Contents
Biography & Historical Record
Fei Li (费立, Phí Lập; c. 210s–after 270s AD) was an accomplished official who served the state of Shu Han and later continued his career under the Western Jin dynasty. He was the son of the famously principled minister Fei Shi (费诗).
Hailing from Nan’an, Qianwei Commandery, Fei Li inherited his father’s uncompromising integrity, erudition, and sharp literary talent. In Shu Han, he held administrative appointments and was widely praised for his refusal to pander to the corrupt palace eunuch Huang Hao.
Following the fall of Chengdu in 263 AD, Fei Li entered the civil administration of Western Jin alongside other former Shu scholars, contributing significantly to the governance and legal codification of the western commanderies.
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 73: Son of the outspoken remonstrator Fei Shi, Fei Li carried forward his father’s fearless commitment to moral governance and truth.
Fei Li — Historical & Literary Timeline
c. 210s AD
Heritage of Qianwei
Born in Shu to the outspoken minister Fei Shi.
c. 250s AD
Officialdom in Shu Han
Serves in administrative offices, maintaining integrity against court corruption.
c. 270s AD
Civil Service in Western Jin
Assists in local administration of the western provinces under the Jin dynasty.
Key Relationships
Family
- Father Fei Shi (费诗, Phí Thi): Father; famously outspoken Shu Han statesman who dared to reprimand Guan Yu and oppose Liu Bei’s assumption of the imperial title.
Friends
- Jiang Wei (姜维, Khương Duy): Shu Han generalissimo whose military campaigns Fei Li supported through honest civil administration.
Enemies
- Huang Hao (黄皓, Hoàng Hạo): Corrupt palace eunuch whose sycophancy Fei Li openly despised, refusing all bribery and flattery at the Chengdu court.
Other
- Sima Yan (司马炎, Tư Mã Viêm): Emperor Wu of Jin; granted administrative appointments to Fei Li in Liang and Yi provinces following the fall of Shu in 263 AD.
In Novel
Chapter 102 (Decline of Shu Court & Upright Voices)
- Fei Li (费立, Phí Lập): Renowned as a scholar of unyielding rectitude in the late Shu Han bureaucracy, fearlessly resisting the corrupt palace influence of eunuch Huang Hao to defend the classical civil rites.
Chapter 118 (The Surrender of Chengdu & Preservation of Rites)
- Fei Li (费立, Phí Lập): Oversaw the orderly handover of court archives and ceremonial regalia, ensuring that the intellectual dignity of the Riverlands survived the fall of the state.
In History
Summary
- Fei Li (费立, Phí Lập) (c. 215–after 270 AD), courtesy name Jianxi (建熙, Kiến Hi), was an esteemed classical scholar and Grand Herald (大鸿胪) of Shu Han and Western Jin, hailing from Nan’an, Qianwei.
Year: 258 AD
- Served as Master of Writing and court censor in Shu Han; outspokenly condemned the rise of corrupt sycophants in the imperial palace, maintaining rigorous Confucian standards.
Year: 265 AD
- Following the Wei-Jin transition, invited to the Western Jin court as Grand Herald, praised by Sima Yan for his encyclopedic knowledge of diplomatic protocol and ancient rituals.
Historical Record
- Sanguozhi (三国志), Volume 42 (Biographies of the Scholars of Shu): Details his uncompromising character, intellectual publications, and state appointments.
- Huayang Guo Zhi (华阳国志), Volume 11: Commends Fei Li as one of the preeminent sages and moral pillars of Qianwei.