Wei Rui

Crushed Northern Wei at the Battle of Zhongli, earning the name "Tiger Wei."

Life

Fighting from a Carriage

Wei Rui came from the Wei Clan of Jingzhao. Physically frail, he never rode a horse, and in battle he directed his troops from a litter, holding a white horn ruyi scepter. He helped Xiao Yan rise in revolt and found the Liang, and was known for his sound and steady strategy.

Taking Hefei

In 506 CE he captured the Northern Wei stronghold of Hefei, damming the river to flood the city and forcing the garrison to surrender. In 507 CE, when Yuan Ying, Prince of Zhongshan of Northern Wei, besieged Zhongli with hundreds of thousands of troops, he was ordered to relieve it. He marched more than 200 li in ten days and built a fortified camp on Shaoyang Island in a single night, and the Wei troops exclaimed in amazement, "Is he a god?"

Great Victory at Zhongli

Then, as the Huai River rose, he sent small boats loaded with oil-soaked straw to burn the Wei army's pontoon bridges and, with Cao Jingzong, attacked from within and without; more than 100,000 Wei soldiers drowned. The people of Northern Wei called him "Tiger Wei." Modest and retiring, he never vied for credit; late in life he served as General Protector of the Army and died in 520 CE.

Legacy

The Battle of Zhongli was a rare major victory for the Southern Dynasties, and Wei Rui is regarded as one of their most outstanding generals for it.

Major works & achievements

• Taking Hefei
• Crushed Northern Wei at the Battle of Zhongli

Did you know? He never rode a horse in battle, commanding from a litter instead, yet the enemy called him "Tiger Wei."

Key dates

• 502Helped Xiao Yan found Liang
• 506Taking Hefei
• 507Crushed Northern Wei at the Battle of Zhongli
• 520Died