Wen Hu

Historical Record

Wen Hu was the son of Wen Qin, a general of the late Wei period. His father Wen Qin, together with Zhuge Dan, resisted Sima Zhao's great army within the city of Shouchun. In 257 CE, Zhuge Dan raised troops at Shouchun in revolt against Sima Zhao, and Wen Qin came from Wu to assist, bringing his sons Wen Hu and Wen Yang. During the siege of Shouchun, as food within the city grew increasingly scarce, Wen Qin suggested that Zhuge Dan send the northerners in the city out beyond the walls to save grain, but Zhuge Dan would not listen, and the two thus became estranged. Wen Qin and Zhuge Dan had long been at odds, having cooperated before only because of a common scheme; as the situation grew urgent, the suspicion between them deepened all the more. In the end, Zhuge Dan murdered Wen Qin during a council ^c:2038.

After Wen Qin was killed, Wen Hu and his elder brother Wen Yang were at the time leading troops stationed in a smaller fort. On learning of their father's death, they immediately gathered their subordinates and tried to ride to the rescue and take revenge, but their men were unwilling to follow. Wen Hu and Wen Yang had no choice but to flee alone, scaling the walls and going over to the besieging Grand General Sima Zhao. Sima Zhao's officers requested that Wen Hu and his brother be put to death, but Sima Zhao reasoned that although Wen Qin's crime was unforgivable and his sons too ought by rights to be executed, the brothers had come to surrender in their extremity, and since Shouchun had not yet fallen, killing those who surrendered now would only harden the resolve of the defenders within. Sima Zhao therefore pardoned Wen Hu and Wen Yang, and ordered them to lead several hundred cavalry to ride around the city and call out to those within: "Even the sons of Wen Qin have not been killed—what have the rest of you to fear?" At the same time, Sima Zhao memorialized to appoint Wen Hu and Wen Yang as generals, granting each the rank of Marquis Within the Passes ^c:2038. This greatly shook the soldiers and people within Shouchun; with morale low and hunger and hardship mounting, Zhuge Dan and Tang Zi found their wits and strength exhausted. In the end, Sima Zhao personally directed the battle, attacking the city from all sides at once; Zhuge Dan, in his desperate plight, broke out alone on horseback and was cut down by troops under Hu Fen, his three clans exterminated ^c:2038.

In the Novel

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wen Hu's experiences are broadly similar to the historical record, but with some literary embellishment of details and characters' motives. The novel depicts the misery of the besieged Shouchun, its food exhausted and soldiers dying of starvation everywhere. Wen Qin, holding the small fort with his two sons Wen Hu and Wen Yang, seeing his soldiers starving to death day by day, suggested to Zhuge Dan that all the northern soldiers be released from the city to save grain ^c:5491. Zhuge Dan flew into a rage at this, accusing Wen Qin of intending to harm him, and at once ordered Wen Qin dragged out and beheaded. This episode agrees with the historical account that Zhuge Dan killed Wen Qin out of their estrangement, but the novel further emphasizes Zhuge Dan's fury and willfulness.

On learning that their father had been killed, Wen Hu and his elder brother Wen Yang behave even more valiantly in the novel. They "each drew a short blade, slew several dozen men on the spot, vaulted up onto the wall, leapt down, crossed the moat, and went over to the Wei camp to surrender" ^c:5491. This description adds to the brothers' martial color, emphasizing that they acted out of extreme fury and despair. In the novel, Sima Zhao at first, because of his old grudge over Wen Yang once having repelled his troops single-handed, wished to execute the brothers. However, Zhong Hui remonstrated, pointing out that the blame lay with Wen Qin, who was now dead, and that the two sons had come to surrender in their extremity; to kill surrendering generals would only stiffen the defenders' resolve. Sima Zhao accepted Zhong Hui's advice, summoned Wen Hu and Wen Yang, comforted them with kind words, bestowed fine horses and brocade robes upon them, and promoted them to Auxiliary General with the rank of Marquis Within the Passes ^c:5491. The brothers then rode around the city, crying out: "We two have received the Grand General's pardon and grant of rank—why do you not surrender soon?" Hearing this, the people within the city all murmured: "Wen Yang is an enemy of the Sima clan, yet is still given heavy office—how much more so the likes of us?" and so they all began to think of surrender. Hearing this, Zhuge Dan flew into a rage and patrolled the walls day and night, maintaining morale by killing ^c:5491. Through these details, the novel further highlights the enormous role the brothers' surrender played in the collapse of morale within Shouchun.

Key Relationships

* Wen Qin (kin_of): Wen Hu's father, who resisted Sima Zhao together with Zhuge Dan during the Shouchun revolt. After Wen Qin was killed by Zhuge Dan, Wen Hu and his brother Wen Yang surrendered to Sima Zhao ^c:2038.
* Wen Yang (kin_of): Wen Hu's elder brother; the two surrendered to Sima Zhao together during the Shouchun revolt and were both pardoned and given high office ^c:2038.
* Cao Wei (defected_to): After his father Wen Qin was killed by Zhuge Dan, Wen Hu, together with his brother Wen Yang, surrendered to the Cao Wei regime represented by Sima Zhao ^c:2038.
* Zhuge Dan (adversary): Zhuge Dan killed Wen Hu's father Wen Qin during the Shouchun revolt, directly causing the brothers to surrender to Sima Zhao ^c:2038.
* Sima Zhao (benefactor): Sima Zhao pardoned the brothers from their death sentence and granted them offices and ranks, using them to break the morale of the defenders within Shouchun ^c:2038.

Iconic Scenes

* Father killed, the brothers surrender: Wen Hu's father Wen Qin was killed within Shouchun for disagreeing with Zhuge Dan. On learning of their father's death, Wen Hu and his brother Wen Yang tried to gather their men to take revenge, but failed; in the end the two rode alone over the city walls and surrendered to the besieging army of Sima Zhao ^c:2038. This event was a major turning point in Wen Hu's life and directly affected the outcome of the Battle of Shouchun.
* Riding around the city to call out and break morale: After pardoning the brothers, Sima Zhao ordered them to ride around the city and call out to those within, proclaiming that Sima Zhao had pardoned and even given high office to the very sons of Wen Qin, so as to shake the defenders' will to resist ^c:2038. In the novel, this scene is depicted even more vividly; the brothers' shouts greatly damaged morale within the city and hastened the fall of Shouchun ^c:5491 (unique to the novel).