'Zhang Han' (章邯, ?? -
205 BC) was a
Chinese general of the
Qin Dynasty.
Zhang Han pacified the
rebellion led by
Chen Sheng and
Wu Guang in
208 BC.
Zhao Xie, the Prince of Zhao, and
Zhang Er then led the remnants of the rebel forces to occupy
Julu. Zhang Han consequently led a
siege of Julu with 200,000 troops. The siege was relieved by
Xiang Yu in the famous
battle of Julu.
In this battle, Xiang Yu destroyed his own army's cooking pots, scuttled his own army's boats, and gave only three days' of rations to his own army. Due to these actions, the fighting spirits of Xiang Yu's army were at its greatest. Subsequently, Xiang Yu's army defeated Zhang Han in nine battles without loss. Zhang Han then retreated to defend Jiyuan. He sent
Sima Xin to seek reinforcements from the
Qin dynasty.
After reinforcements from the Qin dynasty failed to arrive due to the machinations of
Zhao Gao, Zhang Han surrendered his army of 200,000 Qin troops to Xiang Yu in
207 BC. While Zhang Han was allowed to live, his troops were ordered to be buried alive. Zhang Han was then made Prince of
Yong.
Liu Bang defeated Zhang Han's forces in
205 BC and were asked to surrender. Zhang Han did not want to dishonour himself by surrendering twice to two different factions in his life time, and committed suicide.