BCE, King Zang Tu of Yan rebelled. Zhou Bo followed Liu Bang as a general, defeated the rebels beneath Yi County, and his troops performed especially well in blocking the enemy on the imperial road. In the first month of 201 BCE, Liu Bang formally enfeoffed him as a hereditary marquis, assigning 8,180 households in Jiang County and the title Marquis of Jiang.

In the winter of 200 BCE, Han Xin, King of Han, rebelled and defected to the Xiongnu. Zhou Bo accompanied Liu Bang, accepted the surrender of Huoren, advanced with Fan Kuai from Huoren to Yunzhong, defeated Xiongnu cavalry north of Wuquan, then attacked Han Xin's army at Tongdi and routed it. On the return march he received the surrender of six cities in Taiyuan, attacked Han Xin and Hu cavalry beneath Jinyang and took the city, defeated Han Xin's forces again at Shashi, pursued them for eighty li, then turned against three cities in Loufan and fought the Hu cavalry beneath Pingcheng. His troops again held much of the imperial road, and he was promoted to Defender-in-chief.

In 197 BCE, Chen Xi rebelled and called himself King of Dai. Zhou Bo led forces north through Taiyuan, slaughtered the city of Mayi, killed Chen Xi's general Cheng Mazhi, defeated the combined troops of Han Xin, Chen Xi, and Zhao Li at Loufan, captured Chen Xi's commander Song Zui and the Yanmen defender Hun, then took the Yunzhong governor Su, Chancellor Jisi, and General Xun. He pacified seventeen counties in Yanmen and twelve in Yunzhong. He then defeated Chen Xi at Lingqiu, killed Chen Xi, captured his chancellor Cheng Zong, General Chen Wu, and Commandant Gao Si, and pacified nine counties in Dai.

In 195 BCE King Lu Wan of Yan rebelled. Liu Bang first sent Fan Kuai, but after accusations that Fan Kuai had allied himself with the Lü family, Liu Bang ordered Chen Ping and Zhou Bo to replace him. The two judged that Fan Kuai was an old friend of Liu Bang and brother-in-law of Empress Lü and therefore should not be executed without imperial judgment. They arrested him and sent him to Chang'an. Zhou Bo, now acting as Chancellor of State and commanding in Fan Kuai's place, suppressed the Yan rebellion. He took Ji, captured Lu Wan's senior general Di, Chancellor Yan, Governor Xing, Defender-in-chief Ruo, and Imperial Counselor Shi, destroyed Hundu County, defeated Lu Wan's forces at Shanglan and Juyang, and pursued them to the Great Wall. He pacified twelve counties in Shanggu, sixteen in Youbeiping, twenty-nine in Liaoxi and Liaodong, and twenty-two in Yuyang. In his campaigns with Liu Bang, Zhou Bo was credited with capturing one Chancellor of State, two Grand Councilors, three generals, and three officials of the two-thousand-shi rank; in independent command he broke two armies, took three cities, and pacified five commanderies and seventy-nine counties.

Waiting for the Moment and Eliminating the Lü Clan

Near the end of Liu Bang's life, Empress Lü asked about future appointments. Liu Bang said that Cao Shen could succeed Xiao He, Wang Ling could follow Cao Shen but needed Chen Ping's assistance, and Chen Ping was too calculating to bear sole responsibility. Zhou Bo, though “grave and solid and little given to letters,” would be the man who secured the Liu house and could therefore serve as Defender-in-chief. Liu Bang died in 195 BCE. Empress Lü initially concealed his death and considered killing veteran ministers, but Li Shang warned that Chen Ping and Guan Ying had 100,000 troops at Xingyang and Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo another 200,000 in Yan and Dai; killing the ministers could provoke the outside commanders to revolt. She therefore announced the death. After pacifying Yan, Zhou Bo returned to court and served Emperor Hui as a marquis. In 189 BCE he again became Defender-in-chief.

During Empress Lü's rule, members of the Lü clan came to control military and political power. When Empress Lü died in 180 BCE, the Lü family plotted to seize power. Zhou Bo and Chancellor Chen Ping acted together. Using Lü Lu's friendship with Li Ji, they had Li Ji persuade Lü Lu to surrender command of the Northern Army. Zhou Bo entered the Northern Army and ordered the troops, “Those for the Lü clan bare the right shoulder; those for the Liu clan bare the left.” The whole army bared the left shoulder, giving Zhou Bo control. At the same time Liu Zhang, Marquis of Zhuxu, killed Lü Chan. Zhou Bo sent troops to seize members of the Lü clan, men and women, old and young, and the Lü faction was destroyed. Zhou Bo, Chen Ping, Liu Zhang, and others then welcomed Liu Heng, King of Dai, to the throne as Emperor Wen.

Later Years and Posthumous Reputation

After Emperor Wen's accession, Chen Ping pleaded illness and offered Zhou Bo the position of Right Chancellor, arguing that Zhou Bo had made the greater contribution during the elimination of the Lü clan. Zhou Bo became Right Chancellor and Chen Ping Left Chancellor. Before long Emperor Wen asked Zhou Bo how many legal cases occurred annually and the totals of state revenue and expenditure. Zhou Bo could not answer and perspired heavily. Chen Ping replied that each matter had its responsible official and that a Grand Councilor's duty was to assist the Son of Heaven, pacify the realm, and make all officials perform their functions. Realizing that his administrative ability was far below Chen Ping's, Zhou Bo pleaded illness and resigned. After Chen Ping died, Zhou Bo again became Grand Councilor.

In 177 BCE, Emperor Wen ordered the marquises to reside in their fiefs. Zhou Bo resigned as Grand Councilor to set an example and returned to Jiang County. Fearing execution, he often wore armor and had family members carry weapons when receiving the commandery governor and commandant. He was then accused of rebellion, arrested, and abused by jailers. Unable to defend himself, he followed a jailer's hint, paid a thousand pieces of gold, and sought help through his daughter-in-law, a daughter of Emperor Wen, and through Bo Zhao, brother of Empress Dowager Bo. Empress Dowager Bo angrily rebuked the emperor, after which Zhou Bo was pardoned and restored to his fief. On release he exclaimed that although he had once commanded a million soldiers, he had not known how powerful a jailer could be. He died in 169 BCE and received the posthumous title Marquis Wu.

His Origins, His Entry into the Army, and His Deeds in the Destruction of Qin

Zhou Bo was a man of Pei county, his forebears having been men of Juan who moved to Pei. In his early years he lived by weaving thin silk (traces for silkworms) and often played the flute at funerals, and afterwards became a "strong-bow man" among the material officials, able to draw the heavy bow. He was by temper simple and firm, steady and honest, and Liu Bang thought him fit to be entrusted with great matters; but he had no love of letters, and whenever he summoned the scholars and talkers he would sit facing east in the host's place and order them to "tell me quickly," so uncouth and unlettered was he. When the founder rose as duke of Pei, Zhou Bo followed him as an attendant of the inner palace, attacking Huling and reducing Fangyu; and when Fangyu rebelled and was fought, the enemy was driven back. He attacked Feng, struck the Qin army east of Dang, took his troops back to Liu and Xiao, and attacked Dang again and broke it. Afterwards, at the taking of Xiayi he was first over the wall and was given the rank of the fifth order of nobility; he took Meng and Yu; he brought up the rear against Zhang Han's chariots and horsemen; he settled the land of Wei; he attacked Yuanqi and Dongmin and going on to Li took it; at Niesang he was first over the wall; he struck the Qin army below A and broke it, pursuing to Puyang and reducing Zhencheng; he attacked Duguan and Dingtao, took Wanqu by surprise and captured the magistrate of Shanfu; he took Linji by night, attacked Zhang, and coming to the front at Juan broke it; he attacked Li You's army below Yongqiu; and when Liu Bang's army attacked Kaifeng, Zhou Bo's troops were the most numerous among those who reached the wall first. Later, when Zhang Han broke and killed Xiang Liang, the duke of Pei and Xiang Yu led their troops east to Dang, a year and two months having passed since he first rose at Pei. King Huai of Chu gave the duke of Pei the title of marquis of Anwu and made him governor of Dang commandery, and the duke made Zhou Bo his commander of the tiger guards, in which capacity he accompanied him in settling the land of Wei. He attacked the commandant of the eastern commandery at Chengwu and broke him; he struck Wang Li's army and broke it; at Changshe he was first over the wall; he attacked Yingyang and Goushi and cut the river ford; he struck Zhao Ben's army north of Shi; he marched south against the governor of Nanyang, Yi, and broke the Wu and Yao passes; he broke the Qin army at Lantian and reached Xianyang, and Qin was destroyed. When Xiang Yu came and made Liu Bang king of Han, Liu Bang gave Zhou Bo the title of marquis of Weiwu; and Zhou Bo followed him into Hanzhong and was made a general.

The Chu-Han War and the Battle of Gaixia

When the Han army returned to settle the Three Qin and reached Qin, Zhou Bo was given Huai-de as his fief; he fought at Huaili and Haozhi with the greatest merit, and at Xianyang against Zhao Ben and the palace secretary Bao he again had the greatest merit; he attacked Qi in the north and fought Zhang Ping and Yao Ang; he settled the west as far as Qian; he came back and took Mei and Pinyang, besieged Zhang Han at Feiqiu and broke the western assistant; he broke the bandit Ba's army and attacked Shanggui. Afterwards he went with Liu Bang against Xiang Yu, and at Qu'ni he had the greatest merit; he went back to hold Aocang and pursued Xiang Ji. In the fifth year of Han, 202, the king of Han with the armies of the feudal lords attacked the Chu army and gave battle at Gaixia: Han Xin led three hundred thousand men against the Chu in front, the generals Kong Cong and Chen He formed on the right and left wings, the king of Han held the centre, and Zhou Bo and Chai Wu formed behind him, while Xiang Yu's army was about a hundred thousand; Han Xin first engaged and, not prospering, drew back, whereupon Kong Cong and Chen He drove in from either side so that the Chu were worsted, and Han Xin pressing on again routed the Chu utterly at Gaixia. After Xiang Yu's death Zhou Bo took advantage of the victory to settle the Chu lands of Sishui and Donghai, taking twenty-two counties in all; and returning he held Luoyang and Yueyang, being given Zhongli to share as fief with the marquis of Yingyin.

The Pacification of the Early Rebellions and the Total of His Services

In the seventh month of 202 Zang Tu, king of Yan, rebelled and was said to have taken Dai, and Liu Bang led troops against him in person; and Zhou Bo went with him as general against Zang Tu, "breaking him at the Yi," his troops being "the most numerous on the imperial highway," and was therefore made a marquis with a tally to be held in perpetuity, with eight thousand one hundred and eighty households of Jiang as his fief and the title marquis of Jiang. In the winter of 200 he went as general with the founder against the rebel king of Han, Xin, in Dai, reduced the county of Huoren, and coming to the front at Wuquan attacked the barbarian horsemen and broke them north of Wuquan; he turned against Xin's army at Tongdi and broke it; afterwards he broke Xin's army at Shashi and pursued it eighty li north; returning he attacked the three cities of Loufan and took the occasion to strike the barbarian horse below Pingcheng, his troops again being the most numerous on the imperial highway, and he was promoted to grand commandant. In the ninth month of 197 Han Xin's men misled Chen Xi, who rebelled and styled himself king of Dai, plundering Zhao and Dai; and Liu Bang went in person into Zhao and ordered the grand commandant Zhou Bo to lead a separate army north to settle Dai. Zhou Bo advanced through Taiyuan commandery and settled Dai commandery; reaching Mayi and failing to take it after a long siege, he afterwards stormed and wrecked the city. His troops killed Chen Xi's general Chengma Chi, and at Loufan he attacked the armies of Han Xin, Chen Xi and Zhao Li and broke them; he took Chen Xi's general Song Zui and the governor of Yanmen, Hun, and turning against them took the governor of Yunzhong, Su, the chancellor Ji Si and the general Xun, settling seventeen counties of Yanmen and twelve of Yunzhong; and he attacked Chen Xi again at Lingqiu, broke him and killed him, taking his chancellor Cheng Zong, his general Chen Wu and his commandant Gao Si, and settling nine counties of Dai commandery. The chancellor of Zhao, Li Shang, joined Zhou Bo in settling Dai and Yanmen. In the second month of 195 Lu Wan, king of Yan, rebelled, and Liu Bang first sent Fan Kuai against him; afterwards someone told the gravely ill founder that Fan Kuai was in league with the Lü family and meant to kill the prince of Zhao, and the founder in fury ordered Chen Ping to carry Zhou Bo in a cart to replace Fan Kuai and to behead him in the camp at once. The two received the order and drove by post-horse, and before reaching the camp discussed it as they went, saying that Fan Kuai was the emperor's old friend, of great merit, and the husband of the empress's sister Lü Xu, a kinsman and a man of rank, so that if the emperor in a moment's anger had him killed he would surely repent, and that they had rather imprison him and hand him over to the emperor to put to death himself. They did not go into Fan Kuai's camp but raised an earthen altar and summoned him with the tally; and when Fan Kuai received the order he was at once bound and put in a cage cart for Chang'an, Zhou Bo taking his place in command and leading the troops to settle Yan. He took Ji, seizing Lu Wan's chief general Di, his chancellor Yan, the governor Xing, the grand commandant Ruo and the censor-in-chief Shi, and put Hundu to the sword; he broke Lu Wan's army at Shanglan and again at Juyang, pursuing to the long wall and settling twelve counties of Shanggu, sixteen of Youbeiping, twenty-nine of Liaoxi and Liaodong and twenty-two of Yuyang. It is recorded that in following Liu Bang Zhou Bo took one chancellor of state, two chancellors, and three generals and three officers of the two-thousand-bushel rank; and that when he led an army on his own to settle Yan he broke two great armies of Lu Wan, took three chief cities, settled five commanderies — Shanggu, Youbeiping, Liaoxi, Liaodong and Yuyang — seventy-nine counties in all, and took one chancellor and one chief general.

The Founder's Dying Words, the Years of the Empress Dowager, and the Destruction of the Lü Family

At the founder's death the empress Lü asked his arrangements for after him, and he said that after Cao Shen should come Wang Ling, and then Chen Ping with his wisdom to assist, though Chen Ping could not bear the burden alone; and that though Zhou Bo was heavy and uncouth, "he who will make the Liu house safe is certainly Bo," and that Zhou Bo might be grand commandant. On the day jiachen of the fourth month of 195 Liu Bang died; and the empress, keeping the death secret, thought to kill the generals and ministers lest the old ministers should not submit to a young sovereign, but the general Li Shang dissuaded her, saying that Chen Ping and Guan Ying at Xingyang had two hundred thousand troops obeying Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo, and that if the courtiers were killed the outer generals would rebel; and so she published the death and proclaimed a general pardon, and afterwards Chen Ping came to the palace by order and dispelled her suspicions, and Fan Kuai was pardoned. Zhou Bo, having settled Yan, brought his troops back, and served as a marquis under Emperor Hui. In the sixth year of Hui the office of grand commandant was established and Zhou Bo made grand commandant; ten years later the empress dowager died. Lü Lu as prince of Zhao became general-in-chief of Han, Lü Chan as prince of Lü became chancellor of state, and holding the power of Han they wished to endanger the Liu house. Emperor Hui dying after seven years, at his mourning the empress, fearing the ministers, wept without grief; and Chen Ping and the other ministers, on the advice of Zhang Liang's son Zhang Piqiang, gave power to the Lü family to soothe them. When the empress wished to make princes of the Lü and assembled the ministers, the right chancellor Wang Ling opposed it strongly by the oath that whoever was not of the Liu house and yet was made a king should be attacked by all under heaven; and the question being put to the left chancellor Chen Ping and the marquis of Jiang Zhou Bo, they answered that the founder had made the sons of Liu kings, and that now the empress dowager, acting for the son of Heaven, might well make the brothers of Lü kings, at which she was greatly pleased. Coming out of court Wang Ling reproached Chen Ping and Zhou Bo, asking whether they had not been present at the oath with the founder, and whether now that he was dead and the empress dowager ruled they could face him below the earth for indulging her private wish and breaking the sworn compact; and Chen Ping and Zhou Bo answered that to oppose it to the face in court and remonstrate on principle they were not Wang Ling's equals, but that to preserve the altars of the Han and settle the descendants of Liu he was not theirs, and Wang Ling had no answer. Afterwards Lu Jia visited Chen Ping and persuaded him and Zhou Bo to make friends, so that the chancellor and the general became very close. In the fifth month of 184, after the death of the left chancellor Chen Ping, the office of grand commandant was re-established and Zhou Bo again held it. On the day xinsi of the seventh month of 180 the empress dowager died, Lü Lu's daughter being empress, and the Lü still held the government and meant to endanger the Liu house and set themselves up. Yet though they plotted rebellion they dared not move for fear of Zhou Bo, Guan Ying and the other old ministers of the founder; and the marquis of Zhuxu, Liu Zhang, perceiving their design, secretly made contact with the king of Qi, Liu Xiang, to send troops west while he acted within the court. When the king of Qi raised troops, Lü Chan sent Guan Ying against him, but Guan Ying camped at Xingyang and secretly joined the king of Qi, meaning to wait until the Lü rebelled and then join in punishing them. Lü Lu and Lü Chan, wishing to raise trouble in Guanzhong but fearing Zhou Bo and the ministers and Liu Zhang and the imperial kin, hesitated; and with the northern and southern armies in their hands the marquises and ministers could not feel safe, Zhou Bo as grand commandant being unable to enter the camp to command troops and Chen Ping as chancellor unable to conduct business — and so Bo and Ping plotted and "in the end destroyed the Lü and set up Emperor Xiaowen." To break the deadlock they used the friendship between Li Shang's son Li Ji and Lü Lu, holding Li Shang to force Li Ji to persuade him: Li Ji told Lü Lu that holding the seal of the prince of Zhao while remaining in the capital in command of troops would easily draw the ministers' suspicion, and that if he returned the seal and the military power to the grand commandant and went back to his fief the Qi troops would withdraw and he might be a prince at his ease. Lü Lu was willing to hand over the command and told Lü Chan and the elders of the family, who were divided. On the morning of the gengshen day of the eighth month Zhou Bo had the marquis of Xiangping, Ji Tong, who was in charge of the tallies, forge an order with the tally saying that the emperor commanded the grand commandant to take the northern army, and sent Li Ji with the master of guests Liu Jie to tell Lü Lu again that the emperor had given the grand commandant the northern army and that he should return his seal and go home at once or disaster would come; and Lü Lu, trusting Li Ji, untied his seal and gave it to Liu Jie, handing over the northern army altogether. Zhou Bo entered the northern army with the seal and proclaimed to all that those for the Lü should bare the right arm and those for Liu the left; and every man in the army bared the left arm, so that the northern army passed wholly under his command. The southern army was still in Lü Chan's hands, and Zhou Bo and Chen Ping acted together, sending Liu Zhang to guard the camp gate and ordering Cao Zhu to tell the commandant of the Weiyang palace not to let Lü Chan into the palace gate. Lü Chan, not knowing that Lü Lu had lost the northern army, came to the palace to make trouble and was stopped outside, pacing to and fro; and Zhou Bo, fearing he could not hold, sent Liu Zhang with more than a thousand men into the palace to "guard the emperor," in fact to seize the advantage, and Liu Zhang took the chance to hunt down Lü Chan and cut him down in the evening in the privy of a government office. Zhou Bo, hearing of it, rose and congratulated Liu Zhang, saying that the only one he feared was Lü Chan and that now he was gone the realm was at peace. Then he ordered the Lü family wiped out: Lü Lu was beheaded on the following day, Lü Xu beaten to death, the prince of Yan, Lü Tong, killed, and the men and women of the Lü, old and young alike, put to death, while word was sent to the king of Qi and to Guan Ying to withdraw their troops. Afterwards the court ministers, with Zhou Bo and Chen Ping at their head, deliberated in secret and held that the young emperor Liu Hong and the rest were not the sons of Emperor Hui but children taken from others by the empress to strengthen the Lü, and fearing that when they grew up and held power they would settle scores with the ministers they resolved to set up a worthy man; and when this or that candidate was rejected for overbearing power or youth, Zhou Bo and the rest unanimously proposed the prince of Dai, Liu Heng, because he was the eldest surviving son of the founder, benevolent, filial and generous, and his mother's family prudent and good, so that setting up the eldest was proper and his reputation excellent. Envoys were secretly sent to Dai to welcome Liu Heng to court, and he and his officers, fearing the ministers, hesitated and declined; but hearing the analysis of the commandant of the centre, Song Chang, he sent his uncle Bo Zhao to the capital to test the ground, and Zhou Bo and the rest explained the matter to Bo Zhao in full and removed his doubts, so that Liu Heng set out. When he reached Chang'an the chancellor Chen Ping and the officers below him all came out to meet him; and Zhou Bo as grand commandant was the first to come forward to express the wish to set him up. He wished to report to the prince of Dai privately, but was rebuffed by the prince's attendant Song Chang with the principle that a king receives no private approach; and Zhou Bo at once knelt and presented the imperial seal and the tally in token of submission and of his sincerity in setting him up, and the prince put him off with the words that it should be discussed again at the Dai residence. Then at the Dai residence the chancellor Chen Ping, the grand commandant Zhou Bo, the general-in-chief Chen Wu, the censor-in-chief Zhang Cang, the imperial clansman Liu Ying, the marquis of Zhuxu Liu Zhang, the marquis of Dongmou Liu Xingju and the master of guests Liu Jie all bowed again and proposed, saying that the emperor's sons Liu Hong and the rest were not Emperor Hui's sons and ought not to serve the ancestral temple, that they had respectfully consulted with the marquise of Yin'an, the queen of Qing, the king of Langya and the clansmen, generals, chancellors, marquises and officials of the two-thousand-bushel rank and above, and that all said that the prince was the eldest son of the founder and should be his heir; and they begged him to take the throne. Liu Heng declined several times, first sitting facing west in the host's place, and when the ministers raised him to face south in the ruler's place he declined twice more, and at last took the throne. The chariot and cavalry general Liu Xingju asked leave to clear the palace, and entering with the grand coachman told the young emperor that he was not of the Liu blood and must retire outside the palace; but the attendants of the young emperor barred the way with halberds, demanding who dared enter while the son of Heaven was there; and Liu Heng summoned the grand commandant Zhou Bo, who came forward and explained the matter to the guards, so that the ten attendants laid down their arms and withdrew and Liu Heng could enter the palace and take the government, Zhou Bo handing over the command of the guards. That night the so-called sons of Emperor Hui, the young emperor among them, were all put to death by the responsible offices.

Two Chancellorships, Retirement to His Fief, and Imprisonment

On the day xinhai of the tenth month of the first year of Emperor Wen, Zhou Bo was made right chancellor and Guan Ying grand commandant; and afterwards the emperor issued an edict setting out the destruction of the Lü and rewarding the meritorious, in which Zhou Bo stood first, being given ten thousand households more in fief and five thousand catties of gold, far more than Chen Ping, Guan Ying and the rest, so that he was the most honoured minister of the early reign. Some time after, the emperor having grown familiar with the affairs of state, at a court audience he asked the right chancellor Zhou Bo how many cases were judged in the realm in a year, and Zhou Bo begged pardon and said he did not know; and asked again how much money and grain came in and went out in a year, and Zhou Bo again begged pardon and did not know, sweat pouring down his back in shame that he could not answer. Then the emperor asked the left chancellor Chen Ping, who said that there were officers in charge, and that for cases one should ask the commandant of justice and for money and grain the director of grain; and when the emperor asked what then he himself was in charge of, Chen Ping begged pardon and said that the chancellor's office was above to assist the son of Heaven in regulating the yin and yang and following the four seasons, below to nurture the ten thousand things in season, without to pacify the four barbarian peoples and the feudal lords, and within to cherish and unite the common people, so that the ministers and great officers were each equal to their duties; and the emperor praised his answer. The right chancellor Zhou Bo was much ashamed, and coming out of court reproached Chen Ping for not having taught him beforehand what to answer; and Chen Ping laughed and asked whether, holding the chancellorship, he did not know the duties of a chancellor, and whether if the emperor asked the number of thieves in Chang'an he would try to make up a figure. Then Zhou Bo knew that his ability was far below Chen Ping's. More than a month after Emperor Wen's accession someone advised Zhou Bo that he had destroyed the Lü and set up the prince of Dai, that his majesty shook the realm, and that he had received rich rewards and held a high place and was much favoured, so that in time disaster would come upon him; and Zhou Bo, in fear and feeling his danger, begged leave to resign and asked to return his seal, which the emperor allowed, so that Chen Ping alone held the chancellorship. In the tenth month of the second year of the former era, 178, Chen Ping died and the emperor again called Zhou Bo to be chancellor. Emperor Wen adopted Jia Yi's proposal that the marquises should go to their fiefs, ordering them back to their principalities, since the transport of supplies by officials and soldiers wearied the people and the marquises could not govern their fiefs in person, to the harm of local order. The order touched the interests of the marquises, Zhou Bo at their head, and when the emperor wished to raise Jia Yi to one of the chief offices Zhou Bo, Guan Ying and the rest impeached him as young, shallow in learning and wishing to monopolize power and disorder the government, so that the emperor turned away from him and sent him as tutor to the king of Changsha. The policy was not abandoned: in the tenth month of the third year of the former era, 177, an eclipse occurred, and the emperor took the occasion to repeat the order, saying that he had directed the marquises to their fiefs and that some made excuses to stay, and that the chancellor, whom he respected, should set the example for the marquises and go home; and so Zhou Bo was relieved of the chancellorship and went back to his fief, the emperor making the grand commandant Guan Ying chancellor and abolishing the office of grand commandant, so that military power passed to the chancellor Guan Ying. In his fief Zhou Bo, fearing to be killed, often wore armour and had his household bear arms when the governor and commandant of Hedong toured the county. Afterwards someone memorialized accusing Zhou Bo of intending rebellion, and the emperor gave the matter to the commandant of justice, who passed it to Chang'an, and Zhou Bo was arrested and tried. As to why the emperor was so harsh, later writers have held it was probably because Zhou Bo had killed several sons of Emperor Hui: whether or not they were really his sons, it could not be tolerated that an outer minister should have the power to determine the blood and status of the imperial house, and if one day the ministers were displeased with Liu Heng, might they not do the same to him; and the emperor's order to arrest Zhou Bo may well have come of excessive fear. Zhou Bo, in terror, did not know what to plead, and the prison officers began to insult him; and giving them a thousand pieces of gold, he had one write on the back of a tablet the hint that he should call the princess to witness — the princess being Emperor Wen's daughter, whom Zhou Bo's eldest son Zhou Shengzhi had married, so that the officer taught him to cite her. Zhou Bo had given all the wealth of his added fief and gifts to Bo Zhao; and when the case became urgent Bo Zhao spoke to the empress dowager Bo, who also held that Zhou Bo had not rebelled. Once, when the emperor came to court, the empress dowager snatched up her headcloth and threw it at him, saying that the marquis of Jiang, wearing the seal the emperor had given him and commanding troops in the northern army, had not rebelled then, and should he now, in a small county, wish to rebel? The emperor, having seen Zhou Bo's deposition in prison, begged the empress dowager's pardon and said that the officers had just verified it and would release him; and he sent an envoy with the tally to pardon the marquis of Jiang and restore his rank and fief. Coming out of prison Zhou Bo said that he had once led a million troops and yet had not known the eminence of a prison officer; and he went back to his fief. In the eleventh year of the former era of Emperor Wen, 169, Zhou Bo died with the posthumous name of marquis Wu.

His Instruction of the Dou Brothers and His Quarrel with Yuan Ang

Zhou Bo, having just lived through the trouble of the Lü consort kin, took counsel with Guan Ying and others, saying that while they lived their lives hung on the two Dou brothers, who were of low birth, and that masters and companions must be chosen for them, or they would again follow the Lü in plotting rebellion; and he chose men of years, virtue and upright conduct to be with Dou Zhangjun and Dou Guangguo, so that the two became modest and yielding and did not presume on their rank to treat others with arrogance. Earlier, when Zhou Bo held the chancellorship alone he was in high feather, and after court audiences Emperor Wen would often see him out in person; and Yuan Ang remonstrated with the emperor, holding that Zhou Bo was only a "minister of merit" and not a "minister of the altars," pointing out that in the time of the Lü ascendancy he had not upheld the Han house, and warning that too much deference would feed his arrogance and destroy the courtesies between sovereign and minister; and from that time the emperor changed his manner and Zhou Bo began to stand in awe. Afterwards Zhou Bo resented Yuan Ang, saying that he had been a friend of Yuan Ang's elder brother Yuan Kuai and that the young man was now defaming him at court; and Yuan Ang would not apologize. Later, when Zhou Bo had lost the chancellorship, gone to his fief and been falsely accused of rebellion and imprisoned in Chang'an, no one at court dared speak, and only Yuan Ang proved his innocence with all his strength; and after his release Zhou Bo and Yuan Ang became the closest of friends.

Major Activities

Military Achievements

Zhou Bo was among Liu Bang's most accomplished and heavily engaged commanders. From the Pei uprising onward he fought throughout the central wars of the late Qin and early Han: repeatedly scaling city walls first; helping break Wuguan and Yaoguan in the campaign against Qin; reconquering the Three Qins, defending Aocang, pursuing Xiang Yu, and joining the decisive Battle of Gaixia; and, after the founding of Han, suppressing the large rebellions of Zang Tu, Han Xin, Chen Xi, and Lu Wan. Contemporary tallies credited him, in campaigns under Liu Bang, with capturing one Chancellor of State, two Grand Councilors, three generals, and three senior officials, and in independent command with breaking two armies, taking three cities, and pacifying five commanderies and seventy-nine counties.

Eliminating the Lü Clan and Securing the Liu House

In 180 BCE, after Empress Lü's death, Zhou Bo and Chen Ping devised a plan to strip Lü Lu of the Northern Army. Once Zhou Bo entered the army, he ordered those supporting the Lü to bare the right shoulder and those supporting the Liu to bare the left; the soldiers all bared the left. Liu Zhang killed Lü Chan, and Zhou Bo then sent troops to arrest and kill the Lü faction. Zhou Bo, Chen Ping, Liu Zhang, and others subsequently brought Liu Heng, King of Dai, to the throne, preserving Liu dynastic rule. Sima Qian later likened their achievement to the service of Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou.

Political Service

Zhou Bo twice served as Right Chancellor. In 179 BCE, Chen Ping yielded the position to him. When Zhou Bo found himself unable to answer Emperor Wen's detailed questions on administration, he recognized his limitations and resigned. After Chen Ping's death he returned to the office of Grand Councilor. In 177 BCE, when Emperor Wen ordered marquises to live in their fiefs, Zhou Bo again resigned and returned to Jiang County as an example to others.

Campaign Geography

Zhou Bo's military career extended over much of the Han realm: east to Liaodong and Yuyang, west to Longxi and Shanggui, south to Nanyang and Wuguan, north to the Great Wall and Pingcheng, and through Guanzhong, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong. The geographical range of his campaigns was exceptional among the founding Han generals.

His Manner of Fighting, the Comparisons Made of Him, and His Tomb and Cult

Zhou Bo took part with Liu Bang in almost all the military actions of the fall of Qin and the beginning of Han: the destruction of Qin, the campaign against Xiang Yu, the putting down of internal rebellion and the defence against the Xiongnu. His manner of fighting took two forms: the charge, being first over the wall at Xiayi, Niesang and Changshe and winning the highest merit at Huaili, Haozhi, Xianyang and Qu'ni, and afterwards suppressing the rebellions of Zang Tu and of Han Xin; and the rear guard and "the most numerous on the imperial highway," as when he brought up the rear against Zhang Han's chariots and horsemen and when his troops were most numerous on the highway at Pingcheng and at the Yi. It was seeing in Zhou Bo this quality of stillness and then sudden swiftness that made Liu Bang think him able to bear great matters, so that at his approaching death he gave him the troops under Fan Kuai; and after the empress Lü came to power Zhou Bo bided his time. Later ages have not agreed in comparing him: some say that when Zhou Bo was a common man he was a plain rustic of no more than ordinary ability, and that risen to the seat of counsellor he saved the state in its peril, destroyed the Lü and set up Emperor Wen, being to Han what Yi Yin and the duke of Zhou were; while another holds that Zhou Bo's merit was not equal to Huo Guang's, because Zhou Bo was already a great minister of the founder, of high office and power, to whom all turned, and as grand commandant with a million troops had besides the strength of Chen Ping and Wang Ling, the aid of the princes of Zhuxu and the rest, and Li Ji's persuasions to outwit the Lü, so that with men's hearts with him the thing was easy; whereas Huo Guang in a moment of crisis received a charge to guide a young sovereign, kept the realm at peace, put down the rebellion of the princes of Yan and Shangguan, deposed Changyi and set up Emperor Xuan, bearing the weight of the Han house and raising the fortunes of its revival — so that weighing the results the difference in merit is clear. In 782, the third year of Jianzhong of Tang, the master of ceremonies Yan Zhenqing proposed to Emperor Dezong that sixty-four ancient generals be given posthumous titles and temples, among them "the left chancellor, the marquis of Jiang, Zhou Bo"; and in 1123 the Song house, following the Tang precedent, set up a temple to seventy-two famous generals, among them Zhou Bo. His son Zhou Shengzhi succeeded as marquis of Jiang and six years later, having married a princess and not agreeing with her, "was condemned for killing a man, and the fief was abolished"; and after a year without an heir Emperor Wen chose the worthier of Zhou Bo's sons, Zhou Yafu, then governor of Henei, made him marquis of Tiao and continued the line of the marquis of Jiang — Zhou Yafu becoming chancellor after the revolt of the seven kingdoms and afterwards starving to death in prison. As to his burial, a great tomb among the satellite tombs east of the Changling in Xianyang, Shaanxi, is recorded in the Commentary on the Waterways Classic as that of Zhou Bo or Zhou Yafu, and in the 1960s archaeologists found near it numbers of burial pits containing more than three thousand clay figures of men and horses; and tombs or tomb-sites of Zhou Bo are also recorded in Zhengzhou and Tanghe in Henan and in Feng county, Jiangsu, where the Zhou village has a Zhou ancestral hall with sacrifices to the marquis of Jiang and the Zhou ancestors, where the local people once built a temple to him and sacrificed yearly, and where the place of his life and burial was named Bocun, "Bo's village." Such local remains and legends stand together, and their precise attribution still requires separate examination.

Personal Relations

• Father: Zhou □
• Mother: Lady □
• Wife: Lady □
• Eldest son: Zhou Shengzhi (married a daughter of Emperor Wen; later lost his title for murder)
• Second son: Zhou Yafu (celebrated general under Emperor Jing; suppressed the Rebellion of the Seven States and later died after fasting)
• Third son: Zhou Jian (Marquis of Pingqu)
• Grandson: Zhou Jiande (son of Zhou Jian; lost his marquisate under Emperor Wu over the ceremonial-gold levy)
• Liu Bang: founding ruler and Zhou Bo's patron; before death entrusted him with the future security of the Liu house
• Liu Ying: Emperor Hui, whom Zhou Bo served as a marquis
• Liu Heng: Emperor Wen, whom Zhou Bo helped enthrone and under whom he twice served as Right Chancellor
• Lü Zhi: Empress Lü, during whose rule Zhou Bo waited for an opportunity to act
• Chen Ping: Grand Councilor who conspired with Zhou Bo to eliminate the Lü clan and later yielded the Right Chancellorship to him
• Guan Ying: Marquis of Yingyin, who shared the Zhongli fief with Zhou Bo
• Fan Kuai: general who campaigned with Zhou Bo against Han Xin and Lu Wan
• Li Shang: Chancellor of Zhao, who cooperated with Zhou Bo in pacifying Dai and Yanmen
• Liu Zhang: Marquis of Zhuxu, who joined Zhou Bo in eliminating the Lü clan
• Yuan Ang: once offended Zhou Bo, but later defended him when he was imprisoned
• Bo Zhao: younger brother of Empress Dowager Bo, who interceded for Zhou Bo
• Lü Lu: member of the Lü clan and commander of the Northern Army, whose military authority Zhou Bo seized by stratagem
• Lü Chan: member of the Lü clan killed by Liu Zhang while Zhou Bo moved against the Lü faction
• Zang Tu: King of Yan, whose revolt Zhou Bo helped suppress
• Han Xin, King of Han: rebelled and defected to the Xiongnu; defeated by Zhou Bo
• Chen Xi: rebel leader who called himself King of Dai; killed in Zhou Bo's campaign
• Lu Wan: King of Yan, whose rebellion Zhou Bo suppressed

Historical Assessment

Han and Contemporary Assessments

• Liu Bang described Zhou Bo as “grave and solid but little given to letters” and predicted that he would be the man to secure the Liu family, recommending him for the office of Defender-in-chief. (Records of the Grand Historian, “Basic Annals of Gaozu”)
• Sima Qian wrote that Zhou Bo began as an ordinary, rustic man of modest talent, but after becoming a general and minister restored the state during the Lü crisis, an achievement comparable to Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou. (Records of the Grand Historian, “Hereditary House of Marquis Zhou Bo of Jiang”)
• Emperor Wen declared that Chancellor Zhou Bo personally led the marquises in eliminating the Lü clan and securing the Liu house, a service of the highest order. (Book of Han, “Annals of Emperor Wen”)

Wei-Jin through Tang-Song Periods

• Ban Gu praised Zhou Bo's rise from a plain commoner to a chief assistant of the throne and his role in eliminating the Lü clan and enthroning Emperor Wen. (Book of Han, “Biography of Zhou Bo”)
• Sima Zhen's encomium praised his solid character, his support of Han, and his leading role in restoring the Liu house. (Shiji suoyin shuzan)
• Su Shi cited Zhou Bo's grave, unlettered character as compatible with a deep capacity for bearing great affairs. (Dongpo zhilin)

Ming and Qing Periods

• Wang Fuzhi argued that Zhou Bo's destruction of the Lü clan served not only the Liu house but the realm and compared his merit to that of Yi Yin. (Du Tongjian lun)
• Li Zhi praised Zhou Bo as stubborn and solid yet capable of great affairs, emphasizing his achievement in eliminating the Lü clan and enthroning Emperor Wen. (Cangshu)

Modern Period

• Lü Simian described Zhou Bo as a distinguished early Han commander but regarded his greatest achievement as the elimination of the Lü clan and stabilization of the Liu house. (History of the Qin and Han)
• Qian Mu noted that Zhou Bo did not act alone, but his seizure of the Northern Army was the decisive step that enabled the enthronement of Emperor Wen and stabilized the dynasty. (Outline of National History)