Pan Mei

Who is Pan Mei?

Pan Mei was a military general and statesman in the early years of imperial China's Song Dynasty. In the 970s, he was the main commander in Song's conquest of Southern Han and also played pivotal roles in the conquest of Southern Tang and Northern Han. Afterwards he fought the Khitan-ruled Liao Dynasty on Song's northern border.

In 986 he was demoted by 3 ranks for contributing to the death of fellow Song general Yang Ye during battles against Liao. At this time one of his daughters had married into the imperial House of Zhao. The antagonist Pan Renmei in the largely fictional Generals of the Yang Family legends is based on Pan Mei from this episode.