Fan Kuai (242 – July 189 BC) was a military general of the early

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring in ...

. He was a prominent figure of the

Chu–Han Contention The Chu–Han Contention (), also known as the Chu–Han War (), was an interregnum in Imperial China between the fall of the Qin dynasty and the establishment of the Han dynasty. After the Qin dynasty was overthrown in 206 BCE, the empir ...

(206–202 BC), a power struggle for supremacy over China between the Han dynasty's founder,

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

, and his rival

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (), born Xiang Ji, was a Chinese warlord who founded and led the short-lived ancient Chinese states, kingdom-state of Western Chu during the interregnum period between the Qin dynasty, Qin and Han dynasty, Han dynasties of China, d ...

Early life

Fan Kuai was a close friend of Liu Bang, both from the same hometown of Pei County (present-day Feng County,

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

). In his early days, he was a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

specialized in preparing

dog meat Dog meat, also known as fragrant meat or simply fragrant, is the meat derived from dogs. Historically human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world. In the 21st century, dog meat is consumed to a limited extent in ...

. He married Lü Xu, the younger sister of Liu Bang's wife Lü Zhi, making him an extended kin of the Liu family (later the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

) via

affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Pa ...

Rebelling against the Qin dynasty

Once, Liu Bang released the prisoners he was escorting and became an outlaw on Mount Mangdang (in present-day Yongcheng,

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

). Following the

Dazexiang Uprising The Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising (), August 209 B.C.– January 208 B.C., was the first uprising against the Qin dynasty following the death of Qin Shi Huang. Led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, the uprising was unsuccessful. Name It is also ...

in 209 BC, the magistrate of Pei County also wanted to rebel as well so he heeded

Xiao He Xiao He (257 BC – 16 August 193 BC''xinwei'' day of the 7th month of the 2nd year of Emperor Hui's reign, per vol. 12 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'') was a Chinese calligrapher and politician of the early Western Han dynasty. He served Emperor Gaozu of ...

and

Cao Shen Cao Shen or Cao Can (died 24 September 190 BCE), courtesy name Jingbo (), was a Chinese military general and politician. He served as a chancellor of the Western Han dynasty. He participated in the Chu–Han Contention on Liu Bang (Emperor Gaoz ...

's advice, and sent Fan Kuai to Mount Mangdang to invite Liu Bang and his men back to help him. However, the magistrate changed his mind later and denied Liu Bang entry into the city. The citizens responded to Liu Bang's call and killed the magistrate, allowing Liu and his men to return home. Liu Bang was then known as "Duke of Pei" and Fan Kuai served as one of his close aides and bodyguards. Fan Kuai distinguished himself on the battlefield as a mighty warrior and capable general. He fought in many battles on Liu Bang's side and claimed the heads of enemies in increasing order in each battle, and was rewarded with promotions to higher ranks each time.

Chu–Han contention

Feast at Hong Gate

Fan Kuai is best known for defending Liu Bang at the Feast at Hong Gate, which was actually a trap set to kill Liu. He rushed to Liu Bang's defence when he heard that Xiang Yu's advisor Fan Zeng intended to have Liu killed. Fan Kuai chided Xiang Yu openly, making a speech about Liu Bang's accomplishments and stating that it would be unjust for Xiang to kill Liu. Xiang Yu was impressed by Fan Kuai's bravery and offered him a seat at the feast. Liu Bang escaped from the feast later on the pretext of going to the latrine, with Fan Kuai accompanying him. After the fall of the Qin dynasty, Xiang Yu divided the former Qin Empire into the

Eighteen Kingdoms The historiographical term "Eighteen Kingdoms" ( zh, t=十八國), also translated as "Eighteen States", refers to the eighteen '' fengjian'' states in China created by military leader Xiang Yu in 206 BCE, after the collapse of the Qin dynasty.� ...

, appointed Liu Bang as "King of Han" with the lands of Shu as his fiefdom. Liu Bang seized the lands of the Three Qins and engaged in a long power struggle with Xiang Yu for supremacy over China, historically known as the

. Fan Kuai participated actively in many of the battles between the two contending forces and became famous for his prowess in battle.

Service during the Han dynasty

After the establishment of the Han dynasty, Emperor Gao (Liu Bang) enfeoffed Fan Kuai as the Marquis of Wuyang () in recognition of Fan's contributions to the dynasty's founding. After Fan Kuai's death, he was posthumously conferred the title "Marquis Wu" () while his son Fan Kang inherited his title of "Marquis of Wuyang". Fan Kuai's wife Lü Xu was put to death in the aftermath of the Lü Clan Disturbance in 180 BC and Fan Kang was killed as well. Several months later, Emperor Wen conferred the title on Fan Shiren, another son of Fan Kuai who was not born to Lü Xu.

Modern references

In Chinese folk religion, Fan Kuai is sometimes regarded as a patron deity of butchers. In the action RPG '' Prince of Qin'', Fan Kuai appears as a non-playable character and the player can find out Liu Bang's whereabouts from him. In real life, his direct descendants are still living in Pei County (), the hometown of Fan Kuai. Honoring him by keeping the good name for the family, well known in the local for their effective traditional Chinese medical skills. Fan Lei (), performed a good role in contemporary Chinese Visual Art, and education on Gongbi, extend the good tradition of the Chinese culture.

In Popular Culture

In Romance of Three Kingdoms, Xu Chu the general and guard of

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

, who were known as the "Tiger Warriors" (). Cao Cao claimed him : "This man is my Fan Kuai!" Fan Kuai is the epitome of a brave guard.

References

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

. ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'', Volume 95. *

Ban Gu Ban Gu (AD32–92) was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician best known for his part in compiling the ''Book of Han'', the second of China's 24 dynastic histories. He also wrote a number of '' fu'', a major literary form, part prose ...

et al. ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

'', Volume 41. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fan, Kuai Han dynasty generals 240s BC births Year of birth uncertain 189 BC deaths Deified Chinese men Chu–Han contention people Politicians from Xuzhou Han dynasty chancellors