- Hulao Pass
Infobox Mountain Pass
Name = Hulao Pass
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Traversed by =Hulao Pass (虎牢關, meaning "Tiger Cage Pass") is a
mountain pass northwest ofXingyang ,Henan ,China . It is the site of many historical battles, being the eastern guard for the capitalLuoyang for several dynasties. WithMount Song to the south, theYellow River to the north, the pass holds up a formidable defense. Many defensive structures have been set up here throughout history, dating from theWarring States Period when a checkpoint is set up here. The pass became fortified in theTang Dynasty .The name Hulao, or "Tiger Cage", came to be when
King Mu of Zhou trapped a tiger in this place. It also had the name of Wulao Pass (武牢關) at one time in the Tang Dynasty, due to anaming taboo — the grandfather ofEmperor Gaozu of Tang was named Li Hu. The pass also held the name Sishui Pass (汜水關) from time to time, which brought much confusion whether Hulao Pass and Sishui Pass are referring to the same pass.Luo Guanzhong , the author of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms ", apparently also got confused over the names and treated Sishui Pass and Hulao Pass as two places when they should be one.Numerous battles were said to have fought here. Among the most famous is the
Battle of Hulao Pass , where a coalition of dissidents led byYuan Shao clashed withDong Zhuo 's elite armies in the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms ". Also here, in theBattle of Hulao of621 ,Li Shimin defeatedDou Jiande and forcedWang Shichong to surrender, laying the foundation to the Tang Dynasty.
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