Fu Rong (Three Kingdoms)

Fu Rong (died 222) was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.

Biography
Fu Rong was a native of Yiyang (present-day Xinyang, Henan). In 221, he followed Liu Bei in the campaign against Sun Quan's forces, leading to the Battle of Xiaoting. In 222, Sun Quan's general Lu Xun defeated Liu Bei's forces and Liu was forced to retreat. Fu Rong volunteered to defend the rear from pursuing enemy troops. Even when all his comrades were killed in battle, Fu Rong still held on firmly and vented his increasing fury on the enemy. He was offered a chance to surrender, but he replied, "Dogs of Wu! Do you think a general of Han will surrender to the enemy?" Fu Rong then charged the hordes of enemies alone, and was killed. Fu Rong's courageous action was quite admired at the time that even the Emperor Wu of Jin specifically mentioned this incident in his decree.

Fu Rong's son, Fu Qian, continued serving Shu as a military general until his eventual death during the conquest of Shu by Wei in 263.

In fiction
In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Fu Rong was renamed to "Fu Tong" (傅彤). After Liu Bei's defeat at the Battle of Xiaoting, Fu Rong volunteered to cover the rear from pursuing enemy troops. He was eventually surrounded by the enemy. Sun Quan's general Ding Feng shouted at him, "Many Sichuan soldiers have died while others have surrendered. Your lord Liu Bei has been captured. Now that you're exhausted and isolated, why don't you surrender early?" Fu Rong replied furiously, "I'm a general of Han, how can I surrender to the dogs of Wu?", after which he grabbed his spear and mounted his horse, leading his men on making a last stand. However, after fighting for more than 100 rounds, Fu Rong was unable to break out of the encirclement. He sighed, "I've come to an end!", and vomited blood and died.

Notes and references

 * Sima Guang. Zizhi Tongjian, Chapter 69.