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Zhou Yafu
Western Han general, son of Zhou Bo, whose disciplined camp at Xiliu impressed Emperor Wen and who put down the Rebellion of the Seven States in three months
Mural of the event “Seven Kingdoms Revolt”, which this person took part in.
Early Han enfeoffment of imperial kinsmen had let large vassal states such as Wu and Chu grow until they threatened the center. Emperor Jing adopted Chao Cuo's "reduce the vassals" policy, provoking a fierce rebellion among the kings.
Also known as Tiao Hou
Zhou Yafu, son of the Han founder's companion Zhou Bo, was governor of Henei when his brother Zhou Shengzhi lost the family title for a crime, and Emperor Wen made him Marquis of Tiao instead. When the Xiongnu raided in 158 BC he camped at Xiliu, and the visiting emperor, kept at the gate until the general's order admitted him, called him a real general. In 154 BC, when Wu, Chu and five other kingdoms rose against Emperor Jing, he took the field as Grand Commandant, held Changyi without giving battle, cut the rebels' supply lines and ended the revolt in three months. As chancellor he opposed deposing the heir Liu Rong and ennobling the empress's brother Wang Xin, and lost office. When his son was found to have bought five hundred sets of armour for his funeral, he was charged with treason, refused food for five days and died vomiting blood. Wang Wei's poem Watching the Hunt alludes to his Xiliu camp.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown–143 BCE
- 154 BCESeven Kingdoms RevoltTook part
- 154 BCEZhou Yafu Ends Rebellion at Changyi