Hao Pu

Biography & Historical Record

Hao Pu, courtesy name Zitai, was a military officer and civil official who served both Shu Han and Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. Hailing from Yiyang Commandery (modern-day Xinyang, Henan Province), he was initially appointed by Liu Bei as the Grand Administrator of Lingling Commandery in Jing Province. Documented in Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi – Book of Wu, Biography of Lü Meng) and Luo Guanzhong’s classic historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Hao Pu is historically remembered for his resilient defense of Lingling, his tragic capitulation to Lü Meng’s psychological ruse in 215 AD, his second surrender during the fall of Jing Province in 219 AD, and his ultimate forced suicide in 230 AD during Eastern Wu’s Yin Fan espionage scandal.

In 215 AD, following Liu Bei’s conquest of Yi Province, Sun Quan demanded the return of southern Jing Province. When Liu Bei refused, Sun Quan dispatched Lü Meng to seize Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling commanderies by force. While Changsha and Guiyang capitulated quickly, Hao Pu fortified Lingling, mobilizing his garrison and local militias to mount a fierce, unyielding defense in anticipation of Guan Yu’s relief forces. Realizing that Lingling could not be easily breached, Lü Meng devised a cunning psychological stratagem. He summoned Deng Xuanzhi, an intimate friend of Hao Pu, and fed him false intelligence, claiming that Guan Yu had been blocked at Yiyang, Liu Bei was pinned down in Shu, and Lingling was completely isolated without any hope of reinforcements. Lü Meng sent Deng Xuanzhi into Lingling to persuade Hao Pu that continued resistance would lead to the total slaughter of his garrison and townspeople.

Deceived by his trusted friend’s desperate pleas and believing his cause was lost, Hao Pu wept bitterly, opened the city gates, and surrendered to Lü Meng. However, as soon as Hao Pu stepped out of the city, Lü Meng greeted him with laughter and showed him imperial dispatches confirming that Guan Yu’s relief army was already near the city gates. Overwhelmed by intense humiliation and grief, Hao Pu realized he had been duped. Following a diplomatic demarcation agreement along the Xiang River between Liu Bei and Sun Quan shortly thereafter, Hao Pu was returned to Shu Han service, where he was reconfirmed in his duties in Jing Province.

In 219 AD, when Guan Yu launched his northern campaign against Xiangyang and Fancheng, Lü Meng executed his famous disguise infiltration and surprise assault on Jing Province. Facing total strategic collapse, Guan Yu’s defeat, and the capitulation of key garrisons, Hao Pu surrendered to Eastern Wu a second time alongside commanders like Mi Fang and Fu Shiren. Sun Quan accepted his submission, integrating him into Eastern Wu’s bureaucracy and promoting him to Minister of Justice (Dingwei). In 230 AD, Cao Wei Emperor Cao Rui dispatched a secret agent named Yin Fan to infiltrate Eastern Wu. Posing as a brilliant administrator, Yin Fan charmed many Wu court officials. Deeply impressed by Yin Fan’s talents, Hao Pu repeatedly submitted memorials praising him and lamenting that the court was underutilizing a genius. When Yin Fan’s treasonous plot to incite an insurrection was exposed later that year, Sun Quan executed Yin Fan and severely investigated his backers. Accused of gross negligence and disloyalty for endorsing a enemy spy, Hao Pu was forced by Sun Quan to commit suicide in 230 AD.

Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

In Luo Guanzhong’s novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Hao Pu appears in Chapter 67 during Lü Meng’s campaign to seize southern Jing Province in 215 AD. Serving as Grand Administrator of Lingling under Liu Bei, Hao Pu fiercely defends Lingling against Eastern Wu forces while awaiting Guan Yu’s arrival. Knowing that Hao Pu is a man of deep sentiment, Lü Meng sends Hao Pu’s close friend Deng Xuanzhi into the city to spread false news that Guan Yu has been cut off and Liu Bei has returned to Chengdu. Believing Deng Xuanzhi, Hao Pu surrenders the city in tears, only to discover upon exiting the gates that Guan Yu’s reinforcements were just miles away. Shamed and mortified, Hao Pu follows Lü Meng to Eastern Wu. Later in Chapter 75, during the surprise capture of Jing Province in 219 AD, Hao Pu again surrenders to Eastern Wu alongside Fu Shiren and Mi Fang following Guan Yu’s defeat. His dramatic life serves as a poignant illustration of the psychological warfare and tragic betrayals that defined the struggle for Jing Province.

Hao Pu (郝普) — Historical & Literary Timeline

Key Relationships

Family

• No information

Friends

• Deng Xuanzhi (邓玄之, Đặng Huyền Chi): Close personal friend who was unwittingly used by Lü Meng in 215 AD to deliver fabricated intelligence, convincing Hao Pu that relief efforts had failed and persuading him to surrender Lingling.
• Guan Yu (关羽, Quan Vũ): Senior Shu Han commander whose approaching relief force Hao Pu staunchly defended Lingling for in 215 AD before falling victim to Lü Meng’s deceptive ruse.
• Mi Fang (麋芳, Mi Phương): Fellow Shu Han officer in Jing Province who capitulated to Eastern Wu alongside Hao Pu during Lü Meng’s surprise invasion in 219 AD.
• Fu Shiren (士仁, Sĩ Nhân): Shu Han military officer who surrendered to Eastern Wu alongside Hao Pu and Mi Fang following the collapse of Jing Province’s defenses in 219 AD.
• Yin Fan (隐蕃, Ẩn Phiên): Talented Cao Wei undercover operative whom Hao Pu deeply admired and vigorously championed at the Eastern Wu court, an association that directly led to Hao Pu’s downfall in 230 AD.

Enemies

• Lü Meng (吕蒙, Lữ Mông): Eastern Wu commander who orchestrated the psychological deception that tricked Hao Pu into yielding Lingling in 215 AD, and who later led the 219 AD campaign that forced Hao Pu’s final defection to Wu.

Other

• Liu Bei (刘备, Lưu Bị): Founding sovereign of Shu Han who initially recognized Hao Pu’s administrative capabilities and appointed him Grand Administrator of Lingling Commandery.
• Sun Quan (孙权, Tôn Quyền): Emperor of Eastern Wu who accepted Hao Pu’s surrender in 219 AD, elevated him to Minister of Justice, and ultimately commanded him to commit suicide in 230 AD for endorsing the spy Yin Fan.
• Cao Rui (曹叡, Tào Duệ): Emperor of Cao Wei who orchestrated the covert infiltration of Eastern Wu by dispatching Yin Fan, sparking the political purge that claimed Hao Pu’s life.