Wu Ban ( 221–239),

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 ...

Yuanxiong, was a Chinese military general of the state 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 ...

in the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period of China.

Life

Wu Ban was a son of Wu Kuang (吳匡; 180-189), an official who served under the general

He Jin He Jin () (died 22 September 189), courtesy name Suigao, was a Chinese military general and politician. He was the military Grand Marshal and regent of the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an elder half-brother of Empress He (the emp ...

during the reign of Emperor Ling ( 168–189) in the

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 ...

. Like his older relative Wu Yi, he served as a military general in the state of

during the

period and held appointments/positions which were second to those held by Wu Yi. He was known for being bold and chivalrous. During the short reign of

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 ...

( 221–223), the founder and first emperor of Shu, Wu Ban served as a ''lingjun'' (領軍; a military commander). Wu Ban participated in the

Battle of Xiaoting The Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭之戰), also known as the Battle of Yiling and the Battle of Yiling and Xiaoting, was fought between the states of Shu Han and Eastern Wu, in the years 221 and 222 during the early Three Kingdoms period of China. T ...

of 221–222 against Shu's ally-turned-rival state,

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 ...

. In the initial stages of the battle, the units led by Wu Ban and Feng Xi attacked and captured Wu positions at the

Wu Gorge Wuxia Gorge (), sometimes called Great Gorge (), is the second gorge of the Three Gorges system on the Yangtze River, People's Republic of China. Formed by the Wu River, it stretches from Wushan to Guandukou, and is located downstream of Q ...

, which were guarded by the Wu officers Li Yi (李異) and Liu E (劉阿). As the Shu army advanced further, Liu Bei ordered Wu Ban and Chen Shi to lead the Shu navy to station at Yiling (夷陵; southeast of present-day

Yichang Yichang ( zh, s= ), Postal Map Romanization, alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. Yichang had a population of 3.92 million people at the 2022 census, making it the third most pop ...

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 ...

) in between the east and west banks of the Yangtze. After the Shu army passed through the Wu Gorge, Liu Bei instructed Wu Ban to lead a few thousand soldiers out of the mountainous terrain and set up camps on flat ground to provoke the Wu forces to attack them, but failed to lure the enemy out into a trap. The Shu forces ultimately lost the Battle of Xiaoting and retreated back to Shu. Sometime before 231, Wu Ban held the appointment General of the Rear (後將軍) and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Anle Village (安樂亭侯). Wu Ban participated at least to Zhuge Liang's fourth northern campaign against Wei where during the

Battle of Mount Qi The Battle of Mount Qi was a military conflict which took place around Mount Qi (祁山; the mountainous regions around present-day Li County, Gansu) between the states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 231 during the Three Kingdoms period of China. I ...

in 231 along with the officers

Wei Yan Wei Yan () (died October 234), courtesy name Wenchang, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han ...

and Gao Xiang they scored a major victory against Wei army led by

Sima Yi Sima Yi (; ; 179 CE7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 under th ...

, when they killed 3,000 Wei soldiers and seized 5,000 sets of armour and 3,100 crossbows. Sima Yi was forced to retreat back to his camp. Later in 237, he succeeded his cousin Wu Yi as General of Agile Cavalry (驃騎將軍), granted imperial authority, and elevated from a village marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Mianzhu" (綿竹侯). Wu Ban maintained his appointment until at least 239; he is thought to have died by 243 where

Deng Zhi Deng Zhi (178 - 251), courtesy name Bomiao, was a government official, diplomat and military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. A descendant of Deng Yu, Deng Zhi started his career in the late Eastern Han ...

is promoted to General of Agile Cavalry. Yang Xi's ''Ji Han Fuchen Zan'' (季汉辅臣赞), written in 241, did not mention Wu Ban, further suggesting that he died after 241 (as Yang did not mention officials who were still alive when he wrote the work).

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 ...

'', which romanticises the events before and during the

period, Wu Ban is killed in battle during one of

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang () (181September or October 234), also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist, and inventor who lived through the End of the Han dynasty, end of the Eastern Han dynasty ( 184–220) and t ...

military campaigns A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...

against Shu's rival state Wei. He is hit by arrows fired by archers under the command of the Wei officers Zhang Hu (張虎;

Zhang Liao Zhang Liao () (169 – late 222), courtesy name Wenyuan, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He served briefly in the state of Cao Wei, founded by Cao Cao's successor Cao P ...

's son) and Yue Lin (樂綝;

Yue Jin Yue Jin () (died 218), courtesy name Wenqian, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was noted as much for his short stature as for his valour and ferocity on the battlefield. Yue ...

's son), falls into a river and dies.Histoircally, Wu Ban is listed as General of Chariots and Cavalry as late as 239, He likely died around that time of natural causes. (卻說孔明令魏延、馬岱引兵渡渭水攻北原；令吳班，吳懿引木筏兵去燒浮橋；令王平、張嶷為前隊，姜維、馬忠為中隊，廖化、張翼為後隊，分兵三路，去攻渭水旱營。是日午時，人馬離大寨，盡渡渭水，列成陣勢，緩緩而行。卻說魏延、馬岱將近北原，天色已昏。孫禮哨見，便棄營而走。魏延知有準備，急退軍時，四下喊聲大震；左有司馬懿，右有郭淮，兩路兵殺來。魏延、馬岱奮力殺出，蜀兵多半落於水中，餘眾奔逃無路。幸得吳懿兵殺來，救了敗兵過岸拒住。吳班分一半兵撐筏順水來燒浮橋，卻被張虎、樂綝在岸上亂箭射住。吳班中箭落水而死。餘軍跳水逃命。木筏盡被魏兵奪去。) ''Sanguo Yanyi'' ch. 102.

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''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Ban Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Shu Han generals

Life

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

References