Zhang Bao (Kingdom of Shu)

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For the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, see Zhang Bao.

Zhang Bao (张苞) was the oldest son of Shu Han general Zhang Fei. There is little information on the historical personage, with Chen Shou's San Guo Zhi merely stating that he died prematurely. However, Zhang Bao appears as a fairly prominent character in Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Zhang Bao's first appearance within the novel was to inform Liu Bei of his father's assassination. It was during this time that he met Guan Xing, second son of Guan Yu, with whom he contested the position of leader of the van. After nearly coming to blows, the two young men were stopped by Liu Bei and made to swear brotherhood to each other. The two were regularly depicted together from that moment onwards.

Zhang Bao was involved in several military campaigns, including Liu Bei's disastrous invasion of Wu and Zhuge Liang's northern campaigns against Wei. In the third campaign, Zhang Bao fell into a gully while pursuing the generals Sun Li and Guo Huai, and died from the resulting injuries. When Zhuge Liang heard of Zhang Bao's death, he was greatly upset, fainting and spewing blood, serving as a prelude to his own eventual death caused by overwork and poor health.