Jiang Wei
Encyclopedia
Jiang Wei was a military general and regent of the state of Shu Han
during the Three Kingdoms
era of Chinese history
. He originally served Shu's rival state, Cao Wei
, as a middle-level military officer, but defected to the Shu strategist Zhuge Liang
, leaving his mother in Wei. After that, Jiang Wei took part in military campaigns against his native state. He joined Zhuge's first Northern Expedition against Wei in 228, and was made an army commander. Zhuge Liang had always considered Jiang Wei a resourceful and capable general, and Jiang received light-speed promotions during the regencie of Zhuge Liang and of Zhuge Liang's successors Jiang Wan
and Fei Yi
to eventually become Fei Yi's chief assistant. After Fei Yi's death in 253, he succeeded to Fei Yi's position, but did not have the full power that Fei Yi had, as he was only charged with military matters—and therefore was arguably a regent.
Reviving Zhuge Liang's campaigns against Wei (which Jiang Wan and Fei Yi had largely abandoned), Jiang Wei made a number of incursions against Wei — one in coordination with Eastern Wu
's regent Zhuge Ke
-- but each had to be abandoned due to the inadequate food supplies or due to battlefield losses, and these campaigns greatly drained Shu's resources. In 263, a Wei army, led by Deng Ai
and Zhong Hui
, conquered Shu. Jiang Wei tried to restore Shu by persuading Zhong Hui to declare a rebellion against the de facto Wei ruler Sima Zhao
, Zhong Hui agreed but after he did so, Zhong's own soldiers rebelled against him. Both Zhong and Jiang were killed in battle.
and was from Tianshui
Commandery in Gansu
. His father Jiang Jiong (姜冏) was a military officer who was killed in battle during a Qiang rebellion, early in Jiang Wei's life. Because of what happened to his father, Jiang Wei became a military officer himself for the state of Cao Wei
.
's regent Zhuge Liang had his first northern expedition in 228, Jiang Wei's commanding officer suspected him of secretly wishing to join Zhuge Liang, and once, when Jiang Wei was outside the city walls with his troops, they closed the city gates and would not allow Jiang Wei to re-enter. Jiang Wei was forced to indeed defect to Zhuge's army, leaving his mother in Wei territory. Even though Jiang Wei had not shown his military skills on the battlefield, he had already been praised by Zhuge Liang as a capable officer, and was quickly made Zhuge's leading officer at the age of 27, probably out of political consideration.
After Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Jiang Wan
succeeded him as regent. He continued to value Jiang Wei's understanding of, and connections in Liang Province, and he commissioned Jiang Wei with the title of the governor of Liang Province (涼州; present-day Gansu
), which Shu did not control, but effectively giving Jiang Wei the authority over the northwestern border. After Jiang Wan's death in 245, Fei Yi
succeeded him and made Jiang Wei his chief assistant.
Jiang Wei had constantly desired to revive Zhuge Liang's strategy of actively waging wars against Wei, but Fei disagreed, because the resources put into large-scaled wars had already been too much. Instead, Fei Yi kept Jiang Wei on a short leash, and authorized the latter to lead a detachment of 10,000 troops to harass Wei's border. Jiang Wei appeared to be fairly effective under Fei Yi's command, and was successful in persuading a number of non-Han tribes to resist Wei.
, and Zhuge Liang's son, Zhuge Zhan
. Jiang Wei, however, was the supreme authority in military matters. Jiang Wei attempted to weaken Wei, however, there was dissension within the highest ranked officials, because both Zhuge Zhan and Huang Hao feared Jiang Wei would use the military campaigns as a mean to increase his personal influence. Besides the political hinder, several generals also pointed out the strategic shortcomings of waging wars against a stronger state. Thus, Jiang Wei's northern expeditions faced opposition from within Shu.
, Gansu
) as Zhuge Ke launched a massive attack on Hefei
. Wei's regent Sima Shi
correctly judged the Wu force to be the more serious threat and personally led the main Wei force to the eastern front while sending a smaller detachment to relieve Didao. As the first sign of what would eventually recur, Jiang, while sieging Didao, ran out of food supplies and had to withdraw. Eventually, Zhuge Ke's army suffered a great loss due to an unsuccessful long-term siege and plagues, leading to Zhuge Ke's downfall later that year.
In 254, Jiang Wei, after Li Jian (李簡), the county magistrate of Didao secretly declared that he would defect, again advanced on Didao and took the city, but was hindered from a local resistance force led by Xu Zhi
(徐質). Jiang Wei kidnapped some local residents and returned to a stronghold in Longxi, before Guo Huai
arrived the battlefield.
In the summer of 255, despite the opposition from Zhang Yi
(under the rationale that Shu could not sustain continuous campaigns against Wei), Jiang Wei again attacked Didao, and was highly successful in his initial battles against Wei's Yong Province (雍州; present-day Shaanxi
) governor Wang Jing (王經), nearly annihilating Wang's troops. Zhang Yi again tried to persuade Jiang Wei to stop his campaign at this point, but Jiang refused. Instead, he sieged Didao again and eventually was forced to lift the siege when additional Wei forces arrived under the command of Chen Tai
. Jiang and Chen's forces remained in a stalemate throughout the entire winter. In the summer of 256, as Jiang Wei shifted his strategy to advance instead on Shanggui (上邽; in present-day Tianshui
, Gansu
), his move was anticipated by the Wei general Deng Ai, who intercepted him and dealt him a major loss—a loss that would cause the people of Shu to begin to resent Jiang.
In 257, when Cao Wei was dealing with the rebellion of Zhuge Dan
(who had anticipated an usurpation by Sima Shi's brother and successor Sima Zhao
and wanted to resist it), Jiang Wei again attacked, this time advancing all the way to Mangshui (芒水; in present-day Xi'an
, Shaanxi
), but could not induce Wei's forces, commanded by Deng Ai and Sima Wang
, to engage him in battle. After Zhuge was defeated in 258, Jiang withdrew.
In 262, Jiang Wei, despite Liao Hua
's opposition, again attacked Wei, targeting Taoyang (洮陽; in present-day Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
(Hezuo), Gansu
), but was defeated by Deng Ai. He withdrew to Tazhong (沓中; also in present-day Gannan), and, apprehensive that Huang Hao might take this opportunity to damage him politically, did not dare to return to the Shu Han capital Chengdu
, but remained at Tazhong, perhaps to carry out one strategy that Zhuge considered late in his campaigns — have soldiers grow wheat to use as next year's food supply. Why Jiang was particularly apprehensive of Huang at this point was that he had unsuccessfully tried to persuade Liu Shan to execute Huang Hao earlier that year, and Huang was trying to find an opportunity to replace Jiang Wei with his friend Yan Yu
(閻宇).
Late in 262, aggravated by Jiang's constant attacks, Sima Zhao considered hiring assassins to kill Jiang Wei. At his strategists' suggestion, he decided instead to try to wipe out Shu once and for all, and commissioned Deng Ai and Zhong Hui to lead the Wei forces against Shu. Jiang Wei quickly realized that Wei was about to attack and petitioned Liu Shan to send forces to block off the key passes, but Huang Hao, believing in fortunetellers, disagreed and persuaded Liu Shan to take no actions on Jiang Wei's petition.
In 263, while Jiang was still at Tazhong, the Wei attack was launched. Liu Shan ordered that Jiang Wei's plan from 258 be carried out — but much to Liu Shan's surprise, the Wei forces took no heed of Shu border cities at all and headed directly for the key passes. Jiang Wei quickly withdrew his forces to try to defend against the attack, and after some initial failures, was finally able to block off Zhong Hui's forces at Jiange (劍閣; in present-day Guangyuan
, Sichuan
). Zhong Hui considered retreating, but Deng Ai led a smaller detachment through a treacherous mountain pass descending on Jiangyou (江油; in present-day Mianyang
, Sichuan
), defeating Zhuge Liang's son Zhuge Zhan
and heading directly for the Shu capital Chengdu
. Surprised and believing that Chengdu was defenseless, Liu Shan surrendered and ordered Jiang Wei to surrender to Zhong Hui, even though Chengdu was still manned by hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Zhong Hui treated Jiang Wei with respect and quickly made him a key advisor.
. Zhong Hui, after seizing Deng Ai's troops, realized that Sima Zhao had seen through his intentions, and declared a rebellion.
Jiang Wei had other plans, however. He tried to persuade Zhong Hui to kill all of the high level Wei officers, with his own plan that after Zhong did so, he would kill Zhong Hui and then all of the Wei soldiers and redeclare Shu's independence. He wrote letters to Liu Shan explaining his actions. Zhong Hui tentatively agreed with Jiang Wei's suggestion to kill all of the key officers, but hesitated in carrying the plan out. The plan leaked, however, and Zhong's soldiers turned against him. Jiang Wei led Zhong's personal guards against the rebelling soldiers, but eventually Jiang, and then Zhong, were killed.
's Modern Chinese Edition of Sima Guang
's Zizhi Tongjian
, for example, Bo cited seven different and discordant views of Jiang's career — ranging from ringing endorsements of his recklessness and loyalty for the sake of Shu (Pei Songzhi
(裴松之), commentator to the Records of Three Kingdoms
) to criticism of his constant draining campaigns (Chen Shou
, author of Records of Three Kingdoms) to outright condemnation (Sun Sheng (孫盛), author of the Spring and Autumn Annals of Jin
), each of which could be considered a potentially valid view of his complicated character. (Bo himself declined comment, but later in an open letter to a reader suggested that all of the views were, indeed, correct — that Jiang's fatal errors were to drain the energy of his people, but that he was indeed a loyal man, willing to lay down his life in a futile attempt to reestablish Shu.)
Jiang Wei appears as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors
and Warriors Orochi
video game series. He also appears in Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series.
Shu Han
Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu...
during the Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
era of Chinese history
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
. He originally served Shu's rival state, Cao Wei
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
, as a middle-level military officer, but defected to the Shu strategist Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
, leaving his mother in Wei. After that, Jiang Wei took part in military campaigns against his native state. He joined Zhuge's first Northern Expedition against Wei in 228, and was made an army commander. Zhuge Liang had always considered Jiang Wei a resourceful and capable general, and Jiang received light-speed promotions during the regencie of Zhuge Liang and of Zhuge Liang's successors Jiang Wan
Jiang Wan
Jiang Wan , style name Gongyan , was an official of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. After Zhuge Liang's death, he succeeded Zhuge as the regent for the Shu emperor, Liu Shan.-Early career:...
and Fei Yi
Fei Yi
Fei Yi, style name Wenwei , was an official of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He succeeded Jiang Wan as regent of Shu Han, and avoided major expedition against rival state, Cao Wei...
to eventually become Fei Yi's chief assistant. After Fei Yi's death in 253, he succeeded to Fei Yi's position, but did not have the full power that Fei Yi had, as he was only charged with military matters—and therefore was arguably a regent.
Reviving Zhuge Liang's campaigns against Wei (which Jiang Wan and Fei Yi had largely abandoned), Jiang Wei made a number of incursions against Wei — one in coordination with Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...
's regent Zhuge Ke
Zhuge Ke
Zhuge Ke , style name Yuanxun , was a military general and regent of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He was the son of Zhuge Jin and nephew of Zhuge Liang. He succeeded Lu Xun after the latter's death...
-- but each had to be abandoned due to the inadequate food supplies or due to battlefield losses, and these campaigns greatly drained Shu's resources. In 263, a Wei army, led by Deng Ai
Deng Ai
Deng Ai was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. It was said that whenever he saw a hill or wide valley, he would immediately size up the best places to store grain and position troops. His talent was recognized by Sima Yi, who recommended him to take up...
and Zhong Hui
Zhong Hui
Zhong Hui was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He was the son of Zhong Yao, a calligrapher and politician of Wei....
, conquered Shu. Jiang Wei tried to restore Shu by persuading Zhong Hui to declare a rebellion against the de facto Wei ruler Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao was a military general, politician and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...
, Zhong Hui agreed but after he did so, Zhong's own soldiers rebelled against him. Both Zhong and Jiang were killed in battle.
Early life in Wei
Jiang Wei was born during the late Han DynastyHan Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
and was from Tianshui
Tianshui
Tianshui is the second largest city in Gansu province in northwest China. Its population is approximately 3,500,000.Tianshui lies along the route of the ancient Northern Silk Road at the Wei River, through which much of trade occurred between China and the west...
Commandery in Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
. His father Jiang Jiong (姜冏) was a military officer who was killed in battle during a Qiang rebellion, early in Jiang Wei's life. Because of what happened to his father, Jiang Wei became a military officer himself for the state of Cao Wei
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
.
As a general of Shu
When Liu ShanLiu Shan
Liu Shan, , was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. As he ascended the throne at the young age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang and Imperial Secretariat Li Yan...
's regent Zhuge Liang had his first northern expedition in 228, Jiang Wei's commanding officer suspected him of secretly wishing to join Zhuge Liang, and once, when Jiang Wei was outside the city walls with his troops, they closed the city gates and would not allow Jiang Wei to re-enter. Jiang Wei was forced to indeed defect to Zhuge's army, leaving his mother in Wei territory. Even though Jiang Wei had not shown his military skills on the battlefield, he had already been praised by Zhuge Liang as a capable officer, and was quickly made Zhuge's leading officer at the age of 27, probably out of political consideration.
After Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Jiang Wan
Jiang Wan
Jiang Wan , style name Gongyan , was an official of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. After Zhuge Liang's death, he succeeded Zhuge as the regent for the Shu emperor, Liu Shan.-Early career:...
succeeded him as regent. He continued to value Jiang Wei's understanding of, and connections in Liang Province, and he commissioned Jiang Wei with the title of the governor of Liang Province (涼州; present-day Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
), which Shu did not control, but effectively giving Jiang Wei the authority over the northwestern border. After Jiang Wan's death in 245, Fei Yi
Fei Yi
Fei Yi, style name Wenwei , was an official of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He succeeded Jiang Wan as regent of Shu Han, and avoided major expedition against rival state, Cao Wei...
succeeded him and made Jiang Wei his chief assistant.
Jiang Wei had constantly desired to revive Zhuge Liang's strategy of actively waging wars against Wei, but Fei disagreed, because the resources put into large-scaled wars had already been too much. Instead, Fei Yi kept Jiang Wei on a short leash, and authorized the latter to lead a detachment of 10,000 troops to harass Wei's border. Jiang Wei appeared to be fairly effective under Fei Yi's command, and was successful in persuading a number of non-Han tribes to resist Wei.
As a paramountcy of military
After Fei Yi's assassination in 253, Jiang Wei took over Fei's position, making him the head of the army — but unlike his deceased supervisor, his influence on domestic matters was limited, as those matters appeared to be dominated by Liu Shan's trusted eunuch Huang HaoHuang Hao
Huang Hao was a eunuch serving Liu Shan, second and last emperor of the Kingdom of Shu during the Three Kingdoms era in ancient China. Highly favoured by Liu Shan, he was commonly blamed for misguiding the latter into surrendering to the Kingdom of Wei and considered one of the most corrupt and...
, and Zhuge Liang's son, Zhuge Zhan
Zhuge Zhan
Zhuge Zhan , style name Siyuan , was a politician and military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...
. Jiang Wei, however, was the supreme authority in military matters. Jiang Wei attempted to weaken Wei, however, there was dissension within the highest ranked officials, because both Zhuge Zhan and Huang Hao feared Jiang Wei would use the military campaigns as a mean to increase his personal influence. Besides the political hinder, several generals also pointed out the strategic shortcomings of waging wars against a stronger state. Thus, Jiang Wei's northern expeditions faced opposition from within Shu.
Campaigns against Wei
Ignoring the oppositions, Jiang Wei immediately revived Zhuge Liang's northern strategy after he gained full control of the army, and in 253 he set up a coordinated effort with Wu's regent Zhuge Ke to attack Wei on two fronts — Shu on the west and Wu on the east. Jiang Wei attacked the border city of Didao (狄道; in present-day DingxiDingxi
-Geography and climate:Dingxi City is located in central Gansu province, 98 km east of Lanzhou, giving it the nickname the "eastern gateway". The Wei River, a tributary of the Yellow River flows through the district and provides it with the majority of its water. Dingxi is semi-arid, with little...
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
) as Zhuge Ke launched a massive attack on Hefei
Hefei
Hefei is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province in Eastern China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural centre of Anhui...
. Wei's regent Sima Shi
Sima Shi
Sima Shi , style name Ziyuan , was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, allowing the Sima family to become paramount authority in the state, and he...
correctly judged the Wu force to be the more serious threat and personally led the main Wei force to the eastern front while sending a smaller detachment to relieve Didao. As the first sign of what would eventually recur, Jiang, while sieging Didao, ran out of food supplies and had to withdraw. Eventually, Zhuge Ke's army suffered a great loss due to an unsuccessful long-term siege and plagues, leading to Zhuge Ke's downfall later that year.
In 254, Jiang Wei, after Li Jian (李簡), the county magistrate of Didao secretly declared that he would defect, again advanced on Didao and took the city, but was hindered from a local resistance force led by Xu Zhi
Xu Zhi
Xu Zhi was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. His name is sometimes romanticized as Xu Zi.-Biography:...
(徐質). Jiang Wei kidnapped some local residents and returned to a stronghold in Longxi, before Guo Huai
Guo Huai
Guo Huai , style name Boji , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He started his career during the late Han Dynasty under the warlord Cao Cao. During Cao Pi's reign, Guo rose up the ranks and became a grand marshal under Sima Yi...
arrived the battlefield.
In the summer of 255, despite the opposition from Zhang Yi
Zhang Yi (Bogong)
Zhang Yi , style name Bogong, was a general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. Originally from Wuyang and a descendant of Zhang Liang, he became Liu Bei's commander after Liu Bei had captured Yizhou...
(under the rationale that Shu could not sustain continuous campaigns against Wei), Jiang Wei again attacked Didao, and was highly successful in his initial battles against Wei's Yong Province (雍州; present-day Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
) governor Wang Jing (王經), nearly annihilating Wang's troops. Zhang Yi again tried to persuade Jiang Wei to stop his campaign at this point, but Jiang refused. Instead, he sieged Didao again and eventually was forced to lift the siege when additional Wei forces arrived under the command of Chen Tai
Chen Tai
Chen Tai , style name Xuanbo , was a military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was the son of Chen Qun. Chen Tai was very knowledgeable in the art of war, and so led his men as if they were his own children...
. Jiang and Chen's forces remained in a stalemate throughout the entire winter. In the summer of 256, as Jiang Wei shifted his strategy to advance instead on Shanggui (上邽; in present-day Tianshui
Tianshui
Tianshui is the second largest city in Gansu province in northwest China. Its population is approximately 3,500,000.Tianshui lies along the route of the ancient Northern Silk Road at the Wei River, through which much of trade occurred between China and the west...
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
), his move was anticipated by the Wei general Deng Ai, who intercepted him and dealt him a major loss—a loss that would cause the people of Shu to begin to resent Jiang.
In 257, when Cao Wei was dealing with the rebellion of Zhuge Dan
Zhuge Dan
Zhuge Dan , style named Gongxiu , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. When he held military positions during his middle to late career, he got involved in all Three Rebellions in Shouchun, which aimed to drive the de facto ruler of Cao Wei, Sima...
(who had anticipated an usurpation by Sima Shi's brother and successor Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao was a military general, politician and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...
and wanted to resist it), Jiang Wei again attacked, this time advancing all the way to Mangshui (芒水; in present-day Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
, Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
), but could not induce Wei's forces, commanded by Deng Ai and Sima Wang
Sima Wang
Sima Wang was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He served the Jin Dynasty after the end of the Three Kingdoms period...
, to engage him in battle. After Zhuge was defeated in 258, Jiang withdrew.
In 262, Jiang Wei, despite Liao Hua
Liao Hua
Liao Hua , originally named Liao Chun , style name Yuanjian , was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.-Biography:...
's opposition, again attacked Wei, targeting Taoyang (洮陽; in present-day Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in southern Gansu Province, China. It includes Xiahe and the Labrang Monastery, Luqu, Maqu, and other mostly Tibetan towns and villages...
(Hezuo), Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
), but was defeated by Deng Ai. He withdrew to Tazhong (沓中; also in present-day Gannan), and, apprehensive that Huang Hao might take this opportunity to damage him politically, did not dare to return to the Shu Han capital Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
, but remained at Tazhong, perhaps to carry out one strategy that Zhuge considered late in his campaigns — have soldiers grow wheat to use as next year's food supply. Why Jiang was particularly apprehensive of Huang at this point was that he had unsuccessfully tried to persuade Liu Shan to execute Huang Hao earlier that year, and Huang was trying to find an opportunity to replace Jiang Wei with his friend Yan Yu
Yan Yu
Yan Yu was the younger brother of Yan Baihu, a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. Yan Yu was an envoy for peace when Yan Baihu was attacked by Sun Ce. During negotiations he proposed the division of Jiangdong but was killed by Sun Ce in fury...
(閻宇).
Fall of Shu
In 258, Jiang Wei had suggested the following strategic plan be drawn up in case of a major Wei attack — that the border cities do not try to resist, but instead have the main forces to withdraw to the mountain passes to wait for Wei forces to be worn out, and then close up their path of withdrawal. Liu Shan approved the strategy and made it the official plan to follow in case Wei attacked.Late in 262, aggravated by Jiang's constant attacks, Sima Zhao considered hiring assassins to kill Jiang Wei. At his strategists' suggestion, he decided instead to try to wipe out Shu once and for all, and commissioned Deng Ai and Zhong Hui to lead the Wei forces against Shu. Jiang Wei quickly realized that Wei was about to attack and petitioned Liu Shan to send forces to block off the key passes, but Huang Hao, believing in fortunetellers, disagreed and persuaded Liu Shan to take no actions on Jiang Wei's petition.
In 263, while Jiang was still at Tazhong, the Wei attack was launched. Liu Shan ordered that Jiang Wei's plan from 258 be carried out — but much to Liu Shan's surprise, the Wei forces took no heed of Shu border cities at all and headed directly for the key passes. Jiang Wei quickly withdrew his forces to try to defend against the attack, and after some initial failures, was finally able to block off Zhong Hui's forces at Jiange (劍閣; in present-day Guangyuan
Guangyuan
Guangyuan is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province, China. It has an area of 16313.78 square kilometers and a population of 2,484,123 in 2010...
, Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
). Zhong Hui considered retreating, but Deng Ai led a smaller detachment through a treacherous mountain pass descending on Jiangyou (江油; in present-day Mianyang
Mianyang
Mianyang is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Its administrative area includes the city proper of Mianyang, with 985,586 inhabitants in the built up area , the county-level city of Jiangyou, and six counties, covering an area of over and a population...
, Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
), defeating Zhuge Liang's son Zhuge Zhan
Zhuge Zhan
Zhuge Zhan , style name Siyuan , was a politician and military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...
and heading directly for the Shu capital Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
. Surprised and believing that Chengdu was defenseless, Liu Shan surrendered and ordered Jiang Wei to surrender to Zhong Hui, even though Chengdu was still manned by hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Zhong Hui treated Jiang Wei with respect and quickly made him a key advisor.
Efforts to reestablish Shu and death
Jiang Wei quickly saw that Zhong Hui had other ideas — Zhong considered his abilities superior to all Wei generals, even Sima Zhao, and wanted to overthrow Sima. Jiang Wei encouraged Zhong to rebel against Sima Zhao, and Zhong agreed. Zhong Hui first falsely reported to Sima Zhao that Deng Ai was planning a rebellion, and forged letters to and from Deng to increase the tension between Sima Zhao and Deng Ai. In early 264, Sima ordered that Zhong arrest Deng and seize his troops — but at the same time led a force personally, heading toward Chengdu from the Wei capital LuoyangLuoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
. Zhong Hui, after seizing Deng Ai's troops, realized that Sima Zhao had seen through his intentions, and declared a rebellion.
Jiang Wei had other plans, however. He tried to persuade Zhong Hui to kill all of the high level Wei officers, with his own plan that after Zhong did so, he would kill Zhong Hui and then all of the Wei soldiers and redeclare Shu's independence. He wrote letters to Liu Shan explaining his actions. Zhong Hui tentatively agreed with Jiang Wei's suggestion to kill all of the key officers, but hesitated in carrying the plan out. The plan leaked, however, and Zhong's soldiers turned against him. Jiang Wei led Zhong's personal guards against the rebelling soldiers, but eventually Jiang, and then Zhong, were killed.
Appraisal
Jiang Wei was one of the most controversial figures in Chinese history. In Bo YangBo Yang
This article is about the Chinese writer. His name in Western languages is homonymic with Bó Yáng .Boyang , also sometimes called Baiyang, was a Chinese language writer based in Taiwan...
's Modern Chinese Edition of Sima Guang
Sima Guang
Sīmǎ Guāng was a Chinese historian, scholar, and high chancellor of the Song Dynasty, jinshi 1038.-Life, profession, and works:...
's Zizhi Tongjian
Zizhi Tongjian
The Zizhi Tongjian was a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084, under the form of a chronicles. In 1065 CE, Emperor Yingzong of Song ordered the great historian Sima Guang to lead with other scholars such as his chief assistants Liu Shu, Liu Ban and Fan Zuyu, the...
, for example, Bo cited seven different and discordant views of Jiang's career — ranging from ringing endorsements of his recklessness and loyalty for the sake of Shu (Pei Songzhi
Pei Songzhi
Pei Songzhi was commissioned by Emperor Wen of Liu Song to write a commentary on Chen Shou's Records of Three Kingdoms, providing additional detail omitted from the original work. His commentary, completed in 429, became integral to later editions of the Records, making the joint work three times...
(裴松之), commentator to the Records of Three Kingdoms
Records of Three Kingdoms
Records of Three Kingdoms , is regarded as the official and authoritative historical text on the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history covering the years 184-280 CE. Written by Chen Shou in the 3rd century, the work combines the smaller histories of the rival states of Cao Wei , Shu Han and...
) to criticism of his constant draining campaigns (Chen Shou
Chen Shou
Chen Shou was a historian during the Jin Dynasty period of Chinese history. He is best known as the author of Records of Three Kingdoms, a historical account of the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period.-Biography:...
, author of Records of Three Kingdoms) to outright condemnation (Sun Sheng (孫盛), author of the Spring and Autumn Annals of Jin
Jìn Dynasty (265-420)
The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin...
), each of which could be considered a potentially valid view of his complicated character. (Bo himself declined comment, but later in an open letter to a reader suggested that all of the views were, indeed, correct — that Jiang's fatal errors were to drain the energy of his people, but that he was indeed a loyal man, willing to lay down his life in a futile attempt to reestablish Shu.)
Appointments and titles held
- The following appointments were held by Jiang Wei when he served the state of Wei in Tianshui Commandery
- Household Officer (中郎)
- Army Adviser (參軍事)
- The following appointments and titles were held by Jiang Wei when he served the state of Shu
- Assistant Logistics Officer (倉曹掾)
- Central Army Inspector (中監軍)
- General Who Attacks the West (征西將軍)
- Right Inspector of the Army (右監軍)
- General Who Assists Han (輔漢將軍)
- Marquis of Pingxiang (平襄侯)
- Senior General Who Guards the West (鎮西大將軍)
- General of the Guards (衛將軍)
- Imperial Secretary (錄尚書事)
- General-in-Chief (大將軍)
Modern references
Dynasty Warriors
is a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name. The first game titled Dynasty Warriors,...
and Warriors Orochi
Warriors Orochi
, is a PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 hack and slash video game developed by Koei and Omega Force. It is a crossover of two of Koei's popular video game series, Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors...
video game series. He also appears in Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series.