Fa Zheng

Fa Zheng
A Qing dynasty portrait of Fa Zheng
Advisor of Liu Bei
Born	176
Died	220 (aged 44)
Names
Traditional Chinese	法正
Simplified Chinese	法正
Pinyin	Fǎ Zhèng
Wade–Giles	Fa Cheng
Courtesy name	Xiaozhi (Chinese: 孝直; pinyin: Xiàozhí; Wade–Giles: Hsiao-chih)
Posthumous name	Marquis Yi (Chinese: 翼侯; pinyin: Yì Hóu; Wade–Giles: I Hou)

Fa Zheng (176–220),courtesy name Xiaozhi, was an adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Born in a family of high social status and of noble descent, Fa Zheng travelled to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) in the late 190s and became a subordinate of Liu Zhang, the provincial governor. However, his feelings of alienation and perception of Liu Zhang as an incompetent governor eventually caused him to betray Liu Zhang and defect to Liu Bei in around 211. From 211 to 214, Fa Zheng assisted Liu Bei in overcoming Liu Zhang and seizing control of Yi Province, and became one of Liu Bei's most trusted advisers. In 217, he urged Liu Bei to launch the Hanzhong Campaign to capture the strategic Hanzhong Commandery from a rival warlord, Cao Cao, but died a year after Liu emerged victorious in the campaign.

Fa Zheng's keen foresight and brilliance in formulating strategies earned him praise from his contemporaries such as Zhuge Liang and Chen Shou. However, he was also notorious for his vindictive personality. When he held office, he abused his power by taking personal revenge against those who had offended him before and killing them without reason. Nevertheless, he was still highly regarded and trusted by Liu Bei – to the point where Zhuge Liang once said that Fa Zheng might have been the only person capable of preventing Liu Bei from starting the disastrous Battle of Xiaoting in 221 if he was still alive.

Fa Zheng's ancestral home was in Mei County (郿縣), Youfufeng Commandery (右扶風郡), which is in present-day Mei County, Shaanxi. His ancestor was Tian Fazhang, who was formally known as King Xiang of the Qi state in the Warring States period. Tian Fazhang's descendants changed their family name from "Tian" to "Fa" after the fall of Qi in 221 BCE.