Zhang Fei (died 221), style name Yide, was a military general who served under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who were among the earliest to join Liu Bei, shared a brotherly relationship with their lord and accompanied him on most of his early exploits. Zhang Fei fought in various battles for Liu Bei, including: the Red Cliffs campaign (208–209), Liu Bei’s takeover of Yi Province (212–215) and the Hanzhong Campaign (218–219). He was assassinated by his subordinates in 221 after serving for only a few months in the state of Shu Han (founded by Liu Bei earlier that year).
Red Cliffs campaign
Battle of Changban
In 208, following Liu Biao’s death, Cao Cao started a campaign aimed at wiping out opposing forces in southern China. When his armies arrived in Jing Province, Liu Biao’s younger son and successor Liu Cong surrendered. Liu Bei evacuated Xinye and headed south with his followers towards Xiakou (夏口; in present-day Wuhan, Hubei), which was controlled by Liu Biao’s elder son, Liu Qi. Cao Cao sent 5,000 riders to pursue Liu Bei, and they caught up with him at Changban (長阪), Dangyang (當陽). Liu Bei abandoned his family and fled, with only Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and a few tens of soldiers accompanying him.(曹公以江陵有軍實，恐先主據之，乃釋輜重，輕軍到襄陽。聞先主已過，曹公將精騎五千急追之，一日一夜行三百餘里，及於當陽之長坂。先主棄妻子，與諸葛亮、張飛、趙雲等數十騎走，曹公大獲其人衆輜重。) Sanguozhi vol. 32. Zhang Fei led 20 horsemen to cover Liu Bei’s retreat. After having a bridge destroyed, he stood guard at one end (facing the enemy), brandished his spear, glared at the enemy, and shouted, "I’m Zhang Yide. You can come forth and fight me to the death!" Cao Cao’s soldiers were all afraid and did not dare to approach him. Liu Bei and his followers were hence able to retreat safely.(表卒，曹公入荊州，先主奔江南。曹公追之，一日一夜，及於當陽之長阪。先主聞曹公卒至，棄妻子走，使飛將二十騎拒後。飛據水斷橋，瞋目橫矛曰：「身是張益德也，可來共決死！」敵皆無敢近者，故遂得免。) Sanguozhi vol. 36.
Battle of Red Cliffs and after
In 208, Liu Bei and Sun Quan combined forces and defeated Cao Cao at the decisive Battle of Red Cliffs and the follow-up Battle of Jiangling, after which Liu took control of southern Jing Province. Zhang Fei was appointed as "General Who Attacks Barbarians" (征虜將軍), Administrator (太守) of Yidu (宜都), and granted the title of "Marquis of Xin Village" (新亭侯). He was later reassigned to Nan commandery (南郡; around present-day Jingzhou, Hubei).(先主旣定江南，以飛為宜都太守、征虜將軍，封新亭侯，後轉在南郡。) Sanguozhi vol. 36.
In fiction
In the novel, Zhang Fei’s style name is written as 翼德 in Chinese instead of 益德, but both names have the same pronunciation. Zhang Fei was also described to be an alcoholic, and his obsession with wine caused his judgement to be affected from time to time. Throughout the novel, Zhang Fei was shown as an exceedingly loyal and formidable warrior, but also a short-tempered man, who often got into trouble more often when he was not on the battlefield. His weapon was a "1.8 zhang long steel spear" (丈八點鋼矛), which was also called a "1.8 zhang long serpent spear" (丈八蛇矛) because its head was shaped like a serpent.
See the following for some fictitious stories in Romance of the Three Kingdoms involving Zhang Fei:
- Oath of the Peach Garden
- List of fictitious stories in Romance of the Three Kingdoms#Zhang Fei thrashes the imperial inspector
- Battle of Hulao Pass
- Battle of Changban#In fiction
- Battle of Jiameng Pass
Early career
Zhang Fei was a native of Zhuo commandery (涿郡), which is in present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei. In the 180s, towards the end of the Han Dynasty, he and Guan Yu became Liu Bei’s followers. As Guan Yu was many years older than Zhang Fei, the latter regarded him as an elder brother.(張飛字益德，涿郡人也，少與關羽俱事先主。羽年長數歲，飛兄事之。) Sanguozhi vol. 36. When Liu Bei was later appointed as the Chancellor (相) of Pingyuan (平原; present-day Pingyuan County, Dezhou, Shandong) by the Han imperial court, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu served as "Majors of Separate Command" (別部司馬) under him. The three of them shared a brotherly-like relationship, to the point of sharing the same room. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu also stood guard beside Liu Bei when he sat down at meetings. They followed him on his exploits and protected him from danger.(先主於鄉里合徒衆，而羽與張飛為之禦侮。先主為平原相，以羽、飛為別部司馬，分統部曲。先主與二人寢則同牀，恩若兄弟。而稠人廣坐，侍立終日，隨先主周旋，不避艱險。) Sanguozhi vol. 36.
Roaming the land with Liu Bei
In 199, Liu Bei found an excuse to leave the capital and he travelled to Xu Province and killed Che Zhou, the provincial governor appointed by Cao Cao, and seized control of the province. The following year, Cao Cao launched an eastern campaign to take back Xu Province and he defeated Liu Bei. Liu Bei fled to northern China, where he took refuge under Cao Cao’s rival, Yuan Shao. Liu Bei later left Yuan Shao on the pretext of helping Yuan recruit the rebels in Runan (汝南; present-day Runan County, Zhumadian, Henan). He eventually found shelter under Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province. Liu Biao put him in charge of Xinye (新野; present-day Xinye County, Nanyang, Henan), a commandery on the northern border of Jing Province. It is not known whether Zhang Fei followed Liu Bei to join Yuan Shao after Liu’s defeat in Xu Province, or whether he, like Guan Yu, was separated from Liu during that period of time.(… 先主還紹軍，陰欲離紹，乃說紹南連荊州牧劉表。紹遣先主將本兵復至汝南，與賊龔都等合，衆數千人。 … 曹公旣破紹，自南擊先主。先主遣麋笁、孫乾與劉表相聞，表自郊迎，以上賔禮待之，益其兵，使屯新野。) Sanguozhi vol. 32.(先主背曹公依袁紹、劉表。) Sanguozhi vol. 36.
Conflict between Liu Bei and Lü Bu
In 194, Liu Bei succeeded Tao Qian as the Governor (牧) of Xu Province. The following year, he led his forces to Shiting (石亭), Huaiyin (淮陰), to counter an invading army sent by Yuan Shu, while leaving Zhang Fei behind to defend Xiapi (下邳; present-day Pizhou, Xuzhou, Jiangsu), the capital of Xu Province. Zhang Fei wanted to kill Cao Bao, a former officer under Tao Qian, for reasons unknown. Cao Bao fled back to his own camp and set up defences, while sending a messenger to request aid from Lü Bu, another warlord who was taking shelter under Liu Bei at that time. Lü Bu led his forces to attack Xiapi and succeeded in defeating and driving away Zhang Fei.(英雄記曰：備留張飛守下邳，引兵與袁術戰於淮陰石亭，更有勝負。陶謙故將曹豹在下邳，張飛欲殺之。豹衆堅營自守，使人招呂布。布取下邳，張飛敗走。) Yingxiong Ji annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 32.Another account stated that Zhang Fei killed Cao Bao in a quarrel. See the article on Cao Bao for details.
Liu Bei returned to Xu Province, which was now under Lü Bu’s control, and he reluctantly accepted the latter’s offer to move to Xiaopei while the latter would remain in Xiapi. Tensions between Liu Bei and Lü Bu increased until the point of conflict, when Liu Bei sought help from Cao Cao, a warlord who was the de facto head of government in the Han imperial court. Cao Cao and Liu Bei combined forces and they defeated Lü Bu at the Battle of Xiapi in 198, after which they returned to the imperial capital Xu (許; present-day Xuchang, Henan) together. In Xu, Zhang Fei was appointed as a "General of the Household" (中郎將).(先主從曹公破呂布，隨還許，曹公拜飛為中郎將。) Sanguozhi vol. 36.
Yi Province campaign
Earlier defence of Jing Province
In 211, Liu Bei led an army to Yi Province (益州; covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) to assist the provincial governor Liu Zhang in countering a rival warlord, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong. He left Zhang Fei and others behind to guard Jing Province in his absence. Earlier in 209, Liu Bei married Sun Quan’s younger sister Lady Sun to strengthen the alliance between him and Sun Quan. Because of her brother’s strong influence, Lady Sun was arrogant and she allowed her close aides to behave lawlessly. Even Liu Bei was afraid of her. When Sun Quan heard that Liu Bei had left for Yi Province, he sent a vessel to Jing Province to fetch his sister home. Lady Sun attempted to bring along Liu Bei’s son Liu Shan with her, but Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun led their men to blockade the river and they retrieved Liu Shan.(先主入益州，雲領留營司馬。此時先主孫夫人以權妹驕豪，多將吳吏兵，縱橫不法。先主以雲嚴重，必能整齊，特任掌內事。權聞備西征，大遣舟船迎妹，而夫人內欲將後主還吳，雲與張飛勒兵截江，乃得後主還。) Yun Biezhuan annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 36.
Conquest of Yi Province
Around 212, relations between Liu Bei and Liu Zhang deteriorated to the point of conflict, where Liu Bei started a campaign aimed at seizing Yi Province from Liu Zhang. Liu Bei ordered Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei and others to lead reinforcements into Yi Province to help him, while Guan Yu would remain behind to defend Jing Province.(先主軍益強，分遣諸將平下屬縣，諸葛亮、張飛、趙雲等將兵溯流定白帝、江州、江陽，惟關羽留鎮荊州。) Sanguozhi vol. 32.(先主入益州，還攻劉璋，飛與諸葛亮等泝流而上，分定郡縣。) Sanguozhi vol. 36.
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