Zhang Fei’s descendants today

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Fei, like Liu Bei, both came from Zhuo County in Youzhou. On the basis of being from the same hometown, Zhang Fei and Liu Bei were almost inseparable from each other since they followed Liu Bei to suppress the Yellow Turban Uprising. The long-term wind and rain together prompted Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei to form a deep emotional bond.
In the Records of the Three Kingdoms, it is recorded that the former ruler slept with two people on the same bed, showing kindness as if they were brothers. And the thick crowd sat wide, standing all day long, following the previous master’s maneuvering, not avoiding difficulties.
However, in 221 AD, after Liu Bei ascended the throne in Chengdu and officially established Shu Han, Zhang Fei was killed by his subordinates. Therefore, for Liu Bei, he received the news of Zhang Fei’s murder before avenging Guan Yu, which can be said to be a double-edged sword. After Zhang Fei’s death, his descendants naturally received generous treatment from father and son Liu Bei and Liu Shan. Let’s talk about the ending of Zhang Fei’s descendants together.
one
Firstly, for Zhang Fei, he has two sons and two daughters.
On the one hand, regarding Zhang Fei’s two daughters. Zhang Fei’s eldest daughter is generally referred to as Empress Jing’ai.
In the first year of Zhangwu (221 AD), Zhang married Crown Prince Liu Shan and became the Crown Princess.
In the first year of Jianxing (223 AD), Liu Chan ascended to the throne and appointed Zhang as the empress.
In June of the fifteenth year of Jianxing (237 AD), Zhang passed away and was posthumously honored as Empress Jing’ai. After his death, he was buried in Nanling.
As for Zhang Fei’s second daughter, she is generally referred to as Empress Zhang.
In the fifteenth year of Jianxing (237 AD), Liu Shan, the sister of the Zhang family and the first empress of Shu Han, expressed her condolences for the death of the empress. In the same year, Liu Shan brought Zhang into the palace and conferred him the title of Noble.
In January of 238 AD, Zhang was crowned as the empress, and this is Empress Zhang. In 263 AD, Sima Zhao, who held the great power of Cao Wei, launched the War of Wei to annihilate Shu. With Deng Ai’s troops approaching Chengdu, the later lord Liu Shan also gave up resistance. After the fall of Shu Han, Empress Zhang followed Liu Shan to Luoyang, the capital of Cao Wei. Afterwards, Liu Shan was conferred the title of Duke Anle. Empress Zhang also became Lady Anle and spent the rest of her life in Luoyang.
Therefore, for Zhang Fei’s two daughters, not only did they become the empresses of Shu Han one after another, but they also achieved good endings. In literary works such as “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” Zhang Fei is portrayed as a figure resembling a reckless man.
However, according to Zhuo Erchang’s “Annotation on the Essence of Painting” from the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Fei not only enjoyed painting beautiful women, but also excelled in cursive calligraphy. According to the “Danxian Zonglu”, there is a Diao Douming in Fuling, and the inscription on it was written by Zhang Fei. The knife worn by Zhang Fei and the words engraved on the horse were also engraved by Zhang Fei. The painter Wu Zhen of the Yuan Dynasty once wrote a poem highly praising Zhang Fei’s calligraphy, saying that Zhong Yao of the Wei Kingdom and Huang Xiang of the Wu Kingdom may not have the same level of proficiency in calligraphy as Zhang Fei. It is said that Zhang Fei can also write poetry and prose. When he traveled rapidly to the mountains, he was inspired and wrote “Journey to the Mountains”.
Therefore, in my opinion, this prompted Zhang Fei’s two daughters to be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. And this is naturally an important reason why they were successively crowned as empresses.
two
On the other hand, regarding Zhang Fei’s two sons. Although in Luo Guanzhong’s “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, Zhang Fei’s eldest son Zhang Bao participated in the Battle of Yiling and Zhuge Liang’s Northern Expedition. However, according to historical records such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Zhang Fei’s eldest son Zhang Bao not only passed away at a young age, but there is no record of him participating in the aforementioned battles.
As for Zhang Shao, the second son of Zhang Fei, he held important official positions in Shu Han. According to historical records such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, in the later period of Shu Han, Zhang Shao was conferred the titles of attendant and Shangshu Pushe by Liu Chan. During the Three Kingdoms period, as a minister beside the emperor, the attendant naturally held a relatively special position. As for the Shangshu Pushe, he held the position of Shangshu Ling last time. At that time, the position of Shangshu Ling was close to that of the Prime Minister. For example, after the death of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, Dong Yun and others held the position of Shangshu Ling to handle the affairs of the Shu Han court. So Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, and Dong Yun were referred to as the Four Prime Ministers of Shu Han by later generations.
Now, for Zhang Shao, who serves as the attendant and Shangshu Pushe, he can be said to be a highly ranked minister in Shu Han and has gained the trust of the later lord Liu Shan. Of course, this is also because his two sisters (or younger sisters) successively became the empresses of Liu Shan, which made Zhang Shao the uncle of Shu Han.
three
In 260 AD, Sima Zhao assassinated Emperor Cao Mao. Although this did not shake Sima’s position in Cao Wei, it still put great pressure on Sima Zhao, forcing him to decide to make achievements and resolve the criticism of killing the monarch. In this context, Sima Zhao began preparations to eliminate the Shu Han, as they were the weakest among the Three Kingdoms. In August of 263 AD, Sima Zhao officially launched this battle.
In the Battle of Wei over Shu, although Jiang Wei blocked Zhong Hui at the Sword Pavilion. However, taking advantage of the stalemate between Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui, Deng Ai illegally entered Yinping and successfully arrived in Chengdu. Faced with Deng Ai’s army, the rear leader Liu Shan naturally lacked the confidence to persist. In 264 AD, Zhang Shao, the second son of Zhang Fei, migrated to Luoyang with Liu Shan. Of course, Zhang Fei’s second daughter is also among them. After arriving in Cao Wei, Zhang Shao was conferred the title of Marquis by Sima Zhao and also achieved a good ending.
Correspondingly to Zhang Shao, Zhang Zun, the son of Zhang Bao, the eldest son of Zhang Fei, did not surrender to Cao Wei but was killed in the battle of Wei’s conquest of Shu. In 263 AD, when Deng Ai’s army illegally entered Yinping and arrived in the Mianzhu area, Zhang Zun followed Zhuge Liang’s son Zhuge Zhan to meet the enemy. At that time, Mianzhu could be said to be the last line of defense in Chengdu, so the rear lord Liu Shan handed over the remaining troops to the descendants of Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei.
four
According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, in the fourth year of Jingyao, he served as a general of the Imperial Guard and concurrently held the position of Shangshu with the Grand General of the Auxiliary State, Nanxiang Marquis Dong Jue. In the winter of the sixth year, General Deng Ai of Wei launched an attack on Shu and entered from Yinping by the Jinggu Road. Zhan Du’s troops stopped at Fu, the vanguard broke through, retreated, and settled in Mianzhu. Ai sent a letter to persuade Zhan, saying, “If anyone surrenders, they will be declared as the Langye King.” Zhan became angry and beheaded Ai. Suizhan suffered a great defeat and Lin Chen died at the age of thirty-seven. Everyone dispersed, and Ai Chang drove to Chengdu. Zhan’s eldest son Shang, neither with Zhan.
Before the Battle of Mianzhu, Zhuge Zhan said sorrowfully, “I cannot eliminate Huang Hao internally, cannot balance Jiang Wei externally, and cannot defend the territory when advancing. I have three crimes, what face do I have to go back?!” So, faced with Deng Ai’s persuasion to surrender, Zhuge Zhan defended his position and prepared for a decisive battle. Zhuge Zhan set up a formation in Mianzhu and waited for Deng Ai. Deng Ai sent his son Deng Zhong to encircle from the right, and then sent a division commander to encircle from the left. As a result, both of them were defeated and retreated by Zhuge Zhan. The report said, “The enemy is difficult to defeat!” Deng Ai was furious and said, “Life and death are in this matter, what is not allowed!” He wanted to behead the two, so they went to battle again and defeated the Shu Han army. Zhuge Zhan, Zhang Zun and others were all killed in action.
In my opinion, at the time of the downfall of Shu Han, although the efforts of Zhuge Zhan, Zhang Zun and others could not reverse the course of history. However, their courage and loyalty are still worthy of praise from future generations. Furthermore, Zhang Fei devoted his entire life to the establishment of Shu Han, and when his grandson Zhang Zun donned military attire, he naturally could not sit idly by and watch Shu Han go towards destruction. Moreover, descendants of Shu Han ministers such as Zhuge Liang, Huang Quan, and Zhao Yun were all killed in action during the Wei Dynasty’s conquest of Shu. In summary, after the fall of Shu Han, except for Zhang Zun’s heroic sacrifice, most of Zhang Fei’s descendants achieved a good ending.