Mi Fang (died 223),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

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 China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...

in the late

Eastern 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 ...

. He was also the younger brother of Mi Zhu, who also served Liu Bei. In 219, Mi Fang surrendered to Liu Bei's ally-turned rival

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

, directly resulting in the loss of

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in early Chinese texts such as the ''Yu Gong, Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'', and ''Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of E ...

(covering present-day

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

and

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

) and the death of Guan Yu. 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 is 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 of China, 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 ...

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 ...

. He was born in an extremely rich merchant family, which had over 10,000 servants and guests. Mi Fang and his elder brother Mi Zhu were said to be proficient in horsemanship and archery. Along with the Chen clan (led by Chen Gui and Chen Deng), the Mi family served under Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province (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 and Huaiyin (淮陰; in Guangling, south of Xu Province) to counter-attack the warlord

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (155 – 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. He decla ...

in 196.

Zhang Fei Zhang Fei () (; died July or August 221 AD), courtesy name Yide (益德), was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period ...

, who was left behind by Liu Bei to guard Xiapi (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 betrayed a ...

, 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. 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 (小沛, in modern Pei County, Jiangsu) 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 ( zh, s=, t= ; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe ...

, where warlord

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 ...

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), 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 p ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

) 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 joined

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 ...

, the Inspector of Jin Province. After the battle of Jiangling, Liu Bei successfully negotiated with the southern and eastern warlord

to lend him the Nan Commandery (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 (country subdivision), zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong Commandery, Han ...

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

Service under Sun Quan

In 219, Guan Yu launched an

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

against Cao Cao, leaving Mi Fang with the defence of the base city in Jiangling, and Shi Ren 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 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 ba ...

and executed. Mi Zhu was deeply ashamed of his brother's betrayal, and soon died of sickness and wrath. 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 ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...

for his betrayal, but had also been derided by

Yu Fan Yu Fan ( zh, t= , , ; 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 ...

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese language, Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China and one of the three major sta ...

for the very same reason. In July 223, an

commander named Jin Zong, who was in charge of Qichun (; northwestern of today Qichun, Hubei), defected to

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

by launching a rebellion. So

ordered He Qi 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. Like Shi Ren, while Mi Fang's death year or date was not recorded in history, he was mentioned in Yang Xi's ''Ji Han Fuchen Zan'' (季汉辅臣赞), suggesting that he died before 241 (the year the work was published).

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 ormermaster 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 and ...

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

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, 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 of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

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

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms ''Annotated 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 the fall of the Eastern Jin ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Mi, Fang Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Eastern Wu generals Generals under Sun Quan Government officials under Liu Bei Political office-holders in Hubei Politicians from Lianyungang