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Jia Fu
General of the Eastern Han founding, badly wounded fighting for Liu Xiu in Hebei, who became Marquis of Jiaodong and later gave up his command to study the classics
At dusk on a hilltop, a large tent stands open with a table holding a map marked with small stones inside, a saddled horse tethered outside, and fire stands burning; campfires dot the river plain below, and one tiny sentry stands on the slope.
Also known as Zi Junwen · Jiao Donghou
- Roles
- Commanders
Jia Fu, courtesy name Junwen, came from Guanjun in Nanyang and studied the Book of Documents as a youth. At the end of Wang Mang's reign he led a band on Mount Yu, then joined Liu Jia, Prince of Hanzhong, who recommended him to Liu Xiu, and Liu made him a general. Badly wounded at Zhending fighting the Wuxiao rebels, he alarmed Liu Xiu, who, hearing that Jia's wife was pregnant, promised to take a daughter as his son's bride or give his own daughter to a son, and Jia recovered. In 25 he became bearer of the gilt mace and Marquis of Guanjun, and after further campaigns he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Jiaodong in 37. Seeing that the emperor wished to set aside arms for learning, he and Deng Yu gave up their commands to study the classics. He died in 55, posthumously named Marquis Gang, and under Emperor Ming he was counted among the twenty-eight generals of the Cloud Terrace.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown–55 CE