Zhang Jue 張角

Zhang Jiao (or Zhang Jue, ? - 184) was the head of the Yellow Turbans that rebelled against the Han in 184. He had two younger brothers; Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang. He titled himself 'Lord of Heaven'.

Life
Zhang Jiao was a man from Julu who had been worshipping the Yellow Emperer and Laozi for some time before 183 A.D. He was a follower of Taoïsm and called his doctrine "The Way of Great Peace". He used charmed water to treat illness, and he made those who were sick kneel down and confess their faults. Sometimes they got better, and then people worshipped him and believed him.

Followers
Zhang Jiao sent out disciples to travel in every part of the empire and convert the people of the eight provinces Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang and Yu to his doctrines. Some people sold up all their property and left their homes to follow him. Tens of thousands of followers died of illness or starvation before they even reached him. Zhang Jiao set up 36 divisions, which were led by officers such as Bo Cai, Bu Si, Ma Yuanyi and Zhang Mancheng.

The War Begins
In spring 184 A.D. one of Zhang Jiao's disciples, Tang Zhou, sent a message to the court informing them about Zhang Jiao's plans. In the second month Zhang Jiao named himself as Lord of Heaven, his younger brother Zhang Bao was named Lord of Earth and the youngest brother Zhang Liang was named Lord of Man and they launched their attack against the Han. Zhang Jiao's men had various early successes against Han generals such as Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song, however after a couple of months the tides seem to have changed in the Han's favour. Several of Zhang Jiao's officers had either been defeated or killed and Zhang Jiao himself had suffered multiple losses against Lu Zhi. Zhang Jiao had fled to take refuge in Guangzong. Lu Zhi was preparing himself for the final attack, however Zuo Feng had told the Emperer that "It would be easy to destroy the rebels in Guangzong, but General Lu [Zhi] allows his army to rest behind strong defences. He does no more than hope that some punishment from Heaven will befall the rebels." After hearing this the Emperer had Lu Zhi summoned back to the palace and sentenced to death.

Dong Zhuo was sent to replace Lu Zhi. He attacked Zhang Jiao but had no succes and was condemned for his failure. On September the 25th an edict ordered Huangfu Song to attack Zhang Jiao.

Zhang Jiao's Death
In the tenth month Zhang Liang was defeated and beheaded by Huangfu Song. Sometime before this, Zhang Jiao had passed away, he had died of an illness. His coffin was broken open, his corpse defiled and his head cut off and send to the capital. In the eleventh month Huangfu Song attacked and killed the last remaining Zhang brother; Zhang Bao.

Family

 * Brothers
 * Zhang Bao


 * Zhang Liang

Differences between Fact & Fiction

 * Historically, Zhang Jiao died in 184 and not in 188 as some fictitious sources suggest.