Biography
Early life
Yu Fan was born in 164 CE in Yuyao, Kuaiji Commandery (present-day Yuyao, Zhejiang).
His father Yu Xin, courtesy name Wenxiu, served as Administrator of Rinan.
Service under Wang Lang
Initially, Yu Fan was appointed Chief Clerk of Kuaiji by Wang Lang, Administrator of Kuaiji.
Later, when Sun Ce attacked Kuaiji, Yu Fan was in mourning for his father Yu Xin.
However, he still did not forget to run to advise Wang Lang, urging Wang Lang to avoid battle and not to engage Sun Ce head-on.
Wang Lang did not listen and insisted on leading troops to resist.
As a result, he was ultimately defeated by Sun Ce.
Yu Fan then escorted Wang Lang as he fled.
When they reached Houguan County, the Magistrate of Houguan closed the gates and would not let Wang Lang pass.
Yu Fan then persuaded the Magistrate to open the gates, and after succeeding, Wang Lang said that Yu Fan still had a mother to support and did not need to escort him too far, asking Yu Fan to return to Kuaiji.
Service under Sun Ce
After Yu Fan returned, Sun Ce had him resume his position as Chief Clerk of Kuaiji and befriended him.
Sun Ce often went out hunting lightly mounted.
Yu Fan once remonstrated, and although Sun Ce agreed, he still went out hunting.
Later, Yu Fan was transferred to Magistrate of Fuchun.
At this time, Sun Ce was assassinated by Xu Gong’s retainers.
All the county officials planned to go to mourn, but Yu Fan believed that Jiangdong was not yet stable.
If the officials left, it might give bandits and rebels an opportunity to invade and harass the commanderies and counties.
He therefore remained in Fuchun to observe mourning.
The other county officials all followed his example, maintaining stability in Jiangdong’s counties and preventing Sun Hao from later capturing Kuaiji and establishing himself.
Refusing appointments
Later, Yu Fan was recommended as a man of outstanding ability.
The Eastern Han court and Cao Cao successively summoned him to office, but Yu Fan refused them all.
Yu Fan wrote a letter to Kong Rong, Minister of the Household, and showed him his work Commentary on the I Ching.
Kong Rong replied: “Hearing Yanling (a person) organize music and seeing your work Commentary on the I Ching, I know that the beautiful things of the southeast region are not only the bamboo arrows of Kuaiji. Moreover, observing celestial phenomena and temperatures and calculating fortune and misfortune match the spirits. It can be said that you have reached the ultimate in exploring mysteries.”
Zhang Hong, Commandant of Kuaiji, also wrote a letter to Kong Rong saying: “Yu Zhongxiang was previously slandered very severely, but his nature is like beautiful jade. The more it is carved and polished, the brighter it becomes. Those slanders are not enough to harm him.”
Service under Sun Quan
Sun Quan later appointed Yu Fan as Cavalry Commandant.
However, Yu Fan repeatedly remonstrated directly without regard for Sun Quan’s face, which had already made Sun Quan quite dissatisfied.
At the same time, he also did not get along with some officials because he loved to report on others, and he was repeatedly slandered.
He was ultimately exiled to Jingxian.
Assisting Lü Meng in capturing Jing Province
Later, Lü Meng intended to capture Jing Province.
He first claimed to be ill and returned to Jianye to reduce Guan Yu’s vigilance.
While in Jianye, Lü Meng requested that Yu Fan accompany the army on the grounds that Yu Fan understood medicine, causing Yu Fan to be released and return.
Soon after, Lü Meng launched a surprise attack and attacked Nan Commandery.
Mi Fang, Administrator of Nan Commandery, opened the city gates and surrendered.
At that time, Lü Meng had not yet occupied Nan Commandery and was playing music outside the city.
Yu Fan told Lü Meng: “Only General Mi is of one mind with us. How can we trust everyone in the city? Why not quickly enter the city and take control, then play music to celebrate?”
Lü Meng followed his advice.
The city indeed had an ambush set up, and it was entirely due to Yu Fan’s foresight that there was no major chaos.
Predicting Guan Yu’s death
After Guan Yu was captured and killed, Sun Quan had Yu Fan perform divination.
He obtained the hexagram Jie (節), with Dui (兌) below and Kan (坎) above, with the fifth line changing to Lin (臨).
Yu Fan said: “Within two days, Guan Yu will certainly be beheaded.”
It was exactly as Yu Fan said.
Sun Quan said: “You are not as good as Fuxi, but you can be compared to Dongfang Shuo.”
Criticizing Yu Jin
After Yu Jin was captured by Guan Yu, he was imprisoned in the city.
After Sun Quan arrived, he released him and asked to meet with him.
Another day, Sun Quan rode out and asked Yu Jin to ride together with him.
Yu Fan scolded Yu Jin: “You are a prisoner. How dare you ride side by side with our lord’s horse!”
He was about to take a whip and beat Yu Jin but was stopped by Sun Quan.
Afterward, Sun Quan feasted with the ministers on a tower ship.
When Yu Jin heard the music being played, he wept sadly.
Yu Fan again said: “Are you planning to pretend in order to seek pardon?”
Sun Quan was very displeased with him.
The banquet incident
After Sun Quan became King of Wu, he held a great banquet for the ministers.
At the end of the banquet, Sun Quan walked toward the ministers to toast them.
Yu Fan pretended to be drunk and fell to the ground.
After Sun Quan passed by, Yu Fan immediately sat up.
When Sun Quan saw this, he was greatly angry and drew his sword to kill Yu Fan.
Liu Ji, Minister of Agriculture, immediately embraced Sun Quan and advised Sun Quan to spare Yu Fan to avoid being criticized for arbitrarily killing a famous scholar.
Yu Fan was thus able to avoid death.
Criticizing Mi Fang
Yu Fan once took a boat and encountered Mi Fang.
Mi Fang’s boat had many people and planned to have Yu Fan yield the way.
The vanguard of Mi Fang’s boat said: “Yield the way to the general!”
Yu Fan loudly scolded: “You have lost loyalty and trust. How can you serve a lord? You surrendered two cities and still call yourself a general. Is this acceptable?”
Mi Fang closed the boat window and did not reply, quickly avoiding him.
Later, Yu Fan took a carriage and passed by Mi Fang’s camp gate.
The officer closed the camp gate, and Yu Fan’s carriage could not pass.
Yu Fan was again angry and said: “When it should be closed, you open it. When it should be open, you close it. Is this what you should do?”
When Mi Fang heard this, he showed an ashamed expression.
Criticizing Zhang Zhao
Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao discussed immortals.
Yu Fan pointed at Zhang Zhao and said: “You are all dead people. How can you discuss immortals? There are no immortals in the world!”
Because of the above various incidents, Sun Quan was greatly dissatisfied with him and therefore exiled him to Jiaozhou.
Life in Jiaozhou
After Yu Fan arrived in Jiaozhou, he lectured there, and his students often numbered several hundred.
He also wrote commentaries on books such as the Laozi, Analects, and Discourses of the States.
Although Yu Fan was exiled, he was still very concerned about the state.
Remonstrating against the Liaodong mission
In 228 CE, the seventh year of Huangwu, Gongsun Yuan, Administrator of Liaodong, sent envoys to contact Sun Quan.
In 232 CE, the first year of Jiahe, Sun Quan sent General Zhou He and Commandant Pei Qian by sea route to Liaodong to seek horses from Gongsun Yuan.
Yu Fan believed that Liaodong was far away and that sending people there to seek horses would not be beneficial and would only waste manpower and resources.
Yu Fan wanted to remonstrate but did not dare, so he requested Lü Dai, Inspector of Jiao Province, to relay the message, but Lü Dai refused.
Later, Yu Fan was again slandered and exiled to Cangwu Commandery.
Death
Later, Zhou He encountered a storm and was attacked by Tian Yu, a general of Cao Wei.
Sun Quan greatly regretted this and remembered Yu Fan.
He therefore ordered people to go to Jiaozhou to find Yu Fan.
If found, they were to escort him back to Jianye.
If he had already died, they were to send him back to Kuaiji and have his sons enter government service.
At this time, Yu Fan had already died at the age of seventy.
Personality
Yu Fan was known for being direct and outspoken.
Historical records state that he “repeatedly offended Sun Quan with direct remonstrance” and that he “also had a personality that did not harmonize with others and was frequently slandered.”
It seems that he was not welcomed by many court ministers, and Sun Quan was also very dissatisfied.
Later, he repeatedly angered Sun Quan because of his direct criticism of Yu Jin and others.
He also had faults after drinking wine.
He was ultimately exiled to Jiaozhou.
Although Yu Fan was loyal to Eastern Wu—he insisted on refusing both the Eastern Han and Cao Cao’s summons—his directness was never liked by Sun Quan.
It was not until after the Liaodong failure that Sun Quan remembered Yu Fan, but it was too late.
Yu Fan could only worry about the state in Jiaozhou for more than ten years and was unable to make more contributions to Eastern Wu.
Military achievements
Assisting Lü Meng in capturing Nan Commandery
Yu Fan advised Lü Meng to quickly enter Nan Commandery and take control, preventing an ambush from succeeding.
Relationships
With Sun Ce
Yu Fan had a close relationship with Sun Ce, who befriended him and treated him as a friend.
Sun Ce once wrote to Yu Fan: “Today’s affairs, I will share them with you. Do not say that I, Sun Ce, only treat you as an ordinary commandery official.”
With Sun Quan
Yu Fan had a difficult relationship with Sun Quan.
Although Yu Fan was loyal to Eastern Wu, his direct remonstrance and outspoken criticism caused Sun Quan to exile him twice.
With Lü Meng
Lü Meng requested that Yu Fan accompany him on the campaign to capture Jing Province, which led to Yu Fan’s release from exile.
Yu Fan’s advice helped Lü Meng successfully capture Nan Commandery.
Anecdotes
Remonstrating against Sun Ce’s hunting
Yu Fan once remonstrated against Sun Ce’s habit of going out hunting lightly mounted, saying: “You gather a motley crowd and lead scattered people, and in the end, you make them all exert their strength for you. Even Emperor Gaozu of Han cannot compare to you. However, it is easy to leave the residence and travel in disguise. The guards are insufficient to guard the roads strictly, and officers and soldiers are often troubled by this. If a ruler is not dignified, he cannot display his authority. Therefore, it is said that when a dragon takes the form of a fish, it is caught by a fisherman named Yu Qie. A white snake went out alone and was killed by Liu Bang. I hope you will pay a little attention.”
Sun Ce said: “What you say is right, but sometimes when I think about problems, sitting idly makes my heart very restless and hinders coming up with new ideas. Therefore, I need to go out.”
Stabilizing Jiangdong after Sun Ce’s death
When Sun Ce was assassinated, all county officials planned to go to mourn.
However, Yu Fan believed that Jiangdong was not yet stable and that if officials left, it might give bandits and rebels an opportunity.
He therefore remained in Fuchun to observe mourning.
The other county officials all followed his example, maintaining stability in Jiangdong’s counties.
The “Have you eaten?” method
Sun Quan developed a secret method to communicate with Gu Yong, asking his secretary: “Have you eaten?” instead of “What did Gu Gong say?”
This method was inspired by Yu Fan’s directness, showing how Sun Quan tried to avoid direct confrontation.
Criticizing immortals
When Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao discussed immortals, Yu Fan pointed at Zhang Zhao and said: “You are all dead people. How can you discuss immortals? There are no immortals in the world!”
This shows Yu Fan’s directness and his willingness to criticize even Sun Quan’s favourite topics.
The green flies as mourners
After Yu Fan was exiled to Jiaozhou, he said: “I regret that I neglected etiquette, was unrestrained, was not good at observing expressions and pleasing people, and finally offended the ruler and was convicted. I should be exiled to a remote place for a long time. In life, there is no one to talk to. After death, only green flies will be the mourners. If there is one person in the realm who deeply understands me, it is enough to have no regrets.”
This is the origin of the phrase “green flies as mourners.”
Achievements
- Stabilized Jiangdong after Sun Ce’s death
- Assisted Lü Meng in capturing Nan Commandery
- Predicted Guan Yu’s death through divination
- Wrote commentaries on the Laozi, Analects, and Discourses of the States
- Expert in the I Ching
- Lectured in Jiaozhou with hundreds of students
Behind the scenes
Historical sources
Yu Fan’s biography appears in the Records of the Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou, where he is grouped with Lu Ji, Zhang Wen, Luo Tong, Lu Mao, and Zhu Ju.
The biography records his achievements and his difficult relationship with Sun Quan.
Expertise in the I Ching
Yu Fan was an expert in the I Ching and wrote a commentary on it.
He was able to predict Guan Yu’s death through divination.
The scholar in exile
Yu Fan spent more than ten years in exile in Jiaozhou, where he lectured and wrote commentaries.
Despite being exiled, he remained concerned about the state and tried to remonstrate against Sun Quan’s policies.
Historical evaluations
Contemporary
Sun Ce said: “You are learned and well-informed. Therefore, I previously wanted to have you go to Xu once to meet court officials and refute the wild talkers of the Central Plain.”
Sun Quan said: “You are not as good as Fuxi, but you can be compared to Dongfang Shuo.”
Sun Quan also said: “Yu Fan is bright and direct, good at speaking fully. He is the state’s Zhou She. If Yu Fan had been here before, this campaign would not have succeeded.”
Later historians
Chen Shou wrote: “Yu Fan was the ancient type of wild and direct person. He certainly could not avoid the end of an age. However, Sun Quan could not tolerate him. This was not broad-minded.”
Legacy
Yu Fan is remembered as a scholar and official who was loyal to Eastern Wu but whose directness and outspokenness led to his exile.
His expertise in the I Ching and his commentaries on various classics show his scholarly achievements.
His story represents both loyalty and limitation—a scholar who was loyal to Eastern Wu but whose directness prevented him from serving effectively.
Timeline
- 164 CE: Born in Yuyao, Kuaiji Commandery
- c. 195 CE: Served as Chief Clerk of Kuaiji under Wang Lang; advised Wang Lang to avoid battle with Sun Ce; escorted Wang Lang as he fled
- c. 195–200 CE: Served as Chief Clerk of Kuaiji under Sun Ce; befriended by Sun Ce
- c. 200 CE: Transferred to Magistrate of Fuchun; Sun Ce assassinated; remained in Fuchun to observe mourning; stabilized Jiangdong
- c. 200–c. 220 CE: Appointed Cavalry Commandant by Sun Quan; repeatedly remonstrated directly; exiled to Jingxian
- 219 CE: Released from exile; accompanied Lü Meng on campaign to capture Jing Province; advised Lü Meng to quickly enter Nan Commandery; predicted Guan Yu’s death
- 221 CE: Criticized Yu Jin; pretended to be drunk at banquet; Sun Quan attempted to kill him but was stopped by Liu Ji
- c. 220–230 CE: Criticized Mi Fang; criticized Zhang Zhao about immortals; exiled to Jiaozhou
- 228 CE: Remonstrated against sending envoys to Liaodong (through Lü Dai, who refused)
- 232 CE: Again remonstrated against sending envoys to Liaodong; again slandered; exiled to Cangwu Commandery
- 233 CE: Died in Cangwu Commandery age 70; Sun Quan regretted not listening to him
See also
References
- Chen Shou. Records of the Three Kingdoms, Volume 57, Biography of Yu Fan, Lu Ji, Zhang Wen, Luo Tong, Lu Mao, and Zhu Ju.
- Luo Guanzhong. Romance of the Three Kingdoms, various chapters.