Fan Jiang

Historical Record

Fan Jiang has no clear record in the official histories; his life, deeds, offices, and interactions with the various powers of the Three Kingdoms period are all unmentioned in sources such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms. Therefore, the historical information about Fan Jiang is at present a blank. This indicates that his real presence in history was extremely low—or rather, that he was not an important historical figure of his time and was not recorded by the historians.

In the Novel

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Fan Jiang is cast as a timid little man who, driven by humiliation, takes a desperate gamble. He first appears when Zhang Fei, anxious to avenge Guan Yu, ordered white banners and white armor to be prepared within three days so that the whole army could go into mourning and campaign against Wu ^c:13160. Fan Jiang and Zhang Da, as Zhang Fei's subordinate officers, unable to complete the task within the deadline, asked Zhang Fei for an extension. However, Zhang Fei was then in a towering rage; not only did he refuse the extension, but he had the two of them tied to a tree and given fifty lashes each on the back, threatening that if it was not ready the next day, he would behead them and display their heads as a warning ^c:13160.

This cruel flogging and threat of death thoroughly intensified the conflict between Fan Jiang and Zhang Da. Fan Jiang knew well Zhang Fei's violent temper and believed that if they could not complete the task the next day, the two of them would surely die. Zhang Da then proposed that rather than be killed by Zhang Fei, they should strike first. Fan Jiang at first worried that they could not get close to Zhang Fei, but Zhang Da reasoned that if their fate was not to die, Zhang Fei would lie drunk on his bed, giving them an opening ^c:13160.

That night, Zhang Fei, restless with grief over Guan Yu, drank heavily with his subordinate officers and lay drunk in his tent ^c:3062. After Fan Jiang and Zhang Da learned of this, they each concealed a short blade and, deep in the still of the night, slipped into Zhang Fei's tent on the false pretext of reporting urgent military matters. They found that although Zhang Fei's eyes were closed, his whiskers bristled and his eyes were wide open, and at first they dared not act. However, hearing Zhang Fei's breathing thunder like a snore and confirming he was fast asleep, they seized the chance to stab their short blades into his belly and killed him ^c:3062.

After assassinating Zhang Fei, Fan Jiang and Zhang Da took his head and went over to Eastern Wu. They recounted to Sun Quan in detail the course of the assassination of Zhang Fei ^c:6103. Sun Quan took them in and used Zhang Fei's death in an attempt to ease relations with Liu Bei and avoid the predicament of fighting on two fronts. Fan Jiang's fate in the novel is not clearly accounted for, but as the murderer of an important Shu Han general, his actions directly affected the political landscape of Shu Han and Eastern Wu.

Key Relationships

* Zhang Fei (enemy_of): Fan Jiang's relationship with Zhang Fei is his most central conflict in the novel. From the initial relationship of subordinate to superior, it turned into one of enemies because of Zhang Fei's brutal flogging, until in the end Fan Jiang and Zhang Da conspired to assassinate Zhang Fei ^c:13160. This relationship directly led to Zhang Fei's death and had a profound effect on Shu Han's military strength and Liu Bei's plans for revenge.
* Eastern Wu (defected_to): After assassinating Zhang Fei, Fan Jiang and Zhang Da took his head and went over to Eastern Wu. Sun Quan took them in and used the affair as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Liu Bei ^c:6103. Fan Jiang's defection made him a pawn in Eastern Wu's hands and also indirectly prompted Zhuge Jin's mission to Shu Han, attempting to persuade Liu Bei to lay down arms.

Signature Scene

* Suffering the flogging and plotting the assassination: Fan Jiang and Zhang Da, having failed to complete on time the task Zhang Fei assigned, were tied up by Zhang Fei and given fifty lashes each on the back, along with a threat of death. This flogging directly drove Fan Jiang and Zhang Da to resolve to plot the assassination of Zhang Fei in order to save themselves ^c:13160. This is the key turning point of Fan Jiang's change of character and the direction of his fate in the novel.
* Assassinating Zhang Fei: Fan Jiang and Zhang Da, taking advantage of Zhang Fei being drunk, slipped into his tent and stabbed him to death with short blades ^c:3062. This scene is Fan Jiang's most decisive action in the novel; it directly led to the fall of Zhang Fei, one of Shu Han's Five Tiger Generals, and buried deeper hatred for Liu Bei's campaign against Wu.
* Presenting the head to Sun Quan: Fan Jiang and Zhang Da took Zhang Fei's head and went over to Eastern Wu, and reported the course of the assassination to Sun Quan in detail ^c:6103. This act not only marked their complete betrayal of Shu Han but also made Zhang Fei's death an important bargaining chip in the political contest between Eastern Wu and Shu Han, indirectly affecting the subsequent Battle of Xiaoting.