Fu Ying

Historical Record

Fu Ying was a general of the state of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. His recorded deeds are chiefly tied to the murder of Sun Yi and the subsequent act of vengeance. While Sun Yi served as Grand Administrator of Danyang, he was murdered by Bian Hong, one of his subordinates. After Bian Hong succeeded, Gui Lan and Dai Yuan, far from making every effort to hunt down the assassin, instead seized the chance to make trouble, intending to seize control of Danyang. Gui Lan even openly took up residence in the military headquarters, appropriating Sun Yi's concubines and attendants, and tried to forcibly take Sun Yi's wife, Lady Xu. To protect herself, Lady Xu pretended to consent, while secretly sending people to make contact with Sun Yi's trusted old officers Sun Gao, Fu Ying, and others^[1].

Fu Ying and Sun Gao, grateful for Sun Yi's past kindness, had not been able to act at once because they lacked the strength. On receiving Lady Xu's plea for help, the two felt deeply that this was exactly what they had longed for day and night, and so plotted secretly with Lady Xu. Lady Xu gathered more than twenty of Sun Yi's former retainers and attendants, told them the plan, and swore an oath together^[1].

On the day Lady Xu held the memorial sacrifice and put off her mourning garments, she pretended to have emerged from her grief, bathed and changed her clothes, and laughed and chatted freely, so as to dispel Gui Lan's suspicions. Gui Lan duly fell into the trap and, exulting, entered Lady Xu's chamber. Just as Gui Lan was wholly off his guard, Lady Xu gave a great cry, and Fu Ying and Sun Gao immediately rushed out from their hiding place and together killed Gui Lan. Then the other conspirators slew Dai Yuan outside. With the deed accomplished, Lady Xu put on her mourning garments again and offered the heads of Gui Lan and Dai Yuan in sacrifice before Sun Yi's tomb—an act that astonished the whole army and was regarded as something marvelous^[1].

When Sun Quan learned of this, he hastened to Danyang and exterminated the remaining partisans of Gui Lan and Dai Yuan. To commend Fu Ying and Sun Gao for the merit of avenging Sun Yi, Sun Quan promoted the two to Gate-Tower Generals, and also bestowed gold and silk upon the other participants by way of reward^[1]. Fu Ying thus left his name in history, becoming a representative of men of loyalty and righteousness.

In the Novel

In Chapter 38 of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Fu Ying's image basically accords with the historical record, but the depiction is more dramatic and detailed^[2]. In the novel, after Sun Yi was murdered, Gui Lan and Dai Yuan seized the chance to make trouble, and Gui Lan in particular coveted Sun Yi's wife, Lady Xu. To avenge her husband, Lady Xu pretended to consent to Gui Lan's overtures and laid a plot. She sent her maids to invite Gui Lan into the residence to drink, and once Gui Lan was drunk, invited him into an inner chamber^[2].

By this time Fu Ying and Sun Gao had, according to Lady Xu's arrangement, hidden behind the curtains of the inner chamber. When Gui Lan entered the inner chamber, Lady Xu gave a great cry: "Where are Generals Sun and Fu?" Fu Ying and Sun Gao thereupon leapt out with blades in hand. The novel particularly emphasizes that Fu Ying was the first to strike, hewing Gui Lan to the ground with one blow, after which Sun Gao struck another, killing Gui Lan on the spot^[2].

Right afterward, Lady Xu again sent men to invite Dai Yuan to a banquet. After Dai Yuan entered the residence, he too was cut down in the hall by the combined effort of Fu Ying and Sun Gao. The novel also adds the episode of Lady Xu at once sending men to slay the families and remaining partisans of the two villains, and depicts the scene of Lady Xu donning her mourning garments again and offering the heads of Gui Lan and Dai Yuan before Sun Yi's spirit, so as to display her chastity and steadfastness^[2].

Sun Quan then hastened to Danyang, expressed his admiration for Lady Xu's action, and enfeoffed Sun Gao and Fu Ying as Gate-Tower Generals, ordering them to garrison Danyang. The novel concludes with "no one in the Southland but praised the virtue of Lady Xu" and a poem in praise of Lady Xu, further setting off the heroic deed of Fu Ying and the others in aiding the vengeance^[2]. Compared with the historical record, the novel gives more prominence to Fu Ying's personal actions, making his role in the vengeance all the more vivid.

Key Relationships

* Sun Yi: Fu Ying was an old general and trusted aide of Sun Yi; grateful for Sun Yi's kindness, after his murder he, together with Sun Gao, helped Lady Xu avenge Sun Yi^[1].
* Lady Xu: Fu Ying and Sun Gao were the key executors of Lady Xu's vengeance plan. Through a clever plot, Lady Xu used Fu Ying and Sun Gao's loyalty to Sun Yi to successfully slay Gui Lan and Dai Yuan^[1]. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lady Xu directly calls out for Fu Ying and Sun Gao to leap out from behind the curtains and together carry out the assassination^[2] (novel only).
* Sun Gao: Fu Ying and Sun Gao were comrades fighting side by side; together they accepted Lady Xu's charge, jointly slew Gui Lan and Dai Yuan, and were therefore promoted together by Sun Quan to Gate-Tower Generals^[1].
* Gui Lan, Dai Yuan: Fu Ying was one of the chief executors in slaying Gui Lan and Dai Yuan. Together with Sun Gao, under Lady Xu's plot, he successfully assassinated these two rebels and avenged Sun Yi^[1].
* Sun Quan's Faction: After aiding the vengeance, Fu Ying gained Sun Quan's recognition and reward, was promoted to Gate-Tower General, and continued to serve Sun Quan, becoming a member of Sun Quan's faction^[1].

Signature Scenes

* Plotting Vengeance in Secret: After Sun Yi was murdered, Fu Ying and Sun Gao, secretly contacted by Lady Xu and mindful of their old lord's kindness, resolved to avenge Sun Yi. Together with Lady Xu and more than twenty of Sun Yi's retainers, they swore a secret oath and jointly planned the action to slay Gui Lan and Dai Yuan, displaying their loyalty, righteousness, and resolve^[1].
* Assassinating Gui Lan: In the plot Lady Xu laid, Fu Ying and Sun Gao lay in ambush in the inner chamber. When Gui Lan entered, at Lady Xu's command Fu Ying and Sun Gao immediately rushed out and together killed Gui Lan. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Fu Ying is further depicted as the key figure who struck first, hewing Gui Lan down with one blow—a scene of great dramatic tension that highlights Fu Ying's valor^[2] (novel only).
* Slaying Dai Yuan: Right after assassinating Gui Lan, Fu Ying and Sun Gao, by Lady Xu's arrangement, cut down Dai Yuan, who had come to the banquet, thoroughly rooting out the source of the rebellion. This string of actions displays Fu Ying and Sun Gao's resolve and capacity to carry out their vengeance^[1].
* Enfeoffed as Gate-Tower General: For the merit of avenging Sun Yi, Fu Ying and Sun Gao were rewarded by Sun Quan and promoted to Gate-Tower Generals. This scene marks the official recognition of Fu Ying's loyalty and righteousness and laid the foundation for his subsequent career^[1].