Wu Fan 吳範

Wu Fan's courtesy name was Wenze, and he was a man of Shangyu County in Kuaiji Commandery. He worked with calendrical calculation and numerology and knew how to read the winds and vapors, and became known throughout the commandery. He was recommended under the category of Possessing the Way and was about to go to the capital, but could not go because the world was in turmoil. Just then Sun Quan rose in the southeast, and Wu Fan entrusted himself to his service; whenever there were calamities or auspicious signs, he would at once make calculations and report on what they portended. His art proved right many times, and so his name became known. Records, Wu 18 §2

At first, when Sun Quan, then in Wu, wanted to attack Huang Zu, Wu Fan said that this year held little advantage and it would be better to wait for the next, and that in the next year, the wuzi year, Liu Biao of Jing Province too would die and his state would fall. Sun Quan attacked Huang Zu anyway but in the end could not win. The following year, when the army set out and reached Xunyang County, Wu Fan observed the winds and vapors, went to Sun Quan's ship to offer congratulations, and urged the troops to hurry on, and as soon as they arrived they defeated Huang Zu. When Huang Zu escaped under cover of night and Sun Quan feared losing him, Wu Fan said, 'He has not gone far; we shall surely take him alive,' and around the fifth watch they did indeed capture him. Liu Biao died after all, and Jing Province was divided. The Biography of the Lord of Wu records that Sun Quan attacked Huang Zu in succession in the 12th year of Jian'an (207) and in the spring of the 13th year (208). Records, Wu 18 §3Records, Wu 2 §10–11

In the renchen year, Wu Fan reported, 'When the year reaches jiawu, Liu Bei will obtain Yi Province.' Later Lü Dai, returning from Shu, met Liu Bei at Baidi and said that Liu Bei's forces were scattered, with nearly half of them dead, so the enterprise would surely fail. When Sun Quan challenged Wu Fan with this, Wu Fan replied, 'What I spoke of is the Way of Heaven; what Lü Dai saw is merely the affairs of men.' Liu Bei did in the end obtain Shu, which the Biography of the Lord of Wu records as an event of the 19th year of Jian'an (214). Records, Wu 18 §4Records, Wu 2 §19

When Sun Quan was planning with Lü Meng to attack Guan Yu by surprise and consulted his close ministers, most said it could not be done, but Wu Fan said, 'We shall take him.' Later, when Guan Yu sent an envoy from Maicheng to ask to surrender, Wu Fan said that Guan Yu showed signs of fleeing and that his talk of surrender was a trick. Sun Quan had Pan Zhang block his shortest route, and when the scouts reported that Guan Yu had already left, Wu Fan said that even though he had left he would not escape, and that it would happen at noon the next day. Records, Wu 18 §5

Sun Quan set up a sundial and let down a water clock to wait. When noon came and there was no news, Sun Quan asked why, and Wu Fan said it was not yet exactly noon. A little later, when a wind stirred the curtains, Wu Fan clapped his hands and said, 'Guan Yu has arrived.' Shortly afterward cheers of 'Ten thousand years' were heard outside, and word came that Guan Yu had been captured. Records, Wu 18 §6

Later, when Sun Quan made friendly relations with Wei, Wu Fan said that, judging by the winds and vapors, they came with an outward show but in truth harbored designs, so precautions should be taken, and when Liu Bei massed troops at Xiling he said that they would later make peace. Chen Shou wrote that in the end everything turned out as he had said. Records, Wu 18 §7

Sun Quan made Wu Fan Chief Commandant of Cavalry and concurrently Prefect Grand Astrologer, and repeatedly summoned and questioned him, wishing to learn his secrets. Wu Fan kept his art hidden and guarded it jealously and did not tell Sun Quan its most essential points, and Sun Quan resented him for this. Records, Wu 18 §8

Earlier, when Sun Quan was a general, Wu Fan had reported that there was royal vapor in Jiangnan and that between the hai and zi years there would be great good fortune and celebration, and Sun Quan said that if it came true he would make him a marquis. When Sun Quan took the throne as King of Wu, Wu Fan, attending a banquet, asked whether he remembered that matter, and Sun Quan called his attendants and had them put a marquis's ribbon on Wu Fan. Wu Fan, knowing that Sun Quan meant to make do with this for his earlier promise, pushed it away with his hand and would not accept it. Later, when merit was assessed and fiefs were granted, Wu Fan was made Marquis of a Chief Village, but just as the edict was about to be issued, Sun Quan, angry that Wu Fan had kept his art from him, struck out his name. Records, Wu 18 §9–10

Wu Fan was firm and upright by nature and rather fond of boasting about himself, but in his dealings with close friends he was constant from beginning to end. He was on good terms with Wei Teng of the same district, and when Wei Teng committed an offense and Sun Quan, furious, declared that anyone who dared to remonstrate would be put to death, Wu Fan said, 'I will die with you,' shaved his head, bound himself and went to the gate. Records, Wu 18 §11

When the attendant at the gate said that he would surely be put to death and dared not report it, Wu Fan asked him whether he had a son, and said that if he died for Wu Fan, Wu Fan would take charge of his son. The attendant went in, but before he had finished speaking Sun Quan flew into a rage and was about to hurl a halberd at him; as the attendant withdrew, Wu Fan rushed in, knocked his head on the ground until it bled, and poured out his words amid tears. After a long while Sun Quan's anger subsided and he pardoned Wei Teng. Wei Teng thanked Wu Fan, saying, 'My father and mother could give birth to me and raise me, but they could not save me from death. For a man to be understood by another, one friend like you is enough.' Records, Wu 18 §12

In the 5th year of Huangwu (226), Wu Fan died of illness. His eldest son had died before him and his youngest son was still young, so his learning was cut off. Sun Quan, missing him, sought in three provinces for anyone who knew and could practice the numerological arts like Wu Fan or Zhao Da, promising to enfeoff him as a marquis of a thousand households, but in the end found no one. Records, Wu 18 §13

In his assessment Chen Shou said that the three men Wu Fan, Liu Dun and Zhao Da had each mastered their arts and applied their thought with subtlety, but that if a gentleman is to exert his mind and spirit in the same way, it is proper to apply them to what is great and far-reaching, and that is why men of discernment set those arts aside and choose the other. Records, Wu 18 §28