Du Fuwei

Du Fuwei (杜伏威) was a rebel commander and regional ruler of the late Sui dynasty who, beginning as a bandit at the age of sixteen, built a regime covering the 江东 and 淮南 regions and ended his career as a prince and chancellor of the early Tang.¹ According to the New Book of Tang, he was a native of Qizhou Zhangqiu (齐州章丘) and held his titles first from the rebel regime of Yue Wangdong (越王侗) and then from the Tang founder Gaozu (高祖).¹

Origins and family

The 《新唐书》 records that Du Fuwei was unrestrained and idle in youth, managed no property, and swore a friendship of mutual death with his neighbor Fu Gongshi.¹ 辅公祏 repeatedly stole sheep from his aunt's flock to feed Du Fuwei; when the county moved to arrest them, the two fled and became bandits, both aged sixteen.¹ Du Fuwei was shrewd and full of schemes, and in raids his followers' adoption of his plans always succeeded; because he shielded the band, marching in front on the way out and rearguard on the way in, they made him their chief.¹

Career

In 大业九年 (613) Du Fuwei led his men into Changbaishan and joined the bandit chief Zuo Junxing (左君行), who treated him without courtesy; he left and turned to raiding Huainan, calling himself a general.¹ He then absorbed rival bands by threat rather than battle. He sent 辅公祏 to tell Miao Haichao (苗海潮) that the anti-Sui forces were weak because divided, and that unless 海潮 submitted they would settle it in one battle; 海潮, afraid, brought his men over.¹ When the Jiangdu (江都) governor sent the commandant Song Hao (宋颢) against him, Du Fuwei feigned flight, lured the government troops into reed marshes, and set fire with the wind, burning nearly all the infantry and cavalry.¹ The Hailing (海陵) bandit Zhao Pozhen (赵破阵), contemptuous of his small force, summoned him to merge forces; Du Fuwei posted 辅公祏 with ready troops outside, entered the banquet with ten personal officers carrying oxen and wine, and cut 赵破阵 down at the feast, after which the assembled chieftains submitted and his strength reached several tens of thousands.¹ He attacked and massacred Anyi (安宜).¹

His first real defeat followed: the Sui tiger-guard general Lai Zheng (来整) beat him at Huanghualun (黄花轮), and Du Fuwei, badly wounded, fled with only a few hundred men; marching and recruiting as he went he raised 8,000 again, and destroyed the army of the tiger-guard general Gongsun Shangzhe (公孙上哲) at Yancheng (盐城).¹ The Emperor Yangdi (炀帝) then sent the right imperial-guard general Chen Leng (陈棱) with picked troops against him. 陈棱 would not fight, so Du Fuwei sent him a set of women's clothing and a letter addressing him as "陈姥" (Old Woman Chen); enraged, 陈棱 brought his whole army out.¹ In the battle an arrow struck Du Fuwei's forehead, and he swore, in the history's words, "until I kill you, the arrow stays in." He charged into 陈棱's line, seized the archer, made him pull the arrow out, beheaded him, and carried the head back into the enemy army while killing dozens more; 陈棱's army collapsed and 陈棱 escaped alone.¹

Du Fuwei took Gaoyou (高邮), crossed the 淮, and seized Liyang (历阳), styling himself 总管; the subordinate counties fell one by one and the bandits of the 江淮 region flocked to him.¹ When Yuwen Huaji (宇文化及) rebelled and appointed him 历阳太守, he refused the commission.¹ He moved his seat to Danyang (丹阳), styled himself 大行台, and sent a memorial to Yue Wangdong, who named him 东南道大总管 and enfeoffed him as 楚王.¹

While the future Taizong was campaigning against Wang Shichong (王世充), Tang envoys offered terms, and Du Fuwei submitted.¹ Gaozu conferred the offices of 东南道行台尚书令 and 江淮安抚大使, the rank of 上柱国, and the title 吴王, granted him the imperial surname and entry in the imperial clan register, enfeoffed his son 德俊 as 山阳公, and gave 5,000 bolts of silk and 300 horses.¹ Du Fuwei sent the generals Chen Zhengtong (陈正通) and Xushaozong (徐绍宗) with troops to join the Tang campaign, taking 王世充's Liangjun (梁郡).¹ He sent the general Wang Xiongdan (王雄诞) against Li Zitong (李子通) at Hangzhou (杭州), who captured him and sent him to court, and defeated Wang Hua (汪华) at Shezhou (歙州); Du Fuwei now held all of 江东 and 淮南, reaching south to the 岭 and east to the sea.¹ When news came that the Tang prince had destroyed Liu Heita (刘黑闼) and was advancing on the 曹 and 兖 region, Du Fuwei, afraid, went to court in person; he was appointed 太子太保兼行台尚书令, kept in the capital, honored above Qiwangyuanji (齐王元吉) in precedence.¹

Political influence

Du Fuwei's lasting institutional act was the government he built at Danyang. The 《新唐书》 records that there he began to advance men of learning to office, kept his weapons and equipment in good repair, lightened taxes and levies, abolished the law requiring wives to be buried with dead soldiers, and ordered that commoners guilty of adultery or theft, and officials who took bribes, be executed without regard to the gravity of the offense.¹ The popular historian 黎东方, author of 《细说隋唐》, reads the same measures as the founding of a scholar-adviser group around the ruler, a buildup of military stores, a deliberate relief of the 江淮 population's burden, and a reform of official conduct through terror of the death penalty for graft.³

His personal authority outlived his submission: when 辅公祏 later rebelled at Danyang, he forged Du Fuwei's orders to deceive the troops, which shows that Du Fuwei's name still commanded the army he had left behind.¹ His network of adopted sons and generals, notably Kan Leng (阚棱) and Wang Xiongdan, carried his forces into Tang service, and his son 德俊 held the fief of 山阳公 by Tang grant.¹

Military style

The histories attribute Du Fuwei's success to a disciplined core and to deception. His 5,000 "上募" (selected death volunteers) were richly favored and shared his food; in every assault they led the charge, and after battle he inspected them and killed any man whose wound was on the back, as proof that he had turned to flee.¹ All plunder was distributed to his followers, so that every man fought for himself and no enemy stood intact before them.¹ His characteristic moves were the feigned retreat turned fire attack against Song Hao, the banquet assassination of Zhao Pozhen, the taunt that lured Chen Leng into the open, and personal leadership at the front of a charge, wounded, into the enemy line.¹

Death, titles, and heirs

Du Fuwei was fond of the arts of immortality and long life, and poisoning from eating the mineral mica (云母) killed him suddenly in the second month of 武德七年 (624).¹ 辅公祏's rebellion, launched under forged orders in Du Fuwei's name, ruined his family's standing: after 辅公祏 was crushed by the Prince of 赵郡, Xiao Gong (孝恭), the rebel correspondence was reported to the throne, and Gaozu, not recognizing the forgery, stripped Du Fuwei's offices, erased him from the clan register, and confiscated his property.¹ In 贞观元年 (627) Taizong, learning of the wrong, restored his offices and titles, buried him with the rites due a duke, and returned his son's fief.¹

Assessment

The 《新唐书》 characterizes him as "狡谲多算", cunning and full of calculation, and its narrative credits his plans in every raid.¹ The same text, as printed in later editions, is the basis of the modern summaries in the 四库全书 transcription and other reprints of the chapter.^{2 • 4 • 5} The multi-volume 《中国通史》 edited by 白寿彝 dates him (？, 624) and describes him as a man of 齐州章丘, unrestrained in youth, in extreme poverty, bound to 辅公祏 in a sworn friendship of death.⁶ 黎东方's assessment of his 丹阳 government is favorable on policy grounds: recruiting scholars, building up arms and stores, lightening the burden on the 江淮 people, ending the burial-sacrifice custom, and executing grafters of every degree.³

Legacy

The record's legacy is the restoration of 627: reinstated offices and titles, a duke's funeral, and the return of his son 德俊's fief of 山阳公.¹

References

1. 《新唐书》卷九十二 列传第十七 (杜伏威传), Wikisource transcription. https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/新唐書/卷092
2. 卷九十二 列传第十七, 《新唐书》, 四库全书 transcription. https://skqs.dazhishi.com/show_pwdnjbnpdo.html
3. 黎东方, 《细说隋唐》第23节: 杜伏威、辅公祏. https://doosho.com/cn/471/4/23
4. 卷092, New Book of Tang (Xin Tangshu), Deltoi. https://deltoi.com/zh/twenty-four-histories/xin-tangshu/chapter-92
5. 卷十七, 《新唐书》原文, 国学3000. https://guoxue3000.com/tw/books/344/chapters/96
6. 《中国通史》第06卷 中古时代·隋唐时期 (下册), 第三节 杜伏威. http://www.wenxue100.com/book_LiShi/162_16.thtml

Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › China › Sui dynasty (581 to 618) › Sui military campaigns and rebellions

Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026

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