生平

初平三年（192年），孫堅在袁術命令下征伐劉表的荊州，劉表派黃祖去抵抗孫堅、在樊城與鄧州之間決戰，孫堅乘夜追擊，敗走黃祖逃入峴山。黃祖部將呂公伏兵於竹林間以落石，擊中孫堅頭部，腦漿逆流身亡，享年三十七歲。長沙人桓階因為曾被孫堅推舉為孝廉，為報此恩，他大膽前往劉表處與其斡旋。劉表欣賞其義行，於是答允其要求，把孫堅的遺體送還給孫家。孫堅侄子孫賁（孫堅之兄孫羌之子）統率孫堅部眾投靠袁術，由此袁術上奏孫賁為豫州刺史。

建安三年（198年）曹操把侮辱曹魏君臣一輪的禰衡送給劉表，禰衡到了荊州依然故我、侮慢劉表，劉表知道江夏太守黃祖性急且是武人出身，不怕得罪文人，於是又把禰衡送給黃祖，禰衡與黃祖之子黃射相善，黃祖亦善待禰衡，但禰衡仍多番嘲訕黃祖，受不了的黃祖一怒之下拔劍斬殺禰衡。

建安四年十二月辛亥（200年1月11日），孫策進軍至沙羨，劉表派侄子劉虎和南陽人韓晞帶領長矛隊五千人趕來支援黃祖。孫策帶領孫權、周瑜、呂蒙、程普、韓當、黃蓋等將領同時並進，與仇敵黃祖在沙羨一帶展開大戰，黃祖幾乎全軍覆沒，韓唏戰死，黃祖妻兒被俘，隻身逃走，士卒溺死者達萬人，孫策繳獲戰船六千艘。孫策在給朝廷的奏摺中說：「臣身跨馬陣，手擊急鼓，以齊戰勢。吏士奮激，踴躍百倍。心精意果，各競用命。越渡重塹，迅疾若飛。火飛上風，兵激煙下，弓弩齊發，流矢雨集。可謂驚心動魄」。可見戰況之激烈。曹操在收到戰報後感嘆：「猘兒難與爭鋒也」。

建安八年（203年），孫權統軍討伐黃祖，校尉凌操隨征江夏斬殺黃祖的先鋒。黃祖敗走，凌操輕舟獨進。領兵在後的黃祖部將甘寧射殺了凌操。黃祖因而脫險。

建安十一年（206年），江夏太守黃祖遣將鄧龍數千兵將入柴桑，都督周瑜反擊，生擒鄧龍送吳。期間曹操也派張遼奪取了江夏的一些縣。

建安十二年（207年），投靠了孫權的甘寧說：「今漢已經日漸衰微，曹操為滿足自己的心，終於成了篡漢的盜賊。南荊之地，山陵地勢有利，江川流通，國的西邊的確是這樣的形勢。我已看透劉表，考慮的不夠長遠，兒子也是無能的人，不是能夠承傳基業之才。主公應當盡早規劃，不能落入曹操手上。進圖之計，先取黃祖為佳。黃祖如今年老，老邁衰退嚴重，錢財糧谷都已經缺乏，左右矇騙他，事出於錢財私利，侵要吏士的錢財，吏士心裏都憤怒。舟船戰具，廢棄也不修理，耕農懶惰，軍隊沒有法紀。如果主公現在去攻打，必定能大敗。一旦打敗黃祖軍，擊鼓行軍至西，西據楚關，大局趨勢擴張，這樣就可以逐漸進取巴蜀。」孫權贊同並採納。張昭當時就在席上坐，難言道：「吳國如今危懼，如果行軍攻打，必然招致恐慌。」甘寧回答道：「國家將蕭何的重任交給君你，君留置守護卻擔心憂亂，那為什麼還要仰慕古人？」孫權對舉起酒杯附於甘寧說：「興霸，今年行軍討伐，就如這杯酒，決意託付給卿你。卿盡量提出方略，如能夠破黃祖，則是卿的功勞，不要因為張長史（張昭）之言而放棄。」吳範說：「今茲少利，不如明年，明年戊子，荊州劉表亦身死國亡。」孫權最後還是出兵，不能攻克。孫權表兄徐琨亦在對黃祖作戰時中流矢而死。

建安十三年（208年），孫權於是再次發兵進攻夏口（今湖北武漢境），周瑜為前部大督。呂蒙隨軍出征。吳範到尋陽時，視察環境，要求軍隊立刻加速行軍，黃祖下令用兩首艨艟戰艦封鎖沔口（漢水入長江口），用大繩繫著巨石為錐以固定艦隻，在兩面大石上聚集數千人，艦上更有千餘人用弓弩射向孫權軍，弓弩亂發，箭如雨下，封鎖孫軍的前進路線，孫軍不能向前。偏將軍董襲與司馬凌統各率百人死士為前部，眾人被著兩鎧，乘著大舸船衝入蒙沖裡，董襲持刀斷開兩首蒙沖之間的聯結，凌統與數十名英勇善戰的兵士共乘一船，斬殺黃祖將領張碩，黃祖見孫權兵來，急派水軍都督陳就率兵反擊，呂蒙統率前鋒部隊，身先戰陣，親自斬殺陳就。擄獲其船隻、士兵。返回到孫權大軍，並引領自軍兼程趕路，水路兩路齊進。凌統先攻下城池，黃祖隻身逃竄，被孫權軍中的騎兵馮則所斬殺。此戰孫權大獲全勝，一舉殲滅宿敵黃祖，俘獲其男女數萬，而孫權軍已進駐樊口，佔據江夏大部分地區。

子女

• 黃射，黃祖長子，為章陵太守，與禰衡交好。黃射曾經率幾千人進攻柴桑，徐盛以不到二百人的部下抵抗，殺傷黃射的部隊千餘人。其後開門主動出戰，大敗黃射，黃射於是不敢再次入侵。

部下

• 呂公，孫堅攻打劉表時，據傳呂公率兵以滾木雷石擊打孫堅軍，孫堅被石頭擊中、腦髓出來，當場死亡。

• 陳就，都督陳就以水軍出戰。呂蒙為前鋒，親自斬殺陳就。

• 蘇飛，任江夏都督。與甘寧為好友，助甘寧逃離黃祖勢力。後孫權打算將蘇飛處斬，甘寧以性命擔保救回蘇飛。

• 甘寧，曾出仕於劉表和黃祖麾下，但不被重用，後轉投孫權麾下。

• 張碩，吳將凌統與數十名英勇善戰的兵士共乘一船，斬殺黃祖將領張碩。

• 鄧龍，與吳將周瑜在柴桑交手，後兵敗被吳軍擒獲。

動漫

• 《火鳳燎原》（陳某）:曾在沙羡和孫策交戰失敗而回，家少為孫策所俘，荊州軍中為劉琦之支持者，後在凌統猛攻及甘寧私開左寨門下而死，臨死前竭力扶助劉琦。

評價

• 孫策：雖（劉）表未禽，祖宿狡猾，為表腹心，出作爪牙，表之鴟張，以祖氣息，而祖家屬部曲，掃地無余，表孤特之虜，成鬼行尸。（《三國志·孫策傳》裴注引《吳錄》）

• 甘寧陳計曰：「祖今年老，昏耄已甚，財谷並乏，左右欺弄，務于貨利，侵求吏士，吏士心怨，舟船戰具，頓廢不修，怠于耕農，軍無法伍。至尊今往，其破可必。」（《三國志吳書甘寧傳》）

受到《三國演義》影響，過去一般黃祖在民間形象非常差，將他形容成膽小無謀之將。而現今隨著現代人比較常考究正史《三國志》的影響下，近代黃祖被認為是忠於劉表的忠義之士，證據就在於十幾年之間黃祖力抗孫氏一族不曾退縮倒戈，事實上黃祖個性相當有毅力，儘管屢戰屢敗也依舊鎮守江夏。雖然同為荊州世家，但相比蒯蔡兩家一心想投曹，黃祖更希望劉表長子劉琦繼位繼承荊州牧之位，但是赤壁之前黃祖早已戰敗身死，荊州劉氏也隨後滅亡。

Background

There are plenty of historical records concerning Huang Zu, but they are scattered over different texts while Huang Zu never had a biography in any official record. Since Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei) is known for being the cradle of the Huang family, Huang Zu, as the commandery's Administrator, probably came from an influential family based there. After Liu Biao arrived in Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) to assume his governorship of the region, he sought to form alliances with the local elites, particularly the Huang family who had been defending Jiangxia Commandery in eastern Jing Province from aggression by a neighbouring warlord, Yuan Shu. In return, Liu Biao provided financial aid to Huang Zu in peacetime and military support for his naval forces during wartime. Under such arrangements, even though Huang Zu was nominally a subordinate of Liu Biao, he maintained much autonomy over Jiangxia Commandery.

Battle of Xiangyang

In 191, war broke out between the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, who were half-brothers. Yuan Shao formed an alliance with Liu Biao while Yuan Shu gained support from Sun Jian to attack Liu Biao's territories in Jing Province.

Liu Biao assigned Huang Zu to defend Fancheng (樊城; in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei) and Dengzhou (鄧州; in present-day Nanyang, Henan) from Sun Jian's attacks. However, Huang Zu lost to Sun Jian in battle and realised that he could not defeat the enemy on flat and open terrain, so he retreated to Xiangyang Commandery, the capital of Jing Province, and holed up behind the city walls. One night, Huang Zu led a group of soldiers to launch a sneak attack on Sun Jian's camp but failed to catch the enemy by surprise. Nevertheless, Sun Jian died after being hit by a stray arrow while pursuing Huang Zu into a forest.

In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Biao's subordinates Kuai Liang and Lü Gong set up the ambush that killed Sun Jian. Huang Zu is captured by Sun Jian's eldest son, Sun Ce, but is later released in exchange for Sun Jian's dead body. Historically, however, Sun Ce never captured Huang Zu, who was given full credit in historical records for defeating and killing Sun Jian.

Resisting Sun Ces expansion

Following Sun Jian's death, Liu Biao no longer saw Yuan Shu as a threat in the east so he focused on consolidating control over Jing Province while leaving Huang Zu in charge of Jiangxia Commandery. In the meantime, throughout the 190s, Sun Jian's eldest son, Sun Ce, conquered the territories in the Jiangdong region adjacent to Jing Province. In 199, when Sun Ce was seizing control of Lujiang Commandery (廬江郡; around present-day Lu'an, Anhui) from Liu Xun, Liu Biao instigated Huang Zu to attack Sun Ce at Shaxian (沙羨; west of present-day Wuhan, Hubei).

Sun Ce brought along his cousins Sun Ben and Sun Fu and other subordinates such as Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci, and led an army to resist Huang Zu. Huang Zu, on the other hand, gathered his clansmen, his son Huang She and Liu Biao's nephew Liu Pan, and led his troops to engage Sun Ce's forces. Sun Ce defeated Huang Zu in the battle and killed thousands of enemies, forcing Huang Zu to retreat back to Jiangxia Commandery. During the counterattack, Sun Ce managed to expand his territorial boundaries slightly into the outskirts of Jiangxia Commandery.

In 200 CE, the warlord Cao Cao, who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian, sent Mi Heng, a talented but obnoxious scholar, as a guest to Liu Biao. Although Mi Heng and Liu Biao got along well initially, Mi Heng started to insult and belittle Liu Biao after some time. Unable to put up with Mi Heng's obnoxious behaviour, Liu Biao then sent him to Huang Zu. Huang Zu could not tolerate Mi Heng and had him executed.

Battle of Xiakou

In the year 200, after Sun Ce was assassinated, his younger brother Sun Quan succeeded him and became the warlord of the Jiangdong territories. In 203, Sun Quan launched an invasion of Xiakou (夏口; within present-day Wuhan, Hubei) and appointed Ling Cao to lead the vanguard force. Upon arriving at Xiakou, Ling Cao led his men on a charge and managed to break through Huang Zu's defences and throw the enemy fleet into confusion with the sudden attack. However, he was killed in the midst of battle by a stray arrow fired by Gan Ning, one of Huang Zu's subordinates. Huang Zu was thus able to retreat safely back to Jiangxia Commandery.

After the battle, Su Fei (蘇飛), one of Huang Zu's subordinates, recommended Gan Ning for promotion. However, Huang Zu not only did not feel grateful towards Gan Ning, but also attempted to entice Gan Ning's followers to abandon their leader and join him. Some of them agreed. Gan Ning was so unhappy with Huang Zu that he eventually left him (with help from Su Fei) and defected to Sun Quan's side.

In the years after the Battle of Xiakou, Sun Quan continued to engage Huang Zu in incessant battles from time to time, but none of these battles were conclusive or of a large scale, as Sun Quan was also busy putting down rebellions in the Jiangdong territories.

Downfall

In the spring of 208, Gan Ning suggested to Sun Quan to prepare for a full assault on Jiangxia Commandery and he pointed out that Huang Zu was old and feeble and had not replenished his arsenal in a while. Sun Quan heeded Gan Ning's advice and ordered Ling Cao's son Ling Tong to lead the vanguard and Lü Meng to be the naval commandant. In response to Sun Quan's invasion, Huang Zu assigned Zhang Shuo to lead the vanguard and Chen Jiu to command the navy. Unlike the previous battle, Huang Zu did not put himself at the frontline and instead remained behind the walls of Jiangxia Commandery while his subordinates led his troops into battle.

Before the battle started, Zhang Shuo led his men out on a large vessel to scout the riverbank. He encountered Ling Tong, who was also checking out the area with only tens of soldiers on a light vessel. They engaged in combat and Ling Tong slew Zhang Shuo and captured the rest of his men.

Upon learning of Zhang Shuo's death, Huang Zu immediately ordered Chen Jiu to block the entrance of the Mian River by scuttling two of his largest mengchongs at the chokepoint. In addition, Huang Zu deployed archers on top of the cliff overlooking the Mian River and ordered them to throw boulders and fire arrows at approaching enemy vessels. Sun Quan sent his largest vessels to destroy the mengchongs but to no avail. After some lengthy fighting, Sun Quan realised that Huang Zu's arsenal was not as rusty as he thought, and saw that he had already suffered heavy losses on his side.

Sun Quan then ordered Ling Tong and Dong Xi, along with 100 "commandos", to wear two layers of armour each and charge towards the enemy in the face of boulders and arrows raining down on them. After a tough fight, Ling Tong and Dong Xi managed to break the thick rope connecting the mengchongs and allow Sun Quan's navy to pass through. Lü Meng killed Chen Jiu on board his warship while Ling Tong breached the walls of Jiangxia Commandery. Huang Zu attempted to flee after his defeat but met his ends at the hands of Feng Ze, a soldier in Sun Quan's army.