Sima Yi. Meng Da was captured and executed for treason.
Service under Liu Zhang and Liu Bei
Meng Da originally served
Liu Zhang, the Governor of
Yi Province (covering present-day
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 t ...
and
Chongqing). He defected to another 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 ...
, when the latter
invaded Yi Province in the early 210s and seized control of the province from Liu Zhang. Liu Bei sent Meng Da to guard Jiangling (), and promoted him to Administrator () of Yidu () later after settling Yi Province. Meng Da's original courtesy name was "Zijing", but he changed it to "Zidu" to avoid
naming taboo because "Zijing" was also the courtesy name of Liu Bei's uncle.
In 219, Meng Da was ordered to lead a force from Zigui () to attack Fangling (). After conquering Fangling, Meng Da advanced further north and captured another city, Shangyong (), where he rendezvoused with
Liu Feng, Liu Bei's adoptive son. Later that year, when Liu Bei's general
Guan Yu was
trapped by enemy forces in
Jing Province, Guan requested reinforcements from Liu Feng and Meng Da, but they refused. Guan Yu was eventually captured by forces of the eastern 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 ...
and was executed.
Defection to Wei
Meng Da was afraid that he would be punished for refusing to help
Guan Yu. At the time, his relationship with Liu Feng was also strained. Hence, he brought 4,000 soldiers with him and defected to
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 rival
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 s ...
, who gave him a warm welcome. Meng Da then wrote a letter to Liu Feng, informing the latter that he was in grave danger, because someone close to Liu Bei had spoken ill of him, and he urged Liu Feng to surrender to Wei as well. However, Liu Feng ignored Meng Da's advice and returned to Chengdu, where he was executed by his adoptive father for failing to reinforce Guan Yu and failing to stop Meng Da from defecting.
Cao Pi later ended the Eastern Han Dynasty by forcing
Emperor Xian to abdicate the throne to him, after which he became emperor and established the state of
Cao Wei
Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < : *''ŋjweiC'' < 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 Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
period. In Wei, Meng Da received various important appointments and the title of a marquis. Cao Pi merged the three
commanderies of Fangling, Shangyong and Xicheng () to form a larger commandery, Xincheng (), and he appointed Meng Da as the Administrator () of Xincheng and tasked him with defending Wei's southwestern border. Liu Ye advised Cao Pi, "Meng Da is always looking out for rewards which are not rightfully his, and he is prone to schemes due to his talent. Thus, he will not be grateful to Your Excellency. Xincheng borders Sun Quan's and Liu Bei's territories. If the regional situation changes, it will create troubles for the realm."; Cao Pi ignored Liu. Meng Da became close friends with the Wei officials
Huan Jie
Huan Jie ( 190s–220s), courtesy name Boxu, was a Chinese official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and served under the warlord Cao Cao. After the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, he briefly served in the state of Cao Wei during ...
and
Xiahou Shang.
In 225, Li Hong (), a former Wei subject who surrendered to
Shu Han (a state founded by Liu Bei), came to meet Shu's chancellor
Zhuge Liang and the Shu officials
Jiang Wan and
Fei Shi. Li Hong told them about Meng Da's meeting with a person called Wang Chong (), who told him that Zhuge Liang urged Liu Bei to execute Meng Da's family after Meng defected to Wei, but Liu Bei refused. Meng Da also did not believe Wang Chong.
[(建興三年，隨諸葛亮南行，歸至漢陽縣，降人李鴻來詣亮，亮見鴻，時蔣琬與詩在坐。鴻曰：「閒過孟達許，適見王沖從南來，言往者達之去就，明公切齒，欲誅達妻子，賴先主不聽耳。達曰：『諸葛亮見顧有本末，終不爾也。』盡不信沖言，委仰明公，無復已已。」) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 41.]
Rebellion and death
Zhuge Liang attempted to contact Meng Da and induce him to defect back to Shu, despite objection from
Fei Shi, who remarked that Meng Da was an untrustworthy traitor. By then, the Wei emperor
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 s ...
had died and was succeeded by
Cao Rui, who treated Meng Da less favourably. Meng Da's close friends
Huan Jie
Huan Jie ( 190s–220s), courtesy name Boxu, was a Chinese official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and served under the warlord Cao Cao. After the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, he briefly served in the state of Cao Wei during ...
and
Xiahou Shang had also died, so Meng Da felt isolated and became increasingly disgruntled with the Wei imperial court. After some exchanging of letters between Zhuge Liang and Meng Da, the latter gradually developed animosity towards Wei and harboured the intention of starting a rebellion.
In 228, Zhuge Liang launched the first of a series of
Northern Expeditions against Wei, and he succeeded in persuading Meng Da to assist the
Shu army by rebelling against Wei. However, Meng Da's rebellion plot was leaked out by Shen Yi (), the Administrator of Weixing (), whom Meng Da had a feud with. The Wei general
Sima Yi wrote letters to Meng Da to put the latter in a dilemma on whether to rebel or not, and secretly led an army from Wan (in present-day
Nanyang
Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to:
Written as 南洋 (Southern Ocean)
* Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea
;China
* Nanyang Fleet, Qing ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...
) to attack Meng Da's base in Xincheng. Sima Yi's forces arrived at Xincheng in just eight days and caught Meng Da completely off guard. Meng Da was betrayed by his nephew Deng Xian () and subordinate Li Fu () and his rebellion was swiftly suppressed. He was captured and executed by Sima Yi.
In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''
Meng Da appeared as a 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 ...
''. His
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 Theo ...
in the novel is "Ziqing" (). His role in the novel is mainly centred on the events in the Xincheng Rebellion.
See also
*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
References
*
Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''
Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi'').
*
Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). ''
Book of Jin
The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang ...
'' (''Jin Shu'').
*
Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''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 ...
''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meng, Da
Year of birth unknown
228 deaths
Liu Zhang and associates
Cao Wei generals
Generals under Liu Bei
Political office-holders in Hubei
Cao Wei politicians
Politicians from Shaanxi
Han dynasty generals from Shaanxi
Executed Cao Wei people
People executed by Cao Wei