Sheng Man

Biography and Career of Sheng Man

Sheng Man was an accomplished military general, riverine fleet commander, and frontier administrator of the state of Eastern Wu during the late Three Kingdoms era. Hailing from the Jiangnan heartland, he served the Sun dynasty across the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Documented in Chen Shou’s official dynastic history, the Records of the Three Kingdoms, he played a crucial frontline role defending sovereign river gateways during the reigns of Emperor Sun Xiu and Emperor Sun Hao.

The Siege of Yong’an (263–264 AD)

In the winter of 263 AD, following the sudden capitulation of Shu Han to the rival state of Cao Wei, the Wu court at Jianye was gripped by profound geopolitical alarm. Fearing that northern forces would establish naval dockyards along the upper Yangtze River and launch an unstoppable downriver invasion against Jiangdong, Emperor Sun Xiu mobilized an expeditionary army toward the Shu border under the guise of offering military support. Sheng Man was appointed as the vanguard commander, tasked with leading an advance naval armada and infantry columns through the Three Gorges to seize Badong Commandery.

Upon arriving before the strategic river stronghold of Yong’an (Baidicheng), he dispatched emissaries urging the Shu defender Luo Xian to surrender the citadel into Wu’s protective custody. Astutely seeing through this pretext, Luo Xian denounced the opportunistic betrayal of their alliance, fortified his garrison, and repelled the initial vanguard strikes. Although Eastern Wu escalated the campaign by sending General Bu Xie and Grand Marshal Lu Kang with thirty thousand veteran troops, Luo Xian held the citadel for six months until Wei relief divisions under Hu Lie compelled the Wu expeditionary force to withdraw.

Literary Portrayal and Historical Legacy

In Luo Guanzhong’s 14th-century classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Sheng Man is featured in Chapters 119 and 120 as a bold vanguard commander spearheading Wu’s urgent westward expansion. Arraying his fleet beneath Baidicheng, his attempts at persuasion fail when Luo Xian passionately condemns Wu’s deceit. The subsequent assault is thoroughly repelled by well-coordinated stone catapults and archers, dramatizing the volatile military struggles characterizing the final phase of the era.

Following the western campaign, Sheng Man continued his service as an experienced garrison commander along the western river approaches, overseeing iron chain barricades and signal stockades designed to deter northern naval incursions until Eastern Wu’s final years.