Zhao Yun

Who was Zhao Yun?

Zhao Yun, courtesy name Zilong, was a military general who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period. Originally a subordinate of the northern warlord Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun later came to serve Liu Bei and had since accompanied Liu on most of his exploits — from the Battle of Changban to the Hanzhong Campaign. He continued serving in the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period, participating in the first of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions, until his death in 229. While many facts about Zhao Yun's life remain unclear due to limited information in historical sources, some aspects and activities in his life had been highly dramatised or exaggerated in folklore and fiction, most notably in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which he was lauded as a member of the Five Tiger Generals under Liu Bei.