text: Life Little is known of Gongsun Zan's early life. He and Liu Bei studied under the tutelage of Lu Zhi. At the time, the administrator of his home commandery appreciated Gongsun Zan's impressive looks and booming voice, so he arranged for his daughter to marry him. Gongsun Zan was deployed by He Jin to quash rebellions in the north which he did successfully. Following a misunderstanding with his lord, Liu Yu, Gongsun attacked Liu and killed him, thus winning control of the surrounding areas. However, contrary to popular belief, he was never formally appointed as a commandery administrator. During this time, his former classmate Liu Bei came to serve him and was allocated the city of Pingyuan to defend.
  To the south, the two brothers Yuan Shao in the north and Yuan Shu in the south vied for supremacy over central China. Gongsun Zan formed an alliance with Yuan Shu and sent his second cousin, Gongsun Yue, to help Yuan Shu's general, Sun Jian, retake Yangcheng. However, Gongsun Yue died in the campaign. Using this as a pretext, Gongsun Zan attacked Yuan Shao after his initial plan to gain Han Fu's lands went awry. However, Gongsun Zan was defeated by Yuan Shao at the Battle of Yijing. He committed suicide through self-immolation, after killing his sisters, wife and children.