Shen Pei (died 204),

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 ...

Zhengnan, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred tow ...

during 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 ...

Xun Yu Xun Yu (163–212), courtesy name Wenruo, was a Chinese military official and politician who served as an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Early life Xun Yu was from Yingchuan Commandery (around ...

, an official serving under Yuan Shao's rival

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 ...

, once said that Shen Pei was "strong of will but without tact".

Life

Shen Pei was from Yin'an County (), Wei Commandery (), which is located north of present-day Qingfeng County,

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

. He started his official career as a subordinate of Han Fu, the Governor of

Ji Province Ji Province, also known by its Chinese name Jizhou, was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. It is referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and ''Rites of Zhou''. It consisted of lands north of the Y ...

. He was known for being stern and upright, but insensitive and tactless, which was why he did not make any significant achievements under Han Fu. In 191, he became a subordinate of the warlord

after Han Fu relinquished his governorship of Ji Province to the latter. In 200 CE, when the

Battle of Guandu The Battle of Guandu was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in 200 AD in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Cao's decisive victory against Yuan Shao's numerically superior forces marked the turning point in their war. The victory ...

broke out between Yuan Shao and his rival

, Yuan Shao put Shen Pei in charge of overall coordination and mobilisation of troops. During this time, Shen Pei caught the family members of Xu You, another of Yuan Shao's advisers, committing crimes so he had them arrested. He then reported the incident to Yuan Shao. Xu You, fearing that he had fallen out of Yuan Shao's favour, escaped from Yuan Shao's camp and defected to Cao Cao's side. Xu You then suggested to Cao Cao to attack Yuan Shao's supply depot, resulting in the tide turning against Yuan Shao and consequently leading to Cao Cao's eventual victory. Two of Shen Pei's sons were captured by Cao Cao's forces during the battle. When rumours started spreading that Shen Pei was planning to betray Yuan Shao, Pang Ji, another of Yuan Shao's advisers, spoke up for Shen Pei. As a result, Shen Pei and Pang Ji became good friends. Yuan Shao died in 202. Before his death, he wanted to designate his youngest son

Yuan Shang Yuan Shang (died December 207), courtesy name Xianfu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the third son and successor of the warlord Yuan Shao. In the 14th-centu ...

as the new Governor of Ji Province, but never made it official. This sparked off a conflict between Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, Yuan Shao's eldest son, as both of them started fighting over the succession. Shen Pei and Pang Ji supported Yuan Shang while other former subordinates of Yuan Shao, such as

Guo Tu Guo Tu (died 205), courtesy name Gongze, was an official and adviser serving under the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Guo Tu was from Yingchuan Commandery (潁川郡), which is around presen ...

and Xin Ping, sided with Yuan Tan. Out of fear that Yuan Tan would seize the succession by force, Shen Pei and Pang Ji forged a will in Yuan Shao's name to make Yuan Shang the new Governor of Ji Province. In 204, Cao Cao took advantage of the internal conflict between the Yuan brothers to attack Ye city, the capital of Ji Province. At the time, Yuan Shang had led his troops to attack Pingyuan () and left Shen Pei and Su You () behind to guard Ye city. During the Battle of Ye city, Su You wanted to defect to Cao Cao's side but was discovered so he fled. Cao Cao then defeated Yuan Shang's forces defending the external perimeter of Ye city. When Yuan Shang turned back from Pingyuan and sent his subordinate Li Fu () to enter Ye city and coordinate with Shen Pei to launch an attack on Cao Cao. However, Cao Cao managed to defeat Yuan Shang and force him to retreat further north. Shen Pei's nephew, Shen Rong (), surrendered to Cao Cao and opened Ye city's gates for the enemy to enter. Before that, Shen Pei had ordered the execution of Xin Pi's entire family after hearing that Xin Pi had defected to Cao Cao's side. After the fall of Ye city, Shen Pei was captured by Cao Cao's forces and executed when he refused to surrender.

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''). * Fan, Ye (5th century). ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'' (''Houhanshu''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to 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:Shen, Pei 204 deaths 2nd-century births 3rd-century executions Executed Han dynasty people Executed people from Henan Generals under Yuan Shao People executed by the Han dynasty by decapitation Politicians from Puyang

Life

See also

References