Cheng Pu was from Tuyin County, Youbeiping Commandery, which is located east of present-day Fengrun District, Tangshan, Hebei. He initially served as a minor official in the local commandery office. He was good-looking, resourceful, and well versed in military strategy. Cheng Pu later came to serve Sun Jian and joined him in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the 180s, defeating the rebels at Wan and Deng. In 190, he participated in the campaign against Dong Zhuo on Sun Jian's side, and defeated Dong Zhuo's forces at Yangren. Cheng Pu fought in several battles and had been wounded many times.
Service under Sun Ce
Sun Jian died in 191 and was succeeded by his eldest son Sun Ce. Cheng Pu continued serving under Sun Ce and accompanied him on his conquests in the Jiangdong region. He aided Sun Ce in conquering Lujiang Commandery before they crossed the Yangtze River and attacked Hengjiang and Dangli, where they defeated Zhang Ying and Yu Mi, the subordinates of a rival warlord Liu Yao. Cheng Pu also participated in the conquests of Moling, Hushu, Jurong and Qu'e. In recognition of his contributions, he was given an additional 2,000 troops under his command and awarded 50 horses. He made many achievements in battle in the subsequent conquests of Wucheng, Shimu, Bomen, Lingchuan and Yuhang. After Sun Ce conquered Kuaiji Commandery from its administrator Wang Lang, he appointed Cheng Pu as the Commandant of Wu Commandery, with his administrative headquarters at Qiantang County. Cheng Pu was later reassigned as the Commandant of Danyang Commandery and he moved to Shicheng County. He participated in the campaigns at Xuancheng and Jing, and helped to pacify rebellions in Wu, Lingyang and Chungu counties. When Sun Ce was attacking the bandits led by Zu Lang, he was surrounded by the enemy, but Cheng Pu, accompanied by only one horseman, charged into the encirclement to rescue his lord. Cheng Pu fought fiercely and the bandits withdrew in fear, allowing Sun Ce to escape. Cheng Pu was later appointed as General of the Household Who Defeats Bandits and the Administrator of Lingling Commandery. He followed Sun Ce in the campaigns against Liu Xun and Huang Zu at Xunyang and Shaxian respectively, before returning to his garrison at Shicheng.
Service under Sun Quan
When Sun Ce died in 200, Cheng Pu, along with Zhang Zhao and others, pledged allegiance to Sun Quan and travelled around Sun Quan's territories to attack those who refused to submit to the new lord. Under Sun Quan, Cheng Pu fought at the Battle of Jiangxia in 208 and aided in the conquest of Le'an when he passed by Yuzhang. He later replaced Taishi Ci as the commander of a garrison at Haihun. During the Battle of Red Cliffs of 208-209, Cheng Pu and Zhou Yu served as the Left and Right Commanders of Sun Quan's army respectively, and scored a major victory in the battle against Cao Cao's forces. Cheng Pu and Zhou Yu also led Sun Quan's forces in the subsequent Battle of Jiangling, a follow-up to the Battle of Red Cliffs, and defeated Cao Cao's general Cao Ren. After those battles, Cheng Pu was promoted to Major-General and he served as the Administrator of Jiangxia Commandery, with the commandery capital at Shaxian County, and was in charge of four counties. Cheng Pu was the eldest among all the senior military officers under Sun Quan, so the others often addressed him as "Elder Cheng" to show their respect towards him. He was also known to be a generous man who enjoyed mingling with the scholar-gentry. When Zhou Yu died, Cheng Pu was assigned to replace him as the Administrator of Nan Commandery. After Sun Quan agreed to allow his ally Liu Bei to temporarily occupy Nan Commandery, Cheng Pu was relocated to Jiangxia Commandery. Cheng Pu was subsequently promoted to General Who Defeats Bandits. It is not known when he died.
Death
Cheng Pu's biography did not state when he died. However, the Wu Shu, written by Wei Zhao, mentioned that Cheng Pu killed hundreds of traitors and had their bodies thrown into a fire. He became ill after that incident and died after more than 100 days later. In 229, after Sun Quan declared himself emperor and established the state of Eastern Wu, he granted Cheng Pu's son, Cheng Zi, a marquis title in recognition of Cheng Pu's contributions.
