Historical Record
Fei Cheng's life and deeds are little recorded in the histories, appearing chiefly in the biography of his father Fei Yi. According to the account in Chapter 44 of the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Fei Cheng was the son of the Shu Han General-in-Chief Fei Yi. In the fifteenth year of Yanxi (252 CE), Fei Yi was appointed to open his own office of government. The following year, at the start of the sixteenth year of Yanxi (253 CE), Fei Yi, at a grand gathering, became drunk with merriment and was assassinated by the hand of Guo Xun, a defector from Wei; his posthumous title was Marquis Jing c:6367. After Fei Yi's death, his son Fei Cheng inherited his rank of nobility and held the post of Gentleman of the Yellow Gate c:6367. In addition, Fei Cheng had a younger brother named Fei Gong, who married a princess—evidence of the close ties between the Fei family and the Shu Han imperial house. The separate biography of Fei Yi adds that Fei Gong served as Gentleman of the Masters of Writing and was well-reputed in his day, but died young c:6367. Fei Yi's eldest daughter married the heir apparent Liu Xuan and became the crown princess, further consolidating the Fei family's standing in Shu Han. As Fei Yi's heir, Fei Cheng inherited the family's honor and part of its duties after his father's death; but his own specific actions in politics or the military are not recorded in detail in the sources, so that our understanding of his life centers chiefly on his family background and offices.
In the Novel
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as a work of historical fiction, tends to focus its creative weight on figures of marked military or political influence during the Three Kingdoms period. For a figure like Fei Cheng, little recorded in the sources and lacking any prominent deeds, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms gives no literary shaping. Fei Cheng's name never appears in the novel; though his father Fei Yi's assassination is mentioned, the narrative does not extend to his offspring. This means that Fei Cheng is an entirely absent character in the novel, his life, character, and interactions with the major figures all excluded from the framework of the narrative. This treatment is similar to that of the many figures recorded in only a few words in the official histories, reflecting the selective focus of the novel in its choice of historical figures. There is therefore no trace in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms of any literary image or episode concerning Fei Cheng.
Key Relationships
* Fei Yi (father): Fei Cheng's father, the Shu Han General-in-Chief, held an eminent position in the later years of Shu Han. Fei Yi was assassinated by the Wei defector Guo Xun at the start of the sixteenth year of Yanxi c:6367. As his heir, Fei Cheng inherited his father's rank of nobility and held the post of Gentleman of the Yellow Gate. The father-son relationship is the chief reason Fei Cheng is mentioned in the sources.
* Fei Gong (younger brother): Fei Cheng's younger brother, who married a princess and served as Gentleman of the Masters of Writing, was renowned in his day but died young c:6367. Fei Gong's marriage to the imperial house further demonstrated the standing of the Fei family.
* The heir apparent Liu Xuan (brother-in-law): Fei Cheng's elder sister married the Shu Han heir apparent Liu Xuan and became the crown princess c:6367. This marriage tie bound the Fei family more closely to the Shu Han imperial house and indirectly raised the political influence of Fei Cheng's family.
* Shu Han (the cause he served): As Fei Yi's son, Fei Cheng inherited his father's vocation and served the Shu Han regime as Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, an official of Shu Han c:6367.
Signature Scenes
* Inheriting his father's rank and serving as Gentleman of the Yellow Gate: After his father Fei Yi was assassinated by Guo Xun at the start of the sixteenth year of Yanxi, Fei Cheng, as the eldest son, inherited his father's rank of nobility and was appointed Gentleman of the Yellow Gate c:6367. This is the most important milestone of Fei Cheng's life clearly recorded in the histories, marking his formal entry into the Shu Han bureaucracy and his assumption of the family's responsibilities. Though the scene carries no specific detail, its significance lies in the fact that, after Fei Yi's death, his offspring could still maintain a degree of political standing, continuing the family's honor.
* The marriage ties between family and imperial house: Though not a scene involving Fei Cheng directly, Fei Yi's eldest daughter's marriage to the heir apparent Liu Xuan and Fei Cheng's younger brother Fei Gong's marriage to a princess c:6367 together constituted the Fei family's emblematic standing in the Shu Han political order. These marriages not only consolidated the family's ties to the imperial house but also gave Fei Cheng, as a member of this family, a corresponding social standing and political resources. Though these events unfold around Fei Cheng's relatives, they are undoubtedly an important part of the social environment and family background in which he stood.
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Inner monologues · AI-generated1 段 ▸
- At the New Year’s gathering, cups were raised around the table in mutual celebration, and Guo Xun, a Wei defector, was a