Zhang Jue – Romance of the Three Kingdoms

“Zhang Jue” is a fictional character in the Chinese classical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. Set in the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period of China, the novel covers the power struggles and battles between various warlords and their forces in the central plains and northern China.

Zhang Jue was a leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, a peasant uprising that took place towards the end of the Han dynasty. He and his brothers, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang, claimed to possess supernatural powers and gathered a large following of disaffected peasants and soldiers.

In the novel, Zhang Jue is depicted as a cunning and charismatic leader, who is able to manipulate the masses and rally them behind his cause. He is depicted as a visionary who wants to create a better world for the common people, but is also willing to use violence and deceit to achieve his goals.

Despite his charisma, Zhang Jue is also portrayed as a ruthless and violent leader, who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He is depicted as being extremely cunning and manipulative, and is often shown to be one step ahead of his enemies.

Despite the massive following he gathered, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was eventually put down by the Han forces, and Zhang Jue was killed in battle. However, his legacy lives on in the novel, where he is remembered as one of the key figures in the struggle for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period.

Zhang Jue’s character serves as an example of the dangers of charisma and manipulation, and his portrayal in the novel highlights the importance of remaining vigilant against false prophets and leaders who seek to exploit the masses for their own gain. His legacy continues to be a source of fascination and discussion among students of Chinese history and literature, and his story is seen as an important cautionary tale about the dangers of blindly following charismatic leaders.