Red Hare

The Red Hare or Chi Tu (Chinese:赤兔馬; pinyin:chì tù mǎ) was a famous horse owned by the warlord Lü Bu, who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.

The Red Hare was mentioned in Lü Bu's biographies in the historical texts Records of the Three Kingdoms and Book of the Later Han. It was described as very powerful and capable of "galloping across cities and leaping over moats". Lü Bu rode this horse in 193 during a battle in Changshan (常山; around present-day Shijiazhuang, Hebei), in which he helped another warlord Yuan Shao defeat his rival Zhang Yan.^[1][2]

The Cao Man Zhuan (曹瞞傳) recorded that there was a saying at the time to describe Lü Bu and his Red Hare: "Among men, Lü Bu; Among steeds, Chì Tù (the Red Hare)".^[3]

The Red Hare has a more prominent role in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the historical events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. It is originally a prized steed of the warlord Dong Zhuo. After hearing a suggestion from his adviser Li Su, Dong Zhuo sends Li Su to present the Red Hare as a gift to Lü Bu and induce Lü Bu to betray his foster father, Ding Yuan, and defect to his side. Lü Bu is very pleased to receive the Red Hare. After Li Su convinces him to do so, he murders Ding Yuan and defects to Dong Zhuo, whom he pledges allegiance to and acknowledges as his new foster father.

The Red Hare is described in the novel as follows:

" [ ... ] llamado 'Liebre Roja', capaz de recorrer 1000 li en un día. [ ... ] cruza ríos y sube montañas como si se moviera en terreno llano, [ ... ] es de un rojo ceniza uniforme, sin un solo pelo de otro color; mide un zhang de la cabeza a la cola y ocho chi de la pezuña a la cabeza; relincha como si tuviera la ambición de remontar el vuelo hacia el cielo o zambullirse en el mar." ^{[ 4 ]}

Tras la caída y muerte de Lü Bu en la batalla de Xiapi , la Liebre Roja pasa a manos del señor de la guerra Cao Cao . Cao Cao se la entrega a Guan Yu más tarde, en un intento de influir en él para que se una a su bando. ^{[ 5 ]} Tras la muerte de Guan Yu, Ma Zhong (馬忠) toma la Liebre Roja y se la presenta a su señor Sun Quan , quien inmediatamente se la regala a Ma Zhong. La Liebre Roja muere de hambre durante días. ^{[ 6 ]}

• Lista de caballos históricos

• Chen, Shou (siglo III). Registros de los Tres Reinos ( Sanguozhi ).
• Fan, Ye (siglo V). Libro de los Han Posteriores ( Houhanshu ).
• Luo, Guanzhong (siglo XIV). Romance de los Tres Reinos ( Sanguo Yanyi ).
• Pei, Songzhi (siglo V). Registros anotados de los Tres Reinos ( Sanguozhi zhu ).