Pan Zhang (died 234),

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 ...

Wengui, was a military general serving under the warlord

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 ...

during 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 ...

of China. He continued serving in the state of

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

(founded by Sun Quan) during the

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 until his death. Pan Zhang was praised by

Chen Shou Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the ''Records of the ...

as one of the "twelve tiger minister of Jiangdong" (江東十二虎臣).

Early life and career

Pan Zhang was from Fagan County (), Dong Commandery (), which is located east of present-day Guan County, Shandong. In 196, he became a follower of a 14-year-old

, who was then serving as the Chief () of Yangxian County () under his elder brother

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175–200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang w ...

, who controlled many territories in the Jiangdong region. Pan Zhang was a heavy drinker and compulsive gambler, and he had to frequently borrow money to support these habits because his family was poor. When his creditors came to pursue debts, he always claimed that he would pay them back when he became wealthy. Sun Quan felt that Pan Zhang was extraordinary and favoured him, so he sent Pan on a recruitment drive. Pan Zhang returned with more than 100 men and Sun Quan appointed him as a military officer. He became a Major of Separate Command () After defeating some bandits. Later, he was appointed as a ''da shi cijian'' (大巿刺姧; similar to a police chief) in

Wu Commandery Wu Commandery was a commandery of imperial China. It covers parts of the contemporary Northern Zhejiang and Southern Jiangsu. The capital of Wu commandery was Wu (today's Suzhou). Major counties of Wu commandery include Wu (county), Yuhang county, ...

(around present-day

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

) and became famous after achieving success in maintaining high standards of security in the area, as bandits activity were ceased. He was reassigned to be the Chief () of Xi'an County (西安縣; present-day

Wuning County Wuning County () is a county in the northwest of Jiangxi Province, China, bordering Hubei Province to the north. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jiujiang Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

) later. In 200, on the raiding and banditry by Huang Zu forces were disappeared after Pan Zhang put some extermination campaign. Around the time, bandits were rampant in

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Empe ...

(covering present-day

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

and

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

) and its governor

Liu Biao Liu Biao () () (151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Jing Province (coveri ...

was unable to deal with them. However, the bandits did not dare to cross the border into Yuzhang Commandery to pillage the area when they heard that Pan Zhang was stationed there. When an uprising broke out in Jianchang County (建昌縣; west of present-day Fengxin County, Jiangxi), Pan Zhang was reassigned to be the county chief and appointed as Colonel of Martial Vehemence () and then sent to suppress the revolt and succeeded in doing so within a month and managed to gather back 800 soldiers who were scattered during the rebellion. He was summoned to Jianye, the capital of Sun Quan's domain.

Battle of Xiaoyao Ford

In 214, Sun Quan led an army to attack

Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...

, a city defended by

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...

's general Zhang Liao, leading to the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford. Lü Meng and Ling Tong took three commanderies by strategy and led their men with Sun Jiao and Pan Zhang to support Lu Su at Yiyang. When Sun Quan's forces were just setting up their camps outside Hefei, Zhang Liao suddenly led hundreds of troops to attack them, completely catching the enemy off guard. Chen Wu was killed in action while Song Qian and Xu Sheng were defeated and their men dispersed. Pan Zhang chased the deserting soldiers on horseback and executed two of them, forcing the others to return to battle. Sun Quan's forces managed to hold up against Zhang Liao's assault that day despite sustaining heavy casualties, but eventually suffered a crushing defeat when Zhang Liao launched a surprise counterattack while they were withdrawing. Sun Quan was impressed when he heard of Pan Zhang's actions and he promoted Pan to Lieutenant-General (), put him in charge of more troops. and ordered him to garrison at Banzhou ().

Campaigns against Liu Bei

In 219, Pan Zhang participated in a campaign led by Sun Quan's general

Lü Meng Lü Meng () (178 – January or February 220), courtesy name Ziming, was a Chinese military general and politician who served under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Early in his career, he fought in several batt ...

to seize control of

from Guan Yu, a general under

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 ...

. Pan Zhang and Zhu Ran blocked Guan Yu's retreat routes and stationed at Jiashi () when they reached Linju County (臨沮縣; present-day Yuan'an County,

). Guan Yu, along with his son Guan Ping and subordinate Zhao Lei (), were captured alive in an ambush laid by Ma Zhong (), a Major () under Pan Zhang. In recognition of Pan Zhang's contributions, Sun Quan split Yidu and Zigui counties to form Guling Commandery () and appointed Pan as the Administrator () of the commandery. The appointment of Guling commandery were due to

suggestion to Sun Quan. Sun Quan also further promoting him to General Who Inspires Might () and enfeoffing him as the Marquis of Liyang (). After the death of Gan Ning, his units were transferred to Pan Zhang command. This includes Ding Feng, future famous general who at that time served as minor unit commander who at his youth served Gan Ning. In late 221, Liu Bei launched a campaign against Sun Quan to retake Jing Province, 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 ...

of 221–222. Pan Zhang participated in the battle under the leadership of

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 ...

, the frontline commander of Sun Quan's forces. After enduring some initial defeats and months of stalemate, Lu Xun eventually ordered a large-scale counterattack with the use of fire, inflicting a crushing defeat on Liu Bei's forces. During the attack, Pan Zhang's subordinates killed

Feng Xi Feng Xi (died 222), courtesy name Xiuyuan, was a military general of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period. Life Feng Xi was from Nan Commandery (南郡), which is around present-day Jingzhou, Hubei. He served as a general under L ...

. Pan Zhang himself has killed many Shu soldiers. For his achievements during this campaign, Pan Zhang were further promoted to General Who Pacifies the North () and appointed as the Administrator of Xiangyang Commandery.

Campaigns against Wei

In Pan Zhang's later years, he was tasked with defending Sun Quan's territories from invasions by the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

, which was founded by

's son and successor,

Cao Pi Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest son ...

. In late October 222, Cao Pi ordered Cao Xiu, Zhang Liao and

Zang Ba Zang Ba ( 162–230s), courtesy name Xuangao, was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He served the warlord Tao Qian initially, followed by Lü Bu and finally Cao Cao and his succ ...

to attack Dongkou (洞口);

Cao Ren Cao Ren () (168 – 6 May 223), courtesy name Zixiao, was a military general serving during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China under the warlord Cao Cao, who was also his older second cousin. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei – f ...

to attack Ruxu (濡須); and Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang,

Zhang He Zhang He () (died July or August 231), courtesy name Junyi, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei under its first two rulers, Cao Pi and ...

and Xu Huang to besiege Nan Commandery (南郡). In response, Sun Quan put Lü Fan in command of five armies to resist Cao Xiu; Zhuge Jin, Pan Zhang and Yang Can (楊粲) were dispatched to relieve the siege on Nan Commandery which was being defended by Zhu Ran while Zhu Huan defended the fortress of Ruxu from Cao Ren. However, At that time, many soldiers in the city were sick, and those who could fight easily slaughtered by Wei army. Nevertheless, Zhu Ran managed to defend the city and the Wei siege lifted. In 223, Cao Pi launch another offensive by sending Zhang He, Xu Huang, Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang and others to lead armies to attack Nan Commandery () with the objective of capturing the commandery capital

Jiangling County Jiangling () is a county in southern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. Administratively, it is under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou City. History The county name derived from the old name of Jingzhou. Liang dynasty Prince Xiao Yi 蕭繹 ( ...

, which was defended by Zhu Ran. Xiahou Shang sent 30,000 troops to build

pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maxi ...

s for crossing over the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

to Bailizhou (), an island stretching over 100 '' li'' in the river around that area. Zhuge Jin and

Yang Can Yang may refer to: * Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy * Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902 * YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration pr ...

() wanted to lead their men to defend the island but were unable to locate the Wei troops' crossing points. Pan Zhang told them, "The Wei army's morale is very high at the beginning and the tide is low, so we shouldn't fight them yet." They moved to about 50 ''li'' upstream, where Pan Zhang ordered his men to collect thousands of bundles of reeds, attach them onto some large rafts, and set them on fire. The flaming rafts were then allowed to sail downstream and they destroyed the enemy's pontoon bridges. Xiahou Shang sensed that he was in danger of being isolated so he withdrew his forces from the island before his retreat route could be sealed. Pan Zhang moved to Lukou (陸口; at Lushui Lake near present-day Chibi,

) and stationed there. Sun Quan praised Pan Zhang for his efforts and promoted him to General of the Right (). Later, in 227, Pan Zhang followed Sun Quan to a battle against Wei forces at Shiyang County (石陽縣; in present-day Hanchuan,

). During the battle, Wen Ping was surrounded by Sun Quan's 50,000 strong army. Wen Ping firmly defended his position with a smaller army for about 20 days. As Sun Quan decided to retreat, Pan Zhang was tasked with covering the rear as Sun Quan's men were withdrawing after the battle. However, Wen Ping suddenly launched a counterattack as the Wu forces retreated, and Pan Zhang, who lowered his guard that night, could not hold up against the enemy when they attacked. Zhu Ran led reinforcements to resist the enemy's advance until Sun Quan's forces at the front had completely retreated before he withdrew. In 233, Sun Quan ordered Pan Zhang and

Lü Dai Lü Dai (161 – 21 October 256), courtesy name Dinggong, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Lü Dai started his career as a minor official in his h ...

to lead their troops to station at Lukou (陸口; at Lushui Lake near present-day Chibi,

). Later, he instructed them to relocate their garrison to the nearby Puqi (蒲圻; present-day Chibi, Hubei).

Death

Pan Zhang died in 234, and his troops were relocated to be placed under command of

. His cause of death was not recorded in history. His son, Pan Ping (), was exiled to

Kuaiji Commandery Kuaiji Commandery (Chinese: t , s , p ''Kuàijī Jùn''), formerly romanized as K'uai-chi Commandery, was a former commandery of China in the area of Hangzhou Bay. When first established, its capital was at Wu (present-day ...

for poor behaviour. Pan Zhang's wife remained in Jianye and received land and 50 taxable households.

Appraisal

For his courage,

named Pan Zhang as one of the "twelve tiger of Jiangdong" (江東十二虎臣), which were quoted from the evaluation from Zhang Ruyu, who putting those twelve were among the best generals and commanders of Wu kingdom.章如愚：“如程普、黄盖、甘宁、徐盛、潘璋、朱然、朱桓、贺齐、凌统、全琮、吕範，皆智足以御众，勇足以却敌，未有不为守令之职者。” The appraisal of courage and strength of Pan Zhang also given by Lu Ji.“甘宁、凌统、程普、贺齐、朱桓、朱然之徒奋其威。韩当、潘璋、黄盖、蒋钦、周泰之属宣其力。” However, Pan Zhang was known to be rude and violent. He liked to brag about his achievement and even though the number of men he commanded were of several thousands, he acted as if there number reached ten thousand; his prohibitions were severe and Chen Shou commented that every time after a battle, Pan Zhang would set up a market for the distribution of military equipment. Other units would replenish their stocks by taking from him. He led an extravagant lifestyle, even more in his later years. The quality of his personal items and clothing actually exceeded that befitting his rank and status. He also killed wealthy officials or soldiers among his own troops and seized their property for himself and had broken the law on several occasions. When others reported these incidents to Sun Quan, he did not pursue the matter in consideration of Pan Zhang's contributions.(璋為人麤猛，禁令肅然，好立功業，所領兵馬不過數千，而其所在常如萬人。征伐止頓，便立軍巿，他軍所無，皆仰取足。然性奢泰，末年彌甚，服物僭擬。吏兵富者，或殺取其財物，數不奉法。監司舉奏，權惜其功而輒原不問。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 55. Hao Jing, a confucian scholar of

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

, asserted his evaluation that Pan Zhang lawlessness were tolerated due to his powerful service to Sun Quan.郝经：“程普诸将皆江表虎臣，鏖兵卫主，攻坚轧敌，兴王定覇，孙氏兄弟卒立国建号，诸将之力也。若黄盖之水战而用火攻，能用竒者也；蒋钦之不挟私怨而举徐盛；凌统之亲贤下士轻财重义；陈表倾家养士妻子露立，并有良将之规。甘宁之奢侈、潘璋之不法，权皆容之，许宁报苏飞之恩，不使统复父，操之雠驭将之术也。丁奉恃功而骄，不容于虐主，宜哉！”“吴将剽轻，殆多谲计。莫肯下人，卒自称帝。摩创抚孤，动辄流涕。驾驭有术，驱策有方。果保江东，不负桓王。”

In fiction

Pan Zhang appeared as a character in the 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 ...

'' by

Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese writer who lived during the Ming dynasty. He was also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo was attri ...

, which romanticises the historical events before and during the

period. In the novel, Pan Zhang was credited as the person responsible for capturing Guan Yu and Guan Ping an ambush during the Wu invasion of

in 219. He obtained Guan Yu's weapon, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, as a spoil of war. He was killed by

Guan Xing Guan Xing ( third century), courtesy name Anguo, was an official of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. History He was the second son of Guan Yu and a younger brother of Guan Ping. Little information about Guan Xing is f ...

in around 221 during one of the early engagements in the

. See Battle of Xiaoting#Guan Xing killing Pan Zhang for details.

Appendix

Notes

References

Bibliography

* 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''). * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pan, Zhang Year of birth unknown 234 deaths Eastern Wu generals Generals under Sun Quan Eastern Wu government officials Political office-holders in Hubei Politicians from Liaocheng