Lü Fan (died 228),

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 ...

Ziheng, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the 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 ...

during 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 ...

of China. He continued serving in the state of

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

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

during the early

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.

Early life

Lü Fan was from Xiyang County (),

Runan Commandery Runan Commandery ( zh, 汝南郡) was a Chinese commandery from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern Henan and Anhui provinces. The name referred to its location to the south of Ru River (汝水), a historical river that flowed into th ...

(), which is around present-day

Taihe County, Anhui Taihe County () is a county in northwestern Anhui Province, China, bordering Henan Province to the north. It is under the administration of Fuyang () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Bozhou to the n ...

. He married a woman from a certain Liu family. He started his career as a minor official under 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 ...

. During this time, he met

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175–200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when ...

, a general under Yuan Shu, and became close friends with him. Since then, he had accompanied Sun Ce on the battles he fought under Yuan Shu's banner, and later in the battles that Sun Ce fought as a warlord in his own right. It is said that Lü Fan recommended himself to Sun Ce through a game of

weiqi Go is an abstract strategy board game for two players in which the aim is to surround more territory than the opponent. The game was invented in China more than 2,500 years ago and is believed to be the oldest board game continuously played to ...

– after Sun Ce made a bad opening move, Lü Fan capitalised on it and pointed out the mistake. Sun Ce was suitably impressed and offered Lü Fan a post. Rather than accept a high and lofty position, however, Lü Fan insisted upon remaining in a low one where he could more effectively manage troops. Sun Ce was further impressed and since then the two became inseparable. The game of weiqi in question, called the "Sun-Lü Game", is purported to be the first weiqi game to be recorded move for move, but many scholars doubt its authenticity. After this, Lü Fan was appointed as a Chief Controller.

Career under Sun Ce

At one point during the beginning of Sun Ce's career as a warlord, he sent Lü Fan to fetch his family from

Guangling Commandery Guangling Commandery ( zh, 廣陵郡) was a historical commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in present-day central Jiangsu province in central coastal China. It was named after Guangling, a historical name of Yangzhou. In e ...

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 ...

to his new base in Qu'e County. Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province, despised Sun Ce and wanted to have Lü Fan arrested as a spy and tortured, but some of his

retainers Retainer may refer to: * Retainer (orthodontics), devices for teeth * RFA ''Retainer'' (A329), a ship * Retainers in early China, a social group in early China Employment * Retainer agreement, a contract in which an employer pays in advance for w ...

freed Lü Fan and helped him escape from Guangling Commandery with Sun Ce's family. Sun Ce trusted Lü Fan so highly that he treated him like a member of the Sun family and even allowed Lü Fan to dine in the presence of his mother, Lady Wu. Lü Fan was third only to

Cheng Pu Cheng Pu () (died after 210), courtesy name Demou, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He previously served under Sun Quan's predecessors: Sun Jian (Sun ...

and Xu Kun in terms of merit, having followed Sun Ce in his conquests in the Jiangdong region from 194 to 199. His unit defeated and killed Yan Baihu's subordinate, Chen Mu. However, Lü Fan was concerned about the quality of Sun Ce's army. He feared that though their forces had grown, it comprised mostly untrained rabble with just a few veterans supporting them. Lü Fan believed that such an army could achieve limited success at best. As such, he requested that Sun Ce transfer him to his personal staff and make him the commander of his forces. At the time a marshal was simply a minor staff officer responsible for training and drilling the troops. As he saw that this was a demotion for Lü Fan, Sun Ce tried to talk Lü Fan out of it, but the latter insisted and managed to convince Sun Ce to agree to his request. Lü Fan thus took charge of training Sun Ce's troops. As Sun Ce was the supreme commander of the military forces in the Jiangdong region, Lü Fan's authority extended to the units under the command of Sun Ce's subordinates, effectively giving him control over the entire military administration in Jiangdong. In 197, when Yuan Shu declared himself emperor – an act deemed treasonous against the figurehead Emperor Xian of the Han dynasty – Sun Ce broke ties with Yuan Shu and joined other warlords in a two-year-long campaign against the

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

. Chen Yu, who was sent by 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 of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

to assist Sun Ce in the campaign against Yuan Shu, secretly plotted to destroy Sun Ce from within. However, Sun Ce sensed Chen Yu's intentions and sent Lü Fan to deal with him. Lü Fan defeated Chen Yu in battle and forced him to retreat north. Around 199, after defeating Yuan Shu's remnants, the minor warlord Liu Xun, as well as

Huang Zu Huang Zu (, ) (died 208) was Chinese military general and politician during the Eastern Han dynasty. . He served as the Administrator of Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei) under Liu Biao, the Gove ...

and

Liu Biao Liu Biao () () (151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Jing Province (coveri ...

at the Battle of Sha County, Sun Ce wrote a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...

to the Han central government to recommend Lü Fan to be the Administrator of Guiyang Commandery, among other things.

Career under Sun Quan

Following Sun Ce's death in the year 200, his younger brother

succeeded him and took control over his territories and forces in the Jiangdong region. In 208, the warlord

, who controlled the Han central government, led a massive army to attack his rivals,

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 ...

and Sun Quan, in southern China. Sun Quan heeded the advice of Zhou Yu and

Lu Su Lu Su (172–217), courtesy name Zijing, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty. In the year 200, when Sun Quan had just taken over the reins of power, his adviser Zh ...

, and decided to ally with Liu Bei against Cao Cao. Lü Fan participated in the

Battle of Red Cliffs The Battle of Red Cliffs, also known as the Battle of Chibi, was a decisive naval battle in the winter of AD 208–209 at the end of the Han dynasty, about twelve years prior to the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history ...

in the winter of 208–209 under Zhou Yu's command; the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao's larger army in this decisive battle. After the victory at Red Cliffs, Liu Bei visited Sun Quan at his capital. While he was there, Lu Fan secretly advised Sun Quan to have Liu Bei keep as an hostage however Sun Quan refused. Lü Fan continued serving under Sun Quan after the end of the Eastern Han dynasty in 220. Although Sun Quan initially agreed to be a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

king under the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < 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 ...

), he broke ties with Cao Pi and declared independence in 222 as the ruler of his own

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

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...

regime. In 223, Lü Fan led the Wu forces during the Battle of Dongkou against Wei forces led by

Cao Xiu Cao Xiu (died 29 September 228?), courtesy name Wenlie, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. A distant younger relative of the warlord Cao Cao, Cao Xiu started his career in the late Ea ...

and

Zang Ba Zang Ba ( 162–230s), courtesy name Xuangao, was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He served the warlord Tao Qian initially, followed by Lü Bu and finally Cao Cao and his s ...

. The situation was highly unfavourable for Wu at the beginning: the Wu fleet came under heavy attack and much of the fleet was destroyed in a storm. To add on to their troubles,

Sun Lang Sun Lang (190 - 220s) was a son of the Chinese warlord Sun Jian, who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He was a half-brother of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period. Life Little is reco ...

, a younger half-brother of Sun Quan, accidentally burnt down the Wu forces' supply of food and weaponry. However, due to the efforts of Lü Fan's subordinates Sun Shao and

Xu Sheng Xu Sheng (died 222–229), courtesy name Wenxiang, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life and career Xu Sheng was from Ju County (), Langya ...

, the Wu forces were able to stage a counterattack and barely win the battle. After the Battle of Dongkou, Sun Quan appointed Lü Fan as the Governor of

Yang Province Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and ''Rites of Zhou''. Name There are four different theories regarding the origin of the ...

. In 228, he further promoted Lü Fan to the position of Grand Marshal, but Lü Fan, who was already critically ill then, died of illness before assuming his new appointment. Sun Quan wept bitterly upon learning of Lü Fan's death and called his name repeatedly.

Appraisal

Lü Fan as a man was friendly and possessed majectic apparence. Even the men put in charge of whole province such as Lu Xun (Eastern Wu) and

Quan Cong Quan Cong (196–247 or 198–249), courtesy name Zihuang, was a Chinese military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in present-day Hangzhou towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Quan Co ...

would show great reverence toward him. At the time, his depense for his house and clothes were extravagant yet he was diligent and assiduous in his duties therefore Sun Quan was pleased by his merits and wasn't bothered by his excess. Like his brother before him, Sun Quan highly trusted Lü Fan even though they previously had some disagreements – Sun Quan, being young and foolhardy, often embezzled official funds for his personal interests and expected Lü Fan to cover up for him. Lü Fan, however, remained honest and reported Sun Quan's behaviour to Sun Ce, causing Sun Quan to dislike him. Nevertheless, as Sun Quan grew older and became more mature, he started to see Lü Fan in a different light and admired his honesty.(初策使範典主財計，權時年少，私從有求，範必關白，不敢專許，當時以此見望。權守陽羨長，有所私用，策或料覆，功曹周谷輒為傅著簿書，使無譴問。權臨時悅之，及後統事，以範忠誠，厚見信任，以谷能欺更簿書，不用也。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 56.

Family

Lü Fan had at least two sons. The elder one, whose name is not recorded in history, died early. The younger one, Lü Ju, inherited his father's marquis title and rose through the ranks to become General of Agile Cavalry () during the reign of the second Wu emperor, Sun Liang.

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 ...