Mi Fang
| Mi Fang | |
|---|---|
| General of Eastern Wu | |
| Born | (Unknown) |
| Died | (Unknown) |
| Names | |
| Traditional Chinese | 麋芳 |
| Simplified Chinese | 麋芳 |
| Pinyin | Mí Fāng |
| Wade–Giles | Mi Fang |
| Courtesy name | Zifang (Chinese: 子方; pinyin: Zǐfāng; Wade–Giles: Tzu-fang) |
Mi Fang (birth and death dates unknown), courtesy name Zifang, was an official serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He was also the younger brother of Mi Zhu, who also served Liu Bei. In 219, Mi Fang surrendered to Liu Bei's ally-turned rival Sun Quan, directly resulting in the loss of Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) and the death of Guan Yu. The Australian sinologist Rafe de Crespigny notes that Mi Fang had the remarkable record of serving each of the leaders of the Three Kingdoms during his lifetime.
A local of the county of Qu (胊, present day Lianyungang, Jiangsu), Mi Fang was born in an extremely rich merchant family, which had over 10,000 slaves and guests. Mi Fang and his elder brother Mi Zhu were said to be proficient in horsemanship and archery. Along with the Chen clan (led by Chen Gui and Chen Deng), the Mi family served under Tao Qian, Governor of Xu Province (徐州, present day northern Jiangsu).
Upon Tao Qian's death, the influential Mi clan strongly advocated the governorship be passed on to Liu Bei, to whom Mi Fang had his sister married. Thereafter, the Mi brothers joined Liu Bei's army to Xuyi and Huaiyin (淮陰, in Guangling, south of Xu Province) to counter-attack the warlord Yuan Shu in 196 CE. Zhang Fei, who was left behind by Liu to guard Xiapi (capital of Xu Province at the time), killed Cao Bao, the chancellor of Xiapi when Tao Qian was still in charge of Xu Province, after an intense quarrel over some trivial things. Cao Bao's death caused unrest in the city, and the locals opened the city gate for Lü Bu, who then seized control of the city, capturing the families of Liu and Mi during the process. Upon hearing the news, Liu Bei's soldiers started to desert, and the remnant was defeated by the enemy commander Ji Ling. Liu Bei then retreated to Haixi (海西), Donghai Commandery (東海). Faced with enemies on both sides and a lack of supplies, the Mi brothers encouraged Liu Bei and used their personal wealth to support the army. Seeing no other viable option, Liu Bei requested for a truce with Lü Bu, who accepted and returned Liu's family as an act of good faith. In fear of being isolated by Yuan Shu, Lü Bu obstructed further attempt by Yuan to eliminate Liu.
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