Early life

Huang Gai was from Quanling County, Lingling Commandery (零陵郡), which is present-day Lingling District, Yongzhou, Hunan. He was a descendant of Huang Zilian, a former Administrator of Nanyang Commandery. Huang Gai's grandfather moved from Nanyang to Lingling and had remained there since. Huang Gai was orphaned at a young age and he experienced hardships in his early days. However, he had high ambitions and, despite being poor, he worked hard and read books and studied military arts on his own.

Early career and service under Sun Jian and Sun Ce

Huang Gai later became a minor official in the local commandery office before he was nominated as a xiaolian and employed as an assistant in the office of one of the Three Ducal Ministers. Around the 180s, when the warlord Sun Jian was raising a militia to help government forces suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Huang Gai responded to the call and became one of Sun Jian's subordinates. Huang Gai accompanied Sun Jian in attacking bandits in the region and also participated in the campaign against Dong Zhuo under Sun Jian's banner. Huang Gai was later appointed as a Major of Separate Command. After Sun Jian's death in 191, Huang Gai continued to serve under Sun Jian's eldest son, Sun Ce, and later under Sun Quan, Sun Ce's younger brother. He was involved in Sun Ce's conquests in the Jiangdong region.

Service under Sun Quan

Maintaining peace and stability within Wu

When Sun Quan was in control of the Wu territories, the lands were not very peaceful as the Shanyue tribes in the region often raided counties and caused much trouble. Huang Gai was sent to pacify the Shanyue. Once, Huang Gai was assigned to oversee Shicheng County and he knew that the local officials did not follow the laws and were difficult to control. After entering the county office, he chose two officers to be his assistants and ordered them to manage the office. He also gave instructions for all the officers to abide by rules and regulations and perform their duties well. The two officers were afraid of Huang Gai so they put in full effort in their work. However, as time passed, they realised that Huang Gai did not inspect their work, so they became lax and reverted to their old ways. Huang Gai was actually aware of what was going on. He invited all the local officials to attend a banquet later and exposed the two officers' misdeeds in front of everyone. The officers were frightened and started begging for their lives, but Huang Gai still executed them. This incident shocked everyone in the county. Huang Gai was later reassigned to be the Chief of Chungu County (春穀縣; northwest of present-day Fanchang County, Anhui) and the Prefect of Xunyang County (尋陽縣; southwest of present-day Huangmei County, Hubei). The nine counties under his governorship were peaceful and stable. Huang Gai was subsequently promoted to Commandant of Danyang Commandery (丹楊郡; around present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu). He helped the poor and earned the respect of the Shanyue.

Battle of Red Cliffs

In the winter of 208–209, Huang Gai fought in the Battle of Red Cliffs against Cao Cao's forces. He was a subordinate of Zhou Yu, who was the frontline commander of Sun Quan's forces in that battle. Huang Gai told Zhou Yu: "The enemy are superior in numbers in comparison with our side. I fear that we cannot last long. However, I observe that Cao Cao's ships are linked to each other. We can destroy them by fire." Huang Gai then prepared about ten mengchongs and doujians (鬬艦; a type of warship) and filled them with the ingredients necessary for starting a fire. He then wrote a letter to Cao Cao, pretending that he wanted to surrender and defect to Cao Cao's side. Cao Cao told Huang Gai's messenger: "I only fear that this is a trick. However, if what Huang Gai said is true, I will reward him handsomely."

Huang Gai also prepared some zouges (走舸; a smaller type of boat), which would follow behind the mengchongs and doujians, and his small fleet sailed towards Cao Cao's base. The wind was blowing strongly from the southeast. When Huang Gai's fleet reached the middle of the river, the ships all raised their sails, and Huang Gai lifted a torch and instructed his men to shout "We surrender!" Cao Cao's troops came out of the camp to look and they said Huang Gai was coming to join them. When Huang Gai was about 20 li away from the enemy base, he ordered his men to set the ships on fire and they boarded the smaller boats behind. As the wind was very strong, the flaming ships sailed towards Cao Cao's warships at fast speed and caused them to catch fire as well. Cao Cao's ships were all burnt down and the flames also spread quickly to his camps on land. Zhou Yu then ordered an attack on Cao Cao's base and scored a major victory. Cao Cao retreated north with his surviving troops after his defeat.

Huang Gai was hit by a stray arrow during the battle and fell into the river. He was saved by Zhou Yu's men, who did not recognise him and left him on a toilet seat. When Han Dang passed by, Huang Gai managed to call out to him. Han Dang recognised Huang Gai's voice so he rushed towards him. With tears in his eyes, Han Dang helped Huang Gai remove his clothing so that the wound can be treated, and Huang Gai survived.

Later career and death

Huang Gai was promoted to General of the Household of Martial Edge (武鋒中郎將). When the tribal people in Wuling Commandery (武陵郡; around present-day Changde, Hunan) started a rebellion, Huang Gai was appointed as the Administrator of Wuling and was sent to quell the uprising. At that time, there were only 500 troops in the commandery and they were heavily outnumbered by the rebels. However, Huang Gai ordered the city gates to be opened, and when about half of the rebel army had entered, he launched an assault on them, killing hundreds of enemies while the surviving ones fled. Huang Gai later succeeded in pacifying the rebellion over the following three months by targeting the rebel chiefs and pardoning the rebels who surrendered. By summer, all the tribal chiefs had submitted to Huang Gai. Peace was restored in Wuling.

Later, when Huang Gai received news that Yiyang County was under attack by bandits, he led his forces to fight the bandits and succeeded in restoring peace in the region. Huang Gai was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant-General. He died in office while serving as the Administrator of Wuling Commandery.

Huang Bing

In 229, after Sun Quan declared himself emperor and established the state of Eastern Wu, he granted the title of a Secondary Marquis to Huang Gai's son, Huang Bing, in recognition of Huang Gai's contributions.

Appraisal

Huang Gai was described as having a stern and serious appearance, and was known to be a good disciplinarian. Every time he went into battle, the men under him would compete fiercely to earn the top credit. Huang Gai was also known to be just and decisive when he handled cases in court and he never had any lapses. After his death, he was fondly remembered by the people of Wu, and they even created portraits of him and worshipped him.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Huang Gai is a minor character in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the historical events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. He appears mainly in the chapters covering the events leading to the Battle of Red Cliffs. His most significant moment in the novel is a fictional episode in which he proposes a "self-torture ruse" (苦肉計) to win Cao Cao's trust so that Zhou Yu's fire attack plan can be carried out. Huang Gai has a secret conversation with Zhou Yu one night and suggests his plan. The following morning, when Zhou Yu calls for an assembly of the officers to discuss their battle plans, Huang Gai pretends to openly challenge and insult Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu pretends to be furious and he orders Huang Gai to be executed, but with some intervention from Gan Ning and others, he spares Huang Gai's life and has him severely flogged. Huang Gai then writes a letter to Cao Cao, expressing his willingness to defect over to Cao Cao's side because he is unhappy with Zhou Yu. Cai Zhong and Cai He, two spies planted by Cao Cao in Zhou Yu's camp, confirm Huang Gai's account that he was flogged on Zhou Yu's order because of an argument. Kan Ze later helps to convince Cao Cao that Huang Gai's defection is genuine, even though Cao initially saw through the ruse. Huang Gai then arranges with Cao Cao that on a certain night, he would sail across the river over to Cao's camp. That night, Huang Gai uses the opportunity to launch the fire attack, sparking off the Battle of Red Cliffs.

In popular culture

Huang Gai appears as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series.

He is portrayed by Liu Kui in the 2010 Chinese television series Three Kingdoms.

生平

侍奉孫家

本為南陽太守黃子廉後人，但家族分離，黃蓋祖父遷居到零陵郡居住下來。後來鄉親都紛紛死去，黃蓋生活艱難，但仍有壯志，雖然貧窮，仍常負薪警戒自己，又自習讀書、學習兵法。之後擔任郡吏，再被考察為孝廉，升任公府。

中平四年（187年），區星、周朝、郭石亦率徒眾起於長沙、零陵、桂陽三郡混亂，相呼應起兵，孫堅赴任長沙太守起義兵平叛時，黃蓋就開始跟隨孫堅。遂越境過去零陵與桂陽征討周朝、郭石，郡中震服，三郡整肅。孫堅在南部打敗山賊。

初平元年（190年），在北部擊退董卓，拜黃蓋為別部司馬。

初平二年（191年），孫堅戰死於襄陽峴山，黃蓋繼續追隨其子孫策及孫權，為孫家征戰四處，穿著戰甲與敵交戰，踏著兵刃攻城。

鎮服山越

那些山越地區不順從，有遭受侵害的郡縣，就會調用黃蓋前去鎮服。在石城縣當任縣長時，特別難以檢查管理，黃蓋於是安排兩名掾史官員，分別督察監管諸官員。黃蓋訓誡說：「我這人沒甚麼才能，只是憑藉武功壓服來作官，而不會憑藉文職官吏而著稱。如今賊寇未被平定，我常有軍旅任務在身，現在把一併公文處理事務交託給你們兩位，糾正揭發他們的錯誤。若有矇騙奸欺行為，我不會對你們加以鞭抽杖擊的處罰，你們應該各自心思竭盡全力，不要成為犯錯之人。」起初大家都懼怕黃蓋的威嚴，早晚謹守其職，時間長了，二位掾史官員認為黃蓋不審查文書，漸漸地包庇縱容一些人的事情。黃蓋也嫌棄他們二人漸漸鬆懈懶散，時而會有所巡察，各在兩掾中檢察到不遵從法令的一些事情。於是把諸掾官員全都請來，賜給酒食，趁機說出事情責問他們。兩掾官員無話可說，都叩頭請罪。黃蓋說：「先前已經警告你們，最後不會施以鞭杖之刑罰，不是欺騙你們的。」於是殺掉了這些不守法的官員。石城縣內全都震驚戰慄。後來轉任春谷縣長，尋陽縣令。共治政鎮守九個郡縣，所在郡縣皆都平安穩定。又遷任丹楊都尉，壓制強勢扶助弱勢，山越之地歸順依附於他。

焚艦備嘗

建安十三年（208年），北方曹操南下，黃蓋跟隨周瑜與曹軍於赤壁作戰，兩軍對峙，黃蓋率先提出火攻戰術，並親自前往曹營詐降，周瑜認為可行。交戰之日，黃蓋準備了數十艘蒙衝、鬥艦，滿載薪草膏油，外用赤幔偽裝，船上插著牙旗，在船後繫上走舸。黃蓋先向曹操投書通報投降，使曹軍看見黃蓋率船隻前來而毫無戒備。黃蓋遂令燃點茅草，同時放火發起火攻，火乘風勢波及曹軍岸上的水寨與軍營。黃蓋在戰爭途中不幸被流矢所中墮入水中，被救起時，吳軍兵士居然認不出是黃蓋，則將他安置在廁床中。黃蓋不屈地大聲呼喊韓當，韓當發現他時：「這是黃蓋的聲音呀！」流著淚地替他解開戰服，並派軍醫前來看顧黃蓋，才得以保留性命。雖然如此，但東吳得以大敗曹操，被受任武鋒中郎將。

晚年事蹟

後來，武陵發生蠻族叛亂，進攻城邑，黃蓋被調駐為太守，當時郡中只有五百人，黃蓋運用戰術，大開城門引蠻兵入城，入了一半時，立即發動攻擊，斬殺數百人，並收復所失的城邑，斬殺其領袖，放了投降者。以一季的時間，平定所有的亂事，當地的各部落的頭目對他以禮相待。不久，長沙郡的益陽縣也受到山賊的侵犯，黃蓋再次平定，孫權便升他為偏將軍，最後病死於任內（公元215年或更早）。

特徵

黃蓋姿貌威嚴，善於養眾，每次出戰，士卒們都爭先立功。而且為官決斷，事無留滯。今湖南省洞庭湖一帶有黃蓋湖。

家庭

父

• 黃安，字孚仁，黃香第五子黃瓚之長子。

子

• 黃柄，孫權稱帝時，追論黃蓋之功，被賜關內侯。

評價

• 陳壽《三國志》評曰：「凡此諸將，皆江表之虎臣，孫氏之所厚待也。」（《三國志·吳書·程黃韓蔣周陳董甘凌徐潘丁傳第十》）

• 韋曜：「蓋少孤，嬰丁凶難，辛苦備嘗，然有壯志，雖處貧賤，不自同于凡庸，常以負薪餘間，學書疏，講兵事。」（《三國志·吳書·程黃韓蔣周陳董甘凌徐潘丁傳第十》）

• 《陳書·蔡景歷傳》載蔡景歷書：「武夫則猛氣紛紜，雄心四據，陸拔山嶽，水斷虯龍，六鈞之弓，左右馳射，萬人之劍，短兵交接，攻壘若文鴦，焚艦如黃蓋，百戰百勝，貔貅為群。」

• 庾信：「乍風驚而射火，或箭重而回舟。未辨聲於黃蓋，已先沈於杜侯。落帆黃鶴之浦，藏船鸚鵡之洲。」（《哀江南賦》）

• 章如愚：「如程普、黃蓋、甘寧、徐盛、潘璋、朱然、朱桓、賀齊、凌統、全琮、呂范，皆智足以御眾，勇足以卻敵，未有不為守令之職者。」（《山堂考索》）

• 郝經：「程普諸將皆江表虎臣，鏖兵衛主，攻堅軋敵，興王定霸，孫氏兄弟卒立國建號，諸將之力也。若黃蓋之水戰而用火攻，能用竒者也；蔣欽之不挾私怨而舉徐盛；凌統之親賢下士輕財重義；陳表傾家養士妻子露立，並有良將之規。甘寧之奢侈、潘璋之不法，權皆容之，許寧報蘇飛之恩，不使統複父，操之讎馭將之術也。丁奉恃功而驕，不容于虐主，宜哉！」「吳將剽輕，殆多譎計。莫肯下人，卒自稱帝。摩創撫孤，動輒流涕。駕馭有術，驅策有方。果保江東，不負桓王。」（《續後漢書》）

藝術形象

文學

通俗小說《三國演義》中，黃蓋以鐵鞭為兵器。曹操軍來犯之際，黃蓋向周瑜提議火攻破敵，周瑜要他行苦肉計，黃蓋一口答應。黃蓋故意提出投降曹操，周瑜假意下令斬首，後改為杖打五十，打得皮開肉綻。闞澤幫助黃蓋向曹操獻降書，曹操起初識破詐降，但有兩細作回報黃蓋遭刑的事，曹操才相信。這故事也衍生出揭後語「周瑜打黃蓋──一個願打，一個願挨」。

但苦肉計並無正史記載，赤壁之戰時候黃蓋只是「建策火攻」而已。

漫畫遊戲

• 真三國無雙系列 / 無雙OROCHI系列（光榮公司開發，稲田徹配音）

• 《蒼天航路》（王欣太）

• 《火鳳燎原》（陳某)：設定於董卓火燒洛陽時登場，奉命潛入洛陽營救被董卓囚禁家屬，曾與華雄交手

影視形象

• 1994年電視劇《三國演義》：分別由吳桂苓、許福印飾演黃蓋

• 1996年台灣華視電視劇《關公》：由田豐飾演黃蓋

• 1996年電影《諸葛孔明》：由劉金泉飾演黃蓋

• 1999年電影《一代梟雄曹操》：由劉金泉飾演黃蓋

• 2008年電影《赤壁》及《赤壁2：決戰天下》：張山飾演黃蓋

• 2010年電視劇《三國》：劉魁飾演黃蓋

• 2012年香港無線電視台電視劇《回到三國》：楊英偉飾演黃蓋

• 2020年電影《新解釋·三國志》：由矢本悠馬飾演黃蓋