Tian Dan
Held out at Jimo, crushed the Yan army with the fire-ox formation, and recovered over 70 cities of Qi.
Life
Defender of Jimo
Tian Dan was a distant member of the royal house of the State of Qi, originally only a market clerk in Linzi. When the Yan general Yue Yi conquered Qi, he fled to Jimo, where his resourcefulness led people to choose him as the commander of the defense.
Sowing discord and feigned surrender
First he used a scheme to sow discord that led King Hui of Yan to replace Yue Yi; then he contrived to enrage the people of Qi so that they united against the common enemy; and then he sent men to feign surrender, lulling the Yan army into complacency.
Fire-ox formation
One night in 279 BCE, he had blades tied to the horns of more than a thousand oxen and oil-soaked reeds tied to their tails and set alight, then drove the oxen charging into the Yan camp, with 5,000 brave warriors charging in behind them. The Yan army suffered a crushing defeat, all of the more than seventy cities of Qi were recovered, and he was enfeoffed as Lord Anping.
Legacy
Tian Dan revived the entire State of Qi from a single isolated city, a model in Chinese history of the few defeating the many and turning around a hopeless situation.
Major works & achievements
- Recovered over 70 cities of Qi
Did you know? The Fire-ox formation is one of the most famous surprise attacks in the history of ancient warfare.
Key dates
- 284 BCEFled to Jimo and was chosen as commander of the defense
- 279 BCESowed discord with the King of Yan, who replaced Yue Yi
- 279 BCECrushed the Yan army with the fire-ox formation, recovering more than seventy cities