Jiang Wan

Jiang Wan
A Qing dynasty illustration of Jiang Wan
Politician and regent of Shu Han
Born	(Unknown)
Died	246
Names
Traditional Chinese	蔣琬
Simplified Chinese	蒋琬
Pinyin	Jiǎng Wǎn
Wade–Giles	Chiang Wan
Courtesy name	Gongyan (Chinese: 公琰; pinyin: Gōngyán; Wade–Giles: Kung-yen)
Posthumous name	Gong (Chinese: 恭; pinyin: Gōng; Wade–Giles: Kung)

Jiang Wan (died 246), courtesy name Gongyan, was an official of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. In 234, he succeeded Zhuge Liang as the regent for the Shu emperor Liu Shan and for over the next decade continued domestic policies that allowed the Shu Han to prosper. In late 243, Jiang developed a severe illness where over the next three years until his death, began to slowly delegate his responsibilities to his eventual successor and his assistant deputy, Fei Yi and Dong Yun.

Jiang Wan was from Lingling Commandery (零陵; in present-day northwestern Hunan), and both he and his brother-in-law Liu Min (劉敏) were known for their intelligence when they were young. It is not known how he became a subordinate under Liu Bei, but what is known is that when Liu Bei entered and conquered Yi Province (益州; covering the Sichuan Basin and Chongqing), Jiang Wan was part of his army, and after Liu Bei's success, Jiang Wan was made a county magistrate. Once, when Liu Bei visited the county, he was surprised and angered that Jiang Wan was not personally handling the county affairs and was, on that occasion, drunk. He wanted to execute Jiang Wan, but Zhuge Liang persuaded him not to—reasoning that, based on what he knew, Jiang Wan was a capable supervisor and had delegated the matters to proper personnel, and therefore on that occasion could rest. Jiang Wan, however, was still removed from his post. When Zhuge Liang became regent for Liu Bei's son Liu Shan in 223 after Liu Bei's death, he made Jiang Wan a key assistant.

During Zhuge Liang's regency, he appreciated Jiang Wan's talents, and Jiang's role in government gradually grew more and more important. When Zhuge Liang started his Northern Expeditions against the rival state of Cao Wei in 227, Jiang Wan was one of the key officials remaining in the Shu capital of Chengdu to handle domestic matters. In 230, he became a chief assistant to Zhuge Liang, and was in charge of logistics. He made sure that the food and manpower supplies were sufficient, and Zhuge Liang praised him in this way: "Gongyan is both faithful and open-minded, and he and I will together serve the emperor in great things".