Wang Chang (died July or August 259),

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 ...

Wenshu (), was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of

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

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

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 of China.

Early life

Wang Chang was from the same

commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

as Wang Ling, and both of them were already quite well known when they were still young. Wang Chang became a tutor to

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 ...

when the latter was still a prince. After Cao Pi became the emperor of Wei, Wang Chang was appointed as a Gentleman of Scattered Cavalry (), Agriculture Officer () of

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

, and Inspector of

Yan Province Yan Province or Yanzhou was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), it covered roughly present-day southwestern Shandong, eastern Henan, and the northwestern corner of Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ...

(). After Cao Pi died in 226, his successor

Cao Rui Cao Rui () (204 or 206 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later remarr ...

promoted Wang Chang to General Who Spreads Vehemence () and granted the title of a Secondary Marquis. When Wang Chang was serving in Yan Province, he was still concerned about affairs in the imperial court. He felt that the system of governance in Wei, inherited from the

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

and

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

dynasties, was too strict and flawed. He decided to draft a new constitution for the state, and submitted two memorials, ''Discussion on Governance'' () and ''Military Book'' (), to the Wei imperial court.

Battles against Eastern Wu

In 236, Grand Commandant

Sima Yi Sima Yi ( ; 179 CE – 7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 un ...

recommended Wang Chang to the second Wei emperor

as a talent. Wang Chang was appointed as the Inspector of

Xu Province Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the one of the Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ...

and enfeoffed as the Marquis of Wuguan Village (). He was later appointed General Who Attacks the South () and acting supervisor of military affairs in Jing and Yu provinces. Wang Chang noticed that his base at Wancheng was too far away from

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

, an important city on Wei's southern border. Besides, the military camps in that region were quite scattered and their naval force was far away at Xuanchi. If enemy forces from Wei's rival state

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

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

attacked them, their armies would not be able to provide support in time. Hence, Wang Chang changed his base to

Xinye Xinye () is one of the counties of Nanyang that lies in the southwest of Henan province, China. To the south lies the prefecture-level city of Xiangyang in Hubei province, to the east is Tanghe County and to the west is the county-level city of ...

, ordered drills to be conducted for their naval forces, and promoted agriculture to build up food supplies. In 250, the political turmoil in Wu had just ended and the Wu general

Zhu Ju Zhu Ju (194–250), courtesy name Zifan, was an official and military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. A son-in-law of Wu's founding emperor Sun Quan, Zhu Ju served briefly as the fifth Imperial Cha ...

was recently dismissed by

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 ...

and forced to commit suicide. Wang Chang felt that the time was ripe to attack Wu, so he ordered

Zhou Tai Zhou Tai () (died 223), courtesy name Youping, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under Sun Ce, Sun Quan's elder brother a ...

to attack Wu (), Shigui () and Fangling () counties; Wang Ji to attack Yiling (); while he personally led an attack on Jiangling (). Wang Chang's troops used bamboo splints to build bridges to cross 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 ...

and defeated the Wu general

Shi Ji ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

, killing Zhongli Mao () and Xu Min (), returning victorious to Wei with many spoils of war. For his contributions, Wang Chang was promoted to Senior General Who Attacks the South () and promoted from a village marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Jingling" (). In 252, Wang Chang proposed his plan to attack Wu again. At the same time,

Zhuge Dan Zhuge Dan (died 10 April 258), courtesy name Gongxiu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. When he held key military appointments throughout his middle to late career, h ...

Hu Zun HU or Hu may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Hu Sanniang, a fictional character in the ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature * Tian Hu, one of the antagonists in the ''Water Margin'' * Hollywood Unde ...

and

Guanqiu Jian Guanqiu Jian (died 16 March 255), courtesy name Zhonggong, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Guanqiu Jian was from Wenxi County (), Hedong Commandery, which i ...

also proposed their respective plans. The Wei regent

Sima Shi Sima Shi () (208 – 23 March 255), courtesy name Ziyuan, was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, all ...

accepted their proposals and ordered them to attack Wu from three directions. Wang Chang was assigned to attack

Nan Commandery Nan Commandery ( zh, 南郡, "Southern Commandery") was a Chinese commandery that existed from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. Its territories covered present-day central and western Hubei province, as well as parts of Chongqing. The seat ...

, but due to Hu Zun and Zhuge Dan's defeat by the Wu general

Zhuge Ke Zhuge Ke (203 – November or December 253), courtesy name Yuanxun (元逊), was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Zhuge Jin, a military gene ...

, Wang Chang was forced to retreat.

Suppressing rebellions

In 255, the Wei generals

and

Wen Qin Wen Qin (died February or March 258), courtesy name Zhongruo, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He served as the Inspector of Yang Province during the reign of t ...

started a rebellion in

Shouchun Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Huainan. Its po ...

. Wang Chang was promoted to General of Agile Cavalry () and tasked with sending troops to help suppress the rebellion. In 257, another Wei general,

started a rebellion in Shouchun, this time with support from Wu forces. Wang Chang led his army to put pressure on Wu forces at Jiangling, led by

and Quan Xi (), and prevent them from coming to Zhuge Dan's aid. In 258, after Zhuge Dan's rebellion was crushed, Wang Chang was promoted to Minister of Works () and rewarded with an additional 1,000 taxable households in his marquisate. He died in the following year and was granted the

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

"Marquis Mu" ().

Family

*Father: Wang Ze (), served as Administrator of Dai Commandery in the Eastern Han dynasty *Sons: **Wang Hun (), served as a general in Wei and later as

Minister over the Masses Situ was one of the highest ranking government offices in ancient China. Established in the Western Zhou dynasty, it was originally written as (), meaning Administrator of Land. During the Han dynasty, the title became written with the different c ...

under the Jin dynasty, participated in the

conquest of Wu by Jin The conquest of Wu by Jin was a military campaign launched by the Western Jin dynasty against the Eastern Wu dynasty in 280 at the end of the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. The campaign concluded with the fall of Eastern Wu and th ...

in 280 **Wang Shen (), served as Inspector of

Ji Province Ji Province, also known by its Chinese name Jizhou, was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. It is referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Rites of Zhou,Offices of Summer (夏 ...

**Wang Lun (), served as an adviser to the General-in-Chief **Wang Zhan (), served as Administrator of

Runan Commandery Runan Commandery ( zh, 汝南郡) was a Chinese commandery from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern Henan and Anhui provinces. The name referred to its location to the south of Ru River (汝水), a historical river that flowed into the H ...

*Grandsons: **Wang Shang (), Wang Hun's eldest son, held a marquis title, died at a young age **Wang Ji (), Wang Hun's second son, served as a Palace Attendant during the Jin dynasty **Wang Cheng (), Wang Hun's third son, held a marquis title, served as an official during the Jin dynasty **Wang Wen (), Wang Hun's fourth son, served as an official during the Jin dynasty **Wang Cheng (), Wang Zhan's son, served as an Inner Attendant in

Donghai Commandery Donghai Commandery ( zh, 東海郡) was a historical commandery of China from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty. It was located in present-day southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu. Donghai Commandery was established in the Qin dynasty, possibly under ...

*Great-grandsons: **Wang Zhuo (), Wang Ji's eldest son, served as an official **Wang Yu (), Wang Ji's second son, married a Jin dynasty princess, held the title of Marquis of Minyang **Wang Shu (), Wang Cheng's son, served as a Master of Writing and General of the Guards during the Jin dynasty *Great-great-grandson: **Wang Tanzhi (), Wang Shu's son, served as a General of the Household and the Inspector of Xu and Yan provinces during the Jin dynasty

Notes

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''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

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 ...