Red Cliff - the main characters

Posters for each main character in Red Cliff, along with a Chinese word to symbolize their character. (not in order)

Gan Ning, a warrior that belongs to Sun Quan's army. Brave and disciplined - he trains his soldiers well. The character on his poster symbolizes courage.


Xiao Qiao, the most beautiful woman in China, the object of affection of both Zhao Yu and Cao Cao. She weds Zhao Yu and loves him passionately, though. Lin Zhi Ling plays a graceful Xiao Qiao, elegant and graceful but also has a flirty side.


Lady Sun's brother, Sun Quan, who is intelligent but has been hiding in the shadows for too long. He is quiet but is actually a good leader.




Cao Cao. Cruel, full of ambitions, but also lacking good warriors that are trustworthy. He is in love with Lady Xiao Qiao - obsessing over war for the sake of this woman. Ken Watanabe was supposed to be cast for Cao Cao, but people protest for a Chinese cast.

One of my favorite characters, Lady Sun, portrayed by Zhao Wei. I wish her character is given more depth (such as participating more in war strategies and inputs). Lady Sun is an independent tomboyish sister of Sun Quan. She is to be wed to Liu Bei to strengthen ties between two allies.

I like it whenever she inserts humor to the movie. And my favorite part is when Zhu Ge Liang tells her, "You have exceptional talents but you hide them. You are unique, and unique people are most misunderstood."



Not supposed to be the main character, but since Tony Leung is playing Zhao Yu, it is a very outstanding main character. Fierce, smart and a music maniac who understands war strategies.


The character for Zhu Ge Liang symbolizes knowledge. He's supposedly calm, intelligent, and not the type to rush things. Takeshi Kaneshiro makes a great young Zhu Ge Liang, but sometimes his expression is innocent instead of knowledgeable.


Zhao Zi Long - the brave warrior that saved Liu Bei's wife Lady Gan and son (although in the movie, Lady Gan committed suicide to save her son. I think Hu Jun is a better fit for Zhao Yun than Andy Lau (no offense, I like Andy and all but I think Hu Jun's great as Zhao Yun).