Zhou Yu Zhou Yu ( 175 – 210 ) , Gongjin , was a military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . He continued serving under Sun Quan ( Sun Ce ' s younger brother and successor ) after Sun Ce died in 200 CE . Around late 208 , the northern warlord Cao Cao led his forces south with the intention of conquering the Jiangdong region ( where Sun Quan ' s territories were based ) , but was defeated by Sun ' s forces under Zhou Yu ' s command at the decisive Battle of Red Cliffs . Zhou Yu served as the frontline commander of Sun Quan ' s forces at the Battle of Jiangling ( a follow - up to Red Cliffs ) and defeated Cao Cao ' s forces again . Zhou Yu ' s victories helped to solidify the survivability of Sun Quan ' s regime , which would serve as the foundation of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period ( 220 – 280 ) . He died in 210 at a relatively young age of 35 while preparing for a conquest of the Bashu region ( covering present - day Sichuan and Chongqing ) . Family background . Zhou Yu was a native of Shu ( 舒 ) , Lujiang ( 廬江 ) , which is in present - day Shucheng County , Lu ' an , Anhui . Two of his relatives — his father ' s elder cousin , Zhou Jing ( 周景 ) ; Zhou Jing ' s son , Zhou Zhong ( 周忠 ) — served as the " Grand Commandant " ( 太尉 ) in the Han imperial court . Zhou Yu ' s father , Zhou Yi ( 周異 ) , was the Prefect ( 令 ) of the imperial capital Luoyang . Service under Sun Ce . Befriending Sun Ce . Around 190 , when Sun Jian raised an army to join the campaign against Dong Zhuo , he relocated his family from Changsha ( 長沙 ; covering present - day Changsha and parts of Hunan ) to Shu , Lujiang . In Shu , Zhou Yu met and befriended Sun Jian ' s eldest son Sun Ce , who was about the same age as him . Zhou Yu offered to let Sun Ce and his family stay with him , and he paid respects to Sun Ce ' s mother Lady Wu as though she was his real mother . Zhou Yu and Sun Ce became very close friends . Assisting Sun Ce in conquering Jiangdong . Zhou Yu later travelled to Danyang ( 丹楊 ; covering parts of present - day Jiangsu , Zhejiang and Anhui ) to join his uncle Zhou Shang ( 周尚 ) , who was serving as the Administrator ( 太守 ) of the . Around 194 , Sun Ce , under a commission from the warlord Yuan Shu , entered Yang Province to aid his relatives , Wu Jing and Sun Ben , who were under attack by another warlord Liu Yao . When Sun Ce was at Liyang ( 歷陽 ; present - day He County , Anhui ) and was preparing to cross the Yangtze River to attack Liu Yao , he sent a messenger to inform Zhou Yu about his plans . Zhou Yu led some troops to assist Sun Ce . Sun Ce was delighted and he said to Zhou Yu , " With you , greatness can be attained ! " Zhou Yu then joined Sun Ce in his conquests of Hengjiang ( 橫江 ; southeast of present - day He County , Anhui , on the northern shore of the Chang River ) and Dangli ( 當利 ; east of present - day He County , Anhui ) and achieved success . They crossed the Yangtze River and captured Moling ( 秣陵 ; in present - day Nanjing , Jiangsu ) , defeating Ze Rong and Xue Li . They also conquered Hushu ( 湖孰 ; southeast of present - day Jiangning , Jiangsu ) , Jiangcheng ( 江乘 ; north of present - day Jurong , Jiangsu ) , and Qu ' e ( 曲阿 ; present - day Danyang , Jiangsu ) . Liu Yao fled after his defeats , and by then , the strength of Sun Ce ' s forces had reached tens of thousands . Later service under Sun Ce . Sun Ce told Zhou Yu , " I now have sufficient military power to conquer Wu and pacify the Shanyue . You can return to Danyang and defend there . " Zhou Yu then made his way back to Danyang . Around 196 , Yuan Shu had sent his cousin Yuan Yin to replace Zhou Shang as the Administrator of Danyang , so Zhou Shang and Zhou Yu headed towards Shouchun ( 壽春 ; present - day Shou County , Lu ' an , Anhui ) , the capital of Yuan Shu ' s territories , to meet Yuan . Yuan Shu wanted to recruit Zhou Yu to serve under him , but Zhou felt that Yuan would not become successful eventually , so he pretended to request for the post of Chief ( 長 ) of Juchao ( 居巢 ; present - day Juchao District , Chaohu , Anhui ) while secretly planning to escape to join Sun Ce . After Yuan Shu agreed to his request , Zhou Yu headed towards Wu via Juchao . In 198 , Zhou Yu arrived in Wu , where he was personally received and welcomed by Sun Ce . Sun Ce appointed Zhou Yu as " General of the Household Who Establishes Might " ( 建威中郎將 ) and put him in command of 2 , 000 troops and granted him 50 horses . Sun Ce said , " Zhou Gongjin is an extraordinary hero and talent . He ' s very close to me and we ' re like brothers . I still remember that time when he brought his troops and supplies from Danyang to assist me in my campaign . I can never repay him for his help and contributions . " Zhou Yu was 23 years old at that time , and he was nicknamed " Zhou Lang " ( 周郎 ; literally : " Zhou the Youth " ) by the people in Wu . He garrisoned in Lujiang ( 廬江 ) and moved to Niuzhu ( 牛渚 ) later before taking up the appointment of " Chief ( 長 ) of Chungu ( 春穀 ) " . Sun Ce later planned to attack Jing Province ( covering present - day Hubei and Hunan ) , so he appointed Zhou Yu as " Central Protector of the Army " ( 中護軍 ) and " Administrator ( 太守 ) of Jiangxia ( 江夏 ) " . Zhou Yu accompanied Sun Ce in the conquest of Huan ( 皖 ; in present - day Anqing , Anhui ) . Zhou Yu then joined Sun Ce in attacking Xunyang ( 尋陽 ; present - day Huangmei County , Hubei ) , where they defeated a minor warlord Liu Xun . They then invaded Jiangxia ( 江夏 ; present - day Yunmeng County , Xiaogan , Hubei ) and subsequently pacified Yuzhang ( 豫章 ; in present - day Nanchang , Jiangxi ) and Luling ( 廬陵 ; in present - day Ji ' an , Jiangxi ) . Zhou Yu later returned to Baqiu ( 巴丘 ; present - day Xiajiang County , Ji ' an , Jiangxi ) and garrisoned there . Service under Sun Quan . Advising Sun Quan not to send a hostage . Sun Ce was assassinated in 200 CE by the followers of Xu Gong , a commandery administrator whom he killed earlier . He was succeeded by his younger brother Sun Quan . Zhou Yu rushed back to Wu ( 吳 ; in present - day Suzhou , Jiangsu ) to attend Sun Ce ' s funeral and he remained in Wu after that . Holding the appointment of " Central Protector of the Army " ( 中護軍 ) , Zhou Yu and the Chief Clerk ( 長史 ) Zhang Zhao were placed in charge of the affairs in Sun Quan ' s territories . Around that time , the warlord Cao Cao ( who had become the " de facto " head of government in China ) had recently defeated a rival warlord Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu and was achieving success in his campaigns to unify northern China . In 202 , Cao Cao wrote a letter to Sun Quan , demanding that Sun send a son to the imperial capital Xu ( 許 ; present - day Xuchang , Henan ) as a hostage , so as to secure Sun ' s allegiance towards him . Sun Quan gathered all his subjects , including Zhang Zhao and Qin Song , for a discussion , but they could not arrive at a conclusion . On a personal level , Sun Quan was not in favour of sending one of his sons to be a hostage in the capital , so he had another discussion with only his mother Lady Wu and Zhou Yu . Zhou Yu said , " In the past , when the Chu state first came into existence , its territory covered only part of the Jingshan Mountains and was less than 100 " li " . Later , due to the competency of its rulers , it was able to expand its boundaries and build its foundation at Ying , and then conquer the provinces of Jing and Yang until Nanhai . Its legacy was passed down for more than 900 years . Now , you ' ve inherited the remaining resources of your father and your elder brother . You control six commanderies , have many troops and much supplies , and your men are willing to fight for you with their lives . You extract copper from the mountains to manufacture coins and you obtain salt from seawater . Your domain is prosperous and your people are at peace . When your people raise the sails on their boats , they venture out in the morning and return only in the evening . Your army is strong and has high morale so it is invincible . Why should you send a hostage just because you ' ve received a threat ? Once you send a hostage , you ' ll establish a connection between you and the Caos , and when they use the emperor ' s authority to command you , you ' ll have no choice but to follow their orders . This will result in you falling under their control . When that happens , you become no more than just a vassal lord with dozens of servants , carriages and horses , and is this any better as compared to being a major power in southern China ? I suggest you don ' t send a hostage , and observe how the situation changes . If the Caos really do succeed in unifying the Empire by righteous means , it ' s still not too late for you to submit to them after that . If they resort to violence , they will end up destroying themselves if they do not give up because starting a war is equivalent to lighting a fire . You should conceal your bravery but continue to resist their aggression and wait for your destiny . So , why should you send a hostage ? " Lady Wu agreed with Zhou Yu and she said , " What Gongjin said is true . Gongjin was around the same age as Bofu as he was only a month younger ( than the latter ) . I regard Gongjin as a son , so you should treat him like an elder brother . " Sun Quan heeded their advice and did not send a hostage . Battles against Huang Zu . In 206 , Zhou Yu and Sun Quan ' s cousin Sun Yu attacked bandits at Ma ( 麻 ) and Bao ( 保 ) and killed their chiefs and captured thousands of enemies . Later that year , Huang Zu , the Administrator ( 太守 ) of Jiangxia ( 江夏 ; present - day Yunmeng County , Xiaogan , Hubei ) , sent his subordinate Deng Long ( 鄧龍 ) to lead a few thousand troops to attack Sun Quan ' s territory in Chaisang ( 柴桑 ; near present - day Jiujiang , Jiangxi ) . Zhou Yu led his forces to attack Deng Long and captured the latter alive and had him sent to Wu ( 吳 ; in present - day Suzhou , Jiangsu ) . In the spring of 208 , Sun Quan ordered an attack on Jiangxia , which was defended by Huang Zu . Zhou Yu was assigned as the Chief Commander of the Front Army ( 前部大督 ) and he , along with Lü Meng , Ling Tong and others , scored a major victory over the enemy . Huang Zu was killed when attempting to escape . Advising Sun Quan to go to war with Cao Cao . In the ninth lunar month of 208 , Cao Cao started a campaign aimed at wiping out all opposition in southern China . When his forces arrived at Jing Province ( covering present - day Hubei and Hunan ) , the provincial governor Liu Cong surrendered without putting up any resistance . When Sun Quan ' s men heard that Cao Cao had obtained tens of thousands of Jing Province ' s land and marine troops , they were all very afraid because they knew Cao Cao ' s next target was Sun Quan ' s Jiangdong . Cao Cao wrote a letter to Sun Quan , which read : " Recently , I ' m following an imperial decree to start a punitive campaign , and Liu Cong has surrendered when I led the army south . Now , I ' m in command of 800 , 000 naval troops , and I wish to participate in a hunting expedition in Wu with you , General . " Sun Quan summoned all his subjects for a meeting to discuss how to deal with Cao Cao , and many of them turned pale when he showed them the letter . Some of Sun Quan ' s followers suggested to surrender to Cao Cao on the grounds that the strength of their military was not comparable to Cao Cao ' s . However , Zhou Yu demurred , " No . Even though Cao Cao is the Han in name , he ' s actually a villain who wants to usurp state power . General , with your brilliance and your father and brother ' s military prowess , you ' ve carved out for yourself a domain in Jiangdong which stretches over thousands of " li " . Your soldiers are well trained and capable , and you ' ve heroes who ' re glad to serve under you . You should go to war and help the Han Dynasty eliminate its threats . Cao Cao has thrust himself into the gates of death , so why should we surrender to him ? General , please consider carefully : Assuming northern China has been pacified and Cao Cao has no internal threats , can he last long in battle , and can he compete with us in naval warfare ? Now , the north is not completely peaceful ; Ma Chao and Han Sui in Guanxi ( west of Hangu Pass ) remain as thorns in Cao Cao ' s flesh . Besides , the people of central China are used to fighting land battles and do not specialise in naval warfare , so can they still hope to compete with us , the people of Wuyue ? Winter is approaching . Cao Cao ' s warhorses lack fodder , his army has travelled a long distance across central China , and his men will certainly fall sick because they are not accustomed to the changes in the climate . He has committed four serious mistakes , according to military strategy , but he still persists in his ways . General , you will be able to capture Cao Cao soon . I request for 30 , 000 elite troops to garrison at Xiakou , and I assure you , General , that I will defeat the enemy . " Sun Quan responded , " The old villain has harboured the intention of usurping the Han Dynasty for a long time , but he feared the two Yuans ( Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu ) , Lü Bu , Liu Biao and me . Now , all the others have been destroyed and I ' m the only one left . The old villain and me cannot coexist together . Your idea of going to war coincides closely with my thoughts . This is a sign that Heaven has granted you to me . " Sun Quan drew his sword , slashed the table in front of him and said , " Any of you who dares to speak of surrendering to Cao Cao shall end up like this table ! " Later that night , Zhou Yu came to see Sun Quan and said , " This morning , those gentlemen became afraid when they read Cao Cao ' s letter , in which Cao said that he had 800 , 000 land and marine troops . They did not bother to assess whether ( Cao Cao ' s claim ) was true or not , and immediately advocated surrender . That was totally absurd . Now , based on my estimations , Cao Cao ' s forces from central China could not be more than 150 , 000 to 160 , 000 , and they are already weary from travelling over long distances . Even though he has obtained Liu Biao ' s forces , their numbers could not be over 70 , 000 to 80 , 000 , and there is a significant number of them who are suspicious ( of Cao Cao ) . Although Cao Cao may have superiority in numbers , the troops under him are tired and not united in spirit , so there ' s nothing to fear about him . We only need 50 , 000 elite troops to defeat him . General , please have no worries and hesitate no more . " Sun Quan placed his hand on Zhou Yu ' s shoulder and replied , " Gongjin , what you ' ve said is exactly what I ' m thinking of . People like Zibu and Yuanbiao are only concerned about their families and their personal interests . They greatly disappoint me . Only you and Zijing share the same thoughts as me . Heaven has granted both of you as assistants to help me . It ' s not easy to gather 50 , 000 troops at one time , but I ' ve already selected 30 , 000 men , and the boats , supplies and equipment are all ready . You , Zijing , and Elder Cheng can go ahead with the army first . I ' ll provide backup by continuing to manage the manpower and send more supplies and equipment to you . If you can defeat Cao Cao , that will be good . But if you suffer any setback , you can return to my side and I ' ll engage Cao Cao in a final battle . " Pei Songzhi , who annotated Zhou Yu ' s biography in the " Sanguozhi " , commented that Lu Su was actually the first person who urged Sun Quan to resist Cao Cao . Zhou Yu was at Poyang ( 鄱陽 ) before Sun Quan held the discussion with his subjects , and Lu Su suggested to Sun to recall Zhou back for the meeting . Zhou Yu and Lu Su gave similar advice to Sun Quan , which resulted in Sun arriving at his decision to go to war with Cao Cao . Pei Songzhi felt that it was unfair to Lu Su because Zhou Yu ' s biography gave full credit to Zhou for being the only person to urge Sun Quan to resist Cao Cao , and failed to mention that Lu Su had already advocated resisting Cao Cao before Zhou Yu did . Battle of Red Cliffs . Around that time , Liu Bei had recently been defeated by Cao Cao at the Battle of Changban , and he planned to lead his followers south across the Yangtze River . Liu Bei met Lu Su at Dangyang , where they discussed the formation of an alliance between Liu and Sun Quan . Liu Bei then moved to Xiakou ( 夏口 ; present - day Hankou , Wuhan , Hubei ) and garrisoned there , while sending Zhuge Liang to follow Lu Su to meet Sun Quan and affirm the Liu - Sun alliance . Sun Quan then ordered Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu to lead his forces to join Liu Bei in resisting Cao Cao , and they rendezvoused at Red Cliffs ( 赤壁 ) . A plague had broken out in Cao Cao ' s army , so Cao lost to the allies in an early skirmish between both sides . Cao Cao then moved his camp to the northern bank of the Yangtze River while the allies remained at the south . Zhou Yu ' s subordinate Huang Gai told him , " The enemy are superior in numbers in comparison with our side . I fear that we cannot last long . However , I observe that Cao Cao ' s ships are linked to each other . We can destroy them by fire . " Huang Gai then prepared about ten " mengchong " s and " doujian " s ( 鬬艦 ; a type of warship ) and filled them with the ingredients necessary for starting a fire . He then wrote a letter to Cao Cao , pretending that he wanted to surrender and defect to the latter ' s side . Huang Gai then prepared some " zouge " s ( 走舸 ; a smaller type of boat ) , which would follow behind the " mengchong " s and " doujian " s , and his small fleet sailed towards Cao Cao ' s base . The wind was blowing strongly from the southeast . When Huang Gai ' s fleet reached the middle of the river , the ships all raised their sails , and Huang Gai lifted a torch and instructed his men to shout " We surrender ! " Cao Cao ' s troops came out of the camp to look and they said Huang Gai was coming to join them . When Huang Gai was about 20 " li " away from the enemy base , he ordered his men to set the ships on fire and they boarded the smaller boats behind . As the wind was very strong , the flaming ships sailed towards Cao Cao ' s warships at fast speed and caused them to catch fire as well . Cao Cao ' s ships were all burnt down and the flames also spread quickly to his camps on land . Zhou Yu then ordered an attack on Cao Cao ' s base and scored a major victory . Cao Cao retreated north with his surviving troops after his defeat . Zhou Yu and Liu Bei led their respective forces in pursuit of Cao Cao , but Cao had already fled . Battles of Jiangling . After his defeat at Red Cliffs , Cao Cao returned to Xu ( 許 ; present - day Xuchang , Henan ) and left Cao Ren and others behind to defend Jiangling ( 江陵 ; present - day Jingzhou , Hubei ) . Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu led their troops towards Nan commandery ( 南郡 ) and were separated from Cao Ren ' s forces by the river . Liu Bei said to Zhou Yu , " Cao Ren is defending Jiangling and he has much supplies in the city . He poses a big threat to us . I ' ll send Zhang Yide with 1 , 000 men to accompany you , while you despatch 2 , 000 troops to follow me . We ' ll then cross the Xia River ( 夏水 ; a tributary of the Yangtze River starting from southeast of Shashi District and ending at north of Jianli County in Hubei ) and attack Cao Ren ' s rear . When Cao Ren hears that we ' ve infiltrated his rear , he ' ll definitely retreat . " Zhou Yu agreed to Liu Bei ' s suggestion . Zhou Yu later ordered Gan Ning to station at Yiling ( 夷陵 ; present - day Yichang , Hubei ) . Cao Ren sent a separate cavalry force to besiege Yiling , so Gan Ning sent an urgent request to Zhou Yu for reinforcements . Zhou Yu followed Lü Meng ' s advice and left Ling Tong to defend his current position while leading Lü Meng and others to help Gan Ning . After the siege at Yiling was lifted , Zhou Yu and his troops crossed the Yangtze River and attacked Jiangling , with Zhou personally participating in battle . He was hit on his right side by a stray arrow and had to retreat due to the severity of the wound . When Cao Ren heard that Zhou Yu was wounded and was lying in bed , he led his troops to outside Zhou ' s camp and taunted the enemy . Zhou Yu got out of bed and personally inspected his men and encouraged them to raise their morale . Cao Ren saw that and retreated . By 209 , Zhou Yu and Cao Ren had held up against each other for a long time and both sides had sustained heavy casualties . Cao Ren was eventually ordered to abandon Jiangling . Advice to Sun Quan on how to deal with Liu Bei . After the victory at the Battle of Jiangling , Sun Quan appointed Zhou Yu as a Lieutenant - General ( 偏將軍 ) and Administrator ( 太守 ) of Nan commandery ( 南郡 ) . Zhou Yu ' s headquarters were at Jiangling while he was in charge of Xiajun ( 下雋 ) , Hanchang ( 漢昌 ) , Liuyang ( 瀏陽 ) and Zhouling ( 州陵 ) . Liu Bei took up the appointment of Governor ( 牧 ) of Jing Province with his capital at Gong ' an ( 公安 ; present - day Gong ' an County , Hubei ) . When Liu Bei later met Sun Quan at Jing ( 京 ; present - day Zhenjiang , Jiangsu ) , Zhou Yu wrote to Sun Quan : " Liu Bei possesses characteristics of a fierce and ambitious hero . Besides , he also has under him generals with the might of bears and tigers , such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei . He ' s definitely not someone who will remain subservient to another lord . I suggest moving Liu Bei to Wu ( 吳 ; in present - day Suzhou , Jiangsu ) , build a palace for him there , and present him with women and gifts to entertain him . We ' ll then put the two men ( Guan Yu and Zhang Fei ) each in a different location . If I can use Liu Bei as a hostage and attack ( his men ) at the same time , our goal ( take over Jing Province ) will be accomplished . And now yet we carve out land for them as resources , and allow the three men to be together ? I ' m afraid once the dragon encounters clouds and rain , it ' ll no longer remain in a pond . " Sun Quan considered that Cao Cao was still a threat in the north , so he thought it would be better for him to have more allies ( instead of creating hostility between him and his allies ) , and besides , he was also worried that Liu Bei ' s men might not submit to him , so he rejected Zhou Yu ' s idea . Death . Around 210 , Liu Zhang was serving as the Governor ( 牧 ) of Yi Province ( covering present - day Sichuan and Chongqing , and he faced the threat of his rival Zhang Lu in Hanzhong . Zhou Yu went to see Sun Quan and proposed , " Cao Cao is still recovering from his defeats and he faces internal threats , so he will not go to war with you any time soon . I ask for you to allow me and Sun Yu to invade Shu ( Yi Province ) and attack Zhang Lu after that . Sun Yu will then remain behind to defend the captured territories and form an alliance with Ma Chao . I ' ll join you in attacking Cao Cao at Xiangyang , and we can conquer the north . " Sun Quan agreed . Zhou Yu then headed back to Jiangling ( 江陵 ; present - day Jingzhou , Hubei ) to make preparations for the campaign , but he died of illness at Baqiu ( 巴丘 ; present - day Yueyang , Hunan ) on the way back . He was 36 years old ( by East Asian age reckoning ) at the time of his death . Before Zhou Yu ' s death , he recommended Lu Su to Sun Quan to be his successor . Sun Quan deeply mourned Zhou Yu ' s death . He shed tears and said , " Gongjin possessed the calibre of a talented advisor to a ruler . Now that he has died at such a young age , who can I still rely on ? " He even wore plain garments to express his sorrow , which touched many people . After a funeral was held for Zhou Yu at Baqiu , his body was transported back to Wu ( 吳 ; in present - day Suzhou , Jiangsu ) . Sun Quan received the procession at Wuhu and personally paid for all the expenses . He also later issued an order allowing Zhou Yu ' s family to keep retainers . In 229 , nearly two decades after Zhou Yu ' s death , when Sun Quan declared himself the emperor of the state of Eastern Wu , he told his subjects , " I wouldn ' t have become an emperor today if there wasn ' t Zhou Gongjin to assist me . " Family . Sometime between 198 and 199 , Zhou Yu joined Sun Ce in the conquest of Huan ( 皖 ; in present - day Anqing , Anhui ) . In Huan , they met a certain Elder Qiao ( 橋公 ) , who had two daughters who were famed for their beautiful looks . Sun Ce married the elder sister while Zhou Yu married the younger one . Sun Ce joked with Zhou Yu , " Elder Qiao and his two daughters have been roaming around , so I ' m sure now he ' s glad to have us as his sons - in - law . " Zhou Yu had two sons and a daughter . It is not stated whether his three children were born to his wife Xiao Qiao or not . Zhou Yu ' s daughter married Sun Quan ' s eldest son Sun Deng , who became crown prince when his father ascended the throne of Eastern Wu . Zhou Yu ' s elder son , Zhou Xun ( 周循 ) , had a personality that resembled his father ' s , but , like his father , he also died early . He married Sun Quan ' s daughter Sun Luban and served as a Cavalry Commandant ( 騎都尉 ) in Eastern Wu . Zhou Yu ' s younger son , Zhou Yin ( 周胤 ) , married a woman from Sun Quan ' s clan . He served as the Commandant of Xingye ( 興業都尉 ) and was placed in command of 1 , 000 troops and garrisoned at Gong ' an ( 公安 ) . In 229 , after Sun Quan ascended the throne , he granted Zhou Yin the title of " Marquis of a Chief District " ( 都鄉侯 ) . Zhou Yin later committed some offences and was exiled to Luling commandery ( 廬陵郡 ) . In 239 , Zhuge Jin and Bu Zhi submitted a memorial to Sun Quan , requesting for Zhou Yin to be pardoned and restored of his marquis title and appointment on account of Zhou Yu ' s contributions . Sun Quan was reluctant to do so , as he noted the severity of Zhou Yin ' s offences and said that Zhou Yin had not shown any sign of remorse . However , after much urging from Zhuge Jin and Bu Zhi , as well as Zhu Ran and Quan Cong , Sun Quan eventually agreed , but Zhou Yin had already died of illness in exile by then . Zhou Jun ( 周峻 ) , the son of Zhou Yu ' s elder brother , was appointed as a Lieutenant - General ( 偏將軍 ) and placed in command of 1 , 000 men by Sun Quan because of his uncle ' s meritorious service . After Zhou Jun died , Quan Cong requested for Sun Quan to commission Zhou Jun ' s son , Zhou Hu ( 周護 ) , as a military officer but Sun declined . Sun Quan replied , " In the past , we managed to defeat Cao Cao and obtain Jing Province because of Gongjin ' s efforts . I ' ve never forgotten his contributions . When I heard of Zhou Jun ' s death , I intended to recruit Zhou Hu into the civil service , but I ' ve also heard that Zhou Hu is ruthless and treacherous in his ways . I was worried that he will cause trouble if he is given an official appointment so I decided not to recruit him . My memories of Gongjin are lasting . " Personal life . Zhou Yu was described to have a strong physique and handsome good looks . When Zhou Yu became close friends with Sun Ce , Sun Ce ' s mother Lady Wu told Sun Ce ' s younger brother Sun Quan to treat Zhou like an elder brother . After Sun Quan succeeded Sun Ce , his subordinates did not observe the full protocol when they paid their respects to him . Zhou Yu was the only and the first person to follow all the formalities and etiquette when he paid respect to Sun Quan . Zhou Yu was known to be a magnanimous and generous man who won the hearts of many people with his straightforward attitude . However , there was one person he could not get along well with — Cheng Pu . Cheng Pu was much older than Zhou Yu , and he often insulted and belittled the latter , but Zhou tolerated him . Cheng Pu was so impressed with Zhou Yu that he eventually changed his attitude towards the latter and started treating the latter more respectfully . He even remarked , " Befriending Zhou Yu is like appreciating fine wine . You get so absorbed and intoxicated without even realising it . " Sometime early in Zhou Yu ' s career , Cao Cao heard of Zhou ' s talent and wanted to recruit the latter to serve under him , so he sent Jiang Gan to persuade Zhou to defect to his side . However , Zhou Yu indirectly affirmed his loyalty to the Sun family in front of Jiang Gan , and hinted to Jiang that he cannot be persuaded to switch his allegiance . When Jiang Gan later returned to Cao Cao , he told the latter that " Zhou Yu ' s magnanimity was too great to be described in words " . Around 209 , after visiting Sun Quan at Jing ( 京 ; present - day Zhenjiang , Jiangsu ) , Liu Bei was on his journey back to Jing Province when Sun Quan , along with Zhang Zhao , Qin Song , Lu Su and others , rushed to catch up with Liu Bei to see him off . Sun Quan then held a farewell banquet for Liu Bei . After the feast , the others left while only Liu Bei and Sun Quan remained behind . When they spoke of Zhou Yu , Liu Bei said , " Gongjin ' s talents and abilities are far greater than those of thousands of others . He possesses great ambitions and he may not be willing to remain as a subordinate for long . " In another incident , after his defeat at the hands of Zhou Yu at the Battle of Red Cliffs , Cao Cao remarked , " I ' m not ashamed of having lost the battle . " He later wrote to Sun Quan : " At the Battle of Red Cliffs , my men were affected by a plague , so I had my warships burnt and I retreated of my own accord . That resulted in Zhou Yu claiming the glory ( of winning the battle ) . " Zhou Yu ' s widespread fame incurred much jealousy towards him , which was why Cao Cao and Liu Bei attempted to slander him and sow discord between him and Sun Quan . Zhou Yu was known to be very experienced in music . Even when he was not sober , he could still detect a mistake or a wrong note when a musical piece was being played . When that happened , he would look up at the person playing the music . There was a saying at that time to describe this : " If there is a mistake in the tune , Zhou Yu will look up . " In fiction and popular culture . In " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " . Zhou Yu is featured as a character in the historical novel " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " by Luo Guanzhong , which romanticises the historical events before and during the Three Kingdoms period . In the novel , Zhou Yu is depicted as a rival of Zhuge Liang . He was extremely jealous of Zhuge Liang ' s talent and relentlessly attempted to outwit the latter on several occasions but never succeeded . His roles in the events leading to , and during the Battle of Red Cliffs , were largely overshadowed by Zhuge Liang ' s . Furthermore , his death was largely dramatised in the novel and was caused intentionally by Zhuge Liang . Zhou Yu had earlier sustained an arrow wound at the Battle of Jiangling against Cao Ren ' s forces , and his condition deteriorated after he was infuriated by Zhuge Liang , who foiled his plans on three different occasions later . On the third time , Zhou Yu coughed blood and died . See the following for some fictitious stories in " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " involving Zhou Yu : In Chinese opera . In Chinese opera , Zhou Yu is cast as a " xiaosheng " ( 小生 ; young character ) or " wusheng " ( 武生 ; character in military dress ) , even when he appears together with Zhuge Liang , who was actually younger than he was . In Kun opera , Zhou Yu appears as a " zhiweisheng " , as in the scene " The Swaying Reeds " , in which he is captured and later released by Zhang Fei . Modern references . Notable actors who have portrayed Zhou Yu in film and television include Hong Yuzhou ( " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " ) , Tony Leung ( " Red Cliff " ) , and Victor Huang ( " Three Kingdoms " ) . Zhou Yu is a playable character in Koei ' s " Dynasty Warriors " and " Warriors Orochi " video game series . He also appears in Koei ' s " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " strategy game series . In the collectible card game " " there is a card named " Zhou Yu , Chief Commander " in the " Portal Three Kingdoms " set . The anime " Ikki Tousen " and " Koutetsu Sangokushi " make references to Zhou Yu , in which he is known by his Japanese name " Shuuyu Koukin " .