Battle of Caishi 1161
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1161 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | China | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Jurchen campaigns against the Song dynasty | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Jin dynasty, Jurchen people, Southern Song dynasty, Yu Yunwen | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 31.7000, 118.4400 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Caishi (Chinese: 采石之戰) was a major naval engagement of the Jin–Song Wars of China that took place on November 26–27, 1161. It ended with a decisive Song victory, aided by their use of gunpowder weapons.
Soldiers under the command of Wanyan Liang, the emperor of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty, tried to cross the Yangzi River to attack the Southern Song dynasty. Chen Kangbo, prime minister of the Song dynasty, was chief military strategist and commanded the navy. Yu Yunwen, a civil official, commanded the defending Song army. The paddle-wheel warships of the Song fleet, equipped with trebuchets that launched incendiary bombs made of gunpowder and lime, decisively defeated the light ships of the Jin navy.
At Caishi, the Song led an army of 18,000, whereas Wanyan Liang reportedly led an army of 600,000 Jin soldiers. Over the course of the battle, many Jin soldiers deserted—bringing down the total Jin force—as they realized their northern steppe cavalry was inadequate for naval battles on rivers and lakes. The Song won mainly through its superior navy, gunpowder, and firearms. The victory boosted the morale of the Song infantry and pushed back the southern advance of the Jin army.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Caishi (revision 1378569241), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Jurchen campaigns against the Song dynasty
- Siege of De'an 1132
- Battle of Tangdao 1161
All 3 battles of the Jurchen campaigns against the Song dynasty →
Browse more: battles in China · Asia · Medieval battles