Pang Tong 龐統

Pang Tong, courtesy name Shiyuan, was a man of Xiangyang. As a boy he seemed plain and dull, and no one recognised his worth. At about twenty he went to see Sima Hui of Yingchuan, who had an eye for judging people; Sima Hui, picking mulberry leaves up in a tree, sat Pang Tong beneath it and talked with him from day until night. Sima Hui thought him quite extraordinary and declared that he would become the foremost of the scholars of the southern provinces, and from then on Pang Tong's name gradually became known. Later the commandery made him Officer of Merit. Records, Shu 7 §2

Pang Tong loved appraising people and worked hard at fostering them, and his praise usually exceeded the person's talent. To those who asked why, he replied that unless praise was made fine, people would not look up to it and do good, adding, 'If I pick out ten and lose five, I still gain half.' Records, Shu 7 §2–3

Zhou Yu, a general of Wu, helped Liu Bei take Jing Province and concurrently held the post of Administrator of Nan Commandery. When Zhou Yu died, Pang Tong escorted his coffin to Wu. When he was about to return west, people gathered at the Chang Gate, and Lu Ji, Gu Shao and Quan Cong all came. Pang Tong likened Lu Ji to 'a slow horse with the strength to run fast' and Gu Shao to 'a slow ox that can carry a heavy load a long way', and told Quan Cong that in his love of giving and his pursuit of reputation he resembled Fan Zizhao of Runan. Lu Ji and Gu Shao said that when the realm was at peace they would appraise the scholars of the whole world together with him, and formed a deep friendship with him. Records, Shu 7 §4–5

When Liu Bei came to govern Jing Province, Pang Tong, as an Attendant Officer, served as Prefect of Leiyang, but he was dismissed for not governing the county. Lu Su of Wu wrote to Liu Bei that 'Pang Shiyuan is not a talent fit only to govern a county of a hundred li', and that only in a post such as Headquarters Officer or Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage could this fine steed stretch its legs; Zhuge Liang said the same. After meeting and talking with Pang Tong, Liu Bei thought highly of him and made him Headquarters Officer. The affection and favour Liu Bei showed him were second only to those for Zhuge Liang, and in the end he became Military Adviser General of the Household alongside Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang stayed behind to hold Jing Province, and Pang Tong followed Liu Bei into Shu. Around this time, when Sun Quan sent an envoy to ask about scholars who could help him govern the state, Zhuge Liang answered that 'Pang Tong and Liao Li are fine talents of the land of Chu'. Records, Shu 7 §6Records, Shu 10 §33

When Liu Zhang, Governor of Yi Province, met Liu Bei at Fu, Pang Tong proposed a plan: if they seized Liu Zhang at this meeting, Liu Bei could settle a whole province without the trouble of using troops. Liu Bei declined, saying that he had only just entered another's domain and his kindness and good faith were not yet known. The Biography of the First Sovereign also records that his adviser Pang Tong proposed attacking Liu Zhang at the meeting. Records, Shu 7 §7Records, Shu 2 §28–29

When Liu Zhang returned to Chengdu and Liu Bei was to march north against Hanzhong on Liu Zhang's behalf, Pang Tong again proposed three plans. The upper plan was to pick crack troops and march day and night to strike Chengdu directly; the middle plan was to inform Yang Huai and Gao Pei, Liu Zhang's renowned generals guarding the passes, that Liu Bei was returning to Jing Province, seize them when they came to see him with light cavalry, take over their troops and head for Chengdu; the lower plan was to withdraw to Baidi, link up with Jing Province and then plan at leisure. Liu Bei approved the middle plan, promptly beheaded Yang Huai and Gao Pei and headed for Chengdu, winning wherever he went. Records, Shu 7 §7–9

When Liu Bei held a great feast at Fu and said that the day's gathering was a happy one, Pang Tong said that to take joy in attacking another's state was not the conduct of a humane man's army. Liu Bei, who was drunk, angrily retorted that when King Wu attacked Zhou, his men sang in front and danced behind, and ordered him out. Liu Bei soon regretted it and called him back, but Pang Tong returned to his place without apologising and went on eating and drinking as if nothing had happened. When Liu Bei asked who had been wrong in their argument earlier, Pang Tong answered, 'Both lord and subject were wrong,' and Liu Bei laughed heartily, and the feast was as merry as before. Records, Shu 7 §9–10

Peng Yang, whom Liu Zhang had sentenced to have his head shaved and serve as a convict labourer, came to see Pang Tong when Liu Bei entered Shu, wishing to offer his counsel. Peng Yang climbed onto Pang Tong's couch, lay down, and had food brought to him first before he would talk; Pang Tong thought very highly of him and recommended him to Liu Bei together with Fa Zheng. In a letter he later wrote to Zhuge Liang from prison, Peng Yang said that it was through Pang Tong's mediation that he had been able to meet Liu Bei at Jiameng. Records, Shu 10 §21–22 · 26

When Liu Bei advanced and laid siege to Luo County, Pang Tong led his men in an assault on the city and was killed by a stray arrow. He was then thirty-six. His biography does not give the year of his death, while the Biography of the First Sovereign records that the city of Luo was attacked for nearly a year and fell in the summer of the 19th year of Jian'an (214). Liu Bei grieved bitterly and wept whenever he spoke of him. Records, Shu 7 §11Records, Shu 2 §32–33

Liu Bei made Pang Tong's father a Gentleman Consultant and later promoted him to Grandee Remonstrant, and Zhuge Liang bowed to him in person. Pang Tong was posthumously granted the rank of Marquis Within the Passes and the posthumous name Marquis Jing. When Zhang Cun, Administrator of Guanghan, said that Pang Tong's loyalty was regrettable but that he had departed from the principles of great propriety, Liu Bei angrily replied that 'Pang Tong gave his life to fulfil humaneness' and dismissed him. The Biography of the Later Sovereign records that in the 9th month, in autumn, of the 3rd year of Jingyao (260), posthumous names were conferred on Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Pang Tong and Huang Zhong. Records, Shu 7 §11Records, Shu 15 §63–64Records, Shu 3 §40

His son Pang Hong, courtesy name Jushi, slighted the Prefect of the Masters of Writing Chen Zhi, was held down by him, and died as Administrator of Fuling. His younger brother Pang Lin, as Headquarters Officer of Jing Province, took part in the campaign against Wu led by Huang Quan, General Who Guards the North, and when the army was defeated he followed Huang Quan into Wei. Wei enfeoffed him as a full marquis, and he rose to be Administrator of Julu. Records, Shu 7 §11–12

In his assessment Chen Shou said that Pang Tong had always loved appraising people and devoted himself to classical learning, reflection and strategy, so that in his time he was called an outstanding talent in the Jing and Chu region. He also wrote that, compared with the ministers of Wei, Pang Tong would rank next to Xun Yu. Records, Shu 7 §36