Mi Zhu
Encyclopedia
Mi Zhu was an advisor to the 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...

 during the late Han Dynasty
Han 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...

 period 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 was also Liu's brother-in-law, as his sister, Lady Mi
Lady Mi
Lady Mi was the second wife of the warlord Liu Bei, who lived during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Lady Mi was the sister of Mi Zhu and Mi Fang, who previously served the warlord Tao Qian before joining Liu Bei's side...

, married Liu. He was the older brother of Mi Fang
Mi Fang
Mi Fang was an official serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He was also the younger brother of Mi Zhu, who also served Liu Bei. In 219, Mi Fang surrendered to Sun Quan, directly resulting in the loss of Jing Province and the...

, who served Liu Bei as well until his defection to Sun Quan
Sun Quan
Sun Quan , son of Sun Jian, formally Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He ruled from 222 to 229 as King of Wu and from 229 to 252 as Emperor of Wu....

's side in 219. Mi Zhu died of illness not long after Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province
Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province
Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province was a battle fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei in 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Sun Quan's forces, led by Lü Meng, invaded Liu Bei's territory of Jing Province , which was defended by Guan Yu, and succeeded...

.

Biography

A local of the county of Qu (present day Lianyungang
Lianyungang
Lianyungang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north...

, Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...

), Mi was born in an extremely rich merchant family. According to In Search of the Supernatural (搜神記) by Gan Bao (干竇), a work largely consisting of legends and hearsays, Mi was once returning home from the capital Luoyang
Luoyang
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...

 when he met a lady by the road. He gave her a lift out of kindness. When she alighted, she revealed that she was an emissary from Heaven on a mission to burn down Mi's house. However, to repay his kindness, she agreed to walk slowly so as to allow Mi the time to evacuate the house. A huge fire indeed broke out at noon as the lady promised.

Legends aside, Mi initially served under Tao Qian, governor of Xu Province (present day northern Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...

). Upon his death, Tao passed on the governorship 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...

, to whom Mi thereafter rendered his service. In 196, Lü Bu
Lü Bu
Lü Bu was a military general and later a minor warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. According to the Records of Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu was highly-skilled in horse-riding and archery, and was thus nicknamed "Flying General"...

 seized control of Xiapi, capital of Xu Province, and proclaimed himself the governor. Henceforth, Liu Bei was forced into exile, forming a series of temporary alliances with different warlords, including 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...

, Yuan Shao
Yuan Shao
Yuan Shao was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil war that occurred towards the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era...

 and Liu Biao
Liu Biao
Liu Biao , style name Jingsheng , was a warlord and the governor of Jing Province during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was a member of the extended family of the Han Dynasty emperors...

. Throughout this trough in Liu Bei's career, however, Mi stayed loyal. When Liu was defeated by Lü Bu, Mi sponsored Liu with his all of his family wealth and also married his younger sister to the latter. Cao Cao had once attempted to entice Mi Zhu and Mi Fang to serve him by offering them governorships of Ying Commandery (northwest of present day Laiwu
Laiwu
Laiwu is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong Province, People's Republic of China. The smallest prefecture-level city in the province, it borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east and Tai'an to the southwest....

, Shandong) and Pengcheng respectively but was turned down, and the brothers fled with Liu Bei.

After Liu Bei conquered Yi Province
Liu Bei's takeover of Yi Province
Liu Bei's takeover of Yi Province was a military campaign by the warlord Liu Bei in taking control of Yi Province from its Governor, Liu Zhang. The campaign took place between 212 and 215 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...

 (present day central 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...

 and Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...

) in 215, Mi Zhu was promoted to General Who Maintains Peace of Han (安漢將軍). Although he was not given any troops to command, as military manoeuvrer were not his expertise, he was nonetheless the most highly esteemed among Liu's subjects.

In 219, Mi Fang defected to Sun Quan
Sun Quan
Sun Quan , son of Sun Jian, formally Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He ruled from 222 to 229 as King of Wu and from 229 to 252 as Emperor of Wu....

's side when Sun's general Lü Meng
Lü Meng
Lü Meng was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He served as the commanding general in the invasion of Jing Province that led to the death of Guan Yu.-Early life:Lü Meng was born in Fupo, Runan Commandery in 178...

 launched a surprise attack on Jing Province
Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province
Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province was a battle fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei in 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Sun Quan's forces, led by Lü Meng, invaded Liu Bei's territory of Jing Province , which was defended by Guan Yu, and succeeded...

 (present-day Hubei and Hunan), which resulted in the death of Guan Yu
Guan Yu
Guan Yu was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, of which Liu Bei was the...

. Mi Zhu bound himself and came to Liu Bei, pleading guilty for his brother's crime. Although Liu did not fault him, Mi was so ashamed that he soon fell sick and died slightly more than a year later.

Appointments and titles held

  • Attendant and Assistant Officer (別駕從事) under Governor of Xu Province Tao Qian
  • Administrator of Ying Commandery (嬴郡太守)
  • Assistant Officer of the Household (左將軍從事中郎) under General of the Left 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...

  • General Who Pacifies Han (安漢將軍)
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