Lü Bu

Biography

Lü Bu was the deadliest warrior of the Three Kingdoms — 'a man among men, as Red Hare is a horse among horses,' as the proverb ran, referencing his famous steed. A frontiersman from the northern border, he possessed extraordinary martial skill and was reportedly unbeatable in single combat. He was also an inveterate traitor who murdered two successive lords: first the warlord Ding Yuan, his adoptive father, and then the tyrant Dong Zhuo, again described as his adoptive father. After Dong Zhuo's death, Lü Bu wandered China as a mercenary warlord, betraying every ally who took him in. He seized Xu Province from Liu Bei, fought Cao Cao to a standstill, and terrorized the Central Plains with his cavalry. But his inability to trust or be trusted doomed him. Besieged at Xiapi by Cao Cao in 199, his own officers mutinied and bound him. Dragged before Cao Cao, Lü Bu begged for his life, offering to serve as his cavalry commander. Liu Bei reminded Cao Cao how Lü Bu had served Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao had him strangled. In Chinese culture, Lü Bu is the archetype of peerless martial prowess destroyed by moral failure — the warrior who could defeat anyone except himself.

Key Battles