# Pan Mei

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{{Short description|General served under the Song dynasty}}
{{family name hatnote|[Pan](/source/Pan_(surname))|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Pan Mei
|image=Panmei yuyao.jpg
|caption=from an 1887 Pan family [genealogy book](/source/genealogy_book)
|office=Zhongwu Command military governor
|monarch=[Emperor Taizong of Song](/source/Emperor_Taizong_of_Song)
|birth_date=925 or early 926<ref name=birthyear />
|birth_place=likely modern [Daming County](/source/Daming_County), [Hebei](/source/Hebei)
|death_date={{death date|991|7|20|df=y}} (aged 65–66<ref name=ss258>{{harvnb|''Song Shi''|loc=[https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/宋史/卷258 ch. 258.]}}</ref>)
|death_place=modern [Taiyuan](/source/Taiyuan), [Shanxi](/source/Shanxi)
|burial_place=
|children={{unbulleted list|Pan Weide (潘惟德), son|Pan Weigu (潘惟固), son|Pan Weiqing (潘惟清), son|Pan Weixi (潘惟熙), son|Daughter (m. Zhang Zhaoyun)|[Princess Pan](/source/Princess_Pan)|Daughter (m. Cao Wei)}}
|blank1=Father
|data1=Pan Lin (潘璘)
|blank2=Full name
|data2=[Surname](/source/Chinese_surname): Pān ({{linktext|潘}})<br>[Given name](/source/Chinese_given_name): Měi ({{linktext|美}})<br>[Courtesy name](/source/Courtesy_name): Zhòngxún ({{linktext|仲|詢}})<br>[Posthumous name](/source/Posthumous_name): Wǔhuì ({{linktext|武|惠}})
}}
{{Chinese|c={{linktext|潘|美}}|p=Pān Měi|j=Pun<sup>1</sup> Mei<sup>5</sup>}}

'''Pan Mei''' (潘美) ({{circa}} 925<ref name=birthyear>From his date and [Chinese age](/source/East_Asian_age_reckoning) at death we can deduct that he was born some time between 27 January 925 and 14 February 926.</ref> – 20 July 991<ref name=xzztjcb32>{{harvnb|''Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian''|loc=[https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/續資治通鑑長編/卷032 ch. 32.]}}</ref>) was a military general and [statesman](/source/politician) in the early years of [imperial China](/source/history_of_China)'s [Song dynasty](/source/Song_dynasty). In the 970s, he was the main commander in Song's conquest of [Southern Han](/source/Southern_Han) and also played pivotal roles in the conquest of [Southern Tang](/source/Southern_Tang) and [Northern Han](/source/Northern_Han). Afterwards he fought the [Khitan](/source/Khitan_people)-ruled [Liao dynasty](/source/Liao_dynasty) on Song's northern border.

In 986 he was demoted by 3 ranks for contributing to the death of fellow Song general [Yang Ye](/source/Yang_Ye) during battles against Liao. At this time [one of his daughters](/source/Lady_Pan_(Song_dynasty))<ref name="empresspan">A contradiction exists in ''[History of Song](/source/History_of_Song_(Yuan_dynasty))'': according to [Vol. 258](/source/%3Azh%3As%3A%E5%AE%8B%E5%8F%B2%2F%E5%8D%B7258) Empress Pan was the daughter of Pan Mei's son Pan Weixi (潘惟熙), while [Vol. 242](/source/%3Azh%3As%3A%E5%AE%8B%E5%8F%B2%2F%E5%8D%B7242) describes her as Pan Mei's 8th child. Historians believe in the latter claim.</ref> had married into the imperial [House of Zhao](/source/House_of_Zhao). The [antagonist](/source/antagonist) '''Pan Renmei''' (潘仁美, also known as Pan Hong 潘洪) in the largely fictional ''[Generals of the Yang Family](/source/Generals_of_the_Yang_Family)'' legends is based on Pan Mei from this episode.

==Early life==
Pan Mei's father Pan Lin (潘璘) was a local militia captain (軍校) in Changshan (常山, around modern [Shijiazhuang](/source/Shijiazhuang), [Hebei](/source/Hebei)). In his 20s, Pan Mei worked as an usher (典謁) at his hometown of [Daming](/source/Daming_County) (in modern Hebei) during the [Later Han](/source/Later_Han_(Five_Dynasties)) (947–951), and often told his close friend Wang Mi (王密) about his ambitions in taking advantage of the turbulent times for fame and riches.<ref name=ss258 />

==Career under Later Zhou==
After the establishment of [Later Zhou](/source/Later_Zhou) in 951, Pan Mei served [Chai Rong](/source/Chai_Rong), the prefect (府尹) of [Kaifeng](/source/Kaifeng). When Chai became the [emperor](/source/emperor_of_China) in 954, Pan was named a court official. He followed Chai on campaigns against the [Northern Han](/source/Northern_Han) kingdom, and after playing a part in the victory at [Gaoping](/source/Gaoping), served in the palace commissions. Later he became the military inspector of an expeditionary army preparing to invade the [Later Shu](/source/Later_Shu) kingdom.<ref name=ss258 /><ref name="wang819" />

==Pacifying Yuan Yan==
In 960, general [Zhao Kuangyin](/source/Emperor_Taizu_of_Song) overthrew Later Zhou to found the [Song dynasty](/source/Song_dynasty). As a former friend, Pan was given important tasks by the new emperor and he did not disappoint. First, Pan persuaded military governor [Yuan Yan](/source/Yuan_Yan) to submit to Song, then supervised the armies in quelling [Li Chongjin](/source/Li_Chongjin)'s revolt in [Huainan](/source/Huainan). Staying behind in [Yangzhou](/source/Yangzhou) after the victory, he was later sent to Qinzhou (秦州, in today's [Qin'an County](/source/Qin'an_County), [Gansu](/source/Gansu)) where he became the imperial commissioner of the local [militia](/source/militia).<ref name=ss258 /><ref name="wang819" />

==Conquest of Southern Han==
In 963, Pan Mei was named the imperial defense commissioner of [Tanzhou](/source/Tanzhou_(in_modern_Hunan)) (today's [Changsha](/source/Changsha)) and sent to [Hunan](/source/Hunan) to help control the newly conquered province, which borders the [Southern Han](/source/Southern_Han) kingdom to the south. During the next 7 years, Pan pacified rebellious tribes in the southern half of the province and fought off [Southern Han](/source/Southern_Han) incursions in [Guiyang](/source/Guiyang_County) and [Jianghua](/source/Jianghua_Yao_Autonomous_County).<ref name=ss258 /><ref name="wang819" />

In 970, Pan was named the commander of the expeditionary force to invade Southern Han. In [Fuchuan](/source/Fuchuan_Yao_Autonomous_County), he defeated the 10,000-men strong Southern Han army and subsequently took [Hezhou](/source/Hezhou). Quickly the Song army conquered Zhaozhou (昭州, in today's [Pingle County](/source/Pingle_County)), Guizhou (桂州, today's [Guilin](/source/Guilin)) and [Lianzhou](/source/Lianzhou), resulting in the surrender of other [prefecture](/source/zhou_(country_subdivision)) leaders along the [Xi River](/source/Xi_River).<ref name=ss258 />

Pan Mei's forces killed more than 10,000 enemy soldiers in Shaozhou (韶州, today's [Shaoguan](/source/Shaoguan)) to advance to 120 ''[li](/source/li_(unit))'' north of [Guangzhou](/source/Guangzhou), Southern Han's [capital](/source/capital_city). Around 150,000 Southern Han soldiers were stationed on a hill for a last battle. Pan Mei rested his soldiers and mentioned to his subordinate generals that the enemy's bamboo fences could best be attacked by fire. On a windy night, he dispatched a few thousand brave men to the enemy's gate, each with 2 [torch](/source/torch)es in hands. Soon great flames engulfed the camps, and as the Song forces attacked from both sides, tens of thousands of Southern Han soldiers perished. The [Southern Han](/source/Southern_Han) ruler [Liu Chang](/source/Liu_Chang_(Jixing)) was captured in [Guangzhou](/source/Guangzhou), and the invasion ended 5 months after it began.<ref name=ss258 /><ref name="wang819" />

Pan would remain to pacify the [Lingnan](/source/Lingnan) territory for three years as the joint [prefect](/source/prefect) of [Guangzhou](/source/Guangzhou) and commissioner of foreign trade.<ref name="wang819" />

==Conquest of Southern Tang==
In 974, Pan Mei led his troops north to [Jiangling](/source/Jiangling_County) during the fresh campaign against the [Southern Tang](/source/Southern_Tang) kingdom. One month later, he was named the military inspector of the troops under the overall command of [Cao Bin](/source/Cao_Bin) and ordered to advance to [Qinhuai](/source/Qinhuai_District). Reaching the [Yangtze River](/source/Yangtze_River), Pan Mei did not want to wait for boats to be built. Instead he motivated his troops by saying, "His majesty gave me tens of thousands of brave men, expecting victories. Are we going to let this narrow water deter us?" His men swam across the river and destroyed the enemy.<ref name=ss258 />

After this victory, Pan Mei was rewarded and became a commissioner of palace attendants (宣徽北院使).<ref name="wang820" />

==Death of Yang Ye==
In 986, [Emperor Taizong of Song](/source/Emperor_Taizong_of_Song) ordered a new invasion to retake the [Sixteen Prefectures](/source/Sixteen_Prefectures) from the [Liao dynasty](/source/Liao_dynasty). The campaign was known as "Yongxi Campaign" under the era name of Taizong. Three armies participate the campaign, led by Pan Mei, [Yang Ye](/source/Yang_Ye) and [Cao Bin](/source/Cao_Bin). Pan Mei command one of the three armies sent northward. 

Initially, the expedition scored major victories over Liao forces. However, from time to time, miscommunications, misunderstanding between the generals and the failure of Cao Bin led Pan Mei and Yang Ye into disastrous situations. In a failed attempt to thwart an attack from Liao troops, Yang Ye was surrounded without reinforcement from Pan Mei. His sons died one by one, with only his sixth son [Yang Yanzhao](/source/Yang_Yanzhao) surviving. Eventually, Yang Ye was captured and died three days later.

Following the death of Yang Ye, Liao gained the upper hand in the conflict. The Song forces were pursued all the way to Bianjing, which was successfully held by the [Taizong emperor](/source/Emperor_Taizong_of_Song).

Angered and furious by the death of Yang Ye, a few of Song's military officials were executed, others being thrown into exile. Pan Mei was demoted three ranks.

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist|2|refs=
<ref name="wang819">Wang, p.819</ref>
<ref name="wang820">Wang, p.820</ref>
}}

==Sources==
;Primary sources
* {{in lang|zh}} {{cite book|editor-last=[Toqto'a](/source/Toqto'a_(Yuan_dynasty))|year=1345|title=[Song Shi](/source/History_of_Song_(Yuan_dynasty)) ''(宋史)''|trans-title=History of Song|ref={{harvid|''Song Shi''}}|display-editors=etal}}
* {{in lang|zh}} {{cite book|last=Li Tao|author-link=Li Tao (historian)|year=1183|title=[Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian](/source/Xu_Zizhi_Tongjian_Changbian) ''(續資治通鑑長編)''|trans-title=Extended Continuation to ''Zizhi Tongjian''|ref={{harvid|''Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian''}}}}
;Secondary source
* {{cite book|last=Wang Gungwu|author-link=Wang Gungwu|editor-last=Franke|editor-first=Herbert|editor-link=Herbert Franke (sinologist)|title=Sung Biographies|publisher=[Franz Steiner Verlag](/source/Franz_Steiner_Verlag)|year=1976|pages=818–821|chapter=P'an Mei|isbn=3515024123|ref={{harvid|Wang}}}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pan, Mei}}
Category:920s births
Category:991 deaths
Category:Later Zhou people
Category:Song dynasty generals

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pan Mei](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Mei) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Mei?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.