Pang Tong


Pang Tong , courtesy name Shiyuan, was an adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Originally a minor official in Nan Commandery in Jing Province, Pang Tong came to serve Liu Bei in 209 after the latter became the provincial governor. In the early 210s, he accompanied Liu Bei on a military campaign to seize control of Yi Province from the warlord Liu Zhang, but was killed by a stray arrow during a battle at Luo County in 214.

Early life

Pang Tong was from Xiangyang Commandery, Jing Province. In his youth, he looked plain and simple, so he was not highly regarded. When he reached adulthood, he visited Sima Hui, who was famous for spotting and recommending men of talent. They came to a mulberry tree, where Sima Hui climbed up to get the fruit while Pang Tong sat below, and they chatted for a whole day until nightfall. Sima Hui felt that Pang Tong was an extraordinary person and called Pang "the crown of learned men in Jing Province". Subsequently, Pang Tong started gaining more recognition among the scholar-gentry. Pang Tong was nicknamed "Fledgling Phoenix" by his uncle Pang Degong.
Pang Tong later served as an Officer of Merit in Nan Commandery. He was an appraiser. When he reviewed people, he focused more on their personal virtues rather than their abilities. He was fond of ethical lessons and consistently strove to maintain high moral standards. He usually overpraised when he was asked to assess a person. At times, people were puzzled so they questioned him on why he did that, to which he replied, "The world is currently in disorder. Good people are overwhelmed by the evil. I desire to change social norms by encouraging good people and giving them a better reputation, so they can serve as role models for others."
In 209, Zhou Yu, a general under the warlord Sun Quan, occupied Nan Commandery after the Battle of Jiangling. After Zhou Yu was appointed as the Administrator of Nan Commandery, Pang Tong served as a minor official under him. When Zhou Yu died in 210, Pang Tong travelled to Jiangdong to attend his funeral. He received a warm reception by the officials in Jiangdong. Pang Tong met and befriended Lu Ji, Gu Shao and Quan Cong. He also appraised each of them separately; they were very pleased with his comments.

Serving Liu Bei in Jing Province

Pang Tong became a subject of Liu Bei after the latter became the Governor of Jingzhou in late 209. He initially served as an Assistant Officer and as the county magistrate of Leiyang, but was later dismissed from office due to poor performance. Sun Quan's general Lu Su wrote to Liu Bei, recommending Pang Tong as a talent. Liu Bei's strategist Zhuge Liang also recommended Pang Tong, so Liu Bei recruited Pang to be an Assistant Officer in the Headquarters Office. Liu Bei's treatment towards Pang Tong was second to that of Zhuge Liang. He later appointed both Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang as Military Adviser Generals of the Household.

Assisting Liu Bei in the conquest of Yi Province

Around the early 210s, Pang Tong convinced Liu Bei to seize Yi Province and use its resources to compete with his rival Cao Cao for supremacy over China. Liu Bei heeded Pang Tong's suggestion. In 211, Liu Bei led an army from Jing Province into Yi Province on the pretext of helping Yi Province's governor, Liu Zhang, counter an invasion from the warlord Zhang Lu in Hanzhong Commandery. Zhuge Liang remained behind to guard Jing Province while Pang Tong followed Liu Bei to Yi Province.
Liu Zhang received Liu Bei at Fu County. Pang Tong urged Liu Bei to use the opportunity to capture Liu Zhang and force him to hand over Yi Province, but Liu Bei refused because he was new to Yi Province and had not established a strong foundation there yet. Liu Zhang later returned to Yi Province's capital, Chengdu.
Pang Tong outlined three plans for Liu Bei to choose from:
Liu Bei chose the middle plan and executed it – he killed Yang Huai and Gao Pei, led his forces towards Chengdu and conquered several of Liu Zhang's territories along the way.
When Liu Bei expressed joy during a banquet in Fu County to celebrate his success, Pang Tong chided him, saying that "celebrating the invasion of others' territory isn't what a man of ren should do". The drunk Liu Bei retorted angrily, "King Wu of Zhou also rejoiced after his victory over King Zhou of Shang. Is he not an example of a man of ren? You're wrong, so get out now!" After Pang Tong left, Liu Bei regretted what he said so he invited Pang back. Pang Tong returned to his seat and did not say anything, so Liu Bei asked, "When that quarrel happened just now, whose fault do you think it was?" Pang Tong replied, "It was both yours and mine." Liu Bei laughed and the banquet continued.

Death

Pang Tong later participated in a battle against Liu Zhang's forces at Luo County. He died after being hit by a stray arrow in the midst of battle. He was 36 years old at the time of his death. Liu Bei was deeply saddened by Pang Tong's death and he would weep whenever Pang Tong was mentioned. Pang Tong was posthumously made a Secondary Marquis after Liu Bei became emperor and established the state of Shu Han in 221. In October or November 260, Liu Bei's son and successor, Liu Shan, honoured Pang Tong with the posthumous title "Marquis Jing".
Liu Bei had a shrine and tomb constructed for Pang Tong near Luo County. The shrine and tomb is located in present-day Baimaguan Town, Luojiang County, Sichuan. On 25 May 2006, it became a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

Family and descendants

After Pang Tong's death, Liu Bei appointed Pang's father – whose name was not recorded in history – as a Consultant and later promoted him to a Counsellor Remonstrant.
Pang Tong had a younger brother, Pang Lin, who served as an Assistant Officer in Jing Province's Headquarters Office. He participated in the Battle of Xiaoting in 221–222 alongside the general Huang Quan and was in charge of defending the northern flank from possible attacks by Shu's rival state, Wei. After Liu Bei lost to Sun Quan's general Lu Xun at the Battle of Xiaoting, Pang Lin and Huang Quan were separated from Liu Bei's remaining forces and could not return to Shu, so they brought along their troops and surrendered to Wei. Pang Lin served as the Administrator of Julu Commandery in Wei and received a marquis title.
Pang Tong had a son, Pang Hong, whose courtesy name was Jushi. Pang Hong, who served in the Shu government, was known for being frugal, upright and outspoken. He offended Chen Di, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing. Chen Di found fault with Pang Hong and blocked him from getting promoted. He died in office while serving as the Administrator of Fuling Commandery.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Pang Tong appears as a character in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the historical events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. In the novel, Pang Tong is portrayed as a brilliant military strategist who equals Zhuge Liang. Sima Hui recommends Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang as talents to aid Liu Bei by saying, "Hidden Dragon and Young Phoenix. If you can get either of them, you'll be able to pacify the empire."
In Chapter 47, before the Battle of Red Cliffs, Jiang Gan recommends Pang Tong to Cao Cao. Pang Tong presents a "chain links strategy" to Cao. The plan involves linking Cao Cao's battleships together with strong iron chains to make the ships more stable when they were sailing, as well as to reduce the chances of Cao's soldiers falling seasick due to excessive rocking. This leads to Cao Cao's defeat as his battleships are unable to separate from each other during the fire attack, and when one ship is set aflame, the other ships linked to it catch fire as well.
Pang Tong's death during the war between Liu Bei and Liu Zhang is highly dramatised in Chapter 63. At the outset of the battle at Luo County, before Liu Bei and Pang Tong split forces for a two-pronged attack, Pang Tong's horse rears and throws him off its back. This is seen as a bad omen. Liu Bei then let Pang Tong borrow his famous steed, Dilu. However, Dilu is believed to bring bad luck to its rider despite having saved Liu Bei's life earlier. Liu Zhang's general Zhang Ren, who plans an ambush near Luo County, recognises Dilu and mistakes its rider to be Liu Bei, so he orders his archers to fire at the rider. Pang Tong is hit by several arrows which pierce through his body and he dies on the spot. His place of death is called "Valley of the Fallen Phoenix".

In popular culture

Pang Tong is featured as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors, Warriors Orochi and Dynasty Tactics video game series.
In Koihime Musou, Pang Tong appears as a shy and reserved young girl called Hinari Shigen Houtou. First appearing in episode 10 of Shin Koihime Musou, Hinari lives with Zhuge Liang / Shuri Koumei Shokatsuryou teacher.