Lü Boshe

Lü Boshe
A Qing dynasty illustration of Lü Boshe
Names
Traditional Chinese	呂伯奢
Simplified Chinese	吕伯奢
Pinyin	Lǚ Bóshē
Wade–Giles	Lü Po-she

Lü Boshe was an acquaintance of Cao Cao, a prominent warlord who rose to power towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and established the foundation of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period. According to historical sources, Cao Cao killed Lü Boshe's family in 189 or 190 when he passed by Lü's house on his way home to Chenliu (陳留; around present-day Kaifeng, Henan) after escaping from the imperial capital, Luoyang. Cao Cao's motive behind the murders remains ambiguous. One source claimed that he killed Lü Boshe's family in self-defence while two other texts stated that he suspected that Lü's family were plotting to harm him so he killed them preemptively. This event was dramatised in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which Lü Boshe himself also died at the hands of Cao Cao.

There are three accounts of the murders of Lü Boshe's family members.

The Wei Shu (魏書) recorded:

Cao Cao foresaw that Dong Zhuo was doomed to failure so he refused to accept Dong's appointment and escaped back to his hometown. He was accompanied by a few horsemen and they passed by Chenggao (成臯; around present-day Xingyang, Henan) on the journey. There lived Lü Boshe, an acquaintance of Cao Cao. Lü Boshe was not at home at that time. His sons and other guests attempted to rob Cao Cao of his horse and personal belongings. Cao Cao killed several of them.

The Shiyu (世語) recorded:

Cao Cao passed by Lü Boshe's house. Lü Boshe was out but his five sons were at home. They welcomed Cao Cao like a guest and hosted a banquet for him. Cao Cao was on the run from Dong Zhuo at the time and he suspected that they were plotting to harm him. He killed eight persons that night and fled.

The Zaji (雜記) recorded:

Cao Cao heard the sounds of cooking utensils (probably knives) and suspected that they (Lü Boshe's family) were plotting to harm him, so he killed them that night and fled. Afterwards, he heartrendingly remarked, "I'd rather do wrong to others than allow them to do wrong to me!" (寧我負人，毋人負我！) He then continued on his journey.