Guan Xing

Guan Xing was an officer for the during the Three Kingdoms era of China. He was the second son of the military general Guan Yu and the younger brother of Guan Ping. He succeeded his father when both Guan Yu and Guan Ping were captured and executed by forces of the at the Battle of Fancheng in 219. Since young, Guan Xing had been favored by Zhuge Liang, chancellor of the Kingdom of Shu. When he turned nineteen, he was given a military post but he died within years, due to an undocumented cause.

Guan Xing in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', a 14th century historical novel by Luo Guanzhong, was a romanticization of the events that occurred before and during the Three Kingdoms era. Incorporating Chinese folklore, the author gave Guan Xing's character much more significance.

In Chapter 81, Guan Xing was said to have competed with , son of Zhang Fei, over the commandership of the vanguard force to attack the Kingdom of Wu to avenge their fathers. Liu Bei, emperor of the Kingdom of Shu, then bade them to swear to be brothers just as he did with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei many years ago. The newly sworn brothers, Zhang Bao a year elder, were then ordered to jointly aid Wu Ban, who would lead the vanguard. Henceforth the brothers rarely appeared without each other.

In Chapter 83, Guan Xing successfully slew Pan Zhang, commander of the division that previously captured Guan Yu. It was written that Guan Yu's ghost had made Pan Zhang freeze in fear, allowing Guan Xing to slay him. In doing so, he retrieved his father's weapon, the . Later, when Mi Fang and Fu Shiren, two former Shu officers who defected to the Kingdom of Wu and ultimately caused the death of Guan Yu, surrendered to Liu Bei again, Liu Bei refused to forgive them and ordered Guan Xing to execute the pair before an altar dedicated to Guan Yu.

In Chapter 91, Guan Xing was appointed Commander of the Left Guard and titled Soaring Dragon General . He then followed Prime Minister Zhuge Liang on the against the . He eventually died of sickness in Chapter 102.

Fu Tong

Fu Tong was an officer of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms Period. Fu Tong was a very high classed warrior under the Kingdom of , in which he ferociously fought against hordes under the Kingdom of Wu. Following the final moments of Fu Tong he screamed "Han's mighty general shall never submit to the dogs of Wu!". Whereupon he then coughed up blood and died as an honorable warrior of Shu. He was also the father of renowned Shu general, Fu Qian.

Fu Qian

Fu Qian was an officer of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China and the son of the Shu general, Fu Tong. In the Romance of Three Kingdoms, Fu Qian was accredited for killing both and during battle, and following a certain attack by on the Yangping Pass, Fu Qian defended it with his greatest of skills. However, Jiang Shu ended up surrendering which ultimately led to Fu Qian's death while in the midst of combat.

In reality, however, the assignment of Jiang Shu and Fu Qian were actually opposit to what was described in the novel: it was Fu Qian who was tasked to defend the post while Jiang Shu was tasked to go out to engage the invading Cao Wei force. However, Jiang Shu surrendered by opening the gates and let the enemy in, Fu Qian was killed in the futile attempt to drive out the enemy.

Five Tiger Generals

The Five Tiger Generals of the during the Three Kingdoms era of China were Guan Yu, , Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, and Huang Zhong, named in honor of their contributions to the establishment of the kingdom. This title was bestowed on them by Liu Bei King of Shu Han in the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''. The actual historical veracity of the Tiger Generals is unknown; the persons were known to exist, but whether or not they were actually granted these titles is uncertain; most likely this was a literary device used in the novel.

In the novel itself, Guan Yu was also said to be upset with the appointment of Huang Zhong as a Tiger General; as he understood it, Zhang Fei was his sworn brother and an able warrior, Zhao Yun also an accomplished general had served Liu Bei for so long that he was like a brother, and Ma Chao came from a very famous family , whereas Huang Zhong fits in nowhere . But despite Guan Yu's misgivings, Huang Zhong's war ability was never questioned as he defeated many of Cao Cao's generals in battle, such as Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He.

The Five Tiger Generals were the most valiant generals in Shu, sadly their downfall was very tragic. Guan Yu was executed by Sun Quan after Sun's generals Lü Meng collaborated with Cao Cao's Forces to attack Jingzhou and captured Guan. Huang Zhong died in 220, possibly of illness. Zhang Fei was assassinated by his 2 subordinates due to his strict methods of discipline and affinity for wine. Ma Chao died of illness in 225. Only Zhao Yun died of old age, aged 70.

Feng Xi

Feng Xi was originally a colonel of that assisted Liu Bei during his battle for revenge of Guan Yu's death. Feng Xi surrounded Sun Huan's forces, but was ultimately pushed back by 's well planned fire attack. In the end, Feng Xi soon followed in death, along with his close ally Zhang Nan.

Fei Yi

Fei Yi , courtesy name Wenwei , was an official of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China. He served as regent after Jiang Wan.

Early career

Fei Yi was from Jiangxia Commandery who lost his father early and was raised by his distant relative Fei Boren , who was cousin to the warlord , who controlled Yi Province . Sometime around 211, Liu Zhang sent messengers to welcome Fei Boren to his domain, and while Fei Boren himself appeared to have turned down the invitation himself, he sent Fei Yi to Yi Province. Fei Yi remained in Yi Province after Liu Bei conquered it in 214 and became known as a young scholar. He and Dong Yun were long-time friends, and both served together as Liu Shan's assistants after Liu Bei declared himself emperor in 221 and made Liu Shan crown prince. After Liu Shan succeeded to the throne in 223, Fei Yi continued to serve him.

During Zhuge Liang's regency

It is not clear how Zhuge Liang, Liu Shan's regent, got to know Fei Yi's abilities, but by the time that Zhuge Liang returned from his southern expedition against the tribes of modern Guizhou and Yunnan, he had seen that Fei Yi was the most capable of the young officials. He frequently commissioned Fei Yi to serve as an ambassador to Eastern Wu, and during those missions, Eastern Wu's emperor Sun Quan became impressed with Fei Yi as well. Zhuge Liang continued to promote Fei Yi through a progression of offices during his regency. When not on missions to Eastern Wu, Fei Yi served as one of Zhuge Liang's military strategists.

As an official serving under Zhuge Liang, Fei Yi was known for his easy-going nature and desire to keep his colleagues away from conflicts. When Wei Yan and Yang Yi had their frequent struggles against each other, Fei Yi stayed neutral and tried to reconcile them. Fei Yi, however, was ultimately unsuccessful in trying to prevent them from boiling into an open armed conflict after Zhuge Liang's death in 234 , but during Zhuge Liang's life he was able to keep them working together.

When Zhuge Liang grew ill on his final campaign against Cao Wei in 234, Liu Shan sent messengers to inquire him as to who should succeed him. Zhuge Liang recommended Jiang Wan, and Fei Yi as Jiang Wan's eventual successor. After Zhuge Liang's death later that year, Jiang Wan became regent, and Fei Yi became his chief assistant.

During Jiang Wan's regency

As the chief assistant to the regent Jiang Wan, Fei Yi handled mostly domestic matters. He was described as so quick in his comprehension and decisions that he only needed mornings to carry out his duties, and he spent the afternoons entertaining guests. He was particularly artful at a the board game, . When Dong Yun succeeded him in 243 in that role, he tried to follow Fei Yi's schedule, but after several days, the paperwork quickly backlogged, forcing him to work all day. He thus became amazed at Fei Yi's amazing abilities.

Jiang Wan was often in ill-health, and in 243 he transferred most of his authorities to Fei Yi and Dong Yun while remaining regent. In 244, when Cao Wei's regent Cao Shuang attacked the important border city Hanzhong, it was Fei Yi who led the troops against Cao Shuang and dealt Wei a major defeat. After Jiang Wan's death in 245, Fei Yi became regent.

Regency

One near-immediate task that Fei faced was finding a chief assistant for himself, as Dong Yun, who had been serving in that role since 243, died soon after Jiang Wan's death. He decided on the general Jiang Wei. However, as both he and Jiang Wei were largely involved with military matters, the domestic matters soon apparently fell into the hands of Huang Hao, a eunuch trusted by Liu Shan who was described as treacherous and corrupt. The effective administration that Zhuge Liang had created and Jiang Wan had continued began to deteriorate, although the key effects would not be visible during Fei Yi's regency.

As regent, Fei Yi was not as non-aggressive militarily as Jiang Wan, but he did not resume the full-scale military confrontations that Zhuge Liang advocated and carried out. He had Jiang Wei harassed Cao Wei's borders with periodic attacks, but never authorized Jiang Wei to launch an all-out assault.

One major characteristic that Fei Yi was known and admired for was his easy-going nature. That might, however, have caused his death. As he was hosting a feast at his mansion for key officials, one of the guests was Guo Xun , a Cao Wei general whom he had captured in 250, who was still secretly loyal to Cao Wei. Guo Xun, after most people became drunk, took the opportunity to assassinate Fei Yi. The historian Yu Xi commented, "Fei Yi was so open and honest and so unworried about others, and he was eventually assassinated by Guo Xun, a surrendered man. Is it not that his fault came from his virtues?" Fei Yi was given the posthumous name Jing , which, however, appeared to be inappropriate.

Dong Jue

Dong Jue , courtesy name Gongxi , was a court official and general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is the descendant of one of the founding statesment of the Eastern Han dynasty, Dong Yu.

Along with Fan Jian, he served as a secretary under Zhuge Liang during Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign and , and attained the rank of "General Who Upholds the State" and "Marquis of Nanzhang".

Dong Jue subsequently assisted Jiang Wei in the defense of Jian'ge, and attempted to counsel Liu Shan along with Zhuge Zhan and Fan Jian, though he was unable to mitigate the influence of Huang Hao, and was ultimately relegated to record keeping. Dong Jue served the after the collapse of Shu, where he tended after the former citizens of Shu.

Deng Zhi

Deng Zhi was a minister serving under Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms era of China. After the death of his lord Liu Bei, he was the one who was tasked to send an envoy to Eastern Wu to seal an alliance with them, which ended in success, which included the release of Zhang Yi. Deng Zhi and Zhao Yun led a vanguard during the together. Deng Zhi from then on became very famous for his bravery and wit, but most of all, he was known for his reputation of uncorrupted moral. When Deng Zhi was dead, the family did not have any money left for his burial and only with the aid from those who received Deng Zhi's help when he was alive, did the family give Deng a funeral.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

In the novel, ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', Deng Zhi went to Wu to create a new alliance with Sun Quan. Sun Quan’s adviser Zhang Zhao instructed Quan to have a large vat of boiling water in the throne room. Upon entering Sun Quan’s palace Deng Zhi did not pay the proper respects and Sun Quan threatened to have him placed in the boiling water, however Deng Zhi managed to persuade Sun Quan to let him live. Due to Deng’s persuasion a new alliance was formed between Wu and Shu.

Chen Shi

Chen Shi was an advisor and general for the during the Three Kingdoms era of China. He was captured at the Battle of Mount Dingjun by , but was exchanged for Shu's prisoner, Xiahou Shang. In the historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', due to his defeat at the third of Zhuge Liang he tried to lay his failure to Wei Yan however Zhuge already knew the truth that Chen Shi tried to blame Yan, he was executed by Zhuge. Chen Shi was rumored to be the father of Chen Shou, the author of ''''.

Chen Dao

Chen Dao was a famed military general during the Three Kingdoms era of China. Chen Dao joined Liu Bei of at Yu. He fought numerous amounts of battles across the land. Chen Dao was so skilled that he became reputed as second only to Zhao Yun in bravery within the state of Shu Han.

Ma Su

Ma Su was a military strategist for the during the Three Kingdoms era of China. He was the younger brother of Shu advisor, . Ma Su had extraordinary talents in military stratagems and was admired by the Prime Minister of Shu, Zhuge Liang. However, a tactical blunder by Ma Su at the Battle of Jieting resulted in Shu being dealt a huge defeat by Zhang He, a general of the .

Much dramatization shrouds the death of Ma Su. In the historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' as well as the Peking Opera ''Loss of Jieting'', Ma Su was said to have been beheaded at the order of Zhuge Liang. However, according to biographies of Ma Su and his close friend Xiang Lang in the '''', Ma Su had actually attempted to escape after the defeat at Jieting but was captured. He eventually died of sickness in jail before the ordered execution could be carried out.

Life

A local of Yicheng , Ma Su was one of the five brothers in the family, all of whom were renowned for their intellects, though Ma Su's elder brother Ma Liang was deemed to be the most talented among them all. Together with Ma Liang, Ma Su began his service under Liu Bei around 205 AD, while the later founder of the Kingdom of Shu was still a guest of Liu Biao in .

Since the start, Liu Bei's chief advisor Zhuge Liang had been impressed by Ma Su's expansive knowledge in military strategies. Before Liu Bei died in 223, he warned Zhuge Liang that Ma Su was not as talented as he seemed and should not be given important appointments. However, Zhuge Liang did not heed the warning. He made Ma Su a personal military consultant. The two would often hold discussions from dawn to dusk.

In 228, Zhuge Liang launched his against the Kingdom of Wei. Many suggested appointing either Wei Yan or as the vanguard commander but Zhuge Liang chose Ma Su instead.

Ma Su's forces encountered Zhang He's forces at Jieting. It was here that Ma Su made a serious tactical blunder. He had camped on top of a hill, believing the height offered by the hill would provide him with a more advantageous position in terms of observation and a place of attack. The veteran general Wang Ping advised against Ma Su's decision, arguing that their water supply would be cut off and their forces surrounded. While his advice was rejected, Ma Su allowed Wang Ping to take his troops and camp nearby the source of the Shu forces' water supply.

As Wang Ping predicted, Zhang He took advantage of Ma Su's mistake by striking at the Shu camp's water supply. Scattering Wang Ping's much smaller force, he succeeded in cutting off the enemy's water supply. The parched soldiers of Shu were easily defeated when Zhang He then launched an offensive on the camp itself.

Though he survived the battle, Ma Su feared punishment and attempted to flee. However, he was soon captured and sentenced to death by Zhuge Liang. Ma Su eventually died of sickness in jail before the execution could be carried out.

Ma Liang (Three Kingdoms)

Ma Liang was an advisor to the powerful warlord Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms era of China.

He was the fourth born of five sons in Yicheng, near Xiangyang on the Middle Yangtze River. Ma Liang was well-known in his hometown for his ability. He joined Liu Bei as an aide when he came to the small town of Xinye in the early 3rd century. During this time Ma Liang became good friends with Zhuge Liang and the two swore an oath of brothership. When Liu Bei left Jing Province to conquer in 215, Ma Liang was left in the province as an advisor to the military general, Guan Yu. After the conquest was complete, Ma Liang was assigned to the department of the General of the Left .

Like Zhuge Liang, Ma Liang was an advocate for maintenance of the alliance with bordering Liu Bei's territories to the east. He was sent to Wu as diplomat and envoy on numerous occasions and is said to have gained the respect of Sun Quan, ruler of Eastern Wu. After Liu Bei declared himself emperor in 222, Ma Liang was made Palace Attendant. He accompanied the Shu expedition against Wu the following year. Ma Liang was sent as envoy to Wuling to seek allies among the barbarians of the Five Streams against Wu. The mission was successful, but when Liu Bei was disastrously defeated at the Battle of Yiling, Ma Liang was killed in the midst of battle as well.

His son was made Chief Commandant of Cavalry . His younger brother Ma Su continued his career in the Shu army.

Ma Dai

Ma Dai was a general of the Kingdom of Shu during the Three Kingdoms era of China. He was a former officer under his uncle, Ma Teng, and later Ma Chao, the eldest son of Ma Teng and, finally, Liu Bei, founder of the Kingdom of Shu.

When Ma Teng went to the capital on a summon from Cao Cao, Ma Dai went with him and escaped from Cao Cao's trap by disguising himself. As the cousin of Ma Chao, Ma Dai is noted for slaying the rebellious Wei Yan in a ploy set up by Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei. When Wei Yan revolted, Ma Dai pretended to join him, then sneaked up behind Wei Yan and assassinated him. His reward was the rank that Wei Yan had forfeited.

Ma Dai was a trusted general under Zhuge Liang after Liu Bei's death. He was often used in crucial parts of the battlefield during Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign alongside Zhao Yun and Wei Yan.

The exact birth date of Ma Dai is questionable, but some believe he was born around 180 AD. His death date and how he died are unknown.

Ma Chao

Luo Xian was an officer of the Kingdom of during the Three Kingdoms Period of China. Xian ended up being relegated to Badong for not siding with Huang Hao of the Imperial Court who had seized true power of Shu, through the ineptitude of Liu Shan. Luo Xian put up a defense against Lu Kang of following the fall of Chengdu by the valiant officer of , Deng Ai.

Liao Hua

Liao Hua , courtesy name Yuanjian , was a military and political figure during the Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. According to ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', he was a former Yellow Turban rebel who proved himself a capable military general on multiple occasions. While there is no historical evidence to support this claim, he did live over 70 years, as evidenced in the San Guo Zhi biography of Zong Yu.

He was secretary to the great general Guan Yu. When Guan Yu was defeated at the Battle of Fancheng, Liao Hua was taken into the . He, however, desired to return to his former ruler Liu Bei, and thus he staged his own death. He then took his mother and escaped westward, traveling night and day. At the same time Liu Bei was marching eastward, and the two met up at Zigui. Liu Bei was greatly pleased, and made Liao Hua grand administrator of Yidu.

After Liu Bei died, Liao Hua became a military adviser of sorts to the Shu Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, and then became controller of the Guangwu region. Later, he was promoted to the position of General of the Chariots and Cavalry of the Right, made designated inspector of Bing Province, and granted the title of Marquis of Zhongxiang. He was famous for his determination and prowess and was present in most of Shu's important campaigns against the Kingdoms of and Wu.

In the historical novel ''Romance of Three Kingdoms'' by Luo Guanzhong, Liao Hua was one of Guan Yu's officers. Guan Yu was besieged in the city of Maicheng and required an officer to ride on horseback to reach Liu Feng's castle to request reinforcements. Liao Hua volunteered and was able to travel alone, through the oncoming horde of Wu soldiers, finally reaching Liu Feng. Liu Feng, however, refused to send reinforcements and supplies, since Guan Yu was besieged by overwhelming Wu troops and it might be too risky for a rescue. Angered, Liao Hua rode to Shu's capital at Chengdu and reported Liu Feng's refusal to help Guan Yu to Liu Bei; Liu Bei, enraged, ordered the execution of Liu Feng.

Liao Hua took part in Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions, and well-known for acquiring Sima Yi's golden helmet.

After the surrender of Shu Han, Liao Hua was relocated to Luoyang, but he died on the way.

He lived to see the birth of the Kingdom of Shu to its demise in 264 . In his career, Liao Hua reached the second-highest general's rank, proving himself in battle on several occasions. This was, according to some, the most telling reflection of the ill fortunes which plagued Shu. After all, many of Shu's greatest generals such as the likes of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Huang Zhong, all met untimely deaths and could not live to see the later prosperities of Shu.

Li Hui (Three Kingdoms)

Li Hui was a minister of the Kingdom of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Li Hui foresaw the defeat of Liu Zhang, a warlord, so he ended up submitting to Liu Bei, another warlord, and eventual founder of Shu. When Ma Chao came to the aid of Liu Zhang, Li Hui then persuaded Ma Chao to join Liu Bei. Li Hui served under Shu during the Northern and Southern Campaigns led by Zhuge Liang, one of Shu's greatest strategists. In reality, however, Li Hui was not satisfied with Liu Zhang's reign and despite Liu Zhang's repeated requests, Li Hui had refused to serve in his government and remained as a civilian. After Liu Bei had became the local ruler, Zhuge Liang invited Li Hui to serve under Liu Bei, and since Li Hui admired both Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, he agreed and was assigned important post in Liu Bei's regime.

During Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign, Li Hui was assigned to attack Jianning from Pingyi by marching southwest in the central front, while Ma Zhong lead a bigger army in the eastern front, and the main force at the right front was personally lead by Zhuge Liang himself. Li Hui's army, however, became surrounded in Kunming by the rebel forces twice his numbers, and didn't know of Zhuge Liang's whereabouts to ask for reinforcements for sometime. Knowing the important effort of tying down the enemy to prevent them from reinforce other rebels in the eastern and western fronts, Li Hui not only successfully held out at Kunming, but also actively engaged in striking the rebels constantly, so the enemy was unable to divert their force to reinfroce other two fronts. Li Hui finally learned the news of rebels' defeat at the other two fronts so he pretended to eager to gain a better deal with the enemy by claiming that he was ready to coorporate with the rebels, saying his supplies had ran out and couldn't return back north and had no choice but to join the rebel and help them to negotiate with Zhuge Liang. When the Nanman people trusted him and lowered their guards, Li Hui struck and defeated the encirclement. Chasing the fleeing rebel all the way to their base, Li Hui then led his men south to Panjiang , and it was his turn to encircle the surviving rebels. However, because Li Hui's force was the smallest among the three fronts, he was unable to take rebel base and annihilate the enemy until he was joined by Ma Zhong to the east who defeated Zhu Bao in Qielan . Finally, the two divergent forces rejoined Zhuge Liang's main army.

To better administer the region after the end of Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign, the region was divided into four governing regions instead of the original single one, and Li Hui was appointed as the governor of the new governing regions. Li Hui's nephew, Li Qiu , became the Right Commander of Imperial Bodyguard for Liu Shan and died in the last battle defending Shu Han with Zhuge Zhan, Huang Chong, Zhang Zun and Zhuge Shang in 263.

Jiang Wei

Jiang Wei was a military general and later regent of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China. He was originally a Cao Wei middle-level military officer, but because his mother was captured by Shu Han strategist Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wei joined him on Zhuge's first against Cao Wei in 228. Zhuge Liang immediately made him an army commander due to his military capability and resourcefulness. He eventually rose through the ranks during the regencies of Zhuge Liang and of Zhuge Liang's successors Jiang Wan and Fei Yi to eventually become Fei Yi's chief assistant. After Fei Yi's death in 253, he succeeded to Fei Yi's position, but did not have the power that Fei Yi had, as he apparently became in charge largely only of military matters -- and therefore was only arguably a regent.

Reviving Zhuge Liang's campaigns against Cao Wei , Jiang Wei made a number of incursions against Wei -- one in coordination with Eastern Wu's regent Zhuge Ke -- but each had to be abandoned due to the inadequate food supplies or due to battlefield losses, and these campaigns greatly drained Shu Han's resources. In 263, Wei, led by Deng Ai and Zhong Hui, conquered Shu Han. Jiang Wei tried to restore the kingdom by persuading Zhong Hui to declare a rebellion against the de facto Cao Wei ruler Sima Zhao, Zhong Hui agreed but after he did so, Zhong's own soldiers rebelled against him and Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui were killed in battle.

Early life and career under Zhuge Liang's regency

Jiang Wei was born during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and was from Tianshui Commandery . His father Jiang Jiong was a military officer who was killed in battle during a Qiang rebellion, early in Jiang Wei's life. Because of what happened to his father, Jiang Wei became a military general himself for Cao Wei, Han's successor state.

For reasons unknown, when Liu Shan's regent Zhuge Liang had his first northern expedition in 228, Jiang Wei's commanding officer suspected him of secretly wishing to join Zhuge Liang, and once, when Jiang Wei was outside the city walls with his troops, they closed the city gates and would not allow Jiang Wei to re-enter. Jiang Wei was forced to indeed defect to Zhuge's army, leaving his mother in Cao Wei. Zhuge was impressed by Jiang Wei's military capabilities and quickly made him one of his leading officers, at the age of 27.

Under Jiang Wan and Fei Yi's regencies

After Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Jiang Wan succeeded him as regent. He continued to value Jiang Wei's capabilities greatly, and he commissioned Jiang Wei with the title of the governor of Liang Province , which Shu Han did not control, but effectively giving Jiang Wei the authority over the northwestern border. After Jiang Wan's death in 245, Fei Yi succeeded him and made Jiang Wei his chief assistant.

Jiang Wei had constantly wanted to revive Zhuge Liang's strategy of actively waging war against Cao Wei, and Fei Yi agreed -- but only partly. He gave Jiang Wei a small detachment of troops to allow Jiang to harass Cao Wei's border defense forces, and Jiang Wei appeared to be fairly effective at this task. He also was successful in persuading a number of non-Han tribes into joining Shu.

As regent

After Fei Yi's assassination in 253, Jiang Wei took over Fei's position, making him regent -- but his influence on domestic matters appeared to be limited, as those matters appeared to be dominated by Liu Shan's trusted eunuch Huang Hao. Jiang Wei, however, was the supreme authority in military matters. Jiang Wei attempted to strengthen Shu, however, its government's efficiency and cleanliness were deteriorating from within, greatly hindering Jiang's efforts and magnifying the effect of Jiang's losses on the battlefield.

Campaigns against Cao Wei

Jiang Wei immediately revived Zhuge Liang's northern strategy, and later in 253 he set up a coordinated effort with Eastern Wu's regent Zhuge Ke to attack Cao Wei on two fronts -- Shu Han on the west and Eastern Wu on the east. Jiang Wei attacked the key border city of Didao as Zhuge Ke launched a massive attack on Hefei. Cao Wei's regent Sima Shi correctly judged the Wu force to be the more serious threat and personally led the main Cao Wei force to the eastern front while sending a smaller detachment to relieve Didao. As the first sign of what would eventually recur, Jiang, while sieging Didao, ran out of food supplies and had to withdraw. Eventually, Sima's forces dealt a crippling defeat to Zhuge Ke, leading to Zhuge Ke's downfall later that year.

In 254, Jiang, after Li Jian , the county magistrate of Didao secretly declared that he would defect, again advanced on Didao and took the city, but after suffering a loss at the hands of Xu Zhi , Jiang Wei was forced to withdraw.

In the summer of 255, despite the opposition from , Jiang again attacked Didao, and was highly successful in his initial battles against the Cao Wei Yong Province governor Wang Jing , nearly annihilating Wang's troops. Zhang Yi again tried to persuade Jiang Wei to stop his campaign at this point, but Jiang refused. Instead, he sieged Didao again and eventually was forced to lift the siege when additional Cao Wei forces arrived under the command of Chen Tai. Jiang Wei and Chen Tai's forces remained in a stalemate throughout the entire winter. In the summer of 256, as Jiang Wei shifted his strategy to advance instead on Shanggui , his move was anticipated by the Wei general Deng Ai, who intercepted him and dealt him a major loss -- a loss that would cause the people of Shu to begin to resent Jiang.

In 257, when the Cao Wei was dealing with the rebellion of Zhuge Dan , Jiang Wei again attacked, this time advancing all the way to Mangshui , but could not induce Cao Wei's forces, commanded by Deng Ai and Sima Wang, to engage him in battle. After Zhuge was defeated in 258, Jiang withdrew.

In 262, Jiang Wei, despite Liao Hua's opposition, again attacked Wei, targeting Taoyang , but was defeated by Deng Ai. He withdrew to Tazhong , and, apprehensive that Huang Hao might take this opportunity to damage him politically, did not dare to return to the Shu Han capital Chengdu, but remained at Tazhong, perhaps to carry out one strategy that Zhuge considered late in his campaigns -- have soldiers grow wheat to use as next year's food supply. Why Jiang was particularly apprehensive of Huang at this point was that he had unsuccessfully tried to persuade Liu Shan to execute Huang Hao earlier that year, and Huang was trying to find an opportunity to replace Jiang Wei with his friend Yan Yu .

Fall of Shu Han

In 258, Jiang Wei had suggested the following strategic plan be drawn up in case of a major Wei attack -- that the border cities do not try to resist, but instead have the main forces to withdraw to the mountain passes to wait for Wei forces to be worn out, and then close up their path of withdrawal. Liu Shan approved the strategy and made it the official plan to follow in case Cao Wei attacked.

Late in 262, aggravated by Jiang's constant attacks, Sima Zhao considered hiring assassins to kill Jiang Wei. At his strategists' suggestion, he decided instead to try to wipe out Shu Han once and for all, and commissioned Deng Ai and Zhong Hui to lead the Cao Wei forces against Shu Han. Jiang Wei quickly realized that Wei was about to attack and petitioned Liu Shan to send forces to block off the key passes, but Huang Hao, believing in fortunetellers, disagreed and persuaded Liu Shan to take no actions on Jiang Wei's petition.

In 263, while Jiang was still at Tazhong, the Cao Wei attack was launched. Liu Shan ordered that Jiang Wei's plan from 258 be carried out -- but much to Liu Shan's surprise, the Wei forces took no heed of Shu Han border cities at all and headed directly for the key passes. Jiang Wei quickly withdrew his forces to try to defend against the attack, and after some initial failures, was finally able to block off Zhong Hui's forces at Jiange . Zhong Hui considered retreating, but Deng Ai led a smaller detachment through a treacherous mountain pass descending on Jiangyou , defeating Zhuge Liang's son Zhuge Zhan and heading directly for the Shu Han capital Chengdu. Surprised and believing that Chengdu was defenseless, Liu Shan surrendered and ordered Jiang Wei to surrender to Zhong Hui, even though Chengdu was still manned by hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Zhong Hui treated Jiang Wei with respect and quickly made him a key advisor.

Efforts to reestablish Shu Han and death

Jiang Wei quickly saw that Zhong Hui had other ideas -- Zhong considered his abilities superior to all Cao Wei generals, even Sima Zhao, and wanted to overthrow Sima. Jiang Wei encouraged Zhong to rebel against Sima Zhao, and Zhong agreed. Zhong Hui first falsely reported to Sima Zhao that Deng Ai was planning a rebellion, and forged letters to and from Deng to increase the tension between Sima Zhao and Deng Ai. In early 264, Sima ordered that Zhong arrest Deng and seize his troops -- but at the same time led a force personally, heading toward Chengdu from the Cao Wei capital Luoyang. Zhong Hui, after seizing Deng Ai's troops, realized that Sima Zhao had seen through his intentions, and declared a rebellion.

Jiang Wei had other plans, however. He tried to persuade Zhong Hui to kill all of the high level Cao Wei officers, with his own plan that after Zhong did so, he would kill Zhong Hui and then all of the Wei soldiers and redeclare Shu Han's independence. He wrote letters to Liu Shan explaining his actions. Zhong Hui tentatively agreed with Jiang Wei's suggestion to kill all of the key officers, but hesitated in carrying the plan out. The plan leaked, however, and Zhong's soldiers turned against him. Jiang Wei led Zhong's personal guards against the rebelling soldiers, but could not withstand the attack and was killed in battle, along with Zhong Hui. Jiang Wei's wife and children were also killed in the confusion.

Historical views of Jiang Wei

Jiang Wei was one of the most controversial figures in Chinese history. In Bo Yang's ''Modern Chinese Edition'' of Sima Guang's ''Zizhi Tongjian'', for example, Bo cited seven different and discordant views of Jiang's career -- ranging from ringing endorsements of his honesty and loyalty to Shu Han to criticism of his constant draining campaigns to outright condemnation , each of which could be considered a potentially valid view of his complicated character.

Modern references

*Jiang Wei is a playable character the Koei video game series ''Dynasty Warriors''. He is portrayed as an inherently kind and noble individual with a fierce desire to learn and a deep respect for brilliant men, friend and foe alike.

*He also appeared in ''Warriors Orochi'' as a resistance fighter.

*In Koei's '''' strategy game series, Jiang Wei is known as "Zhuge Liang's Scholarly Heir".

Jiang Shu

Jiang Shu was an officer of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms Period of China. Following certain orders from Jiang Wei, Jiang Shu joined up with Fu Qian in the defense of Yangping Pass during the Campaign against . Following the attack of the high ranking strategist of Wei, Zhong Hui, Jiang Shu ended up surrendering and handing over his post to Zhong Hui.

Huang Zhong

Huang Quan lived during the time of the Three Kingdoms period of China. He first served the warlord in the Yi Province. In 211 A.D. Huang Quan warned Liu Zhang of the designs that the ruler of the Kingdom of , had on the Yi Province. He pleaded strenuously for Liu Zhang to heed his warnings, but to no avail.

When Liu Bei took over the Yi province, he employed Huang Quan employed by Liu; Liu even sought him at his household. Huang Quan took part in the campaign against the Kingdom of Wu and as the camps were burning he surrendered to the Kingdom of . In that moment, some of Liu Bei's vassal suggested that Liu Bei kill his family but Liu Bei admitted his failure of this campaign and ordered Huang Quan's family spared. Then, his family was spared but his reputation was smeared, for many commanders fought to the end.
Afterward, when Liu Bei died due to illness, Cao Pi's vassal celebrated, but only Huang Quan mourned in his house without visiting the Palace. Cao Pi heard of this, and trusted him more than ever. After Huang Quan learned that what he did in his own house was reported to the Cao Pi, he became extremely prudent for rest of his life and was most famously known for his ability to not showing any emotions in public.
Sima Yi did not believe Huang Quan was able to not showing any emotions so he ordered Huang Quan's cart to be sabotaged in secrecy. When Huang Quan went out next day, the axis of the cart broke and Huang Quan fell to the ground. Sima Yi agents watching from hiding were shocked to see that even Huang Quan did not say a single word and showed any emotion, just calmly got up and went back to home, even under the condition when nobody else was watching. Sima Yi was finally believing Huang Quan's self-control.

Personal information

* Son
** Huang Chong

Hao Nong

Hao Nong was a 辅国大将军 ''dà jiāngjūn'' and inventor in China during the Han Dynasty.

Born with to a family of nine, Hao revolutionized fireworks and military strategy, and contributed greatly to the ascent of the Han Dynasty. He was considered the second most brilliant military strategist of his short time.

Proficient with fireworks, he met an untimely demise when trying to make the world's most firework. The lethal explosion was caused by an excess of sulfur and copper in the fire rocket. His genius was in recognizing the copper as a colorizing agent; however, it carried an electrostatic discharge that ignited the unusually unstable gun powder mix, incinerating him. News of his death was first learned by his best friend and apprentice, in whose diary was recorded. Legend maintains that his death was so beautiful, the local children have from then on seen the rest of the world as black and white.

His spectacular death to many represented the last embers of the Han's rule and, more specifically, the Han's waning military dominance.

After his death, the dynasty was unable to prevent land from falling into the hands of warlords, and insurgents swarmed the North China Plains only days after, paving the way for the reign of the Three Kingdoms. Firing fireworks became a symbol of the insurgents, including the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Napoleon was said to have studied Hao's defeat in anticipation of his defeat of the Prussians.

Sources

*''Pyrotechnics: the history and art of firework making'', by Alan St. H Brock, London, D. O'Connor, 1922., ISBN 1-737249-15-3
*''The grand scribe's records'', by Qian Sima; William H Nienhauser; Tsai Fa Cheng; et al., Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1994. ISBN 0253340217
*''Chinese civilization and society : a sourcebook'', by Patricia Buckley Ebrey, New York : Free Press, 1981. ISBN 1-737249-15-3

Zhao Yun

Zhao Yun was a major military general during the civil wars of the late Han Dynasty and during the Three Kingdoms era of China. For most of his career, Zhao Yun served the warlord Liu Bei, playing a part in the establishment of Shu Han. In literature and folklore he is lauded as the third member of the Five Tiger Generals.

Due to the limited historical records, many facts about Zhao Yun's life remain unclear or unknown. The original records in Chen Shou's are only a couple of hundred words long. Pei Songzhi's annotations provide a relatively clear, though still incomplete picture of Zhao Yun's life.

Life

Early life

Zhao Yun was born in the Zhending county of Changshan province around the year 168 AD. He joined the warlord Gongsun Zan around the end of 191 or the beginning of 192 as commander of a small group of county volunteers. In 192 he was placed under the authority of Liu Bei, who at the time held only the rank of a major under Gongsun Zan, as a commander of Liu Bei’s cavalry forces. Liu Bei had a contingent of several thousand Wuhuan cavalry and Zhao Yun was put in charge of this force. Zhao Yun left Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei to attend his elder brother’s funeral soon after.

He rejoined Liu Bei in 200, when Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao and fled to Yuan Shao. Evidently Zhao Yun had an extremely close friendship with Liu Bei. ''Records of Three Kingdoms'' says that they slept in the same bed during the time the two were together in the city of . Around the same time, Liu Bei sent Zhao Yun to secretly recruit more men to reinforce Liu Bei’s then small army under Yuan Shao. From then on, Zhao Yun followed Liu Bei in his sojourns throughout northern China.

In Jing province

In 202, Zhao Yun participated in the Battle of Bowang against Xiahou Dun, a general serving under Cao Cao. During the battle, Zhao captured Xiahou Lan . Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan were from the same hometown, and they had known each other since childhood. Zhao Yun went to Liu Bei and pleaded for Xiahou Lan’s life. He suggested to Liu Bei since Xiahou Lan was an expert in law, he could be appointed as an army judge. Liu Bei gave him the consent. However, Zhao Yun never kept Xiahou Lan close to him, so as to separate personal relations from official matters.



In 208, Zhao Yun distinguished himself at the Battle of Changban. When Liu Bei was fleeing in the chaos, he left his family behind. Then Zhao Yun disappeared to the north, prompting suspicion that Zhao Yun had surrendered to Cao Cao. When someone reported that to Liu Bei, Liu Bei angrily threw a handaxe and said "Zilong would never desert me". Sure enough, Zhao Yun came back with Liu Bei's infant son Liu Shan in his arms, also bringing back his wife Lady Gan. With this, Zhao Yun was promoted to General of the Standard .

After the Battle of Red Cliffs, Zhao Yun played a major role in conquering territories of Jiangnan for Liu Bei. He was named a major-general and was appointed the Grand Administrator of , replacing Zhao Fan. Zhao Fan had a widowed sister in-law, , whose tremendous beauty supposedly could ruin countries and cities. He proposed her to Zhao Yun. However, Zhao Yun politely turned Zhao Fan down, “I share the same surname as you. Therefore I consider your brother my brother.” Many people thought it would be a great match and suggested to Zhao Yun that he should take Lady Fan as his wife. Zhao Yun explained to them, “Zhao Fan surrendered only recently. His intentions are not yet clear. Besides, there are plenty of women in this world.” In the end, he did not marry Lady Fan. His worries turned out to be true; Zhao Fan later fled from Guiyang.

When Liu Bei entered the , he appointed Zhao Yun as the main officer to oversee his base in Gong'an . Liu Bei’s wife then was , Sun Quan’s sister. Emboldened by her brother’s power and influence, she and her militia often ran wild, breaking many laws. Liu Bei considered since Zhao Yun was serious, firm and unwavering, he must be able to bring everything under control and maintain order. Therefore, Liu Bei gave Zhao Yun the special authority to oversee the internal affairs of Gongan . Soon after Liu Bei left the Jing province, Sun Quan secretly summoned his sister back. Lady Sun decided to bring Liu Shan along with her, but Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei managed to stop her in time on the Yangtze River and rescued the young lord.

Later in 214, Zhao Yun accompanied Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang into Shu. He held separate command, marching from Jiangzhou via Jiangyang and Jianwei to Chengdu. Zhao Yun was named General Yijun after Liu Bei claimed Chengdu. Around that time some people made suggestions to Liu Bei that all the generals should be awarded estates/plantations around Chengdu so they could settle in. Zhao Yun argued that it was more suitable to return these properties to the local people. Liu Bei accepted his advice.

Battle of Hanshui

In 219, Liu Bei and Cao Cao were battling over the control of Hanzhong. Cao Cao had huge supplies of rice stocked up near the North Mountain. Zhao Yun sent his soldiers with Huang Zhong, one of Liu Bei’s great generals, to attack Cao Cao’s army and to take the supplies. Huang Zhong did not return on time. Zhao Yun along with a dozen men, went out of camp to look for Huang Zhong. Cao Cao’s main force was marching at that time; Zhao Yun ran into Cao’s vanguards. Not soon after the two sides commenced to engage in battle, Cao Cao’s main force arrived. The situation became very perilous for Zhao Yun, as he and his men were greatly outnumbered. He decided to attack the frontline of Cao Cao’s army. Cao Cao’s men were surprised by the attack and momentarily dispersed. However, they soon regrouped and surrounded Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun fought his way out toward his own camp. When he found out his lieutenant general Zhang Zhu was wounded and fell behind, he went back to rescue him.

Cao Cao's army pursued Zhao Yun to his camp. At that time, the Administrator of Mianyang , , was at Zhao Yun’s camp. Zhang Yi thought it best to have all the gates closed in order to defend the camp. However, upon entering the camp, Zhao Yun ordered all banners to be dropped and hidden, all drums to be silenced, and the gates to be left open completely. Suspicious of an ambush, Cao Cao and his army hastily retreated. Zhao Yun ordered his drummers to beat drums as loudly as they could, and his archers to rain down arrows on Cao’s men. The stunned army was completely routed. Attempting to escape, Wei soldiers rushed toward the , and in confusion and panic many were pushed into the river and drowned.

The day after the battle, Liu Bei arrived to inspect the battlefield. He exclaimed, “Zilong has valor through and through.” He ordered a celebration, complete with wines and music until late that night, in honor of Zhao Yun. From then on, Liu Bei’s army called Zhao Yun “The General with the Might of a Tiger” .

Later life

In 221 Liu Bei proclaimed to be the Emperor of Shu Han. At the same time he declared war on Sun Quan out of revenge for the death of Guan Yu and loss of Jing province. Zhao Yun made an attempt to dissuade Liu Bei from entering the war, and to attack Cao Wei first. Liu Bei refused to heed the advice and subsequently waged war against Eastern Wu. He left Zhao Yun behind to be in command of Jiangzhou. After Liu Bei was defeated in the Battle of Yiling, Zhao Yun’s troops advanced to Yong'an. At that time, the Wu army had already retreated.

Liu Bei died in 223, and his son Liu Shan succeeded the throne. That year, Zhao Yun was named General who Conquers the South , and Central Military Commander . He was also bestowed the title Marquis of Yongchang Ting . Soon after, he was promoted to General who Guards the East . In 227, Zhao Yun followed Zhuge Liang into Hanzhong to prepare for the first of the . The next year, Zhuge Liang sent Zhao Yun to Jigu as a decoy against the main force of Wei led by Cao Zhen. Zhuge Liang’s main force suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Jieting. At the same time and against a far superior force, Zhao Yun was also unable to muster a victory. However, he was able to limit the loss to a minimum by gathering his men immediately and defending his positions steadfastly. He was demoted to the General Who Maintains Peace in the Army .

In 229 AD, Zhao Yun died at Hanzhong and this was much grieved in the Shu army. He received the posthumous appellation of Shunping Marquis from Liu Shan in 261. Liu Shan’s order to have Zhao Yun honored said, “When Zhao Yun was serving the late Emperor Liu Bei, his contributions were already remarkable. When I was young, I relied on his loyalty to save me from great danger. That’s why I am bestowing him the honour.” Only twelve Shu officials were awarded noble titles posthumously. It was considered a great honour by Shu people at that time.

Zhao Yun had two sons, Zhao Tong and Zhao Guang . The younger son was a subordinate of Jiang Wei, and died in combat in Tazhong .

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Many of Zhao Yun's actual exploits were highly dramatized in Luo Guanzhong's novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''. In the novel, Zhao Yun is described as being almost perfect, possessing unparalleled physical power as well as unwavering loyalty to his master, tremendous courage, keen intelligence and serene charisma. These traits have often been reflected in almost all modern material regarding Zhao Yun to date. The novel portrays him as a courageous, loyal, and heroic warrior, and show him surviving insurmountable odds, many times single-handedly.

The rescue of Liu Shan in Changban

The novel portrayed Zhao Yun quickly and single-handedly slaying numerous enemy generals as he rode his horse from group to group during the Battle of Changban, asking fleeing Shu soldiers where Lady Gan, Lady Mi, and Liu Shan had disappeared. As proof of his resolve, he stated that he would search through heaven and hell to find them and if he could not, he would die on the battlefield. One of the many generals that fell to Zhao Yun was Xiahou En, who carried one of Cao Cao's prized swords, the "Qinggang" , which Zhao Yun took with him. Upon finally finding Lady Mi and Liu Shan near an old well, Lady Mi, who was injured in the leg, gave the child to Zhao Yun and refused to go with him stating that she would only slow them down. With enemy soldiers approaching, the two argued until Lady Mi threw herself into a nearby well, killing herself. Zhao Yun then placed the child inside his breast armor and proceeded to fight his way out through overwhelming encirclement of enemy soldiers, using only his lance and the newly acquired Qinggang sword. Zhao Yun's valor impressed even Cao Cao, who ordered his men not to use archers on Zhao Yun, but capture him alive instead in the hope that Zhao Yun would surrender to his side. Throughout the battle, Zhao Yun charged seven times in and out of Cao Cao's troops, and killed over fifty enemy commanders.

When Zhao Yun fought his way to the Changban Bridge he met up with Zhang Fei, who stayed behind to stop the incoming Wei troops. When Zhao Yun finally returned to Liu Bei's side, he felt very guilty over his failure to bring back Lady Mi. Liu Bei threw Liu Shan to the ground, saying his infant son was not worth risking his great general's life. Zhao Yun barely caught him.

Zhao Yun rescues Ah Dou from Lady Sun

In Chapter 61 , Lady Sun , who married to Liu Bei to secure an alliance between the two factions, returned to her homeland to visit her sick mother. However, the sickness was a lie to lure Lady Sun to bring along Liu Shan, who would then be used as a hostage to exchange for the Jing province with Liu Bei. When Zhao Yun learned of her departure, he rushed down to the quay, where Lady Sun had already boarded the boat manned by Zhou Shan , whom Sun Quan sent to fetch her sister.

Grabbing hold of a small fishing boat, Zhao Yun caught up with the larger boat and leapt onto it. Soldiers from the Kingdom of Wu were not able to stop him. Although Zhao Yun was able to forcibly retrieve Liu Shan from his stepmother, he was not able to get off the boat, which was speeding down the river back to Wu lands. Fortunately, the boat was intercepted by a fleet led by Zhang Fei. When Zhou Shan tried to resist, Zhang Fei slew him. The two generals then brought the only son of Liu Bei safely back while Lady Sun returned to her mother.

Modern references

Zhao Yun has become a popular figure in Chinese culture, having been featured prominently in literature, art, anecdotes, etc. Already a relatively well-known hero from the Three Kingdoms period through tales told for centuries, Zhao Yun became a household name after the wide success of the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' .

Recently Zhao Yun’s popularity has moved well beyond Asia and into the Western world through various media including the Internet and video games. Zhao Yun is often portrayed as being youthful and handsome, fearless and invincible, calm and intelligent, genuine and selfless in today’s operas, novels, games, comics and plays.

A film titled ''Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon'' features Andy Lau as Zhao Yun, and another film titled " " features Hu Jun as Zhao Yun.

The manga and anime series Ikki Tousen features a character named Chou'un Shiryuu, who is based on Zhao Yun.

In video games

Zhao Yun has been a central character in the ''Dynasty Warriors'' video game series developed by Koei. He is usually placed in a prominent position on the manual/cover of each title and is the character most often used by the developers in screenshots and promotional materials for upcoming releases. Because of this, Zhao Yun is widely perceived as the "face" of the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, and is now instantly recognisable to those familiar with the titles. In ''Dynasty Warriors 6'' he has a new silver armour and a longer spear called "Dragon Spike".

Zhao Yun also appears in ''Warriors Orochi'' where he is captured by Orochi's forces at the beginning of the game. He is later rescued by Zuo Ci, Shimazu Yoshihiro and Xing Cai. He then goes on a quest to find and free Liu Bei and aligned himself with Sanada Yukimura who he felt was his match and shared the same beliefs he did. Together with Yukimura as well as other allies, he was successful in saving him. Although his character in the game is essentially the same as it was in Dynasty Warriors 5, he is also given a new, somewhat quirky sense of humor.

Zhao Tong

Zhao Tong was an officer of the Kingdom of during the Three Kingdoms Period of China. Zhao Tong was the elder of Shu general Zhao Yun's sons. He and his brother Zhao Guang informed Shu general Jiang Wei and the inept Shu Emperor Liu Shan of their father's death and together guarded their father's tomb . Zhao Yun entrusted him with his Qin Gong sword. According to the fictional ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', he became a general after his father died.

Zhang Yi (Boqi)

Zhang Yi was instrumental in pacifying the barbarian peoples who rebelled against Shu. He died during one of Jiang Wei's Northern campaigns while distracting the enemy from pursuing Jiang Wei. Zhang Yi is sometimes romanized as Zhang Ni.

Zhang Yi (Bogong)

Zhang Fei was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China.

Zhang Fei was shown to have been a masterful general rather than simply a warrior. He treated his superiors with respect, but had little respect for his underlings. He was often warned by Liu Bei that his habit of over-punishing his own soldiers by lashing and killing would eventually bring himself disaster.

Zhang Fei married Xiahou Yuan's daughter, who was captured by Zhang Fei's troops as she was out gathering firewood. They had a total of two daughters, and the older daughter became the empress of Shu Han after marrying Liu Shan, with Zhuge Liang as the matchmaker. After Zhang Fei's eldest daughter had passed away due to natural causes, Zhuge Liang once again played the role of matchmaker, and Liu Shan married Zhang Fei's younger daughter, who thus succeeded her older sister to become the empress of Shu Han.

Zhang Fei is best portrayed through his description and actions depicted in ''Records of Three Kingdoms'' biography by Chen Shou. Some claim that Zhang Fei was also an excellent painter.

Zhang Fei was killed by his own men Zhang Da and Fan Jiang, while preparing his troops to attack the rival Eastern Wu to avenge the death of Guan Yu. Zhang Da and Fan Jiang went on to defect to Wu.

Life

To the end of Eastern Han, Zhang Fei, alongside Guan Yu, joined Liu Bei's militia against the Yellow Turbans Rebellion. He then became Liu Bei's bodyguard and such a friend as close as brothers with Liu Bei and Guan Yu that they even often slept on the same bed.

When Liu Bei was chased by Cao Cao's army at the Battle of Changban, Zhang Fei, with twenty cavalries, demolished a bridge to slow Cao Cao's pursuit. Zhang Fei stood beside the broken bridge and shouted in challenge at Cao Cao's army, but no one dared make a move against him. He then destroyed the bridge, giving Liu Bei time to escape.

After the Battle of Red Cliffs, Liu Bei took over the southern part of Jing province and made Zhang Fei the Administrator of . When Liu Bei Zhang Fei was commanded to attack Jiangzhou, where he captured an enemy general, Yan Yan. Facing Zhang's insults, Yan Yan condemned him for invading Yi province. Yan Yan was originally ordered to be executed by the angry Zhang Fei, but Yan Yan's fearlessness of death impressed Zhang Fei and his life was pardoned. Yan Yan then surrendered to Liu Bei.

Zhang Fei's victory during the western expedition resulted in the capture of the whole Yizhou. After resisting the force led by Zhang He of Cao army, Zhang Fei led a force upon Hanzhong, which was under Cao's control then, but failed. After Liu Bei finally annexed the important Hanzhong, Zhang Fei was regarded by many as a proper choice for the Administrator, but Wei Yan was appointed instead, to Zhang Fei's disappointment.

After Liu Bei declared himself the Emperor of Shu-Han, he led an army to retake Jing province, which had been taken by Sun Quan. Zhang Fei was preparing to lead ten thousand men to join the campaign. However, two men in Zhang's camp, Fan Jiang and Zhang Da, assassinated him and carried his head to Eastern Wu. When Liu Bei saw Zhang Fei's assistant who was going to report Zhang's death, he sighed, "Oh! Zhang Fei is dead."

Zhang Fei had two sons, Zhang Bao and Zhang Shao . Zhang Bao died young and Zhang Shao worked as an officer of Shu Han. Zhang Bao's son, Zhang Zun , died resisting the army that eventually ended the southwestern reign of Shu Han.

In fiction

In the historical novel ''Romance of Three Kingdoms'', Zhang Fei is styled Yìdé instead of Yìdé . He was originally a butcher, then eventually became the second member of the Five Tiger Generals. According to the legend, he swore an oath of brotherhood with Liu Bei and Guan Yu, known as the Oath of the Peach Garden. In the novel, he has an obsession with wine that affected his judgement from time to time; however, that is apparently an invention of the author Luo Guanzhong for the novel as Zhang Fei was not known as an alcoholic historically.

At the Battle of Changban, Zhang Fei spotted the tired Zhao Yun and the baby Liu Shan, who Zhao was carrying, pass by. Facing an impending army of thousands, Zhang Fei rode out alone on the Changban Bridge to hold off the pursuing army of Cao Cao to insure Zhao Yun's escape. He glared and pointed his spear, shouting, "I am Zhang Fei of Yan, and anyone who wants to can come and challenge me to fight to the death," which was so effective that it was said to have frightened and held off 10,000 troops and scared Xiahou Jie to immediate death. None of the army dared to proceed and even upon the arrival of Cao Cao himself they were still wavering. Cao Cao, fearing an ambush devised by Zhuge Liang, eventually decided not to attack Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei, however, was later rebuked by Liu Bei for ordering his soldiers to burn Changban Bridge down so as to delay the pursuit of Cao Cao's forces. Zhang Fei was unhappy about this, and Liu Bei was later proven right when Cao Cao guessed correctly that Zhang Fei had burned the bridge out of fear. Ironically, Zhang Fei had successfully pulled off a ruse against Cao Cao when he commanded his soldiers to attach logs to their horses so as to raise large dust clouds, creating the illusion that Zhang had a large ambush army with him.

Throughout ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', Zhang Fei is shown as exceedingly loyal and known for his strength and skill as a warrior, but also short-tempered, which often got him into problems more often than not on the battlefield. Zhang Fei's fierce sense of loyalty was demonstrated when Guan Yu had left Cao Cao to return to Liu Bei - he had taken refuge when Cao under the condition that he would leave upon discovering his elder brother's whereabouts - and Zhang Fei refused to believe that Guan Yu had not defected to Cao already. Zhang Fei fought with Guan Yu in three fierce rounds, but the latter held back throughout, trying to explain to Zhang the truth. Thankfully, it was resolved without any bloodshed from the brothers.

Zhang Fei had a son , an equally competent general who served the Shu kingdom dutifully. Zhang Bao later personally executed Zhang Da and Fan Jiang, his father's assassins, when Sun Quan, the ruler of Wu, sent them both back to Shu Han as a goodwill gift to negotiate for peace, as Liu Bei had personally led an army against Wu.

Zhang Fei also appears on the Kunqu stage as a hualian. Particularly famous is the scene "The Swaying Reeds", in which he ambushes, humiliates and sets free Zhou Yu.

Zhang Fei had two daughters whom both married Liu Shan, the son of Liu Bei and the second and last ruler of Shu.

Modern depictions

* Zhang Fei appears in multiple video game titles under Koei's umbrella historical simulation series. These include '''', ''Dynasty Warriors'' and ''Dynasty Tactics''. In ''Dynasty Warriors'', he carries a snake spear called the "Viper Blade", which recives another blade at the end in ''Dynasty Warriors 6''.

* He also appears in ''Kessen II'', the one title in the ''Kessen'' series to portray the Three Kingdoms era. In many of these titles, Zhang Fei, just as with other characters of the novel, is exaggerated in personality and appearance. Zhang Fei's drunkenness and brutish bearing are two such embellished traits.

* Zhang Fei was present in ''Warriors Orochi'', in which he and Guan Yu were forced to work for Orochi under the threat that Liu Bei would be executed. He and Guan Yu later reconciled and joined Zhao Yun's Coalition, in an attempt to rescue Liu Bei.

*Zhang Fei also appears in a number of non-Koei titles, such as ''Three Kingdoms: Fate of the Dragon'' and ''Destiny of an Emperor''.

* Zhang Fei is also present in 's , portrayed much as he appears in the novel.

Trivia

*Legend has it, that on the night Zhang Fei was murdered by Zhang Da and Fan Jiang, his assassins found him sleeping with his eyes wide open and were about to abandon their plot, but his snoring revealed that he was indeed asleep. In modern China, when someone sleeps in caution or with half-opened eyes they are sometimes referred to as "Zhang Fei eyes".

*Zhang Fei enjoyed gardening. There are some trees he planted in Chengdu that exist to this day.

Zhang Da

Zhang Da was a military officer of theThree Kingdoms state of . He conspired with Fan Jiang to kill their commander, Zhang Fei and later defected.

On the night before Zhang Fei was to lead his troops to attack the , Zhang Da and Fan Qiang stabbed Zhang Fei, who was sleeping with his eyes open. Later, Sun Quan, the ruler of Wu returned Zhang Fei's murderers to the Shu, where they were executed by Zhang Fei's eldest son, .

Yan Yan

Xiahou Ba was a military general under the who later defected to the during the Three Kingdoms era of China. He was from one of the leading military families at the time, but fled to the Kingdom of Shu due to political instability at the capital Luoyang.

Xiahou Ba's father was the famed Wei general Xiahou Yuan and his mother was a sister-in-law of the dynastic founder Cao Cao. Xiahou Yuan had fought alongside Cao Cao since the start of the civil wars and was one of the most trusted of Cao's lieutenants. There is some suggestion that he may have been a blood relative of Cao Cao. After Xiahou Yuan was killed at Battle of Mount Dingjun in 219 AD, most of his troops were placed under the command of his five sons.

In 220, Xiahou Yuan's eldest son Xiahou Heng was given his own fiefdom, so Xiahou Ba - being the second son - succeeded to his father's hereditary title with a stipend of tax revenues from eight hundred households. In the 240s he became General of the Right and Marquis of Bochangting and was a known associate of Cao Shuang. After a coup d'etat by Sima Yi against Cao Shuang, Xiahou Ba fled to the rival Kingdom of Shu, and became a Shu general because one of his sisters had been married to the famed Shu general, Zhang Fei. In addition, Liu Shan, the second and the final emperor of Shu, married with Zhang Fei's daughter and called his son "Nephew of Xiahou Family". Xiahou Ba was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry under the Shu Kingdom. The imperial court of Wei pardoned Xiahou Ba's sons on account of Xiahou Yuan's role in the founding of the empire. Instead they were exiled to Lelang, in present day North Korea.

According to the '''', Xiahou Ba succeeded Deng Zhi as the General of Chariots and Cavalry after his death in 251, and Zizhi Tongjian noted he was alive in 255. Records of Three Kingdoms noted Xiahou Ba was not alive in 259, when Liao Hua and Zhang Yi were described as Xiahou Ba's successors.

Wu Ban

Wu Ban an officer under the Kingdom of during the Three Kingdoms Period of China, and relative to Wu Yi. Wu Ban at one time was a close servant under Liu Zhang. During a certain campaign against , Ban was tasked to lead the vanguard, winning many battles along with surrounding Sun Huan at Yi Ling. During the last Northern Campaign of Zhuge , Wu Ban was shot and killed by both Zhang Hu and Yue Chen.

Wei Yan

Wei Yan was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China.

The historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' suggested that Wei Yan originally served as a mid-ranked military officer under the warlord Liu Biao, but the history books did not officially recognize that.

Wei Yan joined Liu Bei's army after Liu Bei captured Changsha in 209. In 211 Wei Yan was a soldier in Liu Bei's campaign to Yi Province . His talent helped him to become a major general of Liu Bei's army in very few years. Liu Bei named him as Administrator of Hanzhong and regional Area Commander in the year 219 .

After Liu Bei's death in 223, Zhuge Liang employed him for the war with Cao Wei. He had suggested some radical plans in order to win the war but Zhuge Liang rejected them.

When Zhuge Liang died in 234, some officers under him killed Wei Yan, in the title of "rebellion".

Both the history books and the semi-fictional novel suggested that Wei Yan intended to attack Sima Yi, a prominent officer and strategist of Cao Wei, but officers such as Jiang Wei objected to the plan and ordered Wei Yan to retreat. Wei Yan refused and thus attempted to kill those officers by burning down the wooden walkway and preventing them from returning to Shu Han. Those officers then labeled Wei Yan a rebel and killed him through the use of a sagacious strategy.

According to the '''', Wei Yan was a very arrogant man and others tended to avoid him. Some believed that Wei Yan was an aggressive person, which was incompatible with Zhuge Liang's strategies and methods. Moreover, Wei Yan's personality caused Yang Yi, his subordinate officer, to fear and despise him, with the two barely capable of avoiding fighting one another. Eventually Ma Dai and Yang Yi murdered Wei Yan. Yang Yi later slew Wei Yan's entire family as well.

Others believe that Zhuge Liang was unfairly biased against Wei Yan, beginning when Wei Yan rescued Huang Zhong from execution and surrendered a city to Liu Bei, slaying the prefect in the process. While Zhuge Liang welcomed Huang Zhong, he ordered Wei Yan executed, saying that anyone who would betray their lord so easily was untrustworthy. Liu Bei ordered Wei Yan's life spared and welcomed him into his forces. Wei Yan, however, never actually slew Han Xuan who, in fact, surrendered to Liu Bei.

Based on the one example of Zhuge Liang's entrusting his student Ma Su to an important task despite Liu Bei's warning that he was unsuited for anything important, Wei Yan's supporters believe that this was simply another example of Zhuge Liang's poor judgment of character as opposed to his supreme judgement of warfare. It was said that even the great general Zhang He respected and feared Wei Yan's abilities.

Life

Wei Yan, Wenchang, was a native of Yiyang. As the Company of the Division , he followed Liu Bei into Shu. He had many military accomplishments and was assigned as General of the Standard .

Liu Bei became King of Hanzhong and was about to leave for Chengdu. As for selecting the general who would guard Han Chuan , many considered Zhang Fei to be the likely candidate and Zhang Fei himself thought he was likely to be chosen. However, Liu Bei named Wei Yan as the "General Who Maintains Distant Lands in Peace," as well as the Governor of Hanzhong, to the astonishment of many in the army. Liu Bei said in front of the various ministers, "Now I am entrusting a great responsibility on you, Sir, do you have anything that you want to say?". Wei Yan replied, "If Cao Cao with the entire world was coming here, I request that I smite him on behalf of Your Highness. If it is an auxiliary force of a hundred thousand, I request that I swallow them on behalf of Your Highness." Liu Bei was very pleased and everyone else cried out boldly in agreement. Liu Bei honored Wei Yan with the title, General Who Suppresses the North.

In the first year of Jian Xing , he was enfeoffed as Marquis of a Chief Village .

In the fifth year , Zhuge Liang stationed in Hanzhong and Wei Yan was to supervise the front division with the rank of Major of the Prime Minister and Inspector of Liangzhou.

In the eighth year , he was sent as ambassador into the Qiang tribes, where the Wei General of the Rear Army, Fei Yao, and the Inspector of Yongzhou, Guo Huai, battled with him at Yang Qi. Wei Yan heavily defeated them and was promoted as Advisor of the Front Army , General Who Conquers the West, and Marquis of Nanzheng.

Each time he accompanied Zhuge Liang on expedition, he always wanted to lead ten thousand and go along different paths to meet up with Zhuge Liang at the Tong Pass, based on the previous strategy of Han Xin. But Zhuge Liang never allowed this plan and Wei Yan often said Zhuge Liang was faint-hearted. He sighed that his talents were not used to their full potential. Wei Lue says: Xiahou Mao was the General Who Pacifies the West stationed in Chang'an. When Zhuge Liang was in Nanzheng discussing strategy with his generals, Wei Yan said, "I have heard this Xiahou Mao is the son-in-law of their emperor; he is faint-hearted and without counsel. I wish to take five thousand troops, another five thousand to carry supplies, to march out of Baozhong eastward along the Qin Ling mountains, and then turn north up Ziwu. I will reach Chang'an within ten days. When Mao hears of my sudden arrival, he is certain to take a boat and flee. In Chang'an, there is only Counselor and the Governor of Jingshao left to defend. The grain in the storehouses of Heng Men and those left behind by the people who scatter will be enough for us. It will take about twenty days for our main force to meet up with the force in the East, to which Your Excellency, taking the road out of Xie valley will reach the place. This way, the region west of Xianyang will be settled in one stroke." However Zhuge Liang considered this county to be dangerous and preferred to travel along the flat roads and so that Longyou could be taken easily. He was certain that ten times out of ten, this plan was certain to work without any worry, and so he did not accept Wei Yan's plan. Wei Yan was very good to his soldiers and was braver than others. He was boastful of his talents and many tended to avoid him. However, Yang Yi alone made no concession to him and Yan was extremely resentful of him. They were like fire and water.

In the twelfth year , Zhuge Liang marched out of the mouth of the North valley, with Wei Yan leading the Van. At ten miles away from Zhuge Liang's tent, Wei Yan dreamed that horns grew out of his head. So he asked Zhao Zhi for the meaning of this dream and Zhi gave him a false reply, "Every Qilin has horns but has no need for them. This means that without need for battle, the rebels will become defeated themselves." However, others interpret the dream as, "The character 'jiao' , is shaped like a downward knife. To have a knife above one's head is a very ominous sign for him."

In the autumn, Zhuge Liang fell sick and sent secret orders to the Chief Clerk , Yang Yi, the Major, Fei Yi, and the Protector of the Army, Jiang Wei for the army's retreat after his death. Wei Yan was to guard the rear with Jiang Wei after him. If Wei Yan refused to accept the order, they were to retreat without him.

Zhuge Liang died but his death was kept secret. Yang Yi ordered Fei Yi to go to Wei Yan and to discover his intentions. Wei Yan said, "Although the Prime Minister had died, I am still here. The officials belonging to the Office of Prime Minister may carry his mortal remains to be buried. I, on the other hand, should command the various troops and strike at the rebels. Because of the death of one man, must we neglect the affairs of the State? Besides, who am I, Wei Yan, that I should be commanded by Yang Yi to serve as general of the rearguard?" So he and Fei Yi took charge of the troops left behind and had Yi write a letter to be signed by both of them which was to be announced to the various generals. Fei Yi said to Wei Yan, "I should go on your behalf and explain this to the Chief Clerk, Yang Yi. The Chief Clerk is a civil official and is not experienced in military affairs, so it is certain to not disobey you." Fei Yi galloped quickly out the gate and Wei Yan regretted letting him go, so he went after him but could not catch up. He then sent someone to Yang Yi and the others, who were following Zhuge Liang's plan, so the various encampments were returning. Wei Yan was very angry and before Yang Yi had started, he led his troops back to the South before them, and burnt the plank roads.

Both Wei Yan and Yang Yi sent memorials, each accusing each other of rebelling. Within the same day, their memorials arrived and Shu Emperor Liu Shan asked the Clerk , Dong Yun and the left behind Chief Clerk of the Office of Prime Minister, Jiang Wan. Both of them supported Yang Yi while were suspicious of Wei Yan. Yang Yi had trees hewn to make roads and marched day and night to get close behind Wei Yan. Wei Yan arrived first at the Southern Valley and ordered his troops to attack Yang Yi and the others. Yang Yi ordered Wang Ping forward to resist Wei Yan. Wang Ping scolded at Wei Yan, "His Excellency so lately died that his body is not yet cold; how dare you act this way!" Wei Yan's soldiers knew their leader was in the wrong and no-one dared to act and so they scattered. Wei Yan, along with his sons and a few followers, fled to Hanzhong. Yang Yi sent Ma Dai to give chase. Ma Dai chopped Wei Yan's head off and sent it to Yang Yi. Yang Yi stepped on it and said, "You slave! Can you do your wicked deeds anymore?" He ordered the execution of Wei Yan's family to the third degree. Before, Jiang Wan had led the various camps of the imperial bodyguards north to cope with the disorders. He traveled about ten li when he heard news of Wei Yan's death, and so he returned.

In the beginning, Wei Yan did not go north to Wei but instead returned to the South. From there he joined Sun Jian and marched towards Cheng Du to attack Liu Shan. But his only desire was to kill Yang Yi, Liu Shan's officer, and the others in disagreement with him, with the hope that opinion of the time would make him Zhuge Liang's successor. This was his actual aim and he did not think of rebelling. Wei Lue says: When Zhuge Liang died, he said to Wei Yan and the others, "After I am dead, be cautious in guarding but do no return here". Wei Yan was ordered to be assist in the operations and keep his death a secret and so he did as told. When they reached the entrance of Bao, the death was announced and a funeral held. Zhuge Liang's Chief Clerk, Yang Yi, was never in agreement with Wei Yan, and after noticing that Yan was in charge of military affairs, feared that he would be harmed. So he made rumours that Wei Yan was going to submit to the North and led his troops to attack him. In reality, Wei Yan had no intention to do such a thing, and so offered no resistance.

Modern references

Wei Yan is a playable character in the Koei video game series ''Dynasty Warriors''. He is depicted as a fearsome and unpredictable man, barely capable of maintaining the trust of his fellow officers and often merely grunting a few words and with qualities that can be described as barbaric. In ''Dynasty Warriors 6'' he wields a giant club and wears armour similar to that of Orochi from ''Warriors Orochi''.

Wang Ping (Three Kingdoms)

Wang Ping was a officer who defected to the during the Three Kingdoms era of China. He is a figure both in actual Chinese history, and in the historic novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''.

During the Battle of Hanzhong he opposed the general Xu Huang and defected to Shu. He fought well for Shu under Ma Su in the southern campaigns against the Nanman forces and at the Battle of Jieting as well. At the Battle of Jie Ting, it was Wang Ping who tried to dissuade Ma Su from camping on the hill. Unfortunately, Ma Su paid no heed to him, and Wang Ping established a stockade at the base of the hill with 3,000 troops, in order to help Ma Su if there was danger. When Sima Yi attacked, however, Wang Ping's 3,000 soldiers were not enough to render Ma Su help. In the later years of Shu, Wang Ping became a central figure and an important general to the kingdom.

Ma Zhong (Shu Han)

Ma Zhong , for some time known as Hu Du after adoption, was a prominent general of Shu Han. In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', and Ma Zhong are both captured after losing duels against Lady Zhurong, the warrior wife of the Nanman king Meng Huo.

Zhuge Zhan

Zhuge Zhan was the son of Huang Yueying and Zhuge Liang. When his mother died her last words to him were "Son, be filial and have piety."

He later defended the kingdom of Shu against Deng Ai's forces but was slain in battle along with his son, Zhuge Shang.

The depiction of his illfated defence of Shu capital in the , Liu Shan the Shu Han emperor begged Zhuge Zhan to think of a plan to save his . Moved by his emperors word Zhuge Zhan thought of a plan by dressing up to look like his father Zhuge Liang, the plan worked and he successfully scared off the early phase of the army in the belief that Zhuge Liang came back from the death. However, after seeing through the ruse the Wei army regrouped and attacked again which lead to Zhuge Zhan's death.

Zhuge Liang

Zhuge Liang was of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era.

Often depicted wearing a robe and holding a fan made of crane feathers, Zhuge was not only an important military strategist and statesman; he was also an accomplished scholar and inventor. His reputation as an intelligent and learned person grew even while he was living in relative seclusion, gaining him the nickname "The Hidden Dragon" . When Cao Cao invaded Shandong in 195, his family was forced to flee south, and his uncle soon died of illness.
Although both his sisters married into important families with numerous connections in the area, for ten years he resided in Longzhong Commandery If he fought in the north while the Nanman people rebelled in the south, then the Nanman people would march further and perhaps even press into areas surrounding the capital. So rather than embarking on a northern invasion, Zhuge Liang led an army to pacify the south first.

Ma Su, brother of Ma Liang, proposed the plan that Zhuge Liang should work toward getting the tribes to join him rather than trying to subdue all of them and he took this plan. Zhuge Liang defeated the rebel leader, Meng Huo, seven different times, but released him each time in order to achieve his genuine surrender.

Finally, Meng Huo agreed to join Zhuge Liang in a genuine acquiescence, and thus Zhuge Liang appointed Meng Huo governor of the region, so he could govern it as he already had, keeping the populace content, and keeping the southern Shu border secure to allow for the future .

During his first Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang persuaded Jiang Wei, a general of Cao Wei, to defect to Shu Han.

In the historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', Zhuge Liang attempted to extend his lifespan by twelve years, but failed when the ceremony was disturbed when Wei Yan rushed in, announcing the arrival of the Wei army. The novel also related a story of Zhuge Liang passing the ''24 Volumes on Military Strategy'' to Jiang Wei at the eve of his death.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

The wisdom and achievements of Zhuge Liang were exaggerated and made popular by ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' written by Luo Guanzhong more than a millennium after the Three Kingdoms era ended. The novel incorporates many popular folklore, pseudohistories, and opera scripts into the character of Zhuge Liang, turning him into an embodiment of intelligence itself. Significant deviations from a historically accurate account include:

Using straw boats to borrow arrows

Before the Battle of Red Cliffs, Zhuge Liang went to visit the Wu camp to assist Wu strategist Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu saw Zhuge Liang as a threat to Eastern Wu and was also jealous of Zhuge Liang's talent. Therefore, he assigned Zhuge Liang the task to make 100,000 arrows in ten days or face execution. Zhuge Liang, however, swore he would finish this seemingly impossible task in three days. He requested 20 large boats, each manned with many straw men and a few soldiers. Before dawn, Zhuge Liang ordered his soldiers to beat war drums and shout orders, to imitate the noise of an attack.

Zhuge Liang sat with Lu Su inside one of the boats drinking wine. The Wei soldiers, unable to see in the fog, fired many volleys of arrows at the sound of the drums. The straw men were soon filled with arrows, and Zhuge Liang returned to Wu having fulfilled his promise.

Hence, the Chinese expression "草船借箭" refers to the act of using someone's strength against him or her.

Stone Sentinel Maze

In Chapter 84, as Lu Xun pursued the fleeing Liu Bei after the Battle of Yiling, he felt a strong enemy presence near Baidicheng and cautioned his army for possible ambush. He sent scouts ahead, who reported that the area was empty except for some scattered piles of stones. Bewildered, he asked one of the locals, who answered that ''Qi'' started to emerge from the area after Zhuge Liang had arranged the stones there. Lu Xun himself then inspected the area, and determined that the array was only a petty display of deception. He led a few cavaliers into the array, and as he was about to come out, a strong gust blew. Soon, duststorms were shadowing the sky and the stones became swords, mountainous piles of dirt emerged while the waves of the Yangtze River sounded like swords and drums. Lu Xun exclaimed, "I fell into Zhuge's trap!" and attempted to exit to no avail.

Suddenly, Lu Xun saw an old man standing before his horse, who then asked if Lu needed assistance out of the array. Lu Xun followed the man and exited the maze unharmed. The old man revealed himself to be Zhuge Liang's father-in-law Huang Chengyan, and explained that the array is constructed using the ideas of the ''''. Huang Chengyan said that Zhuge Liang had predicted that a Wu general would stumble across this maze as he constructed the structure, and asked Huang Chengyan not to lead the general out when that happens. Lu Xun immediately dismounted from his horse and thanked Huang Chengyan, and when he returned to his camp, he exclaimed that he could never top the genius of Zhuge Liang.

Empty Fort Strategy

During the first Northern Expedition, his efforts to capture Chang'an were undermined by the loss at the Battle of Jieting. With the loss of Jieting, Zhuge Liang's current location, Xicheng , was in great danger. With the army deployed elsewhere and left with only a handful of civil officers in the city, Zhuge Liang decided to use a ploy to ward off the advancing Wei army.

Zhuge Liang ordered all the gates to be opened and had civilians sweeping the roads while he sat high up on the gates calmly playing his zither with two children beside him. When the Cao Wei commander and strategist Sima Yi approached the fort with the Wei military, he was puzzled by the scene and ordered his troops to retreat.

Zhuge Liang later told the bewildered civil officers that the strategy only worked because Sima Yi was a man of suspicion, the latter having personally witnessed the success of Zhuge Liang's highly effective ambushing and misdirection tactics many times before. Furthermore, Zhuge Liang had a reputation as a keen but extremely careful military tactician who rarely took risks. Zhuge Liang's well-known carefulness, coupled with Sima Yi's own suspicious nature, led Sima Yi to the conclusion that entry into the apparently empty city would have drawn his troops into an ambush. It is unlikely the same strategy would have worked on someone else, and indeed Sima Yi's son Sima Zhao saw through the ruse immediately and counseled his father against retreat.

Legacy

Zhuge Liang's name is synonymous with wisdom in the Chinese language. He was believed to be the inventor of the mantou, the landmine and a mysterious, efficient automatic transportation device described as a "wooden ox and floating horse" , which is sometimes identified with the wheelbarrow. Although he is often credited with the invention of the repeating crossbow which is named after him, called ''Zhuge Nu'', i.e. ''Zhuge Crossbow'', this type of semi-automatic crossbow is actually an improved version of a model that first appeared during the Warring States Period . Nevertheless, Zhuge Liang's version could shoot further and faster. He is also credited for constructing the mysterious Stone Sentinel Maze, an array of stone piles that is said to produce supernatural phenomenon, located near Baidicheng. An early type of hot air balloon used for military signalling called the Kongming lantern is also named after him.

Some books popularly attributed to Zhuge Liang can be found today, for example the ''Thirty-Six Stratagems'', and ''Mastering the Art of War'' are two that are generally available. Supposedly, his mastery of infantry and cavalry formation tactics based upon the Taoist I-Ching were unrivalled. His ''Chu Shi Biao'', written before the Northern Expeditions, was considered so moving that it was said that if one read it and shed no tears, the reader would be a disloyal person.

He is also the subject of many Chinese literary works. A poem by Du Fu, one of the most prolific poets from the Tang Dynasty, was written in remembrance of Zhuge Liang and his unwavering dedication to his cause, against overwhelming odds. Some historians believe that Du Fu compared himself with Zhuge Liang in the poem. The full text is:



Bai Chongxi, a military leader of the Republic of China and warlord from Guangxi province, earned the laudatory nickname "Little Zhuge" due to his tactical decisions in the Second Sino-Japanese War during World War II.

Takenaka Shigeharu, a Sengoku Period samurai who served under the early Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Japan, was himself often likened to Zhuge Liang due to his reputation as an exceptional strategist, and due to a fictional account of Hideyoshi gaining Shigeharu's services after visiting him three times in a similar manner to Liu Bei's Three Visits.

Portrayals in popular culture

Movies/TV series

In TV series '''' by CCTV, he was played by Tang Guoqiang. Zhuge Liang was portrayed by Pu Quanxin as a minor role in the movie ''Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon'', directed by Daniel Lee. Takeshi Kaneshiro played him in John Woo's movie about the Battle of Chibi, ''Red Cliff''.

Games

Zhuge Liang's reputation for being an unparalleled genius is also emphasised in his portrayal in video games. Reflecting his status as the most highly regarded strategist in the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', games such as ''Destiny of an Emperor'' and Koei's '''' series place Zhuge Liang's intelligence statistic as the highest of all characters.

Zhuge Liang is the protagonist in Koei's tactical role-playing game ''Sangokushi Koumeiden'', where he can die at the Wuzhang Plains, as he did historically, or go on to restore the Han Dynasty under Emperor Xian. He also appears in Koei's popular ''Dynasty Warriors'' series. For more information, see List of Dynasty Warriors characters.

Zhuge Liang is also a main character on the second delivery of Koei's Kessen game also depicting him as a master strategist as well as the main enemy to beat on the Wei campaign.

Manhwa

In the manhwa ''Faeries' Landing'', the protagonist of the story in a high-school student named Ryang Jegal, whose life is turned upside-down by a fairy and her heavenly peers. Ryang Jegal, or Jegal Ryang in the proper Asian sequence, is the translation of Zhuge Liang.