Lu Wan

Lu Wan was from Feng Town (豐邑), which is in present-day Feng County, Xuzhou, Jiangsu. His father and Liu Bang's father were close friends, as were Liu Bang and him. He shared the same birthday as Liu Bang and studied in the same school as him.[1]

In around 209 BC, when Liu Bang rebelled against the Qin dynasty, Lu Wan supported him in the struggle against Qin forces. After the collapse of the Qin dynasty in 206 BC, Xiang Yu, the de facto leader of the rebel forces that overthrew Qin, divided the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms, each ruled by a king who nominally paid allegiance to Emperor Yi of Chu, the puppet monarch controlled by him. Liu Bang became the "King of Han" (漢王) and was given Hanzhong and the Bashu territories (covering parts of present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) as his domain. He appointed Lu Wan as a General (將軍) and "Palace Attendant" (侍中). Later on, when Liu Bang engaged Xiang Yu in a power struggle – historically known as the Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC) – for supremacy over China, Lu Wan accompanied him into battle as a "Grand Commandant" (太尉). Because of his close friendship with Liu Bang, he received many gifts from Liu and was allowed to enter Liu's living quarters freely. Even Liu Bang's other close aides, including Xiao He and Cao Shen, did not receive the same level of treatment from their lord as Lu Wan. Liu Bang also enfeoffed Lu Wan as the "Marquis of Chang'an" (長安侯).[2]

In the winter of 202 BC, after Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu at the Battle of Gaixia, he ordered Lu Wan and Liu Jia (劉賈) to lead troops to attack Gong Wei, the King of Linjiang (臨江王). They defeated Gong Wei, conquered Linjiang, and returned by the seventh month of that year. Lu Wan later followed Liu Bang to attack Zang Tu, the King of Yan (燕王), who was defeated. By then, Liu Bang had unified most – if not all – of the Eighteen Kingdoms under his control and established the Han Empire with himself as its first ruler; he is historically known as Emperor Gaozu of the Han dynasty. Although he had already awarded vassal king titles to seven men who were not from the Liu clan, he wanted to make Lu Wan a vassal king as well so he sought his subjects' opinions. They were aware of the emperor's intention, so they nominated Lu Wan on the grounds that he had made great contributions in the military campaigns against the rival kingdoms. In the eighth month of 202, Lu Wan was formally enfeoffed as the "King of Yan".[3]

In the second month of 195 BC, Emperor Gaozu ordered Fan Kuai to lead an army to attack Lu Wan. Lu Wan brought together all his family members and subordinates (numbering a few thousand people), escaped from Yan, and settled down at a location near the Great Wall. He planned to turn himself in to Emperor Gaozu and plead for forgiveness after the emperor had recovered from his illness. However, Emperor Gaozu died two months later before Lu Wan could do so. When Lu Wan received news of Emperor Gaozu's death, he brought together his family and subordinates and fled to Xiongnu territory. The Xiongnu gave him the title "King Lu of Donghu" (東胡盧王). Lu Wan suffered during his stay with the Xiongnu and often thought of returning home. He died a year later in exile.[6]

When Empress Lü Zhi ruled the Han Empire as a regent after Emperor Gaozu's death, Lu Wan's family members managed to escape from the Xiongnu and return to Han territory. They wanted to meet her but she died of illness before they could meet. Lu Wan's widow also died of illness not long later.[7]

In 144 BC, Lu Wan's grandson, Lu Tazhi (盧他之), in his capacity as "King of Donghu" (東胡王), surrendered to the Han Empire and was enfeoffed as the "Marquis of Yagu" (亞谷侯).[8]