Fu Rong (died 222 A.D.) was a military officer of the state of
Shu Han
Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period of China.
Life
Fu Rong was from Yiyang Commandery, which is in present-day
Xinyang
Xinyang (; postal: Sinyang) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China, the southernmost administrative division in the province. Its total population was 6,234,401 according to the 2020 census. As of t ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
. In 221, he followed
Liu Bei
Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the H ...
in the campaign against
Sun Quan
Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...
's forces, leading to the
Battle of Xiaoting
The Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭之戰), also known as the Battle of Yiling and the Battle of Yiling and Xiaoting, was fought between the state of Shu and the state of Wu, between the years 221 and 222 in the early Three Kingdoms period of China ...
. In 222, Sun Quan's general
Lu Xun
Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...
defeated Liu Bei's forces at Xiaoting and Yiling and forced them to retreat. Fu Rong volunteered to cover the rear during the Shu retreat. He continued to hold his ground firmly and vent his fury on the enemy even though all his comrades had already been killed. When the Wu soldiers offered him a chance to surrender, he replied, "Dogs of Wu! Do you think a Han officer will ever surrender?" He was eventually killed in action. Emperor Wu, the founding emperor of the Jin dynasty, specifically mentioned this incident in his decree.
Fu Rong's son,
Fu Qian
Fu Qian (died 263) was a military general of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the son of Fu Rong.
Life
Fu Qian was from Yiyang commandery, which is in present-day Xinyang, Henan. His father, Fu Rong, was killed ...
, continued serving Shu as a military general until his death during the
conquest of Shu by Wei
The Conquest of Shu by Wei was a military campaign launched by the dynastic state of Cao Wei against its rival Shu Han in late 263 during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The campaign culminated in the fall of Shu Han and the tripartite equi ...
in 263.
In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''
In the 14th-century historical novel ''
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...
'', Fu Rong is renamed Fu Tong (). After Liu Bei's defeat at the
Battle of Xiaoting
The Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭之戰), also known as the Battle of Yiling and the Battle of Yiling and Xiaoting, was fought between the state of Shu and the state of Wu, between the years 221 and 222 in the early Three Kingdoms period of China ...
, Fu Rong volunteers to cover the rear from pursuing enemy troops. He is eventually surrounded by the enemy. The Wu general Ding Feng shouts at him: "Many Shu soldiers have died while others have surrendered. Your lord Liu Bei has been captured. Now that you are exhausted and isolated, why don't you surrender early?" Fu Rong replies sternly: "I am an officer of (Shu) Han, how can I surrender to the dogs of Wu?", after which he grabs his spear, mounts his horse, and leads his men to make a last stand. However, after fighting for more than 100 rounds, Fu Rong is unable to break out of the encirclement. After sighing "I have come to my end!", he vomits blood and dies.''Sanguo Yanyi'' ch. 84.
See also
*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
The following are lists of people significant to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of Chinese history. Their names in Mandarin pinyin are sorted in alphabetical order.
Fictional characters in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of ...
Records of the Three Kingdoms
The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...
Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...