Lü Bu (died February 199)[1][2] was a military general and later a minor warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. According to the Records of Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu was highly-skilled in horse-riding and archery, and was thus nicknamed "Flying General". His image as a handsome and mighty warrior wearing a pheasant-tailed headdress and wielding a ji known as the "Sky Piercer" (simplified Chinese: 方天画戟; traditional Chinese: 方天畫戟; pinyin: Fāngtiān Huàjǐ) on top of his steed Red Hare was later popularized by Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the story, he is considered the single most powerful warrior in all of China.
Besides being matchless on the battlefield, especially in man-on-man duels, Lü Bu was also notorious for having betrayed and slain two separate lords who were both his adoptive fathers. He is best known for his amorous relationship with the fictional maiden Diaochan, which eventually caused him to betray and kill Dong Zhuo out of jealousy. Throughout Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu has been depicted as a ruthless and impulsive warrior who has no sense of loyalty and sympathy.
Lü Bu was eventually defeated and captured by Cao Cao at the Battle of Xiapi. At Liu Bei's suggestion, Cao Cao had Lü Bu hanged.
Lü Bu was a local of Jiuyuan County, Wuyuan Commandery (a district of present-day Baotou, Inner Mongolia). He started his career as the Chief Secretary under the governor of Bing Province (并州), Ding Yuan. In 189, Ding Yuan led his troops into the capital city of Luoyang to assist General-in-Chief He Jin in eliminating the Ten Attendants (a group of influential eunuch officials in the imperial court). He Jin was assassinated and Luoyang plunged into chaos when He Jin's supporters and the eunuch faction clashed.
Dong Zhuo, a warlord from Liang Province who was summoned to Luoyang by He Jin, seized control of the armed forces of Luoyang and rose to power. Lü Bu betrayed and killed Ding Yuan, severed Ding's head and presented it to Dong Zhuo as a gesture of allegiance. Dong Zhuo also acknowledged Lü Bu as his foster son. To consolidate power, Dong Zhuo deposed Emperor Shao and replaced him with Emperor Xian, who was actually a puppet ruler under his control, and moved the capital city to Chang'an in the west. Dong Zhuo's evident intention of usurping state power, compounded by his tyranny and cruelty, angered many loyalists and placed him in a vulnerable position to political assassination. For his personal safety, Dong Zhuo relied heavily on Lü Bu, who was promoted to "General of the Household" (中郎將). Lü Bu would be at Dong Zhuo's side almost all the time as a personal bodyguard.
In his frequent bouts of temper, Dong Zhuo would hurl a halberd at Lü Bu to vent his frustration. Lü Bu dodged the weapons easily and Dong Zhuo's fury subsided quickly. Nevertheless, Lü Bu bore a furtive displeasure towards his foster father for that. Moreover, as Lü Bu had access to Dong Zhuo's residence, he started an amorous affair with one of Dong's servant maids, and was constantly in fear of being discovered by his foster father.
In 192, with encouragement from Interior Minister Wang Yun, Lü Bu decided to kill Dong Zhuo. He brought a dozen trusted men, including Cavalry Captain Li Su, to greet Dong Zhuo one morning at the palace gate. Li Su stabbed Dong Zhuo and Dong cried out for Lü Bu to save him. However, Lü Bu said, "This is an imperial order." and delivered a fatal blow to Dong Zhuo.
After Dong Zhuo's death, the central government, now controlled by Wang Yun, refused to grant amnesty to Dong's former followers. In fear, Dong Zhuo's remnants, led by Li Jue and Guo Si, attacked Chang'an. Within ten days, Chang'an fell to Li Jue and Guo Si, and Lü Bu was forced to flee after his defeat. State power fell into the hands of Dong Zhuo's followers once more. Lü Bu went to the warlord Yuan Shu and requested to join him, but Yuan refused to accept him as he was deterred by Lü's fickleness.
Lü Bu then headed north to join Yuan Shao and he helped the latter defeat the bandit army led by Zhang Yan. As Lü Bu's force gradually grew in strength, Yuan Shao began to see him as a potential threat. Lü Bu was aware of that himself so he left Yuan Shao swiftly and avoided the assassins Yuan sent after him.
In 194, when Cao Cao was away on a campaign against Tao Qian in Xu Province, his subordinates Zhang Miao and Chen Gong rebelled and allowed Lü Bu's forces to take over Yan Province. Gao Shun and Cheng Lian helped Lü Bu defeat and drive away Cao Cao's army. When Cao Cao heard that Yan Province had fallen into Lü Bu's hands, he turned back and besieged Lü Bu at Puyang. After more than 100 days of stalemate, a famine forced Lü Bu to abandon the city.
Another Qing Dynasty illustration. This one shows Lü Bu battling Cao Cao.
After abandoning Puyang, Lü Bu headed for Xu Province to seek refuge under the new governor, Liu Bei. In 196, Lü Bu turned against Liu Bei and seized the city of Xiapi, effectively taking over governorship of Xu Province, forcing Liu Bei to move to the nearby town of Xiaopei (小沛; present-day Pei County, Anhui).
In the same year, Yuan Shu sent an army led by Ji Ling to attack Liu Bei. As Lü Bu feared that the loss of Xiaopei would expose him to attack from Yuan Shu, he led his men to lay camp south of Xiaopei, where he sent invitations for Liu Bei and Ji Ling to meet him. Lü Bu urged both sides to make peace and extracted promises from them to withdraw their troops if he could hit the sharp tongue of a halberd, erected at the gate, with an arrow. From afar, Lü Bu fired an arrow and it came squarely on its target. Both Liu Bei and Ji Ling kept their promises and retreated.
To counter Cao Cao's rising power, Yuan Shu offered to form an alliance with Lü Bu. Lü Bu agreed initially but regretted afterwards. He sent his men to retrieve his daughter, who was on her way to be married to Yuan Shu's son. Lü Bu also imprisoned Yuan Shu's envoy and sent the captive to Cao Cao as a token of friendship.
In 198, Lü Bu switched his allegiance to Yuan Shu again and attacked Liu Bei at Xiaopei. Liu Bei went to join Cao Cao and the latter led his army to attack Xu Province. After three months of siege and many consecutive defeats, Lü Bu's subjects were low in morale and some of them defected to Cao Cao's side. Lü Bu had no choice but to surrender eventually. In some accounts, Lü Bu was betrayed by his subordinates, who tied him up while he was asleep, and presented him to Cao Cao. Lü Bu was bound and brought before Cao Cao, to whom he pledged his service. When Liu Bei reminded Cao Cao about the fate of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao condemned Lü Bu to death by hanging.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a historical novel by Luo Guanzhong, was a dramatization of the events that occurred before and during the Three Kingdoms era. It portrayed Lü Bu as an invincible warrior but an incapable leader who is further marred by character flaws. While adhering to factual history in the general course of events, Luo Guanzhong exaggerated or sentimentalised many stories about Lü Bu, drawing inspirations from folklore and traditional operas. The following are some of the stories of Lü Bu in the novel that differ from historical accounts:
Lü Bu first appeared in chapter 3 as the foster son of Ding Yuan. When Dong Zhuo proposed to depose Emperor Shao, Ding Yuan opposed Dong Zhuo's decision and denounced him as a traitor. Dong Zhuo wanted to kill Ding Yuan for the refute but refrained when Lü Bu stood forward to defend his foster father. Li Su, one of Dong Zhuo's followers who came from the same hometown as Lü Bu, volunteered to persuade Lü to defect over.
Li Su went to see Lü Bu, bringing with him the Red Hare, a thousand taels of gold, dozens of pearls and a jade belt. Li Su succeeded in persuading Lü Bu to defect, as Lü was moved by Dong Zhuo's gifts and he felt that following Ding Yuan would not brighten his future. That night, Lü Bu murdered and decapitated Ding Yuan, bringing the head to see Dong Zhuo the next morning. Dong Zhuo was overjoyed and accepted Lü Bu as his foster son, appointing him as a high-ranking military officer and showering him with gifts. Lü Bu served as Dong Zhuo's personal bodyguard from then on.
Dong Zhuo's tyranny and cruelty incurred the anger of many people, so in 190, several regional governors and warlords formed a coalition army under Yuan Shao's leadership to attack him.
The coalition forces were victorious in the early battles until they reached Hulao Pass, 50 Li away from the capital Luoyang. Lü Bu came forth to challenge the coalition army, riding on his Red Hare, clad in the finest silver armour and donning a pheasant-tail headdress. Generals from the coalition, Fang Yue and Mu Shun, were slain by Lü Bu in one-on-one duels, while Wu Anguo's wrist was cut off and had to retreat. The warlord Gongsun Zan fought with Lü Bu personally but was no match for him and had to retreat as well. Just then, Zhang Fei appeared, insulting Lü Bu as "a bastard slave with three family names (since he had his own name and had two adoptive fathers)". Zhang Fei struggled against Lü Bu for more than 50 rounds but neither side was able to win. Before long, Guan Yu and Liu Bei joined in the fight consecutively, but Lü Bu still managed to hold on. Eventually, as he grew weary, Lü Bu fought his way out and retreated back to the pass.
After Lü Bu's retreat, Dong Zhuo abandoned Luoyang and moved the capital city to Chang'an in the west. Interior Minister Wang Yun devised a plot to sow discord between Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo, intending to make use of Lü Bu to kill the tyrant. Wang Yun invited Lü Bu to his residence for a banquet one evening and captured Lü's attention with his servant girl Diaochan. Lü Bu was entranced by Diaochan's beauty and was overjoyed when Wang Yun promised to let her marry him. A few days later, Wang Yun repeated the scenario, this time with Dong Zhuo as the guest in his house. Wang Yun allowed Dong Zhuo to bring Diaochan home and she became Dong's concubine.
The angry Lü Bu confronted Wang Yun later and accused Wang of breaking his promise. Wang Yun feigned ignorance and lied to Lü Bu that Dong Zhuo had brought Diaochan home so he could see his prospective daughter-in-law before her marriage. Lü Bu's anger subsided after hearing that and he apologized to Wang Yun before leaving. The next morning, Lü Bu headed to Dong Zhuo's bedroom and saw Diaochan looking at him, with a sorrowful expression on her face. When Dong Zhuo fell ill, Lü Bu used the opportunity to see Diaochan under the pretext of visiting his foster father. When Dong Zhuo caught Lü Bu staring at his concubine, he was furious and forbid Lü from entering his inner rooms from then on.
One day, when Dong Zhuo was out, Lü Bu sneaked into his house to see Diaochan. At Fengyi Pavilion, Diaochan lied to Lü Bu that she was no longer a virgin and felt ashamed to see Lü. She attempted suicide but Lü Bu stopped her. Lü Bu was moved and believed that Dong Zhuo had taken Diaochan, rightfully his, from him by force. Just then, Dong Zhuo returned and saw the pair locked in a tight embrace. He was furious and chased after Lü Bu, who fled, with a halberd in hand. Dong Zhuo hurled the weapon at Lü Bu, who dodged it narrowly and escaped. Dong Zhuo returned to Diaochan and chided her for infidelity, but Diaochan replied indignantly that it was Lü Bu who embraced her against her consent. She attempted suicide once more to prove her loyalty to Dong Zhuo, who was moved and he trusted her.
After that incident, Lü Bu became increasingly displeased with Dong Zhuo, although Dong attempted to "patch-up" by sending him gifts. Wang Yun seized the opportunity to instigate Lü Bu into killing Dong Zhuo, by warning Lü that he would be remembered in history as a traitor and corrupt general for serving a villain like Dong Zhuo. When Lü Bu claimed that he could not bear to betray two adoptive fathers, Wang Yun replied, "Dong Zhuo's surname is Dong, while yours is Lü. Did he consider you as his son when he threw that halberd at you?". Lü Bu eventually made up his decision to kill Dong Zhuo. Wang Yun sent Li Su to fetch Dong Zhuo to the palace, claiming that the emperor had decided to abdicate and pass the throne to Dong. Dong Zhuo was ambushed by Wang Yun's men at the palace gate and he cried out for Lü Bu to save him. Lü Bu appeared and said coldly, "I've an imperial order to kill the traitor Dong Zhuo.", before delivering a fatal blow.
In 198, Cao Cao and Liu Bei formed a temporary alliance against Lü Bu and attacked him in the Battle of Xiapi. Lü Bu's forces were besieged inside the city for two months. Cao Cao's advisors Xun Yu and Guo Jia then suggested to their lord to flood Xiapi by directing water from the Yi and Si rivers. Lü Bu's advisor Chen Gong suggested that he should lead a group of soldiers outside the city gate before the water level is too high, and to cut down Cao Cao's food supply. While Chen Gong himself will lead another group to a different direction. Both groups will then coordinate a two-pronged attack on Cao Cao's army and should be sufficient to force him to retreat. However, Lü Bu's wife, Lady Yan, complained that he hardly spent time with his family and persuaded him to stay in the city and defend it until Cao Cao's forces retreat. As the city gates were flooded, Lü Bu's men rushed to inform him but Lü dismissed the warning, thinking that his Red Hare would help him escape. Lü Bu was heavily indulging in alcohol and women at that time, but one day he decided to abstain from wine after seeing his own reflection in the mirror. He issued an order banning his men from consuming alcohol. One day, Hou Cheng, one of Lü Bu's generals, caught a defector attempting to steal 50 horses. He prepared some wine to celebrate his achievement with his colleagues and presented five bottles to Lü Bu. Lü Bu was enraged when he saw that Hou Cheng defied his order and had Hou flogged. The unhappy Hou Cheng then plotted with Song Xian and Wei Xu to defect over to Cao Cao. At night, Hou Cheng stole Lü Bu's Red Hare and fled from the city towards Cao Cao's camp.
The next morning, Cao Cao's troops launched a fierce attack on the city, forcing Lü Bu to participate in the defense personally. The battle dragged on until late noon and the exhausted Lü Bu took a nap. Song Xian and Wei Xu took the opportunity to tie Lü Bu up and they hoisted a white flag and threw Lü Bu's weapon down the city wall. With help from the defectors, Cao Cao's army broke into the city and captured it swiftly. Lü Bu was bound and brought before Cao Cao at White Gate Tower. He pledged his service to Cao and the latter, who had a penchant for recruiting talents, was almost swayed by Lü Bu's words. Just then, Liu Bei reminded Cao Cao of the fates of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao changed his decision. Lü Bu stamped his foot in anger and hurled abuse at Liu Bei. Cao Cao then ordered for Lü Bu to be executed by hanging and xiaoshou (梟首; the corpse to be decapitated and the head put on display).
The family members of Lü Bu mentioned in this section are based on the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
- Spouses:
- Lady Yan, Lü Bu's first wife, bore him a daughter
- Lady Cao (曹氏), Lü Bu's second wife, daughter of Cao Bao, died early, did not bear Lü Bu any children
- Diaochan, Lü Bu's concubine, never bore him any children either
- Children:
- Daughter, unknown name (known as Lü Lingqi in Koei's video games), arranged to be married to Yuan Shu's son
- Commandant of Cavalry (騎都尉)
- General of the Household (中郎將)
- General Who Inspires Might (奮威將軍)
- Marquis of Wen (溫侯)
Because of his reputation as an unmatched and highly skilled warrior in the Three Kingdoms saga, Lü Bu is often held in high regard in works based on the Three Kingdoms, sometimes even in works not based on the Three Kingdoms. These include video games, where he is often given the highest War/Attack stats, and in anime and manga. Some examples for these are listed below.
- Lü Bu is featured as a playable character in all installments of Koei's Dynasty Warriors video game series, as well as Warriors Orochi, a crossover between Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. In the games his name is spelled as "Lu Bu" without the diaeresis in the "U" in "Lu".
- In Capcom's Destiny of an Emperor for the NES Lü Bu appears as a character with the highest attack stat. In the game, the player is capable of recruiting him into Liu Bei's party albeit only temporarily.
- The character Ryofu Housen (Japanese pronunciation of Lü Bu Fengxian), in the anime short series Ikki Tousen, is also roughly based on Lü Bu.
- In the manga and OVA anime Ryofuko-chan,[3] Lü Bu is reincarnated as the elementary school student Ryofuko.
- In Fate/Extra, Lü Bu is one of the Berserker-class Servants.
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![[Dynasty Warriors 7] Legendary Battles - Lu Bu](http://web.archive.org./web/20130404202618im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/e3vBjB97szU/default.jpg "everyone's fav lu bu")
