Huang Zu (, ) (died 208) was Chinese military general and politician during the late Eastern Han dynasty.
. He served as the Administrator of Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei) under Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan). He is best known for killing the warlord Sun Jian in an ambush during the Battle of Xiangyang (191) and resisting an invasion by the warlord Sun Quan (Sun Jian's son) at the Battle of Xiakou (203). He was defeated and killed at the Battle of Jiangxia in 208 against Sun Quan's forces.

Background
There are plenty of historical records concerning Huang Zu, but they are scattered over different texts while Huang Zu never had a biography in any official record. Since Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei) is known for being the cradle of the Huang family, Huang Zu, as the commandery's Administrator, probably came from an influential family based there. After Liu Biao arrived in Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) to assume his governorship of the region, he sought to form alliances with the local elites, particularly the Huang family who had been defending Jiangxia Commandery in eastern Jing Province from aggression by a neighbouring warlord, Yuan Shu. In return, Liu Biao provided financial aid to Huang Zu in peacetime and military support for his naval forces during wartime. Under such arrangements, even though Huang Zu was nominally a subordinate of Liu Biao, he maintained much autonomy over Jiangxia Commandery.

Battle of Xiangyang

In 191, war broke out between the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, who were half-brothers. Yuan Shao formed an alliance with Liu Biao while Yuan Shu gained support from Sun Jian to attack Liu Biao's territories in Jing Province.

Liu Biao assigned Huang Zu to defend Fancheng (樊城; in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei) and Dengzhou (鄧州; in present-day Nanyang, Henan) from Sun Jian's attacks. However, Huang Zu lost to Sun Jian in battle and realised that he could not defeat the enemy on flat and open terrain, so he retreated to Xiangyang Commandery, the capital of Jing Province, and holed up behind the city walls. One night, Huang Zu led a group of soldiers to launch a sneak attack on Sun Jian's camp but failed to catch the enemy by surprise. Nevertheless, Sun Jian died after being hit by a stray arrow while pursuing Huang Zu into a forest.

In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Biao's subordinates Kuai Liang and Lü Gong () set up the ambush that killed Sun Jian. Huang Zu is captured by Sun Jian's eldest son, Sun Ce, but is later released in exchange for Sun Jian's dead body. Historically, however, Sun Ce never captured Huang Zu, who was given full credit in historical records for defeating and killing Sun Jian.

Resisting Sun Ce's expansion
Following Sun Jian's death, Liu Biao no longer saw Yuan Shu as a threat in the east, so he focused on consolidating his control over Jing Province while leaving Huang Zu in charge of Jiangxia Commandery. In the meantime, throughout the 190s, Sun Jian's eldest son, Sun Ce, conquered the territories in the Jiangdong region of Yang Province adjacent to Jing Province. In 199, when Sun Ce was seizing control of Lujiang Commandery (廬江郡; around present-day Lu'an, Anhui) from Liu Xun, Liu Biao instigated Huang Zu to attack Sun Ce at Shaxian (沙羨; west of present-day Wuhan, Hubei).

Sun Ce brought along his cousins Sun Ben and Sun Fu and other subordinates and henchmen such as Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci, and led an army to resist Huang Zu. Huang Zu, on the other hand, gathered his clansmen, his son Huang She () and Liu Biao's nephew Liu Pan (), and led his troops to engage Sun Ce's forces. Sun Ce defeated Huang Zu in the battle and killed thousands of enemies, forcing Huang Zu to retreat back to Jiangxia Commandery. During the counterattack, Sun Ce managed to expand his territorial boundaries slightly into the outskirts of Jiangxia Commandery.

In 200 CE, the warlord Cao Cao, who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian, sent Mi Heng, a talented but obnoxious scholar, as a guest to Liu Biao. Although Mi Heng and Liu Biao got along well initially, Mi Heng started to insult and belittle Liu Biao after some time. Unable to put up with Mi Heng's obnoxious behaviour, Liu Biao then sent him to Huang Zu. Huang Zu could not tolerate Mi Heng and had him executed.

Battle of Xiakou

In the year 200, after Sun Ce was assassinated, his younger brother Sun Quan succeeded him and became the warlord of the Jiangdong territories. In 203, Sun Quan launched an invasion of Xiakou (夏口; within present-day Wuhan, Hubei) and appointed Ling Cao to lead the vanguard force. Upon arriving at Xiakou, Ling Cao led his men on a charge and managed to break through Huang Zu's defences and throw the enemy fleet into confusion with the sudden attack. However, he was killed in the midst of battle by a stray arrow fired by Gan Ning, one of Huang Zu's subordinates. Huang Zu was thus able to retreat safely back to Jiangxia Commandery.

After the battle, Su Fei (), one of Huang Zu's subordinates, recommended Gan Ning for promotion. However, Huang Zu not only did not feel grateful towards Gan Ning, but also attempted to entice Gan Ning's followers to abandon their leader and join him. Some of them agreed. Gan Ning was so unhappy with Huang Zu that he eventually left him (with help from Su Fei) and defected to Sun Quan's side.

In the years after the Battle of Xiakou, Sun Quan continued to engage Huang Zu in incessant battles from time to time, but none of these battles were conclusive or of a large scale, as Sun Quan was also busy putting down rebellions in the Jiangdong territories.

Downfall

In the spring of 208, Gan Ning suggested to Sun Quan to prepare for a full assault on Jiangxia Commandery and he pointed out that Huang Zu was old and feeble and had not replenished his arsenal in a while. Sun Quan heeded Gan Ning's advice and ordered Ling Cao's son Ling Tong to lead the vanguard and Lü Meng to be the naval commandant. In response to Sun Quan's invasion, Huang Zu assigned Zhang Shuo () to lead the vanguard and Chen Jiu () to command the navy. Unlike the previous battle, Huang Zu did not put himself at the frontline and instead remained behind the walls of Jiangxia Commandery while his subordinates led his troops into battle.

Before the battle started, Zhang Shuo led his men out on a large vessel to scout the riverbank. He encountered Ling Tong, who was also checking out the area with only tens of soldiers on a light vessel. They engaged in combat and Ling Tong slew Zhang Shuo and captured the rest of his men.

Upon learning of Zhang Shuo's death, Huang Zu immediately ordered Chen Jiu to block the entrance of the Mian River by scuttling two of his largest mengchongs at the chokepoint. In addition, Huang Zu deployed archers on top of the cliff overlooking the Mian River and ordered them to throw boulders and fire arrows at approaching enemy vessels. Sun Quan sent his largest vessels to destroy the mengchongs but to no avail. After some lengthy fighting, Sun Quan realised that Huang Zu's arsenal was not as rusty as he thought, and saw that he had already suffered heavy losses on his side.

Sun Quan then ordered Ling Tong and Dong Xi, along with 100 "commandos", to wear two layers of armour each and charge towards the enemy in the face of boulders and arrows raining down on them. After a tough fight, Ling Tong and Dong Xi managed to break the thick rope connecting the mengchongs and allow Sun Quan's navy to pass through. Lü Meng killed Chen Jiu on board his warship while Ling Tong breached the walls of Jiangxia Commandery. Huang Zu attempted to flee after his defeat but met his ends at the hands of Feng Ze (), a soldier in Sun Quan's army.

See also
 Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms

References

 Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
 
 
 Fan, Ye (5th century). Book of the Later Han (Houhanshu).
 Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).
 Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian.

2nd-century births
208 deaths
Government officials under Liu Biao
Generals during the end of the Han dynasty
Han dynasty people killed in battle
Political office-holders in Hubei
황조(黃祖, ? ~ 208년)는 중국 후한 말 형주목 유표 휘하의 무장으로 강하태수로 재직했다. 형주로 남하한 손견을 막아 죽였으며 그 아들 손책과 손권의 거듭된 강하 침공 역시 약 10년간 막아내다가 결국 잡혀 죽었다.

자신을 위해 열심히 일한 감녕을 냉대했으며 예형을 함부로 죽일 정도로 잔악무도하고 안하무인인 데다가 상황 판단을 제대로 못했다.

생애

손씨 형제의 원수 
191년(초평 2년) 반동탁 연합군이 분열하여 남양태수 원술과 발해태수 원소가 서로 싸웠다. 유표는 원소와 손잡은 탓에 원술이 손견을 시켜 형주로 쳐들어왔다. 황조가 요격했지만 번성(樊城)과 등성(鄧城) 사이에서 격파당하고 현산(峴山)으로 달아났다. 192년 손견이 한수를 건너 유표의 거점인 양양성을 포위한 채 황조를 쫓아 현산으로 올라왔다가 매복한 궁수가 쏜 화살에 맞아 죽었다.(양양 전투) 이로써 손견을 저지하였다.

198년(건안 3년) 황조의 신세를 지고 있던 예형을 죽였다. 원래 예형은 조조에서 유표를 거쳐 하구(夏口)에 주둔하던 황조에게 와있었는데 글을 뺄 것은 빼고 넣을 것은 넣는 등 정갈하게 잘 썼으므로 황조가 그 손을 잡으며 ‘황조가 말하고 싶은 마음 속의 생각을 정확히 그대로 쓴다’고 말할 정도로 우대하였다. 어느 날 몽충(蒙衝)에서 선상 파티를 크게 열어 예형도 참석했는데 그 말이 불손하였다. 황조가 부끄러워 나무라자 되레 주시하며 “노인 시체야! 무슨 말을 하는 것이냐?”라고 쌍욕을 날렸다. 황조가 크게 노하여 편형(鞭刑)을 부과하려하자 예형은 더 욕을 퍼부었다. 완전히 뚜껑이 열린 황조가 사형을 명하니 평소 예형을 싫어하던 주부(主簿)가 즉시 형을 집행하였다. 이전부터 예형과 친했던 큰아들 황역이 황급히 맨발로 달려왔지만 이미 늦었다. 황조 역시 후회하여 후하게 장사지냈다.

10년간의 혈전 
199년 여강태수 유훈이 양주(揚州)를 잠식해가던 손책의 거짓 동맹에 속아 여강을 뺏기고 서새산(西塞山)의 유기(流沂)까지 밀려나 유표에게 급히 원병을 청하였다. 황역이 5,000명을 데리고 달려갔지만 반전하지 못하고 강하군 사이현(沙羡縣, 沙羨縣)까지 손책에게 유린당하였다. 황조의 처자식이 붙잡히고 유표가 증원한 한희(韓晞)와 조카 유호(劉虎) 등 수많은 사람이 죽었다. 이때 손분, 주유, 여범, 정보, 손권, 한당, 황개, 동습 등이 참전하였다.

손책 사후 그 뒤를 이은 손권이 203년 강하를 침범하였다. 황조의 수군이 깨지고 추격당했는데 부하 감녕이 파적교위(破賊校尉)였던 오나라 장수 능조를 활로 쏴 죽이는 등 분전하여 더 큰 위기를 면하였다. 손권은 성은 정복하지 못하고 산월 문제로 인해 돌아갔다. 207년 손권이 또 넘어왔는데 이번에도 황조를 극복하지 못하고 사람들만 잡아갔다. 그동안 황조도 시상(柴桑, 지금의 장시성 주장시)을 몇 번 찔렀으며 손권군의 서성과 주유가 공을 올렸다.

악연의 끝 
208년 봄 손권이 감녕의 건의에 따라 또 침입하였다. 앞서 감녕은 황조가 자신을 보통 사람으로 대하는 데에 불만을 품고 동오로 귀순했었다. 황조는 몽충을 쌍으로 면구(沔口)에 배치하여 수비하였다. 종려나무로 만든 큰 밧줄로 맨 돌을 닻으로 삼아 고정시키고 그 위에서 1,000명의 노수가 화살을 비처럼 쏟아부으니 손권군이 함부로 접근하지 못했다. 편장군(偏將軍) 동습과 별부사마(別部司馬) 능통이 각각 결사대 100인을 이끌고 갑옷을 껴입은 채 큰 배를 몰아 돌진하였다. 능통이 황조의 장수 장석(張碩)을 베고 동습이 양 닻줄을 끊어 대오를 흩트리는 바람에 손권의 대군이 수륙병진해왔다. 황조가 진취의 수군을 출전시켰으나 선두에서 돌격하던 평북도위(平北都尉) 여몽에게 머리를 베였다. 손권군이 그 기세로 성까지 맹렬하게 공격하였다. 황조가 밤을 타 도주하다가 손권의 기병 풍칙에게 잡혀 효수당했다. 후임 태수로는 유종과의 후계자 경쟁에서 밀려난 유표의 장남 유기가 부임하였다.

평가 
손책은 황조가 유표의 발톱과 어금니[爪牙] 같은 심복이라 하였다. 예형을 죽인 일은 후세에도 널리 회자되었다. 이백의 시에도 소재로 사용되어 황조는 악명을 얻었다고 하였다.

삼국지연의 
사서가 아닌 소설 《삼국지연의》에서는 양양 전투의 초전에서 접근하는 척하는 손견을 향해 사흘간 화살만 날리다 다 떨어진다. 손견이 이 화살을 뽑아 거꾸로 일제사격하며 상륙하니 황조가 패퇴한다. 여공이 괴량의 계책에 따라 손견을 현산으로 유인한 후 돌과 화살을 쏟아부어 죽인다. 이에 괴월, 채모와 함께 성 밖으로 출격하는데 황개에게 사로잡힌다. 유표와 손책이 손견의 시체와 황조를 서로 교환하고 강화한다. 예형이 자신을 아무 영험도 없는 사당 속 귀신이라 평하자 화가 나 살해한다. 유표가 예형을 앵무주에 묻어준다. 208년 손권의 대군에 강하가 함락당해 달아나지만 그간의 푸대접으로 인해 동오로 귀순했던 감녕에게 사살당한다. 손권이 그 머리를 죽은 아버지의 영전에 바친다.

수하 장수 
 감녕
 등룡
 소비
 진취

가계 

 아들 : 황역

각주

참고 문헌 
 《삼국지》47권 오서 제2 오주 손권

생년 미상
208년 사망
유표와 주변 인물
작전 중 사망자
효수된 사람