Lady Mi (190s) was a younger sister of Liu Bei's associate Mi Zhu who arranged a marriage between her and Liu Bei after

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 ...

's wife or wives and children had been captured by

Lü Bu Lü Bu () (died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betr ...

in 196. Though information on her life is scarce, she is mostly remembered for sacrificing her life in the ''

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 ...

'' at the Battle of Changban to assure that Zhao Yun and the infant

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 ...

are safe from their pursuers.

Life

Lady Mi was from Qu County (), Donghai Commandery (), which is present-day

Lianyungang Lianyungang () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its name derives from ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

. She had two brothers: Mi Zhu and Mi Fang from the influential and wealthy Mi clan in the

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 (China), Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one ...

(present-day northern

), who previously served the warlord Tao Qian. After Tao Qian's death, they supported Liu Bei to be the Governor of Xu Province and joined his side. When Lü Bu led his forces to seize Xiapi (下邳; present-day Pizhou, Jiangsu), the capital of Xu Province from Zhang Fei. Mi Zhu sponsored Liu Bei with all of his family wealth and Lady Mi become Liu Bei's first wife during his family absence. Some domestic complications must have followed, for we are told Liu Bei made peace with Lü Bu soon afterwards and his family was returned to him. Lady Mi is never referred to again. Liu Bei's family was captured once more by Lü Bu in 198, to be again returned later, and in 200 he was obliged to abandon his dependants to

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

: that group never rejoined him. Had the Lady Mi been involved in those later incidents, one might expect that she would have been mentioned so she probably died earlier about 197.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

In the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', during the Battle of Changban, Lady Mi was lost in the midst of the battle and was injured while carrying Liu Bei's infant son Liu Shan with her. Zhao Yun went to search for them and found them beside a well. Zhao urged her to follow him but she refused, not wishing to burden him. After entrusting Liu Shan to Zhao, Lady Mi committed suicide by throwing herself into the well. Zhao knocked down a wall to cover the well to prevent their pursuers from finding her body. A poem honored her sacrifice with those lines: The embattled captain had to have his steed; On foot he could not save the little prince. Her death preserved the Liu dynastic line: For bold decision mark this heroine. Later on, when Guan Yu met Liu Bei after they escaped with

Lady Gan Lady Gan (died 210) was a concubine of Liu Bei, the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China and Liu Shan's mother. She was later posthumously honoured as Lady Huangsi which means "the Lady whom the Emp ...

and saw that Lady Mi was absent, he asked his brother why he couldn't see his other sister in law. Liu Bei could only recount her heroic sacrifice to save Liu Shan in Dangyang. Guan Yu sighed and reproached him not going with his advice during Cao Cao's hunting expedition at the capital.''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

In popular culture

Video games

Mei Sanniang from Kessen II is based upon Lady Mi. In the game, she is an old friend of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. She serves as a political adviser and leads a cavalry unit into battle.

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 ...