Wang Ping (Three Kingdoms)

Wang Ping (died 248), style name Zijun (子均), was a Cao Wei officer who later defected to Liu Bei, and served as a general under Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.

Biography

Service under Cao Cao

Wang Ping (He Ping) was born in Dangqu, Baxi (present-day Qu County, Sichuan). He was surnamed He (何) because he was raised by He clan, which his mother originated. He presumably changed his surname back to Wang during his later years (historic records show a discrepancy on how he was called, so it is also possible that he had his surname changed posthumously).

He began his career by serving Du Huo, and was made an acting colonel when he followed his supervisor Du to visit the imperial court. When Du joined Cao Cao to Hanzhong to wrestle control over the area of Hanzhong with Shu warlord, Liu Bei, Wang was also a member of the expedition force. When they arrived the battlefield, Liu refused to give battle, and Cao forces faced serious logistical difficulty, and many of his soldiers started deserting and joining the other side who could provide food and shelter. Wang Ping was one of those surrendered to Liu.

Service under Shu

As a reward for his defection, Wang was given the rank of Major-General once he switched side. He went on to serve in Liu Bei’s military headquarters, but his...
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