Chang Wufei's Namesake

Note: With the exception of Chang Wufei, all the Chinese names in this article are in Hanyu Pinyin, e.g. "Zhang Fei" would be used instead of "Chang Fei".

Characters based on Chinese mythological or historical figures are not uncommon in the world of anime. A famous example would be Son Goku of Dragonball, who has the name (and weaponry!) of Sun Wukong, the Monkey God in Chinese mythology. In Gundam Wing, there are at least two such characters: Chang Wufei and his Gundam Nataku

Wufei ("Wu", meaning "five", is probably tacked on to emphasize his L5 origins) is named after the semi-legendary general Zhang Fei (born c. AD 167, died c. AD 221). Zhang Fei lived during the last decades of the decaying Eastern Han dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era, when warlords contended over a divided country and China eventually disintegrated into the kingdoms of Wei, Wu and Shu-Han. Originally a prosperous butcher named Zhang Yide, Zhang Fei became a sworn brother of Liu Bei, who later founded the kingdom of Shu-Han and proclaimed himself the heir of the Han dynasty, and Guan Yu, who later became the greatest general in Shu and after his death was revered as a god. The three were collectively known as the Sworn Brothers of the Peach Garden and their numerous exploits were dramatized in various stories and plays and in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms from the Ming dynasty. 

Zhang Fei was often depicted rather ambivalently as a man of great courage and strength who was nonetheless impulsive, hot-tempered and fond of drinking. The tale of his death is an illustration of these less favourable qualities. Overcome with grief and a desire for revenge after his sworn brother Guan Yu was captured and executed by Sun Quan, lord of Wu, he ordered two subordinates to get ready for an invasion of East Wu and when they asked for more time, thought they were trying to delay the mission and had them whipped. Furious and afraid, the two men murdered Zhang Fei while he was in a drunken sleep.

But of course, Zhang Fei had his great moments (or he wouldn't be a hero!), such as when he engaged an enemy general in battle for two days non-stop, or when he single-handedly held off the troops of Cao Cao, lord of Wei, at Changban Bridge with the cry "I am Zhang Yide of Yan! Who dares fight with me?!" So terrifying was the cry, it was said, that a Wei general became paralysed with fear and fell off his horse and Cao Cao himself quaked in his shoes, for

                Zhang Fei was wrathful; and who dared
                To accept his challenge? Fierce he glared,
                His thunderous voice rolled out, and then
                In terror fled Cao's armed men.

After his death, Zhang Fei was buried in Langzhong County and a temple built there in his honour, where it stills stands today. 

Stanza quoted from Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong; Brewitt-Taylor, C. H., trans. Singapore: Graham Brash, 1985, p. 441.

Created 03/05/2000

Click here to find out more about Nataku's namesake as well.

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