Fei Guan

Historical Record

Fei Guan, courtesy name Binbo, was a man of Meng in Jiangxia^[1]. His clan-aunt was the mother of Liu Zhang, and Liu Zhang further married his own daughter to Fei Guan, so that Fei Guan and Liu Zhang were related by marriage^[1]. In the eighteenth year of Jian'an (213 CE), when Liu Bei attacked Yi Province, Fei Guan, on Liu Zhang's orders, joined Li Yan in resisting Liu Bei at Mianzhu^[1]. In the end, however, both men chose to surrender to Liu Bei. After Liu Bei pacified Yi Province, Fei Guan was appointed General of the Vanguard, and later served as Grand Administrator of Ba Commandery and Commander of Jiangzhou^[1]. In the first year of Jianxing (223 CE), Fei Guan was enfeoffed as Marquis of Duting and given the additional title of General Who Spreads Martial Awe^[1].

Fei Guan was skilled in social relations. The Protector-General Li Yan was haughty and self-regarding by nature; even toward the Protector of the Army Fu Kuang and others who were close to him in age and rank, Li Yan was unwilling to be intimate. Yet Fei Guan, though more than twenty years younger than Li Yan, was able to be on close terms with him, like a friend of the same generation^[1]. This shows Fei Guan's distinctive ability in handling human relations. Fei Guan finally died at the age of thirty-seven^[1]. Although he had once held important office, the histories record little of his specific deeds, so that he was not given a biography of his own^[1]. Nonetheless, after Liu Bei pacified Yi Province, he placed in prominent posts the former subordinates of Liu Zhang such as Dong He, Huang Quan, and Li Yan, the relatives of Liu Zhang by marriage such as Wu Yi and Fei Guan, men whom Liu Zhang had pushed aside such as Peng Yang, and men whom Liu Zhang had resented such as Liu Ba, fully drawing out their talents^[2]. This shows that Fei Guan was given trust and recognition under Liu Bei's regime.

In the Novel

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Fei Guan's image appears chiefly in the course of Liu Bei's seizure of Yi Province. As Liu Zhang's brother-in-law, when Liu Bei's great army bore down and the troops drew near Luocheng, he was sent by Liu Zhang to guard Mianzhu^[3]. At this time Fa Zheng had already betrayed Liu Zhang and gone over to Liu Bei; Liu Zhang was furious at this, tore up Fa Zheng's letter, and bitterly cursed Fa Zheng as a "traitor who sells his lord for glory and forgets kindness to turn his back on righteousness"^[3]. Against this background, Fei Guan took up the charge in time of crisis and led troops to Mianzhu. He recommended Li Yan, a man of Nanyang, to share the command, and the two led thirty thousand troops to garrison Mianzhu^[3].

Fei Guan's defense of Mianzhu, however, did not last long. In Chapter 65 of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, after Li Yan entered the city of Mianzhu, he praised Liu Bei's benevolence and virtue to Fei Guan and pointed out that if they did not surrender now, calamity would surely befall them^[4]. Fei Guan heeded Li Yan's counsel and in the end chose to open the city and surrender to Liu Bei^[4]. This episode accords with the historical record that Fei Guan and Li Yan surrendered to Liu Bei together, but the novel, through Li Yan's persuasion, depicts the process of Fei Guan's surrender in concrete terms. The novel's depiction of Fei Guan is relatively brief, focused chiefly on his change of role during Liu Bei's attack on Yi Province, without delving into his character or later deeds—an approach that echoes the historical note that "his deeds being lost, he was not given a biography," both hinting at the relative scarcity of his life and deeds in the sources.

Key Relationships

* Liu Zhang's faction (serves): Fei Guan was Liu Zhang's brother-in-law and a relative by marriage; when Liu Bei attacked Yi Province, he joined Li Yan, on Liu Zhang's orders, in resisting Liu Bei at Mianzhu^[1],^[3].
* Liu Bei's faction (defected_to): After Fei Guan and Li Yan surrendered to Liu Bei together, they were given important employment by Liu Bei. Fei Guan was appointed General of the Vanguard, Grand Administrator of Ba Commandery, and Commander of Jiangzhou, and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Duting with the additional title of General Who Spreads Martial Awe^[1].
* Liu Zhang (kin_of): Fei Guan's clan-aunt was Liu Zhang's mother, and Liu Zhang further married his daughter to Fei Guan, making the two close relatives by marriage^[1].
* Li Yan (fights_in, cooperates_with): Fei Guan joined Li Yan in resisting Liu Bei at Mianzhu^[1]. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Li Yan is moreover the key figure who persuaded Fei Guan to surrender to Liu Bei^[4] (unique to the novel). In the historical record, Fei Guan and Li Yan were on intimate terms; though Li Yan was haughty by nature, he was on good terms with Fei Guan, more than twenty years his junior, as with one of his own generation^[1].

Signature Scenes

* Resistance and surrender at Mianzhu: In the eighteenth year of Jian'an, Fei Guan and Li Yan, on Liu Zhang's orders, led troops to resist Liu Bei's attack at Mianzhu. In the end, however, both chose to surrender to Liu Bei^[1]. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, this scene is concretely depicted as Liu Zhang dispatching Fei Guan and Li Yan to guard Mianzhu with thirty thousand troops, after which Li Yan persuaded Fei Guan to open the gates and surrender to Xuande^[3],^[4] (unique to the novel).
* Important employment after Liu Bei entered Shu: After Liu Bei pacified Yi Province, he gave important employment to Liu Zhang's former subordinates and relatives by marriage such as Fei Guan; Fei Guan was appointed General of the Vanguard, later served as Grand Administrator of Ba Commandery and Commander of Jiangzhou, and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Duting with the additional title of General Who Spreads Martial Awe^[2],^[1]. This reflects Liu Bei's strategy of winning over men's hearts.
* The cross-generational friendship with Li Yan: Although Fei Guan was more than twenty years younger than Li Yan, the two were on intimate terms, like friends of the same generation. This displays Fei Guan's personal gift for social relations^[1].