Zhang Bao appears as a character in the 14th-century historical novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the historical events before and during the
Three Kingdoms period. He makes his first appearance in the novel when he informs
Liu Bei of his father's assassination just before the
Battle of Yiling. Zhang Bao meets
Guan Xing, Guan Yu's second son, and competes with him for the position of leading the vanguard force into battle. After nearly coming to blows, Zhang Bao and Guan Xing are stopped by Liu Bei, who forces them to become oath brothers in the same manner he did with their fathers many years ago. The two are regularly depicted together from that moment onwards. In the novel, Zhang Bao is involved in several military campaigns, including the disastrous Battle of Xiaoting and
Zhuge Liang's
Northern Expeditions against Shu's rival state
Wei. In the third Northern Expedition, Zhang Bao falls into a gully while pursuing the Wei generals
Guo Huai and
Sun Li, and later dies from the resulting injuries. When Zhuge Liang learns of Zhang Bao's death, he becomes so upset that he coughs blood and faints. ==Modern references==