Life

Du Wei was from Fu County (涪縣), Zitong Commandery (梓潼郡), which is in present-day Mianyang, Sichuan. He was born sometime in the mid- or late Eastern Han dynasty. In his younger days, he studied under the tutelage of Ren An (任安; 124–202), a famous scholar and polymath. Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing), heard about Du Wei and offered him the position of an Assistant Officer (從事) in the provincial government. However, Du Wei claimed that he was ill and declined the offer. In 214, after the warlord Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province from Liu Zhang, he wanted to recruit Du Wei to serve in his administration. Du Wei claimed that he could not serve because he was deaf, and stayed at home.

In 224, Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period, was actively searching for talented and virtuous people to serve in the Shu government. Among the candidates he selected, he appointed Qin Mi as an Assistant Officer (別駕), Wu Liang (五梁) as an Officer of Merit (功曹), and Du Wei as a Registrar (主簿).

When Du Wei declined again, Zhuge Liang sent a carriage to his residence to fetch him to the office. Upon Du Wei's arrival, Zhuge Liang came out to welcome him in person. Du Wei thanked Zhuge Liang for the offer but did not accept. As Zhuge Liang heard that Du Wei was deaf, he wrote a note beforehand and passed it to Du Wei when he showed up. The note read:

After reading the note, Du Wei tried to turn down the offer once more, claiming that he was old and feeble and therefore unfit to serve. Zhuge Liang, given his strong admiration for Du Wei, refused to give up, so he produced another note and showed Du Wei. It read:

When Du Wei finally relented and agreed to serve in the Shu government, Zhuge Liang appointed him as a Counsellor Remonstrant (諫議大夫), whose tasks and responsibilities suited his preferences.

生平

杜微年少時跟廣漢人任安學習。後來劉璋任闢他任從事，杜微稱病離職。劉備奪益州後，杜微聲稱自己是聾的，常常不出門。建興二年（224年），丞相諸葛亮領益州牧，任命秦宓為別駕，五梁為功曹，杜微為主簿。杜微堅決辭任，更親自見諸葛亮，諸葛亮手書勸他，他仍告老求歸，諸葛亮再勸，最終順從杜微的意向，任命他為諫議大夫。

三國演義

91回提及孔明任命杜微為尚書。和三國志有所出入。