Li Fu ( third century),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Sunde, was an official 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.

Early life

Li Fu was born in the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

in Fu County (涪縣), Zitong Commandery (梓潼郡), which is present-day

Mianyang Mianyang (; formerly known as Mienchow) is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Located in north-central Sichuan covering an area of consisting of Jiangyou, a county-level city, five counties, and thre ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

. In 214, after the warlord

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 ...

seized control of

Yi Province Yizhou (益州), Yi Province or Yi Prefecture, was a '' zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong, Ba, Guanghan, Shu, Wenshan, Jianwei, ...

from Liu Yan's successor Liu Zhang, he recruited Li Fu to serve under him as a scribe (書佐). Li Fu later rose through the ranks to serve as the Chief of Xichongguo County (西充國縣; south of present-day

Langzhong Langzhong (formerly known as Paoning) is a county-level city in northeastern Sichuan province, China, located on the middle reaches of the Jialing River. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Nanchong. Langzhong has a total ...

) and then as the Prefect of

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

(成都令).

Career under Liu Bei

Following the end of the

and the start of the

period in 220, Li Fu came to serve in the state of Shu Han (or Shu), which

established in 221 and became its founding emperor. In 223, after Liu Bei's son

Liu Shan Liu Shan () (207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Lia ...

became the new Shu emperor, he reassigned Li Fu to serve as the Administrator of Baxi Commandery (巴西郡; around present-day

). Li Fu later consecutively served as the Area Commander of Jiangzhou (江州督) and General Who Spreads Might (揚威將軍) before he was recalled to the Shu imperial capital

to serve as Supervisor of the Masters of Writing (尚書僕射) in the central government. He was also enfeoffed as the Marquis of Pingyang Village (平陽亭侯).

At Zhuge Liang's deathbed

In 234,

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is r ...

, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, led Shu forces on a military campaign against Shu's rival state

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

for the fifth time since 228. This led to the

Battle of Wuzhang Plains The Battle of Wuzhang Plains was fought between the contending states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 234 AD during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The battle was the fifth and last of a series of Northern Expeditions led by Shu's chancellor, ...

between Shu and Wei. Around September or October that year, Zhuge Liang became critically ill while both sides were locked in a stalemate at the

Wuzhang Plains The Wuzhang Plains (五丈原) are plateaus near the Wei River in China. They are now in the Shaanxi province, 56 kilometres from Baoji. The name "Wuzhang" means "five '' zhang''", where ''zhang'' (丈) is a Chinese unit of measurement which conv ...

(near present-day

Qishan County Qishan County () is a county in the west of Guanzhong, Shaanxi province, China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Baoji. It was the site of Zhouyuan (), the first capital of the Zhou Dynasty (1066–256 BCE). Historically, t ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

). During this time, the Shu emperor

sent Li Fu to visit Zhuge Liang and consult him on plans for Shu's future. Li Fu did as instructed and noted down what Zhuge Liang told him before leaving. A few days later, while he was en route to

, Li Fu suddenly remembered that he forgot to ask Zhuge Liang something so he quickly headed back to the Wuzhang Plains. Zhuge Liang told Li Fu: "I know why you came back. Although we have spoken at length over the past few days, you still have questions for me. ' Gongyan is the most suitable' is the answer to the question you are about to ask me." Li Fu thanked him and asked: "Indeed. Earlier on, I forgot to ask you, Sir, who can take charge of state affairs after you, Sir, pass on. That's why I came back. If you don't mind me asking further, who can take charge after Jiang Wan?" Zhuge Liang replied: " Wenwei can succeed him." Li Fu continued asking but Zhuge Liang did not reply. Li Fu then left and returned to Chengdu.

Death

In the early Yanxi era (238–257) of

's reign, when the Shu general

Jiang Wan Jiang Wan (180s - November or December 246), courtesy name Gongyan, was a regent and military general of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Jiang Wan initially served as a scribe, c ...

led the Shu army to attack Wei, he appointed Li Fu as an Army Supervisor (監軍) with the rank of Major (司馬). Li Fu died around the time.

Appraisal

The Shu official Yang Xi praised Li Fu for being "decisive and astute" in his ''Ji Han Fuchen Zan'' (季漢輔臣贊; pub. 241), a collection of praises of notable persons who served in Shu. The ''Yi Bu Qijiu Zaji'' also recorded that Li Fu was "competent, perceptive, decisive, astute, and shrewd in politics".

Family

Li Fu's father, Li Quan (李權), whose courtesy name was Boyu (伯豫), served as the Chief of Linqiong County (臨邛縣; present-day Qionglai, Sichuan). Around the year 190, Liu Yan, the Governor of

(covering present-day

and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

), saw Li Quan and other local elites as potential threats to his control over the province, so he found excuses to have them arrested and executed. Li Fu's son, Li Xiang (李驤), had the courtesy name Shulong (叔龍). Li Xiang served in Shu like his father and held the positions of an imperial secretary and later the Administrator of Guanghan Commandery (廣漢郡; around present-day

Guanghan Guanghan ( zh, s=广汉, t=廣漢, p=Guǎnghàn; formerly known as Hanchow) is a county-level city under the administration of Deyang in Sichuan province, southwest China, and only from Chengdu. The predominant industries are tourism, pharmaceut ...

, Sichuan).(子驤，字叔龍，亦有名，官至尚書郎、廣漢太守。) ''Yi Bu Qijiu Zaji'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 45.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

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– ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Fu 195 births 225 deaths Shu Han politicians Politicians from Mianyang