Red Hare

Red Hare
Traditional Chinese	赤兔馬
Simplified Chinese	赤兔马
Literal meaning	Red hare horse
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin chì tù mǎ

A statue of the Red Hare in front of the Mo Tai Temple in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong

The Red Hare or Chi Tu (Chinese: 赤兔馬; pinyin: chì tù mǎ) was a famous horse owned by the warlord Lü Bu, who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.

In historical records

The Red Hare was mentioned in Lü Bu's biographies in the historical texts Records of the Three Kingdoms and Book of the Later Han. It was described as very powerful and capable of "galloping across cities and leaping over moats". Lü Bu rode this horse in 193 during a battle in Changshan (常山; around present-day Shijiazhuang, Hebei), in which he helped another warlord Yuan Shao defeat his rival Zhang Yan.^[1][2]

The Cao Man Zhuan (曹瞞傳) recorded that there was a saying at the time to describe Lü Bu and his Red Hare: "Among men, Lü Bu; Among steeds, Chì Tù (the Red Hare)".^[3]

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Guan Yu riding the Red Hare, as depicted in a mural in the Summer Palace, Beijing.

The Red Hare has a more prominent role in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the historical events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. It is originally a prized steed of the warlord Dong Zhuo. After hearing a suggestion from his adviser Li Su, Dong Zhuo sends Li Su to present the Red Hare as a gift to Lü Bu and induce Lü Bu to betray his foster father, Ding Yuan, and defect to his side. Lü Bu is very pleased to receive the Red Hare. After Li Su convinces him to do so, he murders Ding Yuan and defects to Dong Zhuo, whom he pledges allegiance to and acknowledges as his new foster father.

The Red Hare is described in the novel as follows:

"[...] named 'Red Hare', capable of travelling 1,000 li in a day. [...] crosses rivers and climbs mountains as though it is moving on flat land, [...] It is of uniform ashen red, with not a hair of another colour; it measures one zhang from head to tail and eight chi from hoof to head; it neighs as if it has the ambition of soaring into the sky or diving into the sea."^[4]

After Lü Bu's downfall and death at the Battle of Xiapi, the Red Hare comes into the possession of the warlord Cao Cao. Cao Cao gives it to Guan Yu later in an attempt to influence Guan Yu to join him.^[5] After Guan Yu's death, Ma Zhong (馬忠) takes the Red Hare and presents it to his lord Sun Quan, who immediately gives the horse as a gift to Ma Zhong. The Red Hare starves itself for days and dies.^[6]

See also

• List of historical horses

References

1. (北詣袁紹，紹與布擊張燕於常山。燕精兵萬餘，騎數千。布有良馬曰赤兎。) Sanguozhi vol. 7.
2. (布常御良馬，號曰赤菟，能馳城飛塹， ...) Houhanshu vol. 75.
3. (曹瞞傳曰：「時人語曰：『人中有呂布，馬中有赤菟。』」) Cao Man Zhuan annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 7.
4. (肅曰：「某聞主公有名馬一匹，號曰『赤兔』，日行千里。 ... 肅曰：「 ... 有良馬一匹，日行千里，渡水登山，如履平地，名曰『赤兔』：特獻與賢弟，以助虎威。」布便令牽過來看。果然那馬渾身上下，火炭般赤，無半根雜毛；從頭至尾，長一丈；從蹄至項，高八尺；嘶喊咆哮，有騰空入海之狀。) Sanguo Yanyi ch. 3.
5. (操令左右備一馬來。須臾牽至。那馬身如火炭，狀甚雄偉。操指曰：「公識此馬否？」公曰：「莫非呂布所騎赤馬乎？」操曰：「然也。」遂並鞍轡送與關公。) Sanguo Yanyi ch. 25.
6. (關公既歿，坐下赤兔馬被馬忠所獲，獻與孫權。權即賜馬忠騎坐。其馬數日不食草料而死。) Sanguo Yanyi ch. 77.

• Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
• Fan, Ye (5th century). Book of the Later Han (Houhanshu).
• Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi).
• Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).