Niahak's Place

So I was thinking about Three Kingdoms the other day (so what else is new, eh?).

My favorite character is not one of the major players, nor one of the more spectacular generals.  He’s a general by the name of Cheng Pu, who served the Sun family.  But I hadn’t really realized why.  He embodies three characteristics that I feel are important:

• Loyalty / Honor: After his liege Sun Jian died, he refused to debase himself by taking rank under Yuan Shu, choosing instead to serve Jian’s son Ce as retainer.
• Reliability: Cheng Pu was easily one of Wu’s most steady generals.  He never lost a single duel, and distinguished himself in every engagement in which he was involved.
• Self-improvement: Though his age and rank made him initially dislike – and insult – the younger Zhou Yu who had been appointed above him, once he realized Yu was worthy of his respect, he was quick to apologize for his earlier mistake and aided Zhou Yu in both Chi Bi and the campaigns thereafter.

Cheng Pu’s story is probably one of the more believable ones in the novel, as it has him doing nothing that could really be doubted.  His historical biography is also relatively low on information, but from what I can tell, he was really one of the more impressive – and less well-known – officers of his time.

Sorry, just felt I had to post it somewhere.