| NAME | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | 彭安, 彭安, Péng Ān |
| Nickname | Fictional Yuan Tan champion at Nanpi |
| Other name | Bành An |
| INFORMATION | |
| Birth Place | Unknown |
| Death Reason | Novel: beheaded by Xu Huang (徐晃, Từ Hoảng) in a few bouts outside Nanpi (Ch.33). History: no such man. |
| CAREER | |
| Allegiance | Yuan Tan / Yuan family (novel) |
| Battles | Battle of Nanpi (ROTK Ch.33) — killed in the opening duel |
Biography & Historical Record
Peng An (彭安, Bành An) is a fictional general under Yuan Tan (袁谭, Viên Đàm) in Chapter 33. He has no Sanguozhi biography, no courtesy name, and no dates. At Nanpi, when Cao Cao rides out and trades insults with Yuan Tan over broken faith and seized cities, Cao Cao sends Xu Huang (徐晃, Từ Hoảng) to fight. Yuan Tan sends Peng An. The horses meet; in a few bouts Xu Huang cuts Peng An down. Yuan Tan’s line breaks and falls back into Nanpi. The rest of the chapter — Xin Ping (辛评, Tân Bình)’s failed surrender talk, Guo Tu (郭图, Quách Đồ)’s night sortie, Yuan Tan’s death, Wang Xiu (王修, Vương Tu) weeping under the head, Zhang Yan’s surrender, and Guo Jia’s leftover plan that brings the heads of Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi from Liaodong — goes on without Peng An. He is the opening casualty who shows that Nanpi will not hold.
The historical fall of Yuan Tan at Nanpi in Jian’an 10 (205) is well attested: Cao Cao stormed the city in the first month; Yuan Tan was killed; Xin Ping died in the same disaster. No officer 彭安 is listed among Yuan Tan’s men. Xu Huang fought in the Hebei wars, but the few-bout duel is novel shorthand.
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 33 (Cao Pi Takes Lady Zhen amid the Tumult; Guo Jia’s Dying Plan Settles Liaodong): After Yuan Tan abandons Pingyuan and shuts Nanpi, the rivers freeze and Cao Cao’s grain boats stick. Cao Cao first terrifies, then pardons, the ice-breaking commoners. Yuan Tan then marches out. Cao Cao, whip raised, accuses him of turning after kind treatment; Yuan Tan answers that Cao Cao has crossed his borders, taken his cities, and held his wife and children. Cao Cao, enraged, sends Xu Huang. Yuan Tan sends Peng An (彭安, Bành An). They clash; Xu Huang beheads him in a few exchanges. The Yuan army flees into the city and is surrounded. Peng An’s death is the first blood of that sortie, not a later Liaodong scene.
Peng An (彭安, Bành An) — Historical & Literary Timeline
Cao Cao takes Nanpi
Yuan Tan is killed when Nanpi falls in Jian’an 10. No Peng An is named in Chen Shou.
Sent out against Xu Huang
Yuan Tan answers Cao Cao’s insults by sending Peng An; Xu Huang kills him in a few bouts; the line collapses into Nanpi.
City falls without him
Xin Ping’s parley, Guo Tu’s sortie, Yuan Tan’s death, and Wang Xiu’s mourning follow. Peng An is already dead on the first day.
Key Relationships
Family
- No kin in the novel. Fictional officer — do not invent a Peng clan.
Friends
- Yuan Tan (袁谭, Viên Đàm): Immediate lord who sends him out as the answering champion at Nanpi.
Enemies
- Xu Huang (徐晃, Từ Hoảng): Kills him in a few bouts.
- Cao Cao (曹操, Tào Tháo): The commander who orders Xu Huang forward after the argument with Yuan Tan.
Other
- Xin Ping (辛评, Tân Bình): Sent to talk surrender after Peng An’s death; Cao Cao keeps him, citing Xin Pi (辛毗, Tân Tì) already in Wei service. Xin Ping refuses to abandon the Yuan house.
- Guo Tu (郭图, Quách Đồ): Urges the next day’s all-out sally that kills Yuan Tan.
- Wang Xiu (王修, Vương Tu): Weeps under Yuan Tan’s exposed head after the city falls — the moral counterweight to Peng An’s brief sortie.
In Novel
Chapter 33
- Peng An (彭安, Bành An): General under Yuan Tan (袁谭, Viên Đàm) at Nanpi. After Yuan Tan leaves Pingyuan and Cao Cao’s boats freeze in the river, the two lords ride out and curse each other — Cao Cao for broken faith, Yuan Tan for seized cities and a held household. Cao Cao sends Xu Huang (徐晃, Từ Hoảng). Yuan Tan sends Peng An. In a few clashes Xu Huang cuts Peng An down from the saddle. The Yuan line breaks and shuts the gates; Cao Cao surrounds the city. Peng An does not live to see Xin Ping (辛评, Tân Bình)’s parley, Guo Tu (郭图, Quách Đồ)’s sortie, or Yuan Tan’s death.
In History
Summary
- No historical Peng An (彭安) serves Yuan Tan. The name is a novel casualty at Nanpi.
Year: 205 AD (Jian’an 10)
- Cao Cao stormed Nanpi in the first month. Yuan Tan was killed; his head was exposed. Xin Ping perished in the same collapse. Xu Huang was among Cao Cao’s Hebei captains, but no source gives him a named victim 彭安.
Historical Record
- Sanguozhi accounts of Yuan Tan and the Jian’an 10 Hebei campaign; Zizhi Tongjian Jian’an 10. Chapter 33 is the only source for Peng An’s duel.
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