Red Cliff or Chibi is a 2008–2009 internationally co-produced epic war film, based on the Battle of Red Cliffs and the events at the end of the Han dynasty and immediately prior to the Three Kingdoms period in Imperial China. The film was directed by John Woo, and stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chang Chen, Zhao Wei, Hu Jun, and Lin Chi-ling. It was Woo's first major film since 2003's Paycheck and his first Chinese-language feature since 1992's Hard Boiled, also starring Leung.
American poster for the edited release
Sun Quan's forces look on as Liu Bei leaves the alliance. From right to left: Zhou Yu (Tony Leung), Sun Quan (Chang Chen), Lu Su (Hou Yong).
The Battle of Red Cliffs, also known as the Battle of Chibi, was a decisive naval battle in China that took place during the winter of AD 208–209. It was fought on the Yangtze River between the forces of warlords controlling different parts of the country during the end of the Han dynasty. The allied forces of Sun Quan, Liu Bei, and Liu Qi based south of the Yangtze defeated the numerically superior forces of the northern warlord Cao Cao. In so doing, Liu Bei and Sun Quan prevented Cao Cao from conquering any lands south of the Yangtze, frustrating Cao Cao's efforts to reunify the territories formerly held by the Eastern Han dynasty.
Engravings on a cliff-side near a widely accepted candidate site for the battlefield, in the vicinity of Chibi, Hubei. The engravings are at least 1000 years old, and include the Chinese characters 赤壁 ('red cliffs') written from right-to-left.
A mural dating to the late Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD) depicting chariots and cavalry – Dahuting tombs, Zhengzhou, Henan
A crossbow trigger with inscriptions unearthed at Chibi City – Xianning City Museum, Hubei
Han-era painted ceramic statues of a Chinese cavalryman and ten infantrymen with armour, shields, and missing weapons