Zang Ba
| Zang Ba | |
|---|---|
| General of Cao Wei | |
| Born | c. 162 |
| Died | c. 230s |
| Names | |
| Traditional Chinese | 臧霸 |
| Simplified Chinese | 臧霸 |
| Pinyin | Zāng Bà |
| Wade–Giles | Tsang Pa |
| Courtesy name | Xuangao (Chinese: 宣高; pinyin: Xuāngāo; Wade–Giles: Hsüan-kao) |
| Posthumous name | Marquis Wei (Chinese: 威侯; pinyin: Wēi Hóu; Wade–Giles: Wei Hou) |
Zang Ba (c. 162 – 230s),courtesy name Xuangao, was a general who lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period. He served the warlord Tao Qian initially, followed by Lü Bu and finally Cao Cao and his successors, but for the most part of his career, he remained semi-autonomous over his troops and eastern China. The years of his birth and death are not recorded, but he served Cao Wei until the reign of Cao Rui. During his life he was granted autonomous power over Qing Province and Xu Province. He would eventually hold the title of marquis of various counties within, but by the time of his death held the prestigious title of Mayor of the Capital (執金吾). Zang was an arrogant general, but also a powerful regional leader who contributed much to the state of Wei. He was a rare case in which an insolent subordinate like him enjoyed a good ending.
Zang Ba was originally from Huaxian (華県), Taishan Prefecture (泰山郡). According to Records of the Three Kingdoms by the Jin dynasty historian, Chen Shou, his father, Zang Jie, who served as a prison warden in the Huaxian region, was displeased with the Grand Administrator's (太守) abuse of laws to order the death of the locals. Thus, he stopped obeying the orders of the Grand Administrator, and the latter, greatly angered, had Zang Jie arrested and decided to transfer him to the region's capital. Zang Ba, although only 18 at the time, led a mafia of some 20 or 30 men to rescue his father. Although there were over 100 soldiers escorting Zang Jie, none of them dared to stop Zang Ba. Henceforth, father and son became refugees, but Zang Ba's bravery also became well known.
After the national breakout of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Zang entered the service of the governor of Xu Province, Tao Qian, and gathered adventures and gangsters around the area to fight the Yellow Turbans. Within his recruits, Sun Guan (孫観), Wu Dun (吳敦), Yin Li, and Chang Xi (昌豨) were the most outstanding, and together they protected the province from the rebels. But they did not return to Tao after the campaign, instead, they camped at Kaiyang (開陽) and established independency.
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