Mi Fang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Names | |
|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese: | 麋芳¹ |
| Traditional Chinese: | 麋芳 |
| Pinyin: | Mí Fāng |
| Wade-Giles: | Mi Fang |
| Zi: | Zifang (子方) |
| ¹ 麋芳 is often (mis)printed as 糜芳 in copies of Romance of the Three Kingdoms in circulation. | |
Mi Fang (169 - ?) was an official under the powerful warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era in ancient China. He was also the younger brother of Mi Zhu, who served the same lord. In 219, Mi Fang surrendered to the Kingdom of Wu, directly resulting in the loss of Jingzhou (荊州, present day Hubei and Hunan) and the death of his superior Guan Yu.
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[edit] Life
A local of the county of Qu (胊, present day Linqu County, Shandong), Mi Fang was born in an extremely rich merchant family. His elder brother Mi Zhu initially served under Tao Qian (陶謙), governor of Xuzhou (徐州, present day northern Jiangsu). Upon his death, Tao Qian passed on the governorship to Liu Bei, to whom Mi Zhu thereafter rendered his service. The rival warlord Cao Cao once attempted to entice Mi Zhu and Mi Fang to defect by offering them governorships of Ying Commandery (嬴郡, northwest of present day Laiwu, Shandong) and Pengcheng respectively but was turned down.
In 213, Liu Bei's most prominent general Guan Yu was given charge of the defense of Jingzhou (荆州, present day Hubei and Hunan). Mi Fang then took up the post of the governor of Nan Commandery (南郡, present day Jiangling, Hubei), the base city of Guan Yu in Jingzhou. Together with Fu Shiren (傅士仁), governor of Gong'an (公安, northwest of presentday Gongan, Hubei), they begrudged Guan Yu for belittling them. In 219, Guan Yu personally led an offensive against Cao Ren in Fancheng (樊城, a district of present day Xiangfan, Hubei), Mi Fang and Fu Shiren were tardy in providing military supplies. Guan Yu threatened to punish them when he returned.
The fearful Mi Fang and Fu Shiren then surrendered to the forces of Sun Quan, lord of the Kingdom of Wu, when the latter launched a surprise attack on Jingzhou. Sandwiched on both sides by enemies, Guan Yu was eventually captured by Sun Quan and executed. Mi Fang then served in Wu as a commander, and he is recorded as having participated in a battle against Wei under the leadership of He Qi.
[edit] Mi Fang in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, both Mi Fang and Fu Shiren (傅士仁) served military posts under Sun Quan after they surrendered to the latter. In Chapter 83, Liu Bei personally led a force against the Kingdom of Wu to avenge his sworn brother Guan Yu. When they discovered that their own troops were harboring plots to kill them and surrender to Liu Bei, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren assassinated Ma Zhong (馬忠), who captured Guan Yu previously, and brought his head to surrender themselves. However, the unimpressed Liu Bei ordered Guan Xing, son of Guan Yu, to execute the traitors before the tablet of Guan Yu.
[edit] References
- Chen Shou (2002). San Guo Zhi. Yue Lu Shu She. ISBN 7-80665-198-5.
- Luo Guanzhong (1986). San Guo Yan Yi. Yue Lu Shu She. ISBN 7-80520-013-0.
- Lo Kuan-chung; tr. C.H. Brewitt-Taylor (2002). Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0-8048-3467-9.
