Zhang Fei

Zhang Fei (died July or August 221 AD), courtesy name Yide, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. 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 on Liu Bei's side, including the Red Cliffs campaign (208–209), takeover of Yi Province (212–214), and Hanzhong Campaign (217–218). He was assassinated by his subordinates in 221 after serving for only a few months in the state of Shu Han, which was founded by Liu Bei earlier that year. Zhang Fei is one of the major characters in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which dramatises and romanticises the events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. In the novel, Zhang Fei became sworn brothers with Liu Bei and Guan Yu in the fictional Oath of the Peach Garden at the start of the novel and remained faithful to their oath until his death. Early career Zhang Fei was from Zhuo Commandery. In the 180s, towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, he and Guan Yu became Liu Bei's followers. As Guan Yu was several years older than Zhang Fei, Zhang regarded him as an elder brother. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were known as stalwart and strong men; which made them talented fighters. When Liu Bei was later appointed as the Chancellor of Pingyuan State by the Han central government, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu served as Majors of Separate Command under him. Liu Bei cherished them as if they were his own brothers and the three of them shared a brotherly relationship to the point of sharing the same room, sleeping on the same mat and eating from the same pot. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu acted as bodyguards for Liu Bei. They followed him on his exploits and were always ready to face any danger and hardship.