Zhao Yun (Chinese: 趙雲 pronunciationⓘ) (died 229),[1] courtesy name Zilong (子龍), was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China.

He continued serving in the state of Shu Han – founded by Liu Bei in 221 – in the Three Kingdoms period and participated in the first of the Northern Expeditions until his death in 229.

Zhao Yun's original biography in the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), written by Chen Shou in the third century, is only 346 Chinese characters long.

[3] After receiving a recommendation from the Administrator of Changshan Commandery to serve in the government, Zhao Yun led a small group of volunteers to join Gongsun Zan, a warlord in You Province.

[5] When Zhao Yun showed up with his volunteers, Gongsun Zan asked him mockingly: "I heard that all those in your home province[a] wanted to serve the Yuans.

[12] Liu Bei secretly instructed Zhao Yun to help him gather hundreds of men who were willing to follow him, and claim that they served under the General of the Left (左將軍).

[23] Zhao Yun was later promoted to Lieutenant-General (偏將軍) for his contributions towards Liu Bei's conquests of the four commanderies in southern Jing Province: Changsha, Lingling, Wuling and Guiyang.

As she saw herself as the sister of a powerful warlord, Lady Sun not only acted in an arrogant and unbridled manner, but also allowed her bodyguards and personal staff to behave lawlessly in Jing Province.

For this reason, Liu Bei specially appointed Zhao Yun, whom he deemed a serious and conscientious person, to oversee domestic affairs in Jing Province and maintain law and order during his absence.

[33] When they reached Jiangzhou, Zhuge Liang ordered Zhao Yun to lead a separate force to attack Jiangyang Commandery (江陽郡; around present-day Neijiang, Sichuan) and take an alternate route, and later rendezvous with Liu Bei and the other armies outside Yi Province's capital, Chengdu.

After taking Yi Province, Liu Bei held a discussion on how to distribute the households in Chengdu and the fields outside the city among his followers because he wanted to reward them for their efforts in the campaign.

Despite the overwhelming odds, Zhao Yun attempted to charge and break through the enemy formation and alternated between fighting back and retreating.

Upon seeing the enemy's approach, Zhao Yun's subordinate Zhang Yi wanted to shut the camp's gates and get the troops to hold their position.

However, Zhao Yun ordered the gates to be opened, all flags and banners to be hidden, and the war drums to be silenced so as to create an illusion of an empty camp.

Just as they were retreating, Zhao Yun launched a counterattack and his men beat the war drums loudly and fired arrows at the enemy.

[45] The following day, when Liu Bei came to inspect Zhao Yun's camp and survey the battlefield, he remarked: "Zilong is full of courage."

"[49]Liu Bei ignored Zhao Yun's advice and proceeded with his quest for vengeance by personally leading a military campaign against Sun Quan.

By the time Zhao Yun showed up with reinforcements at Yong'an, Sun Quan's forces had given up on pursuing Liu Bei and retreated back to Wu.

[52] Following his coronation, Liu Shan appointed Zhao Yun as Central Protector of the Army (中護軍) and General Who Attacks the South (征南將軍), and enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Yongchang Village (永昌亭侯).

Their mission was to distract and hold the Wei general Cao Zhen's attention, while Zhuge Liang led the Shu main army to attack Mount Qi (祁山; the mountainous regions around present-day Li County, Gansu).

[56][57] Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi lost to Cao Zhen at the battle in Ji Valley because Zhuge Liang had given them command of the weaker soldiers while he led the better troops to attack Mount Qi.

[58] After the Shu forces managed to retreat back to Hanzhong, Zhao Yun was demoted to the position of General Who Guards the Army (鎮軍將軍) as punishment for his defeat at Ji Valley.

In Liu Shan's time, only three consecutive heads of government – Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan and Fei Yi – received posthumous titles.

Later, Liu Shan also posthumously honoured Chen Zhi, whom he favoured, and Xiahou Ba, a Wei general who defected to Shu.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Pang Tong, Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun were also awarded posthumous titles by Liu Shan as well.

"[66] The name of Zhao Yun's posthumous title was suggested by Jiang Wei and others – shun (順; shùn; literally "obey / follow") because he was virtuous and kind, ping (平; píng; literally "peace / pacify") because he performed his duties up to standard and overcame chaos, so shun and ping became "Shunping".

In the novel, Zhao Yun is portrayed as an almost perfect warrior – one who possesses powerful combat skills, unwavering loyalty to his lord, tremendous courage, keen intelligence, and serene charisma.

[citation needed] Its name is roughly translated as "Shore Edge Spear" (涯角槍, Yajiaoqiang) in legends and it allegedly makes an unnamed appearance in the Sanguozhi Pinghua.

Measuring in at a length of nine chi (approximately three meters or ten feet in modern conversions), Zhao Yun is said to have wielded it with magnificent skill.

Zhao Yun appears as a stray Rider-class Servant in the 2023 video game Fate/Samurai Remnant, specifically in their third DLC titled: "Bailong and the Crimson Demon".