Life

Fan Chou was from Jincheng Commandery (金城郡), Liang Province, which is around present-day Yuzhong County, Gansu. He started his career as a subordinate of the warlord Dong Zhuo, who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian between 189 and 192.

After Dong Zhuo was assassinated in Chang'an in 192, Fan Chou joined a group of Dong Zhuo's followers, led by Li Jue and Guo Si, and seized back control of Chang'an from Wang Yun and Lü Bu. Li Jue and Guo Si then controlled the Han central government and Emperor Xian in the same way Dong Zhuo did. Around this time, they promoted Fan Chou to the rank of a General of the Household (中郎將).

In 194, when a rival warlord Ma Teng led his forces to attack Li Jue and Guo Si, Fan Chou led troops to resist the enemy and defeated them at Changping Pass (長平關). In the same year, he also defeated Qiang rebels in Zuopingyi (左馮翊; around present-day Dali County, Shaanxi) and was further promoted to General of the Right (右將軍). He became one of the most powerful figures in the Han central government alongside Li Jue and Guo Si at the time.

During the battle against Ma Teng, Fan Chou had scolded Li Jue's nephew, Li Li (李利), who accompanied him into battle, for not doing his best. Li Li bore a grudge against Fan Chou for this. Later, he secretly reported to his uncle that Fan Chou was plotting with another rival warlord, Han Sui, against him. Li Jue thus became suspicious of Fan Chou, especially as Fan Chou gained higher status and more power. In 195, Li Jue and Guo Si lured Fan Chou into a trap and assassinated him.

生平

共掌長安

初平三年(192年)，在董卓與牛輔被殺之後，樊稠響應李傕號召率軍攻入長安，殺王允，逼走呂布，與李傕等人掌管朝政，被封為中郎將。興平元年(194年)，馬騰軍攻來，被李傕派往戰於長平關下，勝利，殺萬餘人。同年又破馮翊等羌賊。升為右將軍，聯同李傕、郭汜被綬與官員提拔權利，與三公同級，合稱為六府。

李傕猜忌

在戰馬騰時樊稠因李傕姪兒李利不盡力應戰而作訓斥，李利因此懷恨在心，向李傕誣告樊稠私通韓遂。李傕亦因樊稠勢力龐大而忌憚非常。興平二年(195年)，樊稠向李傕索兵，被李傕把握此機會以會議名義引樊稠到軍中殺害。

藝術形象

影視

• 2016年電視劇《武神趙子龍》：答有為

評價

• 朱儁：「傕、汜小豎，樊稠庸兒，無他遠略，又勢力相敵，變難必作。」（《後漢書·卷七十一·皇甫嵩朱俊列傳第六十一》）