Wang Lang (pronunciationⓘ; died c.December 228[a][2]), courtesy name Jingxing (景興), was a Chinese politician and minor warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
He served notably in the Han central government as Administrator of Kuaiji Commandery and in the later state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.
Tao Qian then sent an envoy to the Han central government in Chang'an to pledge allegiance to the Emperor, and in return received the appointment "General Calming the East".
Yan Baihu had become the head of a loose confederation composed of bandits and local officials, including Wang Lang, and he again gathered soldiers numbering tens of thousands.
Despite opposition from his adviser Yu Fan, Wang Lang directly joined Yan Baihu in military operations against Sun Ce's forces, but they were defeated.
Despite surrendering, Wang Lang entered into a self-imposed retirement from public life, refusing Zhang Zhao's request to serve Sun Ce.
During Cao Pi's reign, Wang Lang made several suggestions regarding both military and civilian matters, such as security and the reduction of the state's employees and expenditures.
Wang Lang was later sent to Ye (in present-day Handan, Hebei) to visit the tomb of Empress Wenzhao, Cao Rui's mother.
During his visit, he saw the populace was short on material; thus, he wrote to advise Cao Rui to be frugal, and to reduce the scale of the building of his extravagant palaces and ancestral temples.
This time, Cao Rui wholeheartedly agreed with Wang Lang and started expanding the size of his imperial harem.
Cao Zhen called for his subordinates to help, and Wang Lang decided to try to persuade him to surrender (even though Guo Huai was sceptical that it would succeed) and engaged Zhuge Liang in a debate, but was soundly defeated.