Wang Wei

Historical Record

According to the surviving historical materials, the record concerning Wang Wei is a blank. In the official histories such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, no deeds of a figure named "Wang Wei" can be found. This means that in the true historical record Wang Wei may have been an obscure minor figure, or may not have existed at all, his image being entirely a product of later literary creation.

In the Novel

In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wang Wei appears as a member of Liu Biao's faction, his image centering chiefly on the great turning point of the fate of Jing Province after Liu Biao's death. He is portrayed as a forthright man loyal to the house of Liu, who opposed Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, and others in their wish to surrender to Cao Cao.

Wang Wei first appears after Liu Biao's death, when Cai Mao and others wished to do harm to Liu Bei. Cai Mao plotted secretly with Kuai Yue to seize a banquet as the occasion to do away with Liu Bei. Kuai Yue proposed, "We can have Wen Ping and Wang Wei set up a separate table in the outer hall to receive the military officers. First detain Zhao Yun, and then we may act"^[1]. Here Wang Wei's appearance, though a part of Cai Mao's scheme, casts him in a role of receiving the military officers together with Wen Ping, implying that he held a certain standing in the Jing Province army.

Wang Wei's character and stance are fully displayed at the critical moment when Liu Cong decided to surrender to Cao Cao. When Cao Cao sent men to summon Liu Cong, Liu Cong grew fearful, and Cai Mao and Zhang Yun urged him to go. At this point Wang Wei stepped forward and secretly counseled Liu Cong, strongly urging him not to surrender but rather to seize the moment when Cao Cao was "lax and unprepared" and "rouse and array elite troops, set them in a perilous place to strike him, and Cao Cao could be taken"^[2]. He held that this was "a rare opportunity not to be lost," and that if Cao Cao could be captured, one could "overawe the realm, and though the Central Plains be vast, it could be settled with a circular dispatch." These words fully embody Wang Wei's loyal valor and strategic vision, in sharp contrast to the inglorious survival sought by Cai Mao and the rest.

Liu Cong, however, failed to adopt Wang Wei's counsel and instead reported these words to Cai Mao. On hearing them Cai Mao flew into a rage and rebuked Wang Wei: "You know nothing of the will of Heaven—how dare you speak so recklessly!" Wang Wei, utterly unafraid, cursed Cai Mao as a "traitor who sells out the country; I only regret that I cannot eat your flesh alive!"^[3]. Cai Mao wished to kill Wang Wei, but thanks to Kuai Yue's intervention Wang Wei's life was spared. This episode deeply portrays Wang Wei's loyalty and righteousness and his bitter hatred of treasonous conduct.

In the end, after Cao Cao took over Jing Province, Yu Jin was ordered to pursue and kill Liu Cong and Lady Cai. At the moment of crisis Wang Wei once more displayed his loyal valor: he "in his fury, fought with all his strength, but was at last killed by the host of soldiers"^[4]. Wang Wei's sacrifice marked the total collapse of the Liu faction in Jing Province, and brought a tragic close to his own loyalty and righteousness. The Wang Wei of the novel is a loyal minister who, though powerless to turn the tide, remained steadfast to the death; his deeds have no record in the histories and are entirely a fiction of literary creation.

Key Relationships

* Liu Biao's faction (serves): Wang Wei was a military officer under Liu Biao who continued to serve Liu Cong after Liu Biao's death. He was arranged by Cai Mao to receive the military officers together with Wen Ping, showing his standing in the Jing Province army^[1] (unique to the novel).
* Liu Cong (advises_in): Wang Wei was wholly loyal to Liu Cong; when Liu Cong faced the choice of surrendering to Cao Cao, he strongly urged him to strike back against Cao Cao, displaying his loyalty to the house of Liu and his strategic vision^[2] (unique to the novel).
* Cai Mao (opposes): Wang Wei stood opposed to Cai Mao. Cai Mao advocated surrender to Cao Cao, while Wang Wei resolutely opposed it and angrily denounced Cai Mao as a "traitor who sells out the country"^[3] (unique to the novel).
* Yu Jin (fights_in): When Liu Cong and Lady Cai were pursued and killed, Wang Wei fought with all his strength against the Cao army led by Yu Jin, and in the end fell in battle^[4] (unique to the novel).

Iconic Scenes

* Counseling Liu Cong to strike back against Cao Cao: When Liu Cong faced Cao Cao's offer of surrender, Wang Wei secretly counseled Liu Cong, strongly urging him not to surrender but rather to seize the moment when Cao Cao was "lax and unprepared," rise up to strike back, capture Cao Cao, and so contend for the realm^[2]. This scene displays Wang Wei's loyal valor and foresight and is the most brilliant stroke in his portrayal (unique to the novel).
* Denouncing Cai Mao: After Liu Cong reported Wang Wei's counsel to Cai Mao, Cai Mao flew into a rage. Wang Wei, utterly unafraid, cursed Cai Mao to his face as a "traitor who sells out the country; I only regret that I cannot eat your flesh alive!"^[3]. This scene highlights Wang Wei's upright, uncompromising character and his hatred of evil, and is the concentrated embodiment of his loyal and righteous image (unique to the novel).
* Dying in battle for Liu Cong and his mother: When Liu Cong and Lady Cai were pursued and killed by Yu Jin, Wang Wei flung himself forward heedless of his own life, fought with all his strength against the Cao army, and in the end, outnumbered, was killed by the host of soldiers^[4]. This scene is the final embodiment of Wang Wei's loyalty and righteousness; with his life he defended his loyalty to the house of Liu, adding a stroke of tragic grandeur to the decline and fall of the Liu house in Jing Province in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (unique to the novel).