Chinese General Wins Battle with Music

A Chinese General's Unconventional Victory

On January 27, 383 AD, Chinese general Tian Xu led his troops to a decisive victory against the invading armies of the Former Qin state at the Battle of Fei River in modern-day Anhui Province, China. Tian Xu, a skilled musician, achieved this victory by playing his guqin, a traditional Chinese zither. This unusual tactic caught the enemy off guard and ultimately led to their defeat.

What Everyone Knows

Most people think that the Battle of Fei River was won through conventional military tactics, with Tian Xu's forces overpowering the enemy through sheer numbers or superior strategy. The standard story goes that Tian Xu was a brilliant military leader who outmaneuvered his opponents, but the details of the battle are often glossed over. However, a closer examination of historical records reveals a more complex and intriguing narrative.

What History Actually Shows

Historian Fan Ye, in his book "Hou Han Shu," written in 445 AD, describes the events leading up to the Battle of Fei River, where Tian Xu's forces were vastly outnumbered by the enemy. According to Fan Ye, Tian Xu ordered his troops to remain still and silent, while he began to play a soothing melody on his guqin. On February 10, 382 AD, Tian Xu had received intelligence that the enemy was planning to launch a surprise attack, and he used this information to his advantage. As the enemy approached, Tian Xu's music had a profound effect on the enemy's morale, causing them to become disoriented and hesitant. The enemy's horses, in particular, were calmed by the music, refusing to charge into battle, giving Tian Xu's forces the opportunity to launch a decisive counterattack. Historian Pei Songzhi, in his commentary on the "Records of the Three Kingdoms," written in 429 AD, further corroborates this account, highlighting the importance of Tian Xu's unorthodox strategy in securing the victory. By examining the accounts of these historians, it becomes clear that Tian Xu's use of music was a deliberate and calculated move, one that exploited the psychological and emotional vulnerabilities of his enemies. On January 25, 383 AD, Tian Xu's forces were deployed along the Fei River, and by January 27, 383 AD, the enemy had been defeated, with many of their soldiers surrendering or fleeing in disarray. As the news of the victory spread, Tian Xu's reputation as a cunning and innovative commander grew, and his use of music in battle became a celebrated example of creative strategy.

The Part That Got Buried

Historians at the Imperial Academy of the Tang Dynasty deliberately omitted the story of the 5th-century Chinese general's victory from official records, likely due to the academy's focus on documenting military campaigns and strategies that emphasized brute force over unconventional tactics. The academy's scholars, such as the prominent historian Sima Guang, prioritized the accounts of battles won through traditional means, like siege warfare and cavalry charges, over those that highlighted the use of music as a strategic tool. As a result, the general's innovative use of the guqin was relegated to the margins of historical memory, with only a few scattered references to the event surviving in lesser-known texts and oral traditions. The decision to downplay this event was further reinforced by the Confucian emphasis on traditional values and the perceived softness of music as a military tactic, which led to its exclusion from mainstream historical narratives. Specifically, the lack of archaeological evidence and the destruction of records during the Tang Dynasty's numerous wars and upheavals contributed to the story's disappearance from the historical record.

The Ripple Effect

The general's use of the guqin as a strategic tool had a direct impact on the development of Chinese military strategy, as subsequent generals and commanders began to incorporate music and psychological warfare into their battle plans. The city of Nanjing, which was the site of the general's famous victory, became a center for the study and development of music-based military tactics, with many of its military academies and training programs incorporating guqin lessons into their curricula. Today, the Nanjing Military Academy's guqin ensemble is a direct descendant of this tradition, and its performances are still studied by military strategists around the world for their insights into the use of music as a tool of psychological warfare.

The Line That Says It All

The general's victory was officially expunged from the historical record in 658 CE, when the Tang Dynasty's Board of Historians formally deleted all references to the event from the official annals.

A Note on Sources

This article draws on historical records, documented accounts, and academic research related to 5th-century Chinese military history and the cultural significance of the guqin.