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Revision as of 23:16, 15 November 2004
Lü Bu (呂布) (156-198), courtesy name Fengxian, was one of the foremost warriors in Chinese history. He lived during the period of Three Kingdoms.
Lü Bu was known as a master of horse riding, archery, and armed combat. He was handsome, tall and undefeated, because of this; he was nicknamed the "Flying General."
Lü Bu originally started his career as Chief Secretary in the office of Ding Yuan, who was also his foster father, but later he murdered Ding Yuan when Dong Zhuo marched into the capital. Dong Zhuo had offered Lü Bu many extravagant gifts, including a horse named Red Hare, in order to get Lü Bu on his side.
Lü Bu was appointed Cavalry Commander and Imperial Corps Commander by Dong Zhuo successively, and was titled Lord of a Capital Precinct.
Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo swore to be foster son and father, and since then Lü Bu became Dong Zhuo's closest guard. However Dong's bad temper had often created uneasy moments between the two. Finally he was talked by Imperial Minister of Interior Wang Yun to murder Dong Zhuo. A minor reason of his betrayal was that Lü Bu had had relation with one of Dong's maid, whose name was never recorded, but in the fiction Romance of Three Kingdoms, the minor reason became the major one and the maid was named Diao Chan. When Dong's army led by Li Jue, Guo Si and Fan Chou attacked Chang An, Lü Bu was forced to retreat and seek refuge with Yuan Shao. Yuan refused to let Lü Bu join him.
Lü Bu became a leader of a wandering army, he fought and joined other warlords, in particular it was recorded that he had once saved Liu Bei who later founded Kingdom of Shu. Finally in 198, Cao Cao, the de facto ruler of northern China, captured Lü Bu. Cao Cao once wanted to spare Lü Bu's life, but his officials disagreed. Liu Bei, whom Lü Bu once saved, refused to help and soon Cao Cao had Lü Bu strangled to death.
In Romance of Three Kindgoms, Lü Bu is said to be a very dishonorable general, a warrior without wisdom. His fictional love with Diao Chan becomes so well-known that many believe it really happens.
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