Five Elite Generals

The Five Elite Generals refer to five military generals serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty. They later served in the state of Cao Wei, founded by Cao Cao's son and successor Cao Pi, during the Three Kingdoms period. The five were Zhang Liao, Yue Jin, Yu Jin, Zhang He and Xu Huang.

The biographies of the five generals are found in the historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), written by Chen Shou in the third century. After writing the biographies, Chen Shou commented, "Throughout Cao Cao's military exploits, these five were the crème de la crème of the best generals of that era."

Chen Shou then appraised Yu Jin, Zhang He and Yue Jin as follows:

"Yu Jin was persistent and steady but he did not remain firm until the end.""Zhang He was famous for his ability to adapt well to changes in the situations he faced.""Yue Jin made his name due to his bravery but his deeds are not supported by other historical sources. It could be due to lapses in documentation, which is why (information on Yue Jin) is not as complete as compared to that on Zhang Liao and Xu Huang.

Each of the five is famous for a certain attribute – Yue Jin was renowned for his courage in battle as he was the first to scale the walls of enemy cities in many sieges, while Yu Jin, Xu Huang and Zhang He were known for their leadership skills and their abilities to achieve victory in various battles. Zhang Liao is considered the best of the five, his fame stoked by his victory at the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford of 214-215.