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{{family name hatnote|[[Bai (surname)|Bai]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Short description|Chinese Qin state military general ( c. 332 BC – 257 BC)}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with the peasant general Bai or Bo Qi ''([[:zh:柏耆|zh]]:{{lang|zh|柏耆}})'' during the [[Tang dynasty]].}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = Lord Wuan
| name          = Bai Qi
| image         = Bai Qi.jpg
| birth_date    = c. 332 BC
| death_date    = 257 BC
| birth_place   = Mei county
| death_place   = Duyou
| nickname      = Ren Tu
| allegiance    = Qin
| battles       = [[Battle of Changping]]<br/>[[Battle of Yique]]
}}

'''Bai Qi''' ({{zh|c=白起}}; {{circa|332}}{{nbsp}}{{ndash}} {{circa|January}} 257&nbsp;BC<ref>Vol. 05 of ''Shiji'' indicated that Bai Qi died in the 12th month of the 50th year of the reign of [[King Zhaoxiang of Qin]]; this corresponds to 6 Jan to 3 Feb 257&nbsp;BC in the proleptic Julian calendar. In the modified ''Zhuanxu'' calendar used in this era, the 50th year of King Zhaoxiang's reign began on 07 November 258&nbsp;BC and ended on 26 October 257&nbsp;BC in the proleptic Julian calendar. However, Bai Qi's biography in vol. 73 of ''Shiji'' indicated that he died in the 11th month of the same year; this corresponds to 7 Dec 258&nbsp;BC to 5 Jan 257&nbsp;BC in the proleptic Julian calendar.</ref>), also known as '''Bo Qi''' and '''Gongsun Qi''' ({{lang|zh-Hans|公孫起}}),<ref>{{Cite book|title=[[Strategies of the Warring States]]}}</ref> was a Chinese military general of the [[Qin (state)|Qin state]] during the [[Warring States period]]. Born in Mei (present-day [[Mei County]], [[Shaanxi]]), Bai Qi served as the commander of the Qin army for more than 30 years, being responsible for the deaths of over one million,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.ifeng.com/history/zhongguogudaishi/detail_2012_01/14/11975568_0.shtml|title=How many people had Bai Qi killed}}</ref> earning him the nickname {{lang|zh-Latn|Ren Tu}} ({{lang|zh|人屠}}; {{lit|human butcher}}). According to the [[Records of the Grand Historian|Shiji]], he seized more than 73 cities from the other six hostile states, and to date no record has been found to show that he suffered a single defeat throughout his military career. He was instrumental in the rise of Qin as a military hegemon and the weakening of its rival states, thus enabling Qin's eventual conquest of them. He is regarded by Chinese folklore as one of the four Greatest Generals of the Late Warring States period, along with [[Li Mu]], [[Wang Jian (Qin)|Wang Jian]], and [[Lian Po]];<ref>{{Cite book|title=Thousand-Character Classic}}</ref> he is also remembered as the most fearsome amongst the four. {{anchor|Biography|History|Career}}

==Ancestry==
{{Seealso|Bai (surname)}}
The [[New Book of Tang]], Volume 75 Second Part, wrote that he was descended from a general of [[Duke Mu of Qin]], [[Baiyi Bing]] ([[:zh:白乙丙|白乙丙]]) of the [[Jiǎn (surname 蹇)|Jiǎn lineage (蹇)]]. Baiyi Bing himself was a son of [[Jian Shu|Jiǎn Shū]] ([[:zh:蹇叔|蹇叔]]), a Qin [[scholar-official]] with [[Song (state)|Song]] origins.<ref>《新唐书·卷七十五下·宰相世系表》记载西乞术、白乙丙为孟明視之子，而《史记·卷五·秦本纪》则记载西乞术、白乙丙是蹇叔之子，所以省略前段争议资料不用。</ref>

Though the poet [[Bai Juyi]] of the Tang dynasty wrote in his book ''Therefore, The Case of Bai Fujun, The Magistrate of Gong County'' (故巩县令白府君事状) that he was descended from [[Baigong Sheng]] ([[:zh:白公胜|白公胜]]), of the [[Bai (surname)|Bai lineage]] of the [[Mi (surname)#Mǐ (芈)|Mǐ clan (羋)]], grandson of [[King Ping of Chu]], the rebellious prince in the reign of [[King Hui of Chu]].<ref name="白居易">《太原白氏家状二道·故巩县令白府君事状》：白氏芊姓，楚公族也。楚熊居太子建奔郑，建之子胜居于吴楚间，号白公，因氏焉。楚杀白公，其子奔秦，代为名将，乙丙已降是也。裔孙白起，有大功于秦，封武安君。后非其罪，赐死杜邮，秦人怜之，立祠庙于咸阳，至今存焉。及始皇思武安之功，封其子仲于太原，子孙因家焉，故今为太原人。</ref><ref>《史记·卷六十六·伍子胥列传》：叶公闻白公为乱，率其国人攻白公。白公之徒败，亡走山中，自杀。</ref>

==Life==
{{Main|Battle of Yique|Battle of Changping|Battle of Handan}}
In 293 BC, Bai Qi led the Qin army to victory against [[State of Wei|Wei]] ({{lang|zh|魏}}) and [[State of Han|Han]] ({{lang|zh-Hans|韓}}) forces at the [[Battle of Yique]] (in present-day Longmen ({{lang|zh-Hant|龍門}}), southeast of [[Luoyang]], [[Henan]]), reportedly slaughtering around 240,000 enemy soldiers in total while capturing some cities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Zhou/personsbaiqi.html|title = Bai Qi 白起 (www.chinaknowledge.de)}}</ref>

In 292 BC, he was promoted from [[Zuo Shu Zhang]] (左庶長; ''Vice Prime Minister of Qin'') to [[Da Liang Zao]] (大良造; ''Commander of the Officers, before 328 BC also Prime Minister of Qin'') by [[King Zhaoxiang of Qin]].

In 278 BC, he led the Qin army to capture [[Ying (Chu)|Ying]] ({{lang|zh|郢}}), the capital city of Chu, in the process seizing considerable amounts of territory.<ref>Hawkes, 162</ref> As a reward, he was given the title Lord Wu'an (武安君; literally: ''Lord of Martial Peace''). Reportedly drowning 100,000 people in a flood attack.

In 273 BC, the Qin army under his command defeated the joint armies of [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]] ({{lang|zh-Hant|趙}}) and [[State of Wei|Wei]] at Huayang (華陽; south of present-day [[Zhengzhou]] ({{lang|zh-Hant|鄭州}}), [[Henan]]), where he massacred the submitting soldiers, reportedly numbering around 150,000 troops in total: 130,000 Wei soldiers with a further 20,000 Zhao soldiers being killed and thrown into a river.<ref>史記·卷七十二·穰侯列傳</ref>

In 264 BC, he successfully besieged 5 [[State of Han|Han]] fortresses and thereafter decapitated the 50,000 enemy soldiers.<ref>史記·卷七十三·白起王翦列傳</ref>

Sometime before 262 BC, after the split of alliance between Qi state and Wei state, Bai Qi was sent by the new king of Qin to lead 200,000 men to attack Han, where they met the opposition forces of Han and Wei states of 300,000 men. Bai Qi managed to capture Yowang, and disrupt connection between [[Shandong]] and the capital of Han.<ref name="Modern Chinese History：春秋战国">{{cite book |author1=liping guo |title=Modern Chinese History：春秋战国 |publisher=liping guo |isbn=9781304786272 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3QzrEAAAQBAJ&dq=bai+qi+korea&pg=PT3151 |access-date=1 May 2024 |language=En}}</ref><ref name="The Political History of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period">{{cite book |author1=Li Shi |title=The Political History of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_fqJDwAAQBAJ&dq=bai+qi+korea&pg=PT188 |access-date=1 May 2024 |language=English |format=ebook}}</ref><ref name="Historical Records 史记: The First and Most Important Biographical General History Book in China">{{cite book |author1=Sima Qian |author1-link=Sima Qian |title=Historical Records 史记: The First and Most Important Biographical General History Book in China |date=2019 |publisher=Deeplogic |url={{GBurl|m-OGDwAAQBAJ}}|access-date=1 May 2024 |language=En}}</ref><ref name="信陵君（英文版）">{{cite book |author1=孙毓修 |title=信陵君（英文版） |date=2023 |publisher=露露 |isbn=978-1-304-91731-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vbfiEAAAQBAJ&dq=bai+qi+korea&pg=PT99 |access-date=1 May 2024 |language=En, Ch}}</ref>

During the [[Battle of Changping]] in 260 BC, after Qin intelligence reported that the [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]] army was commanded by the inexperienced [[Zhao Kuo]], who had replaced the experienced [[Lian Po]] as acting commander, Bai Qi was appointed to succeed Wang He as commander of the Qin army and was promoted to Shang Jiangjun (上將軍, literally "Generalissimo" or "Supreme Commander"). The Zhao army was split into two parts and its supply lines and retreat route cut off by Bai Qi. More than 400,000 Zhao soldiers, including the [[Shangdang]] people who surrendered after Zhao Kuo was shot dead by Qin crossbowmen, were slain (坑殺; buried alive) on the orders of Bai Qi.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Grand Historian|last=Sima|first=Qian}}</ref>

Bai Qi wanted to end Zhao once and for all, as they were weary and psychologically affected by the losses incurred from the Battle of Changping, but the prime minister of Qin, [[Fan Ju]] ({{lang|zh|范雎}}), who was persuaded by a talker from Zhao, feared Bai Qi's rising power, and recommended that the king stop the attack on the pretext that the Qin troops ought to be rested, and to accept a ceded territory negotiation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scopsr.gov.cn/whsh/lsbl/rwcq/201305/t20130524_222798.html|title=Minister Fan Ju|access-date=2018-12-24|archive-date=2018-12-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224220052/http://www.scopsr.gov.cn/whsh/lsbl/rwcq/201305/t20130524_222798.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Bai Qi stopped the attack; on his return journey to the State of Qin, he fell ill.

According to the [[Records of the Grand Historian|Shiji]], in the year 257 BC, Qin started to besiege [[Handan]], the capital of Zhao. Because Bai Qi was ill, the Qin king used another prominent general, [[Wang Ling (Qin General)|Wang Ling]] ({{lang|zh|王陵}}), who subsequently lost the battle. After about four months, when Bai Qi seemed to have recovered, the king asked him to return to his post as commander, but Bai Qi held a different opinion, he argued that Qin no longer had enough resources for such a long-range war, and the other states would soon attack Qin since Qin had been contrary to the negotiation. However, the king insisted on continuing the attack. Bai Qi refused the king's command, using his illness as an excuse. The king, therefore, had to use [[Wang He (Qin General)|Wang He]] ({{lang|zh|王齕}}), another prominent Qin general, instead of Bai Qi, as the commander.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Grand Historian|last=Sima|first=Qian}}</ref>

This decision did not help the Qin army in the battle at all; Chu and Wei soon sent troops to assist Zhao. After more than five months of continuous defeat at Handan, Qin had suffered major losses. The king asked Bai Qi to become commander again, but he once more used his illness to refuse the request. In the ''[[Zhan Guo Ce]]'', his true intentions were supposedly revealed when he stated that he would rather be executed for refusing the king's order, than lose his long undefeated fame on the battlefield. Having been refused several times, the king became angry, removed all titles from Bai Qi, and forced him to leave Xianyang, the Qin capital. In addition, [[Fan Ju]] persuaded the king that Bai Qi would join another state as a general and become a threat to the State of Qin. Convinced by Fan Ju's information, the king then forced Bai Qi to commit suicide in Duyou ({{lang|zh|杜郵}}).<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Grand Historian|last=Sima|first=Qian}}</ref> Before he committed suicide, Bai Qi stated that he deserved such a tragic ending after having killed so many people.<ref>《史记·卷七十三·白起王翦列传》：秦王使王龁代陵将，八九月围邯郸，不能拔。楚使春申君及魏公子将兵数十万攻秦军，秦军多失亡。武安君言曰：“秦不听臣计，今如何矣！”秦王闻之，怒，彊起武安君，武安君遂称病笃。应侯请之，不起。於是免武安君为士伍，迁之阴密。武安君病，未能行。居三月，诸侯攻秦军急，秦军数却，使者日至。秦王乃使人遣白起，不得留咸阳中。武安君既行，出咸阳西门十里，至杜邮。秦昭王与应侯群臣议曰：“白起之迁，其意尚怏怏不服，有馀言。”秦王乃使使者赐之剑自裁。武安君引剑将自刭，曰：“我何罪于天而至此哉？”良久，曰：“我固当死。长平之战，赵卒降者数十万人，我诈而尽阬之，是足以死。”遂自杀。</ref>

==Legacy==
Bai Qi sometimes appears as a [[door god]] on [[Chinese temple|Chinese]] and [[Taoist temple]]s, usually paired with [[Li Mu]].

He is noted in Chinese history as a symbol of brutality rather than for his military talent. The traditional [[Tofu]] dish of [[Gaoping]],<ref>[http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_499a195d0100cadw.html 就是俺们这里的：高平烧豆腐]</ref> today's Changping, called Bai Qi meat, is well known. Some stories have been written about Bai Qi suffering for his brutal actions, such as one mentioned in the ''[[Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms]]'', which says that an ox with two Chinese characters, 'Bai Qi', tattooed on its back, was executed by lightning during the [[Tang dynasty]].<!--dead link <ref>[http://www.bfnn.org/book/books/0364.htm#a02 因果報應錄]</ref>-->

Human remains used to and still continue to be found at the site of the [[Battle of Changping]] around Gaoping. The [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]] once decided to dedicate a temple over a collection of the remains there.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sx.xinhuanet.com/lyrx/2005-07/12/content_4623710.htm |title=长平古战场 |website=www.sx.xinhuanet.com |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026114117/http://www.sx.xinhuanet.com/lyrx/2005-07/12/content_4623710.htm |archive-date=26 October 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sx.xinhuanet.com/lyrx/2005-07/12/content_4623710.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026114117/http://www.sx.xinhuanet.com/lyrx/2005-07/12/content_4623710.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-10-26|title=Battlefield of Changping}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
*Bai Qi is played by [[Sun Ting]] in the 2012 television series ''[[The Qin Empire II: Alliance]]'' and by [[Xing Jiadong]] in its 2017 sequel ''[[The Qin Empire III]]''.
*Bai Qi is played by Zeng Hongchang (曾虹畅) in the 2015 TV series ''[[The Legend of Mi Yue]]''. His younger portrayals are played by Yang Yanduo (杨砚铎) (9-year-old Bai Qi) and Qiu Muyuan (裘慕遠) (15-year-old Bai Qi).
*Bai Qi, also known by the Japanese reading of his name, "Haku Ki", was the leader of the former generation of the "Qin Six Great Generals" in the manga series ''[[Kingdom (manga)|Kingdom]]''. He was one of the best tacticians of his era and one of the most feared Generals in China, he personally led the infamous [[Battle of Changping]], and under his cold gaze, executed and buried alive 450,000 [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]] soldiers.
*Bai Qi is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI]]'' by [[Koei]]. He has the highest military leadership statistics of all the characters, tied only to [[Han Xin]].

==See also==
*[[King Zhaoxiang of Qin]]
*[[Lament for Ying]]
*[[Li Mu]]
*[[Lian Po]]
*''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]''
*[[Sima Qian]] 
*[[Wang Jian (Qin)|Wang Jian]]
*[[Zhao Kuo]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
*[[David Hawkes (Sinologist)|Hawkes, David]], translator and introduction (2011 [1985]). Qu Yuan ''et al.'', ''The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets''. London: Penguin Books. {{ISBN|978-0-14-044375-2}}

===Further reference===
* {{in lang|zh}} 西漢, 司馬遷.''史記 卷七十三 白起王翦列傳''(Western Han Dynasty, Sima Qian, ''Biography of Wang Jian and Bai Qi'', Volume 73 of ''Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji)'')
* {{in lang|zh}} 清, 蔡元放. ''東周列國志''(Qing dynasty, Cai Yuanfang. ''Records of the states during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty'')

==External links==
{{Wikisourcelang|zh|史記/卷073|Records of the Grand Historian Vol. 73 Biography of Bai Qi (史記·白起王翦列傳}}
* {{in lang|zh}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20090925054215/http://www.helzone.com/vbb/archive/index.php/t-24564.html Bai Qi Time Line]

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[[Category:257 BC deaths]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC executions]]
[[Category:Suicides in the Warring States period]]
[[Category:Chinese gods]]
[[Category:Deified Chinese men]]
[[Category:Forced suicides of Chinese people]]
[[Category:Generals from Shaanxi]]
[[Category:People executed by the Qin dynasty]]
[[Category:People from Baoji]]
[[Category:Qin dynasty generals]]
[[Category:Suicides by sharp instrument in China]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Generals of the Warring States period]]
[[Category:Qin state people]]
[[Category:Executed Zhou dynasty people]]