Wu Ban 吳班
| Occupation | RGeneral · General of Agile Cavalry NGeneral · General of the Rear | Faction | Shu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | N? Unverified | Native place | Chenliu Commandery Unverified |
| Died | N234 Unverified | Place of death | NWei River |
| Cause of death | NKilled in battle Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R7 |
Profile
Wu Ban, courtesy name Yuanxiong, was the son of Wu Kuang, a subordinate official of the General-in-Chief He Jin, and a younger clansman of Wu Yi. He was known for his chivalrous spirit, and his offices and rank were always second only to Wu Yi's. Under Liu Bei he became Commander of the Army (lingjun), and under the Later Sovereign Liu Shan he rose to General of Agile Cavalry, was granted a tally of authority and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Mianzhu. Records, Shu 15 §56
When Liu Bei attacked Wu in the 1st year of Zhangwu (221), Wu Ban and Feng Xi defeated Li Yi and others at Wu County, and in the 1st month of the following year he and Chen Shi led the naval forces and camped at Yiling. Liu Bei first had him set up a camp on the plain with several thousand men to provoke a battle. The Records does not give the year of his death. Records, Shu 2 §68–70Records, Wu 13 §17Records, Shu 15 §56
He has no separate biography in the Records. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 65 among those rewarded by Liu Bei and appears in 11 of its 120 chapters; there is no chapter with his name in the title. In the battle of Yiling in Chapters 81–84, as a lieutenant of Zhang Fei, he serves as the vanguard and holds the decoy camp on the plain, and in Chapter 102 he is struck by an arrow and dies while on his way to burn the floating bridge over the Wei River. Records, Shu 15 §56Romance, Ch. 65 §47Romance, Ch. 81 §19Romance, Ch. 82 §22Romance, Ch. 84 §1Romance, Ch. 102 §19
In the Records
Wu Ban, courtesy name Yuanxiong, was the son of Wu Kuang, a subordinate official of the General-in-Chief He Jin. Yang Xi's Eulogies of the Supporting Ministers of Ji Han has no separate eulogy for Wu Ban; he appears as a younger clansman of Wu Yi at the end of the note Chen Shou attached below the eulogy for Wu Yi. Chen Shou wrote that Wu Ban was known for his chivalrous spirit and that his offices and rank were always second only to Wu Yi's. Records, Shu 15 §54 · 56
In the 7th month, in autumn, of the 1st year of Zhangwu (221), Liu Bei, angered by Sun Quan's surprise attack on Guan Yu, led his armies against Wu. Sun Quan sent a letter asking for peace, but Liu Bei was furious and refused. When the Wu generals Lu Xun (whom the Biography of the Former Lord records under his original name, Lu Yi), Li Yi, Liu A and others camped at Wu County and Zigui, the generals Wu Ban and Feng Xi attacked and defeated Li Yi and the others at Wu County and encamped at Zigui. Thereupon the Man and Yi peoples of the Five Streams of Wuling sent envoys asking for troops. Records, Shu 2 §68–69
In the 1st month, in spring, of the 2nd year of Zhangwu (222), when Liu Bei's army returned to Zigui, the naval forces of the generals Wu Ban and Chen Shi camped at Yiling, holding both the east and west banks of the river. In the 2nd month Liu Bei advanced from Zigui with his generals and set up camp at Xiaoting in Yidao. Records, Shu 2 §70
According to the Biography of Lu Xun, Liu Bei set up dozens of linked encampments from the Wu Gorge and Jianping to the border of Yiling, made Feng Xi Grand Commander and Zhang Nan commander of the front division, and then first had Wu Ban lead several thousand men to set up a camp on the plain to provoke a battle. When the Wu generals all wanted to attack it, Lu Xun said there must be some trick and that they should watch, and Liu Bei, realizing his ruse would not work, came out of a valley with 8,000 men who had been lying in ambush. Lu Xun said, 'The reason I did not listen to you gentlemen when you wanted to attack Wu Ban was that I judged there must be some cunning scheme.' Records, Wu 13 §17–18
That summer Lu Xun crushed Liu Bei's army at Xiaoting, and Feng Xi, Zhang Nan and others were killed. Neither the Biography of the Former Lord nor the Biography of Lu Xun says what became of Wu Ban in this battle. According to Chen Shou's record, Wu Ban became Commander of the Army (lingjun) under Liu Bei, and under the Later Sovereign Liu Shan he was gradually promoted to General of Agile Cavalry, granted a tally of authority and enfeoffed as Marquis of Mianzhu. The Records does not give the year or circumstances of his death. Records, Shu 2 §71Records, Wu 13 §21Records, Shu 15 §56
In the Romance
In Chapter 65 of the Romance, Wu Ban's name first appears among those rewarded after Liu Bei won Yi Province. In Chapter 81 he is introduced as a lieutenant who had come from Jing Province, become a Gate General, and was helping Zhang Fei hold Langzhong. When Zhang Fei is murdered, Wu Ban first sends a memorial to inform the Son of Heaven, has Zhang Fei's eldest son Zhang Bao take charge of the body and his younger brother Zhang Shao hold Langzhong, and then sends Zhang Bao to Liu Bei. Liu Bei asks Zhang Bao whether he dares to serve as the vanguard together with Wu Ban and avenge his father. Romance, Ch. 65 §47Romance, Ch. 81 §19 · 24
In Chapter 82 Wu Ban, having received the seal of the vanguard, reaches Yidu without a drop of blood on his blades and reports to Liu Bei that Sun Huan has set up camp there. When Sun Huan has lost many of his officers, Zhang Nan and Feng Xi propose a raid on his camp, but Wu Ban, worried that Zhu Ran's naval forces might cut off their way back, proposes a plan to lure Zhu Ran out with soldiers posing as deserters and strike him with an ambush. That night they storm Sun Huan's camp by three routes, pursue Sun Huan as he flees to the city of Yiling, and surround it. Romance, Ch. 82 §22 · 31–32 · 35 · 37
In Chapter 83, in the 1st month, in spring, of the 2nd year of Zhangwu (222), when Huang Zhong arrives at the camp at Yiling, Wu Ban receives him together with Zhang Nan and Feng Xi, and when Huang Zhong gallops out, he has Feng Xi help in the fight. In the same chapter, while moving his camps, Liu Bei has Wu Ban station a weak force of over 10,000 men on the plain close to the Wu camp, intending that if Lu Xun pursues, Wu Ban will feign defeat, and the 8,000 picked troops hidden in the mountain valleys will cut off his way back. Romance, Ch. 83 §1–3 · 51
In Chapter 84 Lu Xun sees that the camp on the plain has fewer than 10,000 men, most of them old and weak, yet flies a banner reading 'Vanguard Wu Ban'; saying there must be an ambush, he keeps his generals from going out. Wu Ban comes before the pass and hurls abuse without end, while his soldiers take off their armour and lie or sit about. Three days later, after Wu Ban's troops withdraw, the Shu army escorting Liu Bei emerges from the valley, and Lu Xun says that this is exactly why he did not let them attack Wu Ban. Romance, Ch. 84 §1–5
When the Shu army collapses, Wu Ban and Zhang Nan, who had been besieging the city of Yiling, go to rescue Liu Bei. Zhang Nan is caught in a pincer attack and killed, while Wu Ban breaks through the encirclement only to be pursued again; Zhao Yun meets and rescues him, and he returns to Baidi. Romance, Ch. 84 §37 · 39
In Chapter 91 Wu Ban is listed in Zhuge Liang's line-up for the northern campaign as General of the Rear and Marquis of Anle. In Chapter 98 he lies in ambush with Wu Yi and cuts off the retreat of Zhang Hu and Yue Chen; in Chapter 100, together with Guan Xing, Liao Hua and Wu Yi, he leads Shu troops dressed in Wei uniforms into Cao Zhen's camp. In Chapter 101, together with Wang Ping, Zhang Ni and Wu Yi, he slowly withdraws from Mount Qi to Xichuan. Romance, Ch. 91 §41–42Romance, Ch. 98 §12 · 16Romance, Ch. 100 §20 · 22Romance, Ch. 101 §38
When Zhuge Liang marches out again in the spring of the 12th year of Jianxing (234), in Chapter 102 he has Wu Ban and Wu Yi take a raft force to burn the floating bridge over the Wei River. Wu Ban divides off half his troops and poles the rafts downstream, but is stopped by the arrows that Zhang Hu and Yue Chen shower from the bank; he is hit by an arrow, falls into the water and dies. All the rafts are captured by the Wei army. Romance, Ch. 101 §56Romance, Ch. 102 §15 · 17 · 19
Where the Romance differs
Origins: The Records describes Wu Ban as the son of Wu Kuang, a subordinate official of the General-in-Chief He Jin, and a younger clansman of Wu Yi, and says he became Commander of the Army (lingjun) under Liu Bei. Chapter 81 of the Romance introduces him as a lieutenant who had earlier come from Jing Province, become a Gate General, and was helping Zhang Fei hold Langzhong, and says nothing of his family or his relationship to Wu Yi. Romance, Ch. 81 §19Records, Shu 15 §56
After Zhang Fei's death: In Chapter 81 of the Romance, when Zhang Fei dies, his lieutenant Wu Ban first sends a memorial to report it and entrusts the aftermath to Zhang Bao and Zhang Shao. The Biography of Zhang Fei in the Records says only that the Area Commander of Zhang Fei's camp sent a memorial to inform Liu Bei, without naming him, and records that the eldest son Zhang Bao died young. Romance, Ch. 81 §19Records, Shu 6 §23
The vanguard: In Chapter 82 of the Romance, Wu Ban, having received the seal of the vanguard, raids Sun Huan's camp at Yidu and surrounds Sun Huan after he flees to the city of Yiling. In the Records' biography of Lu Xun, the front division of Liu Bei's army was Zhang Nan, and it says only that Sun Huan attacked Liu Bei's vanguard at Yidao and was surrounded, without naming the general who surrounded him. In the Biography of the Former Lord, Wu Ban and Feng Xi defeated the Wu general Li Yi and others at Wu County. Romance, Ch. 82 §22 · 35 · 37Records, Wu 13 §17 · 23Records, Shu 2 §69
The navy at Yiling: In the Biography of the Former Lord in the Records, in the 1st month of the 2nd year of Zhangwu (222) Wu Ban and Chen Shi led the naval forces, camped at Yiling and held both the east and west banks of the river. In Chapters 82–84 of the Romance, Wu Ban appears as the general who long besieges the city of Yiling, and there is no mention of him leading naval forces. Romance, Ch. 82 §37Romance, Ch. 84 §37Records, Shu 2 §70
The decoy camp on the plain: In the Records' biography of Lu Xun, Wu Ban set up a camp on the plain with several thousand men to provoke a battle, and when the ruse failed Liu Bei came out of a valley with 8,000 men who had been lying in ambush. Chapters 83–84 of the Romance depict the same stratagem but make Wu Ban's troops a band of over 10,000 old and weak men, and add the scene in which Wu Ban hurls abuse before the pass while his soldiers take off their armour and lie about. Romance, Ch. 83 §51Romance, Ch. 84 §1 · 3Records, Wu 13 §17–18
After the defeat: In Chapter 84 of the Romance, Wu Ban breaks through the encirclement, is rescued by Zhao Yun and returns to Baidi. The Biography of the Former Lord and the biography of Lu Xun in the Records record only that Feng Xi, Zhang Nan and others died, and do not say what became of Wu Ban in this battle. Romance, Ch. 84 §39Records, Shu 2 §71Records, Wu 13 §21
Northern campaigns and titles: In Chapters 91–101 of the Romance, Wu Ban follows Zhuge Liang on his northern campaigns as General of the Rear and Marquis of Anle and, together with Wu Yi, takes on ambushes and raids. The Records has no account of his deeds in the northern campaigns and says only that under the Later Sovereign Liu Shan he was gradually promoted to General of Agile Cavalry, granted a tally of authority and enfeoffed as Marquis of Mianzhu. Romance, Ch. 91 §42Romance, Ch. 100 §20Records, Shu 15 §56
Death: In Chapter 102 of the Romance, Wu Ban is struck by an arrow, falls into the water and dies while on his way to burn the floating bridge over the Wei River. The Records goes only as far as his reaching the posts of General of Agile Cavalry and Marquis of Mianzhu and does not give the year or circumstances of his death. Romance, Ch. 102 §19Records, Shu 15 §56
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Abilities
The Records score (Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms, main text) is the baseline. Each ability compares how the Romance redrew the same person, and the evidence from both sources explains the difference.
- LEA5852−6
- STR4548+3
- INT4035−5
- POL3331−2
- CHA4038−2
- VIR5255+3
- ADP4242±0
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3333±0
- DIS3533−2
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
No ability differs by 10 or more — the Romance portrays this person much as the Records do.
10 similar abilities — show evidence
RDefeated Li Yi and others at Wu County with Feng Xi, and led the naval forces to camp at YilingShu 2 §69Shu 2 §70
NRaided and broke Sun Huan's camp with Feng Xi and Zhang Nan, and besieged the city of YilingCh. 82 §35Ch. 84 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his command of a decoy forceWu 13 §17
NNo direct record — estimated from his carrying out the Former Lord's lureCh. 83 §51
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalShu 2 §70
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 91 §42
RNo direct record — estimated from his following the Former Lord on his eastern campaignShu 2 §70
NNo direct record — estimated from his going at once to rescue the Former Lord on news of the defeatCh. 84 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalWu 13 §18
NNo direct record — estimated from his breaking through the encirclement and returning to BaidiCh. 84 §39
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalShu 2 §69
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 91 §42
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalShu 2 §69
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 91 §42
Records Romance Unverified No direct record; scored from their actions (evidence grade C)
3KDEX scoring — the Records use the main text of Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms; the Romance uses the 120-chapter Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Click a source tag to open that passage in the reader.
Romance chapters (11)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history
- Shu · Records · Records vol. 45 「先主時，為領軍」
Family
| Parents | Wu Kuang Records |
|---|
Based on Wikidata items for the historical and Romance figures. Relations without the Unverified badge were also confirmed in the Records.
Related events (3)
- Battle of Xiaoting 221~222 · Command
- Lu Xun Burns Seven Hundred Li of Camps 222 · Appears (Romance scene)
- The Han Army Raids the Camp and Defeats Cao Zhen Romance ch. 100 · Appears (Romance scene)
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).