Yan Baihu

Yan Baihu was a bandit leader active in the Wu region during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history.

The White Tiger among bandits

Baihu was not Yan's real name, but a nickname given to him due to his physical prowess or skin color; thus his name should be translated to "White Tiger Yan"^[1]. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou, the White Tiger held gigantic influence among the Shanyue tribes and even Han officials in the Wu area. When Liu Yao was appointed as the Governor of Yang province, the White Tiger was approached and bribed by Liu to support him against the powerful warlord Yuan Shu, who had a large army over the Huai river valley.

Clash with the Little Conqueror

After Liu Yao was defeated by Yuan Shu's ally and subordinate, Sun Ce, White Tiger Yan successfully re-established or even increased his private army to tens of thousand, composed of elite Shanyue people and bandits, to prepare a final showdown with the young Sun Ce. Besides being the head of a loose confederation of bandits and local officials, Yan formed an alliance with a warlord, Wang Lang, who had plenty of food supplies that can afford the alliance's soldiers.

Despite Yan's preparations, Sun Ce was able to outwit Wang Lang and took his supply base through tactic; with the provisions gone, the White Tiger and Wang Lang were defeated by Sun. Yan then fled into the deep hills, and continued to encourage the Shanyue people to oppose Sun Ce's reign.

In fiction

In the novel, Yan Baihu was attacked by Sun Ce and then fled to Wang Lang to seek help.While seeking the help of Wang Lang, however, his army was defeated by Ling Cao and his son, Ling Tong. During Yan's retreat, Dong Xi caught up with him, however, and slew him. Dong Xi then sent Yan Baihu's head in a box to Sun Ce.

Historically, it was likely that White Tiger Yan was defeated by Sun Ce's vanguard Ling Cao, however, he did survive the rout, and at least lived up to the time of Sun Ce's assassination.

See also

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms

Notes

References

• de Crespigny, Rafe (2004) Generals of the South: the foundation and early history of the Three Kingdoms state of Wu. Canberra: Australian National University. Internet Edition.