Battle at Guandu (The Three Kingdoms)

 

After clashing a few times in the battlefield with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao's army was forced to retreat to Guandu. By then, Yuan Shao had 700,000 troops, while Cao Cao only had 70,000 well-trained troops.

It was then that Yuan Shao's advisor, Xu You defected to Cao Cao's camp. He advised Cao Cao to set fire to Yuan Shao's grain depot in Wuchao to derail his plans.

Cao Cao thought it was a brilliant idea. So, he chose 5,000 of his trained troops and camouflaged them by getting them to wear the same armour as Yuan Shao's army. This strategy allowed his soldiers were able to sneak into Yuan Shao's army camp in Wuchao.

The general guarding Wuchao loved to drink. So, Cao Cao's soldiers waited till he was extremely drunk before torching the grain depot. Chaos ensued and Cao Cao took this opportunity to strike.

Yuan Shao's army was thrown into confusion and he fled with 800 of his troops. After the battle at Guandu, Yuan Shao completely lost power. - Compiled from The Three Kingdoms

Our Most Recently Added Item - Sept 2021

Description:

An old ceramic vase with engravings of traditional-style writing. Height: 39.5cm

Please visit www.emperorsantique.com to view our entire catalogue.

The Secret Ingredients of The Ruware (Song Dynasty)

 After a shower, the sky clears up. Such a colour is ideal for the future.

- Emperor Huizong, Song Dynasty

Watch this Chinese documentary (with English subtitles) to find out how a dream inspired the discovery and creation of the exquisite, elegant and delicate sky-blue glaze of the Ruware!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDPCANvbHv4

Ceramics and Decorative Arts Estimated at $3.35millioon Gifted to UMMA! (Ceramics)

 

I've been studying and collecting Chinese art and ceramics since the early 1980s. The craftsmanship and history of the works has fascinated me my entire life. My goal in gifting this collection to the University of Michigan is both to preserve it for generations to come, but also to help foster that same love and passion for the exploration of technique and history that I've developed over the years. I hope students embrace this love. I hope the community comes out to see it as well.

- William Weese 

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-05-02/UM-Museum-of-Art-receives-5-million-Chinese-ceramics-gift-ZVIs0lKwVi/index.html?fbclid=IwAR3Pscx9OUGglN49q03fpA19N0mFnQhGVWtF4hchK2ND_Cxc-UOjm0zFJjI

Guan Yu Vanquishes Cao Cao (The Three Kingdoms)

Cao Cao led an army of 200,000 troops and marched to Xuzhou, intending to get rid of Liu Bei before he built his forces. Liu Bei was defeated and sought shelter with Yuan Shao in Yizhou.

Guan Yu was sent to Xiapi to protect Liu Bei's family. After Cao Cao and his troops managed to encircle Xiapi, he sent Zhang Liao to convince Guan Yu into surrendering.

Guan Yu agreed to surrender under 2 conditions - he'd only submit to the Han Emperor and that he be allowed to rejoin Liu Bei later. Cao Cao accepted Guan Yu's conditions, and Guan Yu temporarily submitted to Cao Cao and followed his troops back to Xuzhou.

In order to win Guan Yu over, Cao Cao showered him with beautiful women and presents. However, Guan Yu gave all the gifts to his sisters-in-law. Cao Cao even made a new robe for Guan Yu, but that too, was rejected. Finally, Cao Cao presented him with a Red Hare, to which Guan Yu happily accepted.

The following year, Yuan Shao and Liu Bei led their troops into battle with Cao Cao. Yuan Shao's general, Yan Liang, slew 2 of Cao Cao's generals in succession. When Cao Cao requested Guan Yu to break the enemy's defence, Guan Yu killed 2 of Yuan Shao's generals.

This infuriated Yuan Shao. When he confronted Liu Bei and accused Guan Yu of helping the enemy, Liu Bei promised he'd write to Guan Yu and summon him back.

Upon receiving Liu Bei's letter, Guan Yu set all the treasures from Cao Cao on the table and escorted his sisters-in-law in search of Liu Bei. Cao Cao came after Guan Yu and gave him a fighting robe as a gift...to which Guan Yu accepted.

Guan Yu then forced his way through 5 passes and killed 6 of Cao Cao's guarding generals. After Liu Bei was reunited with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, they gathered their troops in Runan and prepared for battle with Cao Cao once more.

- Compiled from The Three Kingdoms

Unmarked Crackled Celadon Green Pot Fetches 320,000 GBP! (Ru Ware)

 

Unmarked crackled celadon green pot turned out to be a piece of 12th century Ru ware😮 The extremely rare type of Chinese pottery was produced for the imperial court during the Song dynasty around 1100 and only around 100 complete pieces are known to exist today.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9965541/Porcelain-pot-turns-Chinese-relic-sells-400-000.html

Interesting Observation of Extremely Rare Brush Washer Being Auction Off (Song Dynasty)

 

Enjoyed this insightful and informative documentary on a highly important and extremely rare Ru Guanyao brush washer from the Northern Song Dynasty. Hope you all enjoy it too :p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAsPSAKdiaM