[2] Initially a minor officer under Wang Lang, the Administrator of Kuaiji Commandery, Yu Fan later served under the warlord Sun Ce, who conquered the territories in the Jiangdong (or Wu) region in a series of campaigns from 194 to 199.
Sun Quan confined him for some time due to his rude and disrespectful behaviour, but released him in 219 and allowed him to accompany the general Lü Meng to attack Jing Province.
Sometime in the 220s, Sun Quan could no longer tolerate Yu Fan's disrespectful attitude and banished him to the remote Jiao Province in southern China.
Even while living in exile, he was still concerned about state affairs, and he once wrote to Sun Quan to advise him against sending a fleet across the sea to attack the warlord Gongsun Yuan in northeastern China, but was ignored.
The authoritative historical source on Yu Fan's life is the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), written by Chen Shou in the third century.
In the fifth century, Pei Songzhi annotated the Sanguozhi by incorporating information from other sources to Chen Shou's original work and adding his personal commentary.
Yu Fan later wrote to the guest, "I heard that amber does not contain rotten plant material and that magnets do not attract bent needles.
[Sanguozhi zhu 1] When Yu Fan became older, he served as an Officer of Merit (功曹) under Wang Lang, the Administrator (太守) of Kuaiji Commandery.
In 196,[4] the warlord Sun Ce, who was on a series of military campaigns in the Jiangdong (or Wu) region and had already conquered some territories, prepared to attack Kuaiji.
Yu Fan was mourning the death of his father when he received news that Sun Ce was going to attack Kuaiji, so he rushed from his home to the commandery office and asked to meet Wang Lang.
After entering the office, Yu Fan removed his mourning garments and urged Wang Lang to avoid confrontation with Sun Ce.
Yu Fan then accompanied Wang Lang as they escaped from Kuaiji Commandery by sea and headed south to Houguan County (候官縣; in present-day Fuzhou, Fujian).
However, Yu Fan turned back before reaching his destination because he received news that Sun Ce's army was advancing towards Kuaiji Commandery.
He travelled day and night to Houguan County to meet Wang Lang, who then sent him home to attend his father's funeral.
When you dress casually and venture out, the officials who accompany you usually don't have enough time to prepare for the trip, while the servants and soldiers are getting tiresome.
When Sun Ce told him that he had ordered his bodyguards to join the rest of his men in attacking the Shanyue, Yu Fan exclaimed, "This is so dangerous!"
Yu Fan travelled to Yuzhang Commandery and succeeded in convincing Hua Xin to surrender by pointing out that he stood no chance against Sun Ce.
[Sanguozhi zhu 8] Yu Fan was appointed as the Chief (長) of Fuchun County (富春縣; in present-day Fuyang, Zhejiang) later.
When Sun Ce died in the year 200, many county-level officials wanted to travel to Wu Commandery to attend his funeral.
Sun Hao held the appointment of General of the Household Who Establishes Martial Might (定武中郎將) and was stationed at Wucheng County (烏程縣; in present-day Huzhou, Zhejiang).
"[Sanguozhi zhu 12] Yu Fan made annotations to the I Ching and sent his writings to Kong Rong, the Minister Steward (少府) in the Han central government.
Kong Rong praised Yu Fan's writings and remarked that they made him realise that there was "more about the beauty of the southeast than just the bamboo arrows of Kuaiji".
Yu Fan was known for being very candid and direct in giving advice to Sun Quan, but, in doing so, he offended his lord on many occasions and made him unhappy.
He claimed that he was ill and returned to Jianye (建業; present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) to put Guan Yu off guard.
[Sanguozhi 11] Later that year, during the invasion of Jing Province, after Lü Meng received the surrender of Mi Fang, the Administrator of Nan Commandery (南郡; around present-day Jiangling County, Hubei), he did not immediately order his forces to occupy the city and instead held celebrations on the beach.
There was actually a planned ambush in the city but it was not successfully carried out because Lü Meng heeded Yu Fan's warning in time.
Later, when Yu Jin joined Sun Quan in a feast with his subjects on board a ship, he shed tears when he heard music being played.
He also expressed remorse for his past mistakes and hinted that he hoped that Sun Quan would allow him to return to Jianye (建業; in present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu).
[Sanguozhi 21] Sun Quan permitted Yu Fan's family to bring his remains back to Yuyao County for burial.
For example, he strongly opposed Sun Quan's idea of sending an army across the sea to attack the warlord Gongsun Yuan in Liaodong (in northeastern China).