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 ...
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. He previously served as a regional official in
Liang Province
Liang Province or Liangzhou () was a province in the northwest of ancient China, in the approximate location of the modern-day province of Gansu. It was bordered in the east by Sili Province.
History
Establishment
The province was first con ...
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 ...
. In the 210s, when the warlord
Ma Chao
Ma Chao () (176–222), courtesy name Mengqi, was a Chinese military general and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. A descendant of the general Ma Yuan, Ma Chao was the eldest son of Ma ...
rebelled against the Han central government, occupied Liang Province by force and murdered some of the provincial officials, Yang Fu and his colleagues pretended to submit to Ma Chao. Later, they plotted a revolt against him and succeeded in forcing him out of Liang Province. During the reign of the second Wei emperor
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 ...
, Yang Fu proposed to the emperor to scale down his extravagant construction projects but the emperor ignored him.
Early life
Yang Fu was from Ji County (冀縣; or Jicheng 冀城),
Tianshui Commandery Tianshui Commandery ( zh, 天水郡), known as Hanyang Commandery ( zh, 漢陽郡) during the Eastern Han dynasty, was a historical commandery of China in eastern Gansu. The modern city of Tianshui receives its name from the commandery.
History
Th ...
(), which is around present-day
Gangu County
Gangu County () is a county in the southeast of Gansu province, the People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Tianshui City and is the most populous county in Gansu. Its postal code is 741200, and in 1999 its population was 570 ...
,
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
. He served as a minor official in the local commandery office in his youth. Once, when the military officers in his home commandery sought his opinion on who would win the
battle of Guandu
The Battle of Guandu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in 200 AD in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao's decisive victory against Yuan Shao's numerically superior forces marked the turning point in their war. The victory ...
, he replied that "Lord Yuan (
Yuan Shao
Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred to ...
) is lenient but indecisive, foxy but inconclusive; people won't be afraid of his might since he is indecisive, and he'll let opportunities slip by since he is inconclusive. Even he may be powerful now, he won't achieve anything great in the end. On the other hand, Lord Cao (
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 ...
) has ambition and vision, and he is able to make decisions without hesitation. His army is disciplined and strong, his officers come from a diverse range of backgrounds and are hardworking, so his forces will win." His prediction turned out to be accurate and he became famous throughout Liang Province for his foresight and brilliance. Later,
Wei Kang
Wei Kang (died 213), courtesy name Yuanjiang, was a Chinese politician who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
Early life and career
Wei Kang was from Jingzhao Commandery (京兆郡), which is around present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi. His f ...
, the Inspector of Liang Province, recruited him to be an Attendant Officer.
Struggle for Liang Province
In 211, a coalition of warlords from the west of
Hangu Pass
Hangu Pass or Hanguguan is a pass separating the upper Yellow River and Wei valleys—the cradle of Chinese civilization and seat of its longtime capital Xi'an—from the fertile North China Plain. It lies on the south bank of the Yellow Rive ...
started a rebellion against the Han central government, which was under the control of the warlord
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 ...
. Cao Cao led his forces to fight the warlords at the Battle of Tong Pass and defeated them.
Ma Chao
Ma Chao () (176–222), courtesy name Mengqi, was a Chinese military general and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. A descendant of the general Ma Yuan, Ma Chao was the eldest son of Ma ...
, one of the leading warlords in the coalition, managed to escape to the territory of the Qiang and Hu tribes to recuperate. Cao Cao pressed on his attacks against the remnants of the coalition and pursued Ma Chao to
Anding Commandery Anding Commandery ( zh, c=安定郡, l=Peaceful and Stable) was a historical commandery of China, located in what is now eastern Gansu and southern Ningxia.
History
Anding commandery was carved out of Beidi in 114 BC. Its capital was Gaoping (高 ...
, but pulled back his forces after hearing about unrest in his territories in the east. During this time, Yang Fu warned Cao Cao, "Ma Chao has the courage of
Ying Bu
Ying Bu (died 195 BC) was a warlord and vassal king who lived in the early Han dynasty. He was a native of Lu County (六縣; present-day Lu'an, Anhui). In his early life under the Qin dynasty, Ying Bu was convicted and sentenced to ''qing'' (黥 ...
and
Han Xin
Han Xin (; 231/230–196 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the ear ...
, and he has the support of the Qiang and Hu tribes. If you order the army to retreat now and don't make enough preparations here, we'll forfeit the commanderies in the area."''Sanguozhi'' vol. 25. Cao Cao applauded Yang Fu's proposal but could not adopt it because he had to deal with Su Bo's rebellion in
Hejian Commandery
Hejian Kingdom, also translated as Hejian Principality ( zh, 河閒國), was a kingdom in early Imperial China, located in present-day southern Hebei province.
History
In early Han dynasty, Hejian was part of the Zhao Kingdom. The kingdom was cr ...
and
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 attack on Ruxu.
In 213, as soon as Cao Cao and his army left Liang Province, as Yang Fu foresaw, Ma Chao attacked the commanderies in Liang Province with support from Zhang Lu, a warlord in Hanzhong Commandery. Ma Chao soon besieged Ji County, the last stronghold in Liang Province which remained under Han control. Despite Yang Fu's valiant efforts to resist the enemy, Ji County still fell to Ma Chao, and Yang Fu was forced to submit to Ma Chao. Disgruntled by Ma Chao's cruelty and treachery (including his murder of
Wei Kang
Wei Kang (died 213), courtesy name Yuanjiang, was a Chinese politician who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
Early life and career
Wei Kang was from Jingzhao Commandery (京兆郡), which is around present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi. His f ...
, the Inspector of Liang Province), Yang Fu and other officials in Liang Province secretly hatched a plot to drive Ma Chao out of Liang Province. Yang Fu lied to Ma Chao that he wanted to see to the funeral arrangements for his recently deceased wife and gained permission to leave Ji County. He then used the opportunity to contact the other officials and prepare for their revolt against Ma Chao.
In September 213, Yang Fu started a rebellion against Ma Chao in Lu County to lure Ma Chao to lead his troops out of Ji County to attack him. In the meantime, while Ma Chao was away, the other officials in Ji County responded to Yang Fu's call and killed Ma Chao's wife and child(ren), who were in Ji County. Ma Chao was unable to retake Lu County so he retreated back to Ji County, only to find his family dead and the city gates shut. He then led his remaining forces to attack Li County, where some of Yang Fu's relatives and the families of the officials who rebelled against him were, and killed them in revenge. During the battles against Ma Chao, Yang Fu sustained five wounds over his body and lost seven relatives. Ma Chao eventually gave up on Liang Province and fled to Hanzhong Commandery to join the warlord Zhang Lu.
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 ...
, after the
end of the Han dynasty
The end of the Han dynasty was the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 CE, roughly coinciding with the tumultuous reign of the Han dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian. During this period, the country was thrown into turmoil by the Yellow ...
in 220. He lived through the reigns of the first two Wei emperors, Cao Pi and
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 ...
, and was enfeoffed as a Secondary Marquis.
In 230, the Wei general
Cao Zhen
Cao Zhen (died April or May 231), courtesy name Zidan, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was an adopted son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power in the late Eastern Han dynasty and l ...
led an army to invade Wei's rival state Shu, but the advancement was thwarted by heavy rainfall, which lasted for more than a month and rendered the mountainous paths untraversable. Yang Fu, along with others, advised Cao Rui to order Cao Zhen to withdraw the Wei troops.
Later, when Cao Rui started on his extravagant construction projects and expansion of his imperial harem, Yang Fu repeatedly advised the emperor against such actions. However, Cao Rui ignored his advice. Yang Fu then sought permission to resign from his position as Minister Steward, but was denied. Since then, Cao Rui applauded Yang Fu for his suggestions but seldom acted on them.
Yang Fu died in an unknown year without much family property. He was succeeded by his grandson, Yang Bao (), presumably because his son(s) died early.
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 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– ...
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 ...