Lu Bu (simplified: 吕布, traditional: 呂布, pinyin: Lǚ Bù), courtesy name Fengxian (奉先 Fèngxiān), was an Eastern Han general and warlord from Jiuyuan in Wuyuan Commandery (modern Baotou, Inner Mongolia). Renowned for his martial prowess and skill in archery and cavalry, he was called the ‘Flying General’ (飞将 Fēi Jiàng) and was paired with his steed in the saying ‘Among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare’ (人中吕布，马中赤兔). He served Ding Yuan and then Dong Zhuo, killed both, and after fleeing the capital held brief alliances with Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, and Zhang Miao before seizing Xuzhou from Liu Bei. He was defeated at Xiapi by Cao Cao in 199 and executed on Liu Bei’s advice, having been judged untrustworthy for his betrayals of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo.
Biography
Early life
Lu Bu was born in Jiuyuan County, Wuyuan Commandery, in Bing Province (modern Baotou, Inner Mongolia). He was raised in the northern frontier and became skilled in mounted archery and combat, earning a reputation for courage and physical strength.
In 189, the Inspector of Bing Province, Ding Yuan, was appointed Colonel of Cavalry and stationed in Henei. He appointed Lu Bu as his Registrar (主簿 Zhǔbù) and treated him with great trust. When Emperor Ling died, Ding Yuan entered the capital with his troops at He Jin’s summons to help eliminate the eunuchs.
Service under Ding Yuan and defection to Dong Zhuo
After He Jin was killed and Dong Zhuo entered the capital, Dong Zhuo induced Lu Bu to kill Ding Yuan. Lu Bu did so, and Dong Zhuo absorbed Ding Yuan’s troops. He appointed Lu Bu Colonel of Cavalry (骑都尉 Qí Dūwèi), swore an oath with him as father and son, and soon promoted him to General of the Household (中郎将 Zhōngláng Jiàng) and Marquis of Duting (都亭侯). Lu Bu was skilled in archery and horsemanship and was said to have extraordinary strength; he became known as the ‘Flying General’.
In 190, Dong Zhuo had Lu Bu lead teams to excavate Eastern Han imperial and noble tombs and seize their treasures. Dong Zhuo, aware that he was widely hated, often kept Lu Bu as his personal guard. He was prone to fits of rage; on at least one occasion he threw a hand halberd at Lu Bu in a fit of temper, and Lu Bu also had an affair with one of Dong Zhuo’s serving women, which made him fear discovery.
Assassination of Dong Zhuo
The Minister over the Masses Wang Yun, together with Shi Sunrui and Yang Zan, was plotting to kill Dong Zhuo. They recruited Lu Bu. Lu Bu hesitated, saying that he and Dong Zhuo were as father and son. Wang Yun replied that Lu Bu’s surname was Lü, not Dong, and that when Dong Zhuo threw the halberd he had shown no fatherly feeling. Lu Bu agreed to take part.
On 22 May 192 (4th month, Xinsi day), when the emperor held a court assembly after recovering from illness, Lu Bu had Colonel of Cavalry Li Su and others disguised as guards at the Northern Side Gate. When Dong Zhuo arrived, Li Su wounded him with a halberd; Lu Bu then struck and killed Dong Zhuo. Lu Bu was appointed General of Ferocious Might (奋威将军 Fènwēi Jiāngjūn), acting with imperial authority, given ceremonial rank comparable to the Three Excellencies, and enfeoffed as Marquis of Wen (温侯 Wēn Hóu). He shared power with Wang Yun.
Dong Zhuo’s former officers Li Jue, Guo Si, and others later rallied their troops and besieged Chang’an. Lu Bu was unable to hold the city; his troops mutinied and let Li Jue in. Lu Bu fled with a few hundred cavalry, taking Dong Zhuo’s head, and left the capital. He asked Wang Yun to flee with him, but Wang Yun refused, choosing to stay and protect the emperor. Wang Yun was later killed.
Flight and service under Yuan Shao
Lu Bu first went to Yuan Shu, but Yuan Shu disliked his fickleness and refused to take him in. Lu Bu then went to Zhang Yang in Henei. When Zhang Yang’s officers considered seizing him for Li Jue and Guo Si, Lu Bu left for Yuan Shao.
With Yuan Shao, Lu Bu fought the Black Mountain bandits under Zhang Yan in Changshan. He rode his famous horse Chitu (Red Hare), and with his close officers Cheng Lian and Wei Yue repeatedly charged Zhang Yan’s formations, sometimes several times in a day, returning each time with enemy heads. After more than ten days of fighting, they defeated Zhang Yan.
Lu Bu then demanded more troops from Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao refused, and Lu Bu’s men plundered the people. Yuan Shao came to resent him. Lu Bu asked to leave for Luoyang. Yuan Shao agreed and had him appointed Colonel Director of the Retainers, sending thirty armed men to ‘escort’ him while planning to kill him. Lu Bu had someone play the zheng in his tent and slipped away. The escorts struck his empty bed. When Yuan Shao learned he was still alive, he closed the gates, but Lu Bu escaped to Henei and Zhang Yang. On the way he passed through Chenliu, where the governor Zhang Miao received him warmly; the two swore friendship.
Yanzhou and conflict with Cao Cao
In 194, when Cao Cao marched east against Tao Qian, his officer Chen Gong persuaded Zhang Miao to invite Lu Bu to take Yanzhou. Zhang Miao, his brother Zhang Chao, and Chen Gong welcomed Lu Bu as Governor of Yanzhou. Most of the commanderies and counties defected to Lu Bu; only Juancheng, Dong’e, and Fan remained under Cao Cao.
Cao Cao returned and fought Lu Bu at Puyang. In one engagement Cao Cao’s Qingzhou troops broke and Cao Cao was thrown from his horse and burned his hand. The two sides fought repeatedly. In a battle at Puyang West, Lu Bu personally led the attack from morning until afternoon; Cao Cao’s officer Dian Wei held the line and Lu Bu withdrew. After over a hundred days of stalemate, famine and locusts forced both sides to retreat. In 195, Cao Cao defeated Lu Bu in further engagements, recaptured Yanzhou, and killed Zhang Chao. Lu Bu fled east to Liu Bei in Xuzhou.
Xuzhou and conflict with Liu Bei and Yuan Shu
Lu Bu met Liu Bei and showed him respect, calling him ‘younger brother’ and having his wife pay her respects. He explained that after killing Dong Zhuo the eastern lords had all wanted him dead. Liu Bei received him but was inwardly uneasy at his changeable manner.
In 196, while Liu Bei was away fighting Yuan Shu, Lu Bu took Xiapi with the help of defectors (Cao Bao, Xu Dan, and others). He captured Liu Bei’s family. Liu Bei returned, then submitted to Lu Bu. Lu Bu made Liu Bei Governor of Yu Province and had him garrison Xiaopei, while Lu Bu styled himself Inspector of Xu Province (徐州牧).
Yuan Shu sent General Ji Ling with tens of thousands of troops against Liu Bei. Lu Bu, fearing that if Yuan Shu took Xiaopei he would link up with the Taishan bandits and surround him, led over a thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry to Xiaopei. He invited both Ji Ling and Liu Bei to a feast and resolved the dispute by shooting an arrow at a halberd at the camp gate; when he hit the small branch, both sides withdrew. Ji Ling and his officers exclaimed that the general had ‘heavenly might’.
Later, Lu Bu turned against Yuan Shu on the advice of Chen Gui and his son Chen Deng, sent Yuan Shu’s marriage envoy to Xu for execution, and received appointment from the court as General Who Pacifies the East and Marquis of Pingtao, then Left General (左将军 Zuǒ Jiāngjūn). Chen Deng went to Cao Cao and advised him to remove Lu Bu; Cao Cao agreed and had Chen Deng work as an inner agent.
In 196, Lu Bu’s officer Hao Meng rebelled at Xiapi under Yuan Shu’s instigation. Lu Bu fled in confusion to Gao Shun’s camp. Gao Shun identified the rebels, quelled the revolt, and executed Hao Meng. Cao Xing revealed that Chen Gong had been involved; Lu Bu, valuing Chen Gong, did not pursue the matter.
Lu Bu later attacked Liu Bei again; Liu Bei fled to Cao Cao. In 198, Lu Bu allied again with Yuan Shu and sent Gao Shun and Zhang Liao to attack Xiaopei. They captured it and took Liu Bei’s wife and children. Cao Cao then joined Liu Bei and marched on Xiapi.
Defeat and death at Xiapi
In the winter of 198, Cao Cao besieged Xiapi. Chen Gong advised Lu Bu to take part of the army outside the city to create a pincer; Lu Bu’s wife argued that Chen Gong and Gao Shun did not get along and that once Lu Bu left, the city would not hold. Lu Bu stayed. He tried to send his daughter to Yuan Shu for the marriage that had been discussed, but Cao Cao’s lines prevented him. Cao Cao flooded the city with the Si and Yi rivers.
Lu Bu had enforced a ban on wine. His officer Hou Cheng had recovered lost horses and prepared a celebration with wine and meat; he offered some to Lu Bu first. Lu Bu angrily accused his officers of plotting against him. Hou Cheng grew fearful. When the siege dragged on, Hou Cheng joined Song Xian and Wei Xu in binding Chen Gong and Gao Shun and surrendering to Cao Cao.
Lu Bu, seeing the situation was hopeless, asked his attendants to take his head to Cao Cao; they could not bring themselves to do it and surrendered instead. Brought before Cao Cao, Lu Bu said he had treated his officers well and they had betrayed him. Cao Cao replied that Lu Bu had abandoned his own wife and slept with his officers’ wives—how was that ‘treating them well’? Lu Bu fell silent.
Lu Bu then asked to be spared and offered to lead Cao Cao’s cavalry while Cao Cao led the infantry to unify the realm. When Cao Cao showed hesitation, Lu Bu asked Liu Bei to speak for him. Liu Bei said: ‘Have you forgotten what he did to Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo?’ Cao Cao then ordered Lu Bu put to death. Lu Bu cursed Liu Bei: ‘You big-eared one, you are the most untrustworthy.’ Lu Bu was strangled together with Chen Gong and Gao Shun; their heads were sent to Xu.
Personality and traits
Virtues and abilities
Lu Bu was celebrated for his courage and martial skill. He was adept at mounted archery and had great physical strength. Contemporaries compared him to the Western Han general Li Guang and used the phrase ‘Among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare’ to describe his pre-eminence. He was capable of bold single combat: at Chang’an he once challenged Guo Si to a duel and wounded him with his lance before both sides withdrew.
Temperament
Lu Bu was repeatedly described as self-interested, changeable, and lacking in loyalty. He killed Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo when it suited him; he shifted between Yuan Shu, Zhang Yang, Yuan Shao, Zhang Miao, and Liu Bei. Chen Deng told Cao Cao that ‘to nurture the general was like nurturing a tiger—when not fed he would devour people.’ Gao Shun remonstrated that ‘every ruined state has had loyal and wise men, but the trouble is they were not used; the general acts without careful thought and often errs.’ Lu Bu valued Gao Shun’s loyalty but did not consistently follow his advice. He was also said to have been lustful and to have taken his officers’ wives, which contributed to his officers’ resentment and eventual betrayal.
Physical appearance
No detailed physical description of Lu Bu survives in the main historical sources. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms later described him as very tall, with a magnificent bearing, wielding a halberd and riding Red Hare.
Military achievements
Combat abilities
Lu Bu was famed for his personal prowess in battle. He used a lance (戟 jǐ) in combat; the Yingxiong Ji records his duel with Guo Si, in which he wounded Guo Si with his lance. In the novel he is given the ‘Square Sky halberd’ (方天画戟) and portrayed as the era’s strongest warrior, capable of holding off multiple champions. He broke the Black Mountain army with repeated cavalry charges alongside Cheng Lian and Wei Yue.
Command and strategy
Lu Bu excelled in leading cavalry raids and personal charges rather than in grand strategy. He often acted on impulse and ignored sound advice, as when he rejected Chen Gong’s plan to split forces during the siege of Xiapi. His reliance on personal bravery and his inability to maintain discipline and loyalty among his officers contributed to his eventual defeat.
Notable battles
- Yangren (191): Under Hu Zhen against Sun Jian; Lu Bu and others undermined Hu Zhen, causing a disorderly retreat; Sun Jian defeated them.
- Chang’an (192): Defeated by Li Jue and Guo Si after a mutiny; fled the capital.
- Black Mountain (c. 193): With Yuan Shao, defeated Zhang Yan’s forces in Changshan through repeated cavalry assaults.
- Puyang and Yanzhou (194–195): Fought Cao Cao for control of Yanzhou; initially held Puyang and much of the province; after prolonged fighting and famine, lost to Cao Cao and fled to Liu Bei.
- Xiapi (198–199): Defended Xiapi against Cao Cao; after flooding and the defection of Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu, surrendered and was executed.
Relationships
Family
Lu Bu had one wife (name not recorded in the main histories; the Yingxiong Ji suggests she may have been related to Wei Xu). She was once abandoned in Chang’an and was hidden by Pang Shu before being returned to Lu Bu. She advised him during the siege of Xiapi not to leave the city in Chen Gong’s hands. He had a daughter whom he attempted to send to Yuan Shu for marriage; the attempt failed when he could not break through Cao Cao’s lines.
Lord and vassals
Lu Bu served Ding Yuan as Registrar and then killed him to join Dong Zhuo; he served Dong Zhuo as Colonel of Cavalry and General of the Household and then killed him at Wang Yun’s behest. After fleeing the capital he never again gave lasting loyalty to a single lord. His key officers included Chen Gong (who had defected from Cao Cao to support him in Yanzhou), Gao Shun (who led the ‘Dining Camp’ and remained loyal until execution), Zhang Liao (who surrendered to Cao Cao and later became a famous Wei general), and Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu (who bound Chen Gong and Gao Shun and surrendered Xiapi).
Allies and rivals
Lu Bu allied at different times with Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Zhang Miao, and Liu Bei, and broke with each. He was manipulated by the Chen family (Chen Gui and Chen Deng), who secretly served Cao Cao. Liu Bei, after being displaced from Xuzhou and then rescued by Lu Bu at the ‘gate halberd’ incident, later urged Cao Cao to execute him, citing Lu Bu’s betrayal of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao and his advisers (including Xun You, Cheng Yu, and Guo Jia) consistently viewed Lu Bu as brave but unstrategic and untrustworthy.
Anecdotes and allusions
Among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare
人中吕布，马中赤兔 (Rén zhōng Lǚ Bù, mǎ zhōng Chìtù)
Lu Bu was celebrated for his martial prowess and his steed Red Hare (赤兔 Chìtù). The saying ‘Among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare’ became proverbial for the best in each category. The Cao Man Zhuan records this contemporary saying.
Source: Cao Man Zhuan (cited in Pei Songzhi’s commentary to SGZ)
Type: Historical
Shooting the halberd at the camp gate
辕门射戟 (Yuánmén Shè Jǐ)
When Yuan Shu sent Ji Ling with a large army against Liu Bei at Xiaopei, Lu Bu feared that if Yuan Shu took Xiaopei he would join with the Taishan bandits and encircle him. He invited Ji Ling and Liu Bei to his camp, declared that he disliked conflict and preferred to resolve it, and had a halberd set up at the camp gate. He said that if he could shoot the small branch of the halberd with one arrow, both sides should withdraw; if he missed, they could fight. He shot once and hit the branch. Ji Ling and the others exclaimed at his ‘heavenly might’ and withdrew.
Source: Records of the Three Kingdoms
Type: Historical
Three Heroes battle Lü Bu
三英战吕布 (Sān Yīng Zhàn Lǚ Bù)
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, at the campaign against Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu fights at Hulao Pass and defeats several allied generals. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei then attack him together and force him to withdraw. The episode establishes Lu Bu as the novel’s supreme warrior and the three brothers as heroes. The incident has no direct parallel in the historical record (Sun Jian defeated Lü Bu and Hu Zhen at Yangren).
Source: Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Type: Literary
’Binding a tiger must be tight’
缚虎不得不急 (Fù hǔ bù dé bù jí)
When Lu Bu was brought bound before Cao Cao and asked to be spared, he asked Liu Bei to plead for his bonds to be loosened. Cao Cao said: ‘Binding a tiger must be tight’ (缚虎不得不急), and only then ordered the ropes loosened. Liu Bei then reminded Cao Cao of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, and Cao Cao had Lu Bu executed.
Source: Records of the Three Kingdoms
Type: Historical
Representative works
Several memorials and letters attributed to Lu Bu are collected in Quan Hou Han Wen. They include his Memorial to the Emperor (上书献帝), his Reply to Cao Cao (答曹公), his Letter to Han Xian and Yang Feng (与韩暹杨奉书), his Letter Left for Yuan Shu (留书与袁术), and his Letter to the Chancellor of Langya, Xiao Jian (与琅邪相萧建书). These texts show his attempts to justify his position, negotiate with the court and warlords, and present himself as a loyal servant of the Han. Their authenticity is not always certain, but they reflect the political rhetoric of the period.
Achievements
Lu Bu’s major actions included:
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Military: Served Ding Yuan in Henei; killed Ding Yuan and joined Dong Zhuo; took part in the excavation of imperial tombs (190); participated in the assassination of Dong Zhuo (192); fought Li Jue and Guo Si at Chang’an; with Yuan Shao defeated the Black Mountain bandits; with Zhang Miao and Chen Gong seized much of Yanzhou from Cao Cao; took Xiapi and became Inspector of Xuzhou; resolved the dispute between Yuan Shu and Liu Bei by shooting the halberd at the camp gate; defended Xiapi until defections and flooding led to capture.
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Political: Briefly shared power with Wang Yun after Dong Zhuo’s death; held the title Inspector of Xuzhou and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wen and later Left General; received appointments from the Han court (e.g. General Who Pacifies the East, Marquis of Pingtao) and corresponded with Cao Cao before their final conflict.
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Legacy: His repeated betrayals made him a byword for disloyalty; his martial reputation and the saying ‘Among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare’ endured in culture and the Romance made him the archetypal invincible but morally flawed warrior.
Behind the scenes
Historical sources
Lu Bu is documented in the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Wei 7: Lü Bu, Zhang Miao, Zang Hong), the Book of the Later Han (biography of Lü Bu in the section on Liu Yan, Yuan Shu, and Lü Bu), and the Zizhi Tongjian. Pei Songzhi’s commentary draws on the Yingxiong Ji (Heroic Deeds) and other texts for details such as the duel with Guo Si, the Hao Meng revolt, and Lu Bu’s family. The Cao Man Zhuan provides the ‘Among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare’ saying.
Historical vs literary portrayal
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms turns Lu Bu into Ding Yuan’s and Dong Zhuo’s ‘righteous son’ (义子), so that his killings make him a ‘three-surname slave’ (三姓家奴). The novel adds the ‘Linked Ring’ plot with Diaochan and Wang Yun to explain his turn against Dong Zhuo, and the ‘Three Heroes battle Lü Bu’ at Hulao to showcase his prowess. Historically, he was Ding Yuan’s subordinate and Dong Zhuo’s sworn ‘son’, not an adopted son; there is no evidence for Diaochan. The novel also gives him the ‘Square Sky halberd’; the Yingxiong Ji has him use a lance (戟). Scholars note that the ‘Square Sky’ halberd and some other details belong to later weaponry and folklore.
Scholarly debates
Lu Bu’s birth year is inferred: he called Liu Bei (b. 161) ‘younger brother’, so he was born no later than 161. The exact sequence of his movements after leaving Yuan Shao (e.g. whether he went first to Yuan Shu or Zhang Yang) varies in sources. The role of Chen Gong in the Yanzhou revolt and in the Hao Meng affair is well attested; the extent to which Lu Bu followed or ignored his advice is discussed in relation to his strategic failures.
Personality analysis
Modern historians generally follow Chen Shou’s assessment: Lu Bu had ‘the ferocity of a roaring tiger’ but ‘no outstanding strategy’, was ‘light, cunning, and fickle’, and ‘looked only to profit’. His killing of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, though the latter was widely hated, established a pattern of betrayal that made it impossible for rulers to trust him. Liu Bei’s remark to Cao Cao—‘Have you forgotten Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo?’—is seen as the decisive argument for execution. Scholars also note that his harsh treatment of officers (e.g. over the wine ban and his affair with their wives) undermined loyalty and led to the defections that ended the siege of Xiapi.
Historical evaluations
Contemporary assessments
- Chen Gong: ‘Lü Bu is a strong man, unequalled in battle.’ He also said that if Lü Bu had followed his advice, things might not have ended in capture.
- Cao Cao (to Chen Deng): ‘Lü Bu has the heart of a wolf and is hard to keep; no one but you can see through him.’
- Xun You: ‘Lü Bu is brave but has no strategy.’ ‘Lü Bu is fierce and relies on Yuan Shu; if he runs loose between Huai and Si, the bold will respond to him.’
- Guo Jia: ‘Lü Bu’s power is not equal to Xiang Yu’s, but his defeat is worse; if we press the attack, he can be taken.’
- Cheng Yu: ‘Lü Bu is rough, has few close ties, is stubborn and without courtesy—a mere strongman.’
- Cao Cao (to Lü Bu when bound): ‘You abandoned your wife and favoured your officers’ wives—how is that “treating them well”?’
Chen Shou’s evaluation
Chen Shou wrote: ‘Lü Bu had the ferocity of a roaring tiger (虓虎之勇) but no outstanding strategy (无英奇之略); he was light, cunning, and fickle (轻狡反复), and looked only to profit (唯利是视). From ancient times to the present, there has been none like him who was not destroyed.’
This judgement emphasises his martial talent and his fatal lack of constancy and strategic sense.
Later dynasty evaluations
Later historians (e.g. Sima Guang, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Wang Fuzhi) consistently used Lü Bu as an example of the untrustworthy strongman: brave but disloyal, doomed by his own character. The phrase ‘bind the tiger’ (缚虎) and the comparison to ‘nurturing a tiger’ (养虎) became standard allusions. In popular culture his image split: as the ultimate warrior in the Romance and games, and as a cautionary tale against betrayal in moral and political discourse.
Modern scholarship
Modern scholars treat Lü Bu as a product of the northern frontier (Bing Province) whose military skills were repeatedly used by others (Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Zhang Miao) but who lacked the political and personal stability to build a lasting regime. His seizure of Xuzhou and his conflict with Liu Bei and Yuan Shu are studied in the context of the fragmentation of the Han and the rise of regional warlords. The reliability of the Yingxiong Ji and other supplementary sources for details of his life is still discussed.
Legacy
Cultural significance
Lu Bu symbolises both supreme martial prowess and fatal disloyalty. The saying ‘Among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare’ remains a standard expression for the best in class. His betrayals of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo made him a negative exemplar of the faithless retainer. The Romance and later media fixed his image as the invincible warrior who could not be trusted—‘binding the tiger must be tight’.
Memorial sites
- Lü Bu’s tomb: In Xiaolanfeng Village, Xiufeng Town, Xiuwu County, Henan. A tomb identified as Lü Bu’s was reported in 2007; the weapon said to have been found was a long spear (矛), not the ‘Square Sky halberd’ of legend.
- Shooting Halberd Terrace (射戟台): In Pei County, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, a pavilion and stone mark the traditional site of the ‘gate halberd’ incident.
Artistic portrayals
Lu Bu appears across Three Kingdoms media as the archetypal super-warrior: in Romance of the Three Kingdoms novels and pingshu, in film and television (e.g. 1994 Romance of the Three Kingdoms, 2010 Three Kingdoms), and in games (e.g. Dynasty Warriors, Total War: Three Kingdoms), usually with the Square Sky halberd and Red Hare. The phrase ‘Three Heroes battle Lü Bu’ and the gate halberd story are frequently adapted. His relationship with Diaochan is a staple of opera and drama.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| c. 160 | Born in Jiuyuan, Wuyuan Commandery |
| 189 | Served Ding Yuan as Registrar; killed Ding Yuan, joined Dong Zhuo; Colonel of Cavalry, then General of the Household, Marquis of Duting |
| 190 | Led excavation of imperial tombs |
| 191 | Defeated with Hu Zhen by Sun Jian at Yangren |
| 192 | Killed Dong Zhuo with Wang Yun; General of Ferocious Might, Marquis of Wen; defeated by Li Jue and Guo Si; fled Chang’an |
| 192–194 | Stayed with Yuan Shu, Zhang Yang, Yuan Shao; fought Black Mountain bandits; fled to Zhang Yang, passed Zhang Miao |
| 194 | With Zhang Miao and Chen Gong took Yanzhou from Cao Cao |
| 195 | Lost Yanzhou to Cao Cao; fled to Liu Bei in Xuzhou |
| 196 | Took Xiapi; became Inspector of Xuzhou; ‘Shooting the halberd at the camp gate’; Hao Meng revolt; received Pingdong General, Marquis of Pingtao, then Left General |
| 198 | Allied with Yuan Shu; Gao Shun and Zhang Liao took Xiaopei; Cao Cao besieged Xiapi |
| 199 (7 Feb) | Defected officers surrendered city; Lü Bu executed at Baimen Tower |