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Missing image Lü_Bu_Portrait.jpg Portrait of Lü Bu from a Qing Dynasty edition of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms | |
| Names | |
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| Simplified Chinese: | 吕布 |
| Traditional Chinese: | 吕布 |
| Pinyin: | Lǚ Bù |
| Wade-Giles: | Lü Pu or Lu Pu |
| Zi: | Fengxian (奉先) |
Lü Bu (? – 198) was a military general during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms Period in ancient China. According to the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu was a master in horse riding, archery, and armed combat, and was thus known as the Flying General. His image as a handsome and mighty warrior wielding a halberd on top of his steed Red Hare was later popularized by the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Besides being matchless on the battlefield, Lü Bu was also the synonym of frivolous, having betrayed and slayed his own masters twice. He was perhaps most well-known for his amorous relationship with the fictional Diao Chan which led to his slaying of his adoptive father Dong Zhuo, the tyrannical warlord who held the figurehead Emperor Xian in his power.
Lü Bu was eventually defeated and captured by Cao Cao in Xiapi (下邳). Having little trust in the capricious character, Cao Cao had Lü Bu hanged.
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Life
Services under Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo
A local of the county of Jiuyuan in the Wuyuan Commandery (a district of present day Baotou, Shaanxi), Lü Bu started his career as the Chief Secretary under Bingzhou (并州) Governor Ding Yuan. In 189, Ding Yuan led his troops into Luoyang to assist General-in-Chief He Jin to eliminate the powerful eunuch faction. However, He Jin was soon assassinated and a bloody clash between the eunuchs and government officials that ensued saw the capital plunged into chaos.
Dong Zhuo, another warlord summoned into Luoyang by He Jin, quickly established control. Under enticement from this rising power, Lü Bu soon defected. He even severed his former master's head and brought it to Dong Zhuo as a gesture of allegiance. The duo then swore to be father and son.
To consolidate his power, Dong Zhuo placed in the throne a puppet emperor and moved the capital west to Chang'an. These acts, coupled with his tyrannical and cruel ways, angered many and the risk of assassination was high. For his personal safety, Dong Zhuo depended heavily on Lü Bu, who had by then been promoted to Knight General (中郎将). The son shadowed the father almost all the time.
However, in his frequent bouts of temper Dong Zhuo would hurl a halberd at Lü Bu. Although the agile Lü Bu could always duck the throw, and Dong Zhuo's fury would dissipate quickly, Lü Bu nonetheless bore a furtive displeasure against his adoptive father. Furthermore, being entrusted to guard the residence of Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu held an amorous affair with one of Dong Zhuo's chambermaids. For this he was constantly in fear of being discovered.
In 192, encouraged by Imperial Minister of the Interior (司徒) Wang Yun, Lü Bu finally made up his mind to murder Dong Zhuo. Bringing along a dozen trusted man, including Cavalry Captain Li Su, Lü Bu greeted Dong Zhuo at the palace gate. When Li Su stepped up and stabbed Dong Zhuo, the obese warlord cried out for his son. But saying "This is an imperial order," Lü Bu delivered the fatal blow.
Days of exile
After the death of Dong Zhuo, rumors spread that the court intended to execute all his former troops from Liangzhou (凉州). When a royal decree of pardon was not issued, former subjects of Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and Guo Si (郭汜), staged a coup and defeated Lü Bu within ten days. Escaping from Chang'an, Lü Bu went to Yuan Shu in Yangzhou (杨州). Deterred by Lü Bu's fickleness, however, Yuan Shu declined to keep him.
Lü Bu then headed north to seek a position under Yuan Shao. Having been given some troops by the northern warlord, Lü Bu successfully flushed out the bandit army under Zhang Yan (张燕). However, with his own force growing in strength, Lü Bu was beginning to seem like a threat to Yuan Shao. Sensing this himself, Lü Bu then bid his short-term master farewell. Yuan Shao sent assassins after Lü Bu but the latter managed to slip away.
In 194, while Cao Cao was away on a campaign against Tao Qian (陶谦) in Xuzhou (徐州), his subjects Zhang Miao (张邈) and Chen Gong (陈宫) rebelled and handed Yanzhou (兖州) to Lü Bu. When Cao Cao heard the news, he quickly turned back and laid siege on Lü Bu in Puyang (濮阳). After more than hundred days of stalemate, a famine breakout forced Lü Bu to give up his position.
Occupation of Xuzhou
Thinking that by forcing Cao Cao's retreat he had done Xuzhou a favor, Lü Bu then headed for Xiapi (下邳) to seek refuge under Liu Bei, who was then the governor of Xuzhou. In 196, however, Lü Bu turned on his host and took over Xiapi, proclaiming himself the governor and sending Liu Bei to the nearby town of Xiaopei (小沛).
In the same year, Yuan Shu sent a force led by Ji Ling to attack Liu Bei. Fearing that the defeat of Liu Bei would expose his backdoor to Yuan Shu, Lü Bu made camp south of Xiaopei and brought Ji Ling and Liu Bei together. The Flying General then had a halberd erected at the campground gate. Urging peace between both parties, Lü Bu extracted their promises to withdraw troops if he could hit the sharp tongue of the halberd with an arrow. From afar, Lü Bu fired a shot and the missile came in squarely on its target. Awed by such mastery in archery, the two sides then abode by their words.
To ward off the expansion of Cao Cao's power, Yuan Shu then offered to ally with Lü Bu. Lü Bu initially agreed but soon regretted. He even sent men to retrieve his daughter, who was on her way to be married to Yuan Shu's son. Lü Bu also imprisoned Yuan Shu's envoy and sent the captive to Cao Cao as a sign of friendship.
In 198, however, Lü Bu again switched his allegiance to Yuan Shu and attacked Liu Bei in Xiaopei. The defeated Liu Bei sought help from Cao Cao, who then personally led a force on Xiapi. After three months of siege and many consecutive losses, Lü Bu subjects were down in morale and defected. Lü Bu had no choice but to surrender himself.
Tightly bound and brought before Cao Cao, Lü Bu pledged his service. However, being reminded by Liu Bei of the fate of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao then had the dangerous captive hanged.
Lü Bu in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a historical novel by Luo Guanzhong, was a romanticization of the events that occurred before and during the Three Kingdoms Period. It painted Lü Bu as an unbeatable warrior in duels but an incapable leader of armies, being further marred with character flaws. While staying true to history in the general course of events, Luo Guanzhong exaggerated or sentimentalized many stories about Lü Bu, drawing inspirations from a wide array of folklore and traditional operas. These stories include:
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Defection to Dong Zhuo
Lü Bu first appeared in Chapter 3 as the adopted son of Ding Yuan, who opposed Dong Zhuo's plan to depose the emperor. Dong Zhuo intended to kill Ding Yuan but feared the strength of Lü Bu. Li Su, a general under Dong Zhuo and a fellow townsman of Lü Bu, then volunteered to persuade the formidable warrior to defect.
Bringing along a famous steed named Red Hare, a thousand taels of gold, dozens of pearls and a jade belt, Li Su came to see Lü Bu, who was encamped outside the city. It did not take much persuasion to convince Lü Bu to betray his master. That very night, Lü Bu carried a sword into the tent of Ding Yuan, who was reading under the candlelight.
With a stroke of his sword Lü Bu cut down his master's head, which he brought to Dong Zhuo the next morning. Lü Bu then took Dong Zhuo as his new adoptive father, who was overjoyed and showered his newly adopted son with more gifts.
Battle with three heroes at Hulao Pass
Since he placed the puppet Emperor Xian in the throne, Dong Zhuo's tyrannical and cruel ways had angered many warlords around the country. The warlords formed a coalition under Yuan Shao in 190 and came for Dong Zhuo in the capital Luoyang.
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However, they were stopped at Hulao Pass, 50 li from Luoyang. Riding forth on his Red Hare, his halberd in hand, Lü Bu taunted for challengers to duel him. Wielding his Eight-Zhang Serpent Spear, Zhang Fei galloped out to fight Lü Bu.
Neither could gain an advantage over the other for more than fifty bouts. Then Guan Yu, brandishing his Green Dragon Crescent Sabre, dashed out to assist his brother. The three fighters were engaged in another thirty bouts or so when Liu Bei, holding up his Dual Swords, also joined the battle.
Like a merry-go-round the three brothers galloped in a circle caging Lü Bu inside. Unable to face the combined efforts of his three opponents, Lü Bu then made a feign at Liu Bei and retreated through the resulting gap back to the pass gate.
Slaying of Dong Zhuo
After Dong Zhuo moved the capital to the more strategically sound Chang'an, Minister of Interior Wang Yun started to contemplate a plot to assassinate the tyrant by using Diao Chan, a song girl who was brought up in his household but whom he had been treating like his own daughter, to plant the seed of dissension between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu.
Inviting Lü Bu over one night, Wang Yun asked Diao Chan to serve wine to the guest. Lü Bu was immediately seized by the girl's beauty. Well aware of this, Wang Yun then promised to marry Diao Chan to the mighty warrior.
A few days later, however, Wang Yun laid a feast for Dong Zhuo and repeated the feat. Like Lü Bu, Dong Zhuo could not lift his eyes off Diao Chan, who also displayed her prowess in song and dance. Dong Zhuo then brought Diao Chan home and made her his concubine.
When Lü Bu heard about this the next morning, he headed for Dong Zhuo's bedroom and peeped in through the window. There he saw Diao Chan sitting up grooming her hair while Dong Zhuo was still asleep. Aware of Lü Bu's presence, Diao Chan then put up a sorrowful expression and pretended to wipe tears off her eyes with a handkerchief.
A similar incident recurred about a month later, but this time Dong Zhuo woke up in time to see Lü Bu staring fixedly at Diao Chan. Lü Bu was then shoved out and forbidden to come into the house.
Then one day, while Dong Zhuo was holding a conversation with Emperor Xian, Lü Bu stole to his foster father's residence and met with Diao Chan in the Fengyi Pavilion (凤仪亭). Weeping, Diao Chan pled with Lü Bu to rescue her from Dong Zhuo. Placing his halberd aside, Lü Bu held Diao Chan in his arms and comforted her with words.
Right then, Dong Zhuo returned to find the duo in the pavilion. The startled Lü Bu turned to flee. Dong Zhuo grabbed the halberd and gave chase. Being too obese, Dong Zhuo could not catch up with the agile Lü Bu. He then hurled the halberd at Lü Bu but the latter fended it off and got away.
After the incident, Lü Bu was becoming increasingly displeased with Dong Zhuo. This displeasure was further enticed by Wang Yun, who suggested subtly that Lü Bu take over Dong Zhuo. Lü Bu attempted weakly to argue for Dong Zhuo's paternal relationship to himself, but Wang Yun dismissed it, saying, "His name is Dong and yours is Lü. Where was the paternal feeling when he threw the halberd at you?" Whereupon Lü Bu made up his mind to kill Dong Zhuo.
The conspirators then sent Li Su to fetch Dong Zhuo from his castle in the county of Mei under the pretense that the emperor intended to abdicate the throne to the warlord. The overjoyed Dong Zhuo then came to the palace gate, where his troops were barred from entering. As Dong Zhuo's carriage neared the palace building, soldiers loyal to Wang Yun surrounded the carriage and stabbed Dong Zhuo with spears.
Injured only in the arms as he was wearing heavy armor, Dong Zhuo then cried out for Lü Bu. But Lü Bu impaled Dong Zhuo's throat with his halberd, proclaiming, "I have a royal decree to slay the rebel!"
Lü Bu's downfall
In 198, Cao Cao and Liu Bei formed a short-term alliance and laid siege on Lü Bu in Xiapi (下邳). The siege dragged on for two months without significant gains. Two advisors to Cao Cao, Xun You and Guo Jia, then suggested flooding the city with water from the Yi River (沂水) and Si River (泗水).
As the water level rose and submerged the city gates, Lü Bu's subjects rushed to inform their leader, but Lü Bu dismissed the threat on account that his Red Hare could run as well in water as on land. Thereupon he returned to his wine cups and consorts. However, heavy indulgence in alcohol and women had wasted his strength away such that one day Lü Bu looked into the mirror and found himself looking thin and pallid. Making the resolution to quit drinking, Lü Bu then passed an order for all within the city to keep off wine.
One day, Hou Cheng (侯成), an officer under Lü Bu, caught a defector who attempted to steal fifty horses and give it to the enemy. Hou Cheng then prepared barrels of wine to celebrate with his colleagues. Fearing wrath of Lü Bu, he then had five bottles sent to his superior to appease the latter. However, Lü Bu was enraged at the opposition to his alcoholic ban, and had Hou Cheng thrashed as punishment.
The unhappy Hou Cheng then plotted with two colleagues, Song Xian (宋宪) and Wei Xu (魏续), to betray Lü Bu to the enemy. Under the cover of the night Hou Cheng stole Lü Bu's Red Hare and galloped out of the only gate not submerged in water towards Cao Cao's camp.
The next morning, Cao Cao's troops launched a fierce attack on the city. Lü Bu had to personally take part in the defense of the walls. The battle dragged into high noon and the attackers backed off for a rest. The exhausted Lü Bu then took a nap himself on top of the city wall.
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Taking the opportunity, Song Xian and Wei Xu tied Lü Bu up and hoisted a white flag. The two also threw Lü Bu's halberd down the wall as a proof. Seeing the signals, Cao Cao's troops then flocked into the city and seized it in no time.