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 ...
Guoshan, 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.
Life
Wang Fu was from Qi County (郪縣), Guanghan Commandery (廣漢郡), which is in present-day
Santai County
Santai County ( zh, t=三台縣, s=三台县, w=San1-t῾ai2 Hsien4, p=Sāntái Xiàn; formerly known as Tungchwanfu) is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Mianyang, in the northeast of Sichuan Province of China.
It ...
,
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 ...
. He started his career as an Assistant Scribe (書佐) under Liu Zhang, the Governor 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, ...
(covering present-day Sichuan 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 ...
).
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 from Liu Zhang, he appointed Wang Fu as the Prefect (令) of Mianzhu County (綿竹縣; southeast of present-day
Mianzhu
Mianzhu ( zh, s=绵竹, t=綿竹, w=Mienchu, p=Miánzhú) is a county-level city of Deyang, Sichuan province in Southwest China.
It has an area of and a population of 510,000 in 2004.
The city was heavily damaged during the 2008 Sichuan earthq ...
, Sichuan). Later, Wang Fu was reassigned to
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 ...
to serve as an Assistant Officer in the Bureau of Deliberations (議曹從事).
In 222, Wang Fu accompanied Liu Bei on a campaign against his ally-turned-rival
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 ...
. After Liu Bei lost 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 ...
against Sun Quan's forces, Wang Fu covered Liu Bei while he retreated and was killed by enemy forces.
In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''
Wang Fu is a minor character 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 ...
'', which romanticises the events before and 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. In the novel, Wang Fu serves as a subordinate of
Guan Yu
Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...
, the general whom Liu Bei puts in charge of guarding
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 ...
while he is away in
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, ...
. Before Guan Yu leaves for the
Battle of Fancheng
The Battle of Fancheng or the Battle of Fan Castle was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in 219 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. It is named after Fancheng in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei, a fortress that played a significant rol ...
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 ...
, Liu Bei's estranged ally, while they are away at Fancheng. Guan Yu ignores Wang Fu's warning. Although he wins a Pyrrhic victory at the Battle of Fancheng, Wang Fu's fears come true as Sun Quan sends his 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 conquer Jing Province in a stealth invasion while Guan Yu is away. As Guan Yu and his remaining troops are trapped and surrounded by Sun Quan's forces in Maicheng, he attempts to break out of the siege while Wang Fu remains behind to guard Maicheng. Later, upon learning of Guan Yu's capture and execution, Wang Fu commits suicide in Maicheng.
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 ...
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 ...