Wang Ping
Encyclopedia
Wang Ping style name
Zijun (子均), was a Cao Wei
officer who later defected to Liu Bei
, and served as a general under Shu Han
during the Three Kingdoms
era of Chinese history
.
, Sichuan
). He was surnamed He (何) because he was raised by He clan, which his mother originated. He presumably changed his surname back to Wang during his later years (historic records show a discrepancy on how he was called, so it is also possible that he had his surname changed posthumously).
He began his career by serving Du Huo, and was made an acting colonel when he followed his supervisor Du to visit the imperial court. When Du joined Cao Cao
to Hanzhong
to wrestle control over the area of Hanzhong with Shu warlord, Liu Bei
, Wang was also a member of the expedition force. When they arrived the battlefield, Liu refused to give battle, and Cao forces faced serious logistical difficulty, and many of his soldiers started deserting and joining the other side who could provide food and shelter. Wang Ping was one of those surrendered to Liu.
In 228, a critical event to Wang's life happened when he fought under Ma Su
as the vanguard during the Battle of Jieting
. He advised Ma against abandoning the water sources and encamping atop the mountain, which Ma refused but gave the option to Wang to lead a detachment to camp where the latter saw fit. Indeed, Ma was defeated by Cao Wei
general, Zhang He
, when the latter cut off his water supply; Wang Ping and a company of 1000 soldiers near the mountain foot rolled their drums loudly to alarm a defense. Zhang mistook Wang as giving out a signal for ambushing units, and did not attack Wang's direction. Therefore, Wang was able to regroup the defeated forces and regather supplies scattered everywhere. In the aftermath of the defeat, Ma Su was supposedly executed but Wang Ping was greatly promoted. In 234, during Zhuge Liang
's fourth northern expedition, Wang again faced Zhang He, and was able to resist attacks from the latter. After Zhuge Liang's death, he received credit for his effort on quelling the "rebellion" of Wei Yan
, and was promoted as a Governor, under supervision of Wu Yi.
Wang Ping later replaced Wu as the Area Commander of Hanzhong region, and was granted a title of Marquis Stabilizing Han. In 244, the Wei regent, Cao Shuang
, led sixty to seventy thousand soldiers to attack Hanzhong. Wang Ping's forces were intimidated by Cao's boost of over one hundred thousand troops, and the generals under Wang urged him to vacate the area for a more concentrated defense in the rear. Only Liu Min insisted on following arrangements of the dead Wei Yan to resist the enemy on the outskirt. Wang hold the same opinion as Liu and they moved their forces to Xingshi, and occupied a mountain there. They only had 30,000 men at the time, but that was not known by the enemies, and Liu erected plenty of flags and streamers. Therefore, both sides perceived the other party as having a larger than actual size, and hesitated to engage in battle. While Cao Shuang was vacillating between a decisive attack and a general retreat, forces led by Fei Yi
finally arrived, effectively picking the latter choice for him.
He was a straight disciplinarian, so he never made a joke. Besides giving orations, he seldom used his mouth, and he would just sit from morning till dusk, and then slept. Trifles of Wang was comparable to that of Deng Zhi
of the east and Ma Zhong
of the south. General Wang finally died in 248, leaving his son Wang Xun as heir.
's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms
, Wang Ping was given a fictionalized and more prominent role in the Hanzhong Campaign
, opposing Xu Huang
's tactics and defecting. Xu Huang wanted his army to cross the Han river and battle Liu Bei
's forces on the other side. Wang warned that it would be impossible to retreat once they cross the river, as the river would significantly slow down the retreat and will be vulnerable to enemy fire. Xu claimed that the soldiers will fight to the death and have no need to retreat if they are in a dire situation (in conjunction with the tactic by legendary Western Han general Han Xin
, where he purposely placed his army near a river in order to unleash their full potential). Wang then claimed that Han only used that tactic because the opposition had no strategist to see through it, but Liu's army had the support of Zhuge Liang
, who would be able to easily see through this tactic. Xu refused to listen and, as expected, suffered great defeat. He asked why Wang didn't come to his rescue, and Wang replied, "if I come to rescue you with my portion of the army, then our main camp would have no protection; I warned you multiple times against crossing the river, but you did not listen, which resulted in this defeat." Xu was greatly angered by this and planned to kill Wang that night, however the plan was leaked out and Wang set the camp on fire and defected to Shu.
Right before Zhuge Liang died, he named Wang Ping, along with Liao Hua
, Ma Dai
, Zhang Yi (Bogong)
and Zhang Yi (Boqi)
, as the loyal generals of Shu who should be retained.
Chinese style name
A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect...
Zijun (子均), was a 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...
officer who later defected to Liu Bei
Liu Bei
Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...
, and served as a general under Shu Han
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...
.
Service under Cao Cao
Wang Ping (He Ping) was born in Dangqu, Baxi (present-day Qu CountyQu County
Qu County is a county of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of Dazhou city.-History:Formerly known as Dangqu , the county is best known for historic monuments. Namely, a partially preserved mausoleum complex, featuring gate towers, or que, belonging to the Shen family, which...
, 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...
). He was surnamed He (何) because he was raised by He clan, which his mother originated. He presumably changed his surname back to Wang during his later years (historic records show a discrepancy on how he was called, so it is also possible that he had his surname changed posthumously).
He began his career by serving Du Huo, and was made an acting colonel when he followed his supervisor Du to visit the imperial court. When Du joined Cao Cao
Cao Cao
Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...
to Hanzhong
Hanzhong
Hanzhong is a municipality in southwest Shaanxi Province, China, occupying a historically significant valley in the mountains between the Xi'an area, home to many Chinese capitals, and the fertile but isolated Sichuan Basin...
to wrestle control over the area of Hanzhong with Shu warlord, Liu Bei
Liu Bei
Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...
, Wang was also a member of the expedition force. When they arrived the battlefield, Liu refused to give battle, and Cao forces faced serious logistical difficulty, and many of his soldiers started deserting and joining the other side who could provide food and shelter. Wang Ping was one of those surrendered to Liu.
Service under Shu
As a reward for his defection, Wang was given the rank of Major-General once he switched side. He went on to serve in Liu Bei’s military headquarters, but his accomplishments were far and between during his first 10 years under Shu.In 228, a critical event to Wang's life happened when he fought under Ma Su
Ma Su
Ma Su was a military general and strategist of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He was the younger brother of Ma Liang. Ma Su had conspicuous talent in military theories and was admired by the Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang...
as the vanguard during the Battle of Jieting
Battle of Jieting
The Battle of Jieting was fought between the states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 228 during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The battle was part of the first Northern Expedition led by Shu's chancellor Zhuge Liang to attack Wei...
. He advised Ma against abandoning the water sources and encamping atop the mountain, which Ma refused but gave the option to Wang to lead a detachment to camp where the latter saw fit. Indeed, Ma was defeated by 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...
general, Zhang He
Zhang He
Zhang He was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history. He continued serving the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period until his death....
, when the latter cut off his water supply; Wang Ping and a company of 1000 soldiers near the mountain foot rolled their drums loudly to alarm a defense. Zhang mistook Wang as giving out a signal for ambushing units, and did not attack Wang's direction. Therefore, Wang was able to regroup the defeated forces and regather supplies scattered everywhere. In the aftermath of the defeat, Ma Su was supposedly executed but Wang Ping was greatly promoted. In 234, during 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....
's fourth northern expedition, Wang again faced Zhang He, and was able to resist attacks from the latter. After Zhuge Liang's death, he received credit for his effort on quelling the "rebellion" of Wei Yan
Wei Yan
Wei Yan was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He became a soldier of Liu Bei when the latter fled Jing Province and seek protection from the eastern warlord, Sun Quan, in 208. In 211, Wei had climbed up the ranks and become a general in Liu Bei's...
, and was promoted as a Governor, under supervision of Wu Yi.
Wang Ping later replaced Wu as the Area Commander of Hanzhong region, and was granted a title of Marquis Stabilizing Han. In 244, the Wei regent, Cao Shuang
Cao Shuang
Cao Shuang , style name Zhaobo , was a military general, politician and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was the son of Cao Zhen...
, led sixty to seventy thousand soldiers to attack Hanzhong. Wang Ping's forces were intimidated by Cao's boost of over one hundred thousand troops, and the generals under Wang urged him to vacate the area for a more concentrated defense in the rear. Only Liu Min insisted on following arrangements of the dead Wei Yan to resist the enemy on the outskirt. Wang hold the same opinion as Liu and they moved their forces to Xingshi, and occupied a mountain there. They only had 30,000 men at the time, but that was not known by the enemies, and Liu erected plenty of flags and streamers. Therefore, both sides perceived the other party as having a larger than actual size, and hesitated to engage in battle. While Cao Shuang was vacillating between a decisive attack and a general retreat, forces led by 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...
finally arrived, effectively picking the latter choice for him.
Appraisal and death
Wang Ping came from a lower origin, and spent most of his life in the military. In terms of literature, he could not write a single word, and all he could read were no more than ten words. When he needed to make reports, he asked his clerk to do it, but in fear that the others knew about his education level, he would excuse that he was there to fight, not to write. However, he loved to listen to stories, and was talented to give orations.He was a straight disciplinarian, so he never made a joke. Besides giving orations, he seldom used his mouth, and he would just sit from morning till dusk, and then slept. Trifles of Wang was comparable to that of Deng Zhi
Deng Zhi
Deng Zhi was a minister of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.-Early career:Deng Zhi was a native of Xinye , and went to Yi Province to avoid the turmoil of central China...
of the east and Ma Zhong
Ma Zhong
Ma Zhong may refer to:*Ma Zhong , general who served the warlord Sun Quan during the late Han Dynasty*Ma Zhong , general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period...
of the south. General Wang finally died in 248, leaving his son Wang Xun as heir.
In fiction
In Luo GuanzhongLuo Guanzhong
Luo Ben , better known by his style name Luo Guanzhong , was a Chinese writer of the early Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was also known as Huhai Sanren...
's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...
, Wang Ping was given a fictionalized and more prominent role in the Hanzhong Campaign
Hanzhong Campaign
The Hanzhong Campaign was a military campaign launched by the warlord Liu Bei to seize control of the commandery of Hanzhong from his rival Cao Cao. The campaign took place between 217 and 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...
, opposing Xu Huang
Xu Huang
Xu Huang was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history. He served the state of Cao Wei, founded by Cao Cao's successor Cao Pi, during the Three Kingdoms period...
's tactics and defecting. Xu Huang wanted his army to cross the Han river and battle Liu Bei
Liu Bei
Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...
's forces on the other side. Wang warned that it would be impossible to retreat once they cross the river, as the river would significantly slow down the retreat and will be vulnerable to enemy fire. Xu claimed that the soldiers will fight to the death and have no need to retreat if they are in a dire situation (in conjunction with the tactic by legendary Western Han general Han Xin
Hán Xìn
Han Xin was a military general who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han Dynasty...
, where he purposely placed his army near a river in order to unleash their full potential). Wang then claimed that Han only used that tactic because the opposition had no strategist to see through it, but Liu's army had the support of 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....
, who would be able to easily see through this tactic. Xu refused to listen and, as expected, suffered great defeat. He asked why Wang didn't come to his rescue, and Wang replied, "if I come to rescue you with my portion of the army, then our main camp would have no protection; I warned you multiple times against crossing the river, but you did not listen, which resulted in this defeat." Xu was greatly angered by this and planned to kill Wang that night, however the plan was leaked out and Wang set the camp on fire and defected to Shu.
Right before Zhuge Liang died, he named Wang Ping, along with 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:...
, Ma Dai
Ma Dai
Ma Dai was a military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He previously served under his uncle, the warlord Ma Teng...
, Zhang Yi (Bogong)
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...
and Zhang Yi (Boqi)
Zhang Yi (Boqi)
Zhang Yi , style name Boqi, was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China. He was instrumental in pacifying the barbarian peoples who rebelled against Shu. He was slain by Xu Zhi during one of Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions while distracting the enemy from pursuing...
, as the loyal generals of Shu who should be retained.