Mi Fang (died 223),

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 ...

Zifang, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under 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 ...

in the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

. He was also the younger brother of

Mi Zhu Mi Zhu ( 165–221), courtesy name Zizhong, was a Chinese military general and politician who served under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty, during the Three Kingdoms period, after Liu Bei founded the state of Shu Han. He was a ...

, who also served Liu Bei. In 219, Mi Fang surrendered to Liu Bei's 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 ...

, directly resulting in the loss of

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 ...

(covering present-day

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

and

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

) and the death 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 Australian Sinologist

Rafe de Crespigny Richard Rafe Champion de Crespigny (born 1936), also known by his Chinese name Zhang Leifu (), is an Australian sinologist and historian. He was an adjunct professor in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. ...

notes that Mi Fang had the remarkable record of serving each of the leaders of the Three Kingdoms during his lifetime.

Early life

Mi Fang 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 ...

. He was born in an extremely rich merchant family, which had over 10,000 slaves and guests. Mi Fang and his elder brother

were said to be proficient in horsemanship and archery. Along with the Chen clan (led by

Chen Gui Chen Gui ( 190s), courtesy name Hanyu, was a Chinese politician who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Family background and early career Chen Gui's ancestral home (and probably birthplace too) was in Huaipu County (), Xiapi Comm ...

and Chen Deng), the Mi family served under Tao Qian, the Governor 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 (China), Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one ...

(徐州; present-day northern

Service under Liu Bei

Upon Tao Qian's death, the influential Mi clan strongly advocated the governorship be passed on to Liu Bei, to whom Mi Fang had his sister married. Thereafter, the Mi brothers joined Liu Bei's army to

Xuyi Xuyi County () is under the administration of Huai'an, Jiangsu province, China. The southernmost of Huai'an's county-level divisions, it borders the prefecture-level cities of Suqian to the north and Chuzhou (Anhui) to the south and west. Xuyi is ...

and Huaiyin (淮陰; in Guangling, south of Xu Province) to counter-attack the warlord

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189 ...

in 196.

Zhang Fei Zhang Fei () (died July or August 221 AD), courtesy name Yide, was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who were among the earlie ...

, who was left behind by Liu Bei to guard

Xiapi Pizhou () is a county-level city under the administration of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China. As of 2006 it had a population of 163,000; it borders the Shandong prefecture-level cities of Linyi to the northeast and Zaozhuang to the northwest. Hi ...

(capital of Xu Province at the time), killed

Cao Bao Cao Bao (died 196) was a military officer serving under Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province, during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He became a subordinate of Tao Qian's successor, Liu Bei, after Tao's death in 194. He was killed by ...

, the chancellor of Xiapi when Tao Qian was still in charge of Xu Province, after an intense quarrel over some trivial things. Cao Bao's death caused unrest in the city, and the locals opened the city gate for

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 ...

, who then seized control of the city, capturing the families of Liu Bei and Mi Fang during the process. Upon hearing the news, Liu Bei's soldiers started to desert, and those that remained were defeated by the enemy commander

Ji Ling Ji Ling ( 196) was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shu during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In historical records In late 196, Yuan Shu sent Ji Ling to lead 30,000 troops to attack a rival warlord Liu Bei. When Liu Be ...

. Liu Bei then retreated to Haixi (), Donghai Commandery (). Faced with enemies on both sides and a lack of supplies, the Mi brothers encouraged Liu Bei and used their personal wealth to support the army. Seeing no other viable option, Liu Bei sought a truce with Lü Bu, who accepted the proposal and returned Liu Bei's family as an act of good faith. In fear of being isolated by Yuan Shu, Lü Bu obstructed further attempts by Yuan Shu to eliminate Liu Bei. Liu Bei moved his camp to Xiaopei where he was financially supported by the Mi brothers to rebuild his army, gathering over 10,000 men. Lü Bu became concerned and attacked Xiaopei. Liu Bei then fled to

Xuchang Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast, and Pi ...

, where 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 of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

had set his base. While Liu Bei served under Cao, Cao Cao enticed Mi Zhu and Mi Fang by offering them governorships of Ying Commandery (嬴郡; northwest of present-day

Laiwu Laiwu () was a prefecture-level city in central Shandong Province, China. Bordered the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east and Tai'an to the southwest, it was the smallest prefecture-level city in the province. It had a ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

) and Pengcheng Commandery respectively, but both chose to follow Liu Bei when their brother-in-law left Cao Cao, giving up the high positions for an unknown future. Later, Liu Bei betrayed Cao Cao, and fled to the south after being defeated several times by Cao Cao. After the battle of Jiangling, Liu Bei successfully negotiated with the southern warlord

to lend him the

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 ...

(南郡; present-day Jiangling, Hubei) of

, and Mi Fang was assigned the post of the Administrator of the commandery. When Liu Bei embarked for

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, ...

, Mi Fang was ordered to stay behind with Guan Yu in Jing Province.

Service under Sun Quan

In 219, Guan Yu launched an invasion against Cao Cao, leaving Mi Fang with the defence of the base city in Jiangling, and

Shi Ren Shi Ren ( 200s–220), courtesy name Junyi, was an official serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Life Shi Ren was from Guangyang Commandery (廣陽郡), which is located southwest of present-day Daxing District, ...

in Gong'an County. Earlier, Mi Fang had accidentally set some military equipment ablaze, and Guan threatened to dish out harsh punishment should he triumph over Cao Cao. As a result, Mi Fang was afraid of Guan Yu. Mi Fang received letters from Sun Quan, who was also a brother-in-law to Liu Bei, who was also angered by Guan Yu's insolence. Thus, when Sun Quan launched a

surprise attack Military deception (MILDEC) is an attempt by a military unit to gain an advantage during warfare by misleading adversary decision makers into taking action or inaction that creates favorable conditions for the deceiving force. This is usually ac ...

on Jiangling, Mi Fang listened to Shi Ren's suggestion and surrendered to Sun Quan. Sandwiched on both sides by enemies, Guan Yu was captured by

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 ...

and executed. Mi Zhu was deeply ashamed of his brother's betrayal, and soon died of sickness. Mi Fang was not only blackened by Yang Xi () of

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

Yu Fan Yu Fan (, , ; 164–233), courtesy name Zhongxiang, was a Chinese essayist, politician, and writer of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Initially a minor officer under Wang Lang, the Administrator of Kuaiji Com ...

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

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

for the very same reason. In June 223, an

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

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

commander named

Jin Zong The Battle of Qichun took place in June 223 between the state of Cao Wei and the kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. After the Battle of Dongkou, a Wu general Jin Zong (晋宗) defected to Wei and moved north of ...

, who was in charge of Qichun (), defected to

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

by launching a rebellion. So

ordered

He Qi He Qi (died 227), courtesy name Gongmiao, was a military general serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty, and later in the state of Eastern Wu during the early Three Kingdoms period of China. He was es ...

to put down the rebellion. Mi Fang then served under He Qi as a commander, along with another two generals named Liu Shao (劉邵, not to be confused with 劉劭) and Xianyu Dan (). They succeeded in their mission, capturing Jin Zong alive and retaking Qichun. That was the last historical record of Mi Fang, after which he was not mentioned again.

Anecdotes

Once, Mi Fang's boat met with that of Yu Fan in a narrow waterway, the servants on Mi Fang's boat demanded Yu Fan to move out of the way by shouting: "Get out of the way for our general's boat." Yu Fan shouted back angrily in response: "How can one serve the lord when he had lost his loyalty? And how can one be called a general when he caused his

ormer Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae. Other common names are ear shells, sea ears, and, rarely, muttonfish or mutto ...

master to lose two cities?" Mi Fang was very ashamed and let Yu Fan's boat to pass instead. Another incident also involved Yu Fan when he had to pass through Mi Fang's camp. The officers at Mi Fang's camp did not open the gates, and Yu Fan angrily shouted: "How can one do this when what is supposed to be open is closed, but what is supposed to be closed is open instead?" Mi Fang was even more ashamed than he was in the waterway.(翻常乘船行，与麋芳相逢，芳船上人多欲令翻自避，先驱曰：“避将军船！”翻厉声曰："失忠与信，何以事君？倾人二城，而称将军，可乎？"芳阖户不应而遽避之。后翻乘车行，又经芳营劳，吏闭门，车不得过。翻复怒曰："当闭反开。当开反闭。岂得事宜邪？"芳闻之，有惭色。) ''Sanguozhi'', vol.57 Despite the ridicule, Sun Quan still treated Mi Fang with trust and dignity.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

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 ...

'', both Mi Fang and Shi Ren (erroneously referred to as "Fu Shiren" in the novel) served in the

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

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

military after they surrendered to

. In chapter 83, Liu Bei personally led a force against Eastern Wu to avenge Guan Yu. When they discovered that their men were plotting to kill them and surrender to Liu Bei, Mi and Fu assassinated their superior Ma Zhong () and surrendered to Liu Bei. However, the unimpressed Liu ordered

Guan Xing Guan Xing ( third century), courtesy name Anguo, was an official of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. History He was the second son of Guan Yu and a younger brother of Guan Ping. Little information about Guan Xing ...

, son of Guan Yu, to execute the traitors as a sacrifice to Guan Yu.

Notes

# 麋芳 is often (mis)printed as 糜芳 in copies of the historical novel ''

'' in circulation.

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''). * * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * 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''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Mi, Fang Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Eastern Wu generals Generals under Sun Quan Han dynasty generals from Jiangsu Han dynasty politicians from Jiangsu Officials under Liu Bei Political office-holders in Hubei Politicians from Lianyungang

Early life

Service under Liu Bei

Service under Sun Quan

Anecdotes

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

Notes

References