Everything about Jiang Wan totally explained
Jiang Wan (? –
245),
courtesy name Gongyan (公琰) was an official of
Shu Han during the
Three Kingdoms era of
China. After
Zhuge Liang's death, he succeeded Zhuge as the regent for the Shu emperor,
Liu Shan.
Early career
Jiang was from Lingling Commandery (零陵, in modern northwestern
Hunan), and both he and his brother-in-law
Liu Min (劉敏) were known for their intelligence when they were young. It isn't known how he became a subordinate under
Liu Bei, but what is known is that when Liu Bei entered and conquered Yi Province (益州, modern
Sichuan and
Chongqing), Jiang Wan was part of his army, and after Liu Bei's success, Jiang Wan was made a county magistrate. Once, when Liu Bei visited the county, he was surprised and angered that Jiang Wan wasn't personally handling the county affairs and was, on that occasion, drunk. He wanted to execute Jiang Wan, but Zhuge Liang persuaded him not to -- reasoning that, based on what he knew, Jiang Wan was a capable supervisor and had delegated the matters to proper personnel, and therefore on that occasion could rest. Jiang Wan, however, was still removed from his post. When Zhuge Liang became regent for Liu Bei's son Liu Shan in
223 after Liu Bei's death, he made Jiang Wan a key assistant.
During Zhuge Liang's regency
During Zhuge Liang's regency, he appreciated Jiang Wan's talents, and Jiang's role in government gradually grew more and more important. When Zhuge Liang started his
Northern Expeditions against
Cao Wei in
227, Jiang Wan was one of the key officials remaining in the Shu Han capital of
Chengdu to handle domestic matters. In
230, he became a chief assistant to Zhuge Liang, and was in charge of logistics. He made sure that the food and manpower supplies were sufficient, and Zhuge Liang praised him in this way: "Gongyan is both faithful and open-minded, and he and I'll together serve the emperor in great things".
In
231, when Zhuge Liang's vice-regent
Li Yan was discovered to have repeatedly lied to him and Liu Shan, Li Yan was removed from his post. Jiang Wan, while not given the same post, became even more important. When Zhuge Liang grew ill on his final campaign against Cao Wei in
234, Liu Shan sent messengers to inquire of him as to who should succeed him. Zhuge Liang recommended Jiang Wan as his successor and
Fei Yi, as Jiang's eventual successor. After Zhuge Liang's death later that year, Jiang Wan became regent.
As regent
As regent, Jiang Wan was a capable administrator, and he continued Zhuge Liang's domestic policies, leaving the government largely efficient. He was also known for his tolerance of dissension and his humility. When
Yang Min (楊敏) criticized him for being ineffective and not being as good at his job as his predecessor, Jiang Wan's response was, "Indeed, I'm not as good as my predecessor," and he didn't punish Yang Min.
Jiang Wan, however, not having military aptitude, soon abandoned Zhuge Liang's policy of waging war against Cao Wei, and indeed in
241 withdrew most of the troops from the important border city of
Hanzhong to Fu (涪縣, in modern
Mianyang,
Sichuan). From that point on, Shu Han was generally in a defensive posture and no longer posed a threat to Cao Wei. This was misinterpreted by many
Eastern Wu officials as a sign that Shu Han was abandoning the alliance and entering into a treaty with Cao Wei, but was correctly read by Eastern Wu's emperor
Sun Quan as merely a sign of weakness, not an abandonment of the alliance. At one point, he considered sending an army heading east on the
Han River to attack Cao Wei's Weixing (魏興, in modern
Ankang,
Shaanxi) and Shangyong (上庸, in modern
Shiyan,
Hubei), but didn't actually carry out those plans.
In
243, Jiang Wan grew ill and transferred most of his authority to Fei Yi and
Dong Yun. In
244, when Cao Wei's regent
Cao Shuang attacked Hanzhong, it was Fei Yi who led the troops against Cao Shuang and dealt Wei a major defeat. Jiang Wan, however, remained influential until his death in 245. He was given the posthumous name
Gong (恭, literally, "respectful").
Further Information
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