Zhuge Zhan
Encyclopedia
Chinese style name
A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect...
Siyuan (思遠), was a politician and military general of Shu Han
Shu Han
Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu...
during the Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
period of Chinese history
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
. He was a son of Shu Han's chancellor Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
.
Early life
When Zhuge Zhan was 16 or 17 years old, the emperor of Shu, Liu ShanLiu Shan
Liu Shan, , was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. As he ascended the throne at the young age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang and Imperial Secretariat Li Yan...
, arranged a marriage between his daughter and Zhuge, and made him a Captain of the Cavalry, a title slightly lower than that of a general. One year later, he was promoted to General of the Household, and served as an imperial guardian. Henceforth, he constantly received promotions, and served many posts, including both civil and military appointments. Besides his many official titles, he was an artist, and was particularly good at painting and calligraphy himself. Since the people of Shu yearned for the deceased Zhuge Liang, they especially loved Zhuge Zhan's talents. Whenever there was a good policy set up within the kingdom, the citizens would credit Zhuge Zhan with it, even though it actually had nothing to do with him. As Zhuge Liang banned the post of Historian in Shu, it was hard to distinguish which policy was suggested by Zhuge Zhan, and which was not, but Zhuge Zhan's reputation was surely greater than his real accomplishment.
Pinnacle of power
His frequent promotions continued until he reached the top of the imperil administrative system -- the Imperial Secretariat. At the same time, Zhuge was appointed the acting commander of imperial defensive forces and acting director of all military generals. Since his ascension to Imperial Secretariat, Zhuge's power within Shu appeared unrivaled, as veteran generals like Liao HuaLiao Hua
Liao Hua , originally named Liao Chun , style name Yuanjian , was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.-Biography:...
, who served as the Right General of Chariot and Cavalry (top ranked military position, only next to Grand General and General of the Elite Cavalry), still had to buy Zhuge off for their political prospect.
While a son of Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Zhan realized the danger of over-extending the military. After Jiang Wei
Jiang Wei
Jiang Wei was a military general and regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He originally served Shu's rival state, Cao Wei, as a middle-level military officer, but defected to the Shu strategist Zhuge Liang, leaving his mother in Wei. After that, Jiang...
became the paramountcy of the army, Zhuge Zhan attempted to restrain the former from constantly waging wars against Cao-Wei. When Jiang finally suffered a crushing defeat from Deng Ai
Deng Ai
Deng Ai was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. It was said that whenever he saw a hill or wide valley, he would immediately size up the best places to store grain and position troops. His talent was recognized by Sima Yi, who recommended him to take up...
, Zhuge memorialized the emperor that Jiang should be stripped off from military command and replaced by Yan Yu
Yan Yu
Yan Yu was the younger brother of Yan Baihu, a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. Yan Yu was an envoy for peace when Yan Baihu was attacked by Sun Ce. During negotiations he proposed the division of Jiangdong but was killed by Sun Ce in fury...
, who, although a personal friend of the notorious Huang Hao
Huang Hao
Huang Hao was a eunuch serving Liu Shan, second and last emperor of the Kingdom of Shu during the Three Kingdoms era in ancient China. Highly favoured by Liu Shan, he was commonly blamed for misguiding the latter into surrendering to the Kingdom of Wei and considered one of the most corrupt and...
, was said to be a capable general. Zhuge's memorial to Liu was archived by some respected elders in Shu at the time of Jin Dynasty
Jin Dynasty
Jin Dynasty may refer to:* Jin Dynasty , Chinese dynasty, subdivided into the Western and Eastern Jin periods* Later Jin Dynasty , one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China.* Jin Dynasty , a Jurchen kingdom in northern China* Later Jīn Dynasty, or...
. However, it's not known whether Liu Shan listened to Zhuge's suggestion, because Jiang dared not return to Chengdu when he knew his failure had drawn him much resent from the people of Shu. But Zhuge's proposal of switching from an offensive stance to a defensive stance was apparently accepted by Liu, who had replaced Wei Yan
Wei Yan
Wei Yan was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He became a soldier of Liu Bei when the latter fled Jing Province and seek protection from the eastern warlord, Sun Quan, in 208. In 211, Wei had climbed up the ranks and become a general in Liu Bei's...
's tried-and-trusted defensive layout with a high-risk-high-reward strategy presented by Jiang Wei.
Previously, Wei Yan invented a defense mechanism to hinder and repel invading forces by setting up "covering camps" on the outskirt and exits of trails leading to Hanzhong. Even after Wei's death, Shu had been following his arrangement, and succeeded in driving out Cao-Wei forces everytime. However, Jiang Wei argued Wei Yan's design "could only repel the enemy but not reaping big profit." To anticipate a Wei attack, Jiang proposed to abandon the camps set up by Wei Yan and vacate all the passes in the Qin Mountains (Qinling) so the Cao Wei forces would go deep into the Hanzhong plain, where the tired expedition force would be blocked and vulnerable to a Shu counterattack upon retreat. Jiang assured Liu Shan that was how to achieve a decisive victory previously unattained when they had just defended along the Qinling. Since Jiang's analysis was of decent logic and merit, Zhuge Zhan did not oppose the adaptation of his plan.
Futile effort to defend Shu
In early 263, Jiang requested reinforcement be sent from Chengdu when Wei general, Zhong HuiZhong Hui
Zhong Hui was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He was the son of Zhong Yao, a calligrapher and politician of Wei....
, received the staff of authority to command the western regions. But Liu Shan made the wrong judgment to believe in Huang's witchcraft theory that destiny dictated Wei would not attack, and Zhuge was not informed of Jiang's warnings. However, reinforcements were nevertheless sent before engagement started.
When Cao Wei mobilized in September AD 263, Jiang Wei's plan worked -- only for its first half that Wei's forces advanced unopposed until they reached the fortresses of Han (汉) and Yue (乐), which served as a bait to wear the enemies out. However, enemy commander, Zhong Hui, simply split out two detachments to besiege the two cities, and swiftly continued to press on. At the same time, Jiang Wei was consecutively defeated by Wang Qi and Yang Yan (杨欣), and was forced to change the entire plan spontaneously into relying on the defense of Jian'ge (剑阁), where the great tower finally blocked Zhong's advance. Knowing Jiang's plan failed and had sown seeds of destruction, Zhuge Zhan quickly assembled a force and moved to Fu city to await news from the front-lines.
Battles with Deng Ai, and death
The aforementioned military movements happened within weeks, Zhong's rapid advance was beyond most Shu general's comprehension, as they realized the danger of letting the enemy in, Jiang Wei and his comrades were struck in Jian'ge. Knowing Jian'ge would not easily fall, Zhuge Zhan did not send additional troops there, but kept his position in Fu County. When the Wei general, Deng AiDeng Ai
Deng Ai was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. It was said that whenever he saw a hill or wide valley, he would immediately size up the best places to store grain and position troops. His talent was recognized by Sima Yi, who recommended him to take up...
suddenly appeared in Jiangyou (江由) though a treacherous trail, the local Grand Administrator was shocked and subsequently surrendered to him, providing the former a foothold. In Huang Quan's biography in Chen Shou
Chen Shou
Chen Shou was a historian during the Jin Dynasty period of Chinese history. He is best known as the author of Records of Three Kingdoms, a historical account of the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period.-Biography:...
's Records of the Three Kingdoms, it is recorded that Huang Chong
Huang Chong
Huang Chong was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was the son of Huang Quan....
, son of the defector Huang Quan, urged Zhuge to secure advantageous terrain before Deng would get to a flat plain on numerous occasions.Like his father Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Zhan was a cautious person, and he deemed Huang's plan to be too ambitious; he preferred a "more cautious approach." However, when Huang bawled and repeatedly pushed Zhuge to an offensive, Zhuge indeed attacked Deng with his van, which was promptly destroyed by the latter. Then, Zhuge left Fu for a better fortified Mianzhu (绵竹), and planned to have a final showdown with Deng.
When Deng tailed Zhuge to Minzhu, he gave a last chance to the latter and promised Zhuge that he would recommend him to be the "King of Langye." But Zhuge executed Deng's messenger, moved out from the fortress, and supposedly arranged the famous military formation improved by Zhuge Liang -- Eight Trigrams Formation. It's actually unknown which formation Zhuge exactly used, but it must be a grand one because the highest-ranked officials who participated in the defense of Minzhu all took role in the formation. Those in the formation included grandson of Zhang Fei and Imperial Secretariat, Zhang Zun (張遵), Right Commander of Feathered Imperial Guards, Li Qiu (李球), the aforementioned Huang Chong, Zhuge Zhan, and Zhan's son, Zhuge Shang. After Huang performed a speech in front of the army to boost the morale, Zhuge Zhan asked Deng to attack his position. Deng Ai, along his son, Deng Zhong
Deng Zhong
Deng Zhong was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Deng Zhong was the son of Deng Ai, a prominent general of Cao Wei. Following a battle against the state of Shu Han at Duan Valley, Deng Zhong assisted his father in the defeat of the enemy general...
, and Major Shi Zuan (师纂) moved forward, Deng Zhong and Shi attempted a flanking effort, and moved to the formation's left and right. The Wei forces under Deng Zhong and Shi were beaten initially, only Deng Ai's central army kept on fighting. Deng Zhong and Shi returned to Deng Ai, stating the enemy could not be broken, and suggested the latter to order a general retreat. But the commander angrily told his aides that this battle must be won for them to live another day, and even threatened them with death penalty if defeated again. Thus, Deng Zhong and Shi dashed back and successfully broke the formation. Zhuge Zhan, along with his son, resisted the enemies until they were finally butchered.
In fiction
The depiction of his ill-fated defense of Shu capital in Luo GuanzhongLuo Guanzhong
Luo Ben , better known by his style name Luo Guanzhong , was a Chinese writer of the early Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was also known as Huhai Sanren...
's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a Chinese historical novel based on the events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 and ending with the reunification of the land in...
was quite dramatized. When Liu Shan
Liu Shan
Liu Shan, , was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. As he ascended the throne at the young age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang and Imperial Secretariat Li Yan...
, the Shu Han emperor, asked Zhuge Zhan to think of a plan to save the state, he thought of a plan by dressing up like his father Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
, to scare the enemy off. His ruse shocked Cao Wei army into believing Zhuge Liang indeed returned from the dead. However, under leardership of Deng Ai, the Wei army regrouped and attacked again, sending Zhuge to the underworld in the process.
Zhuge Zhan died defending Mianzhu Pass with his son Zhuge Shang
Zhuge Shang
Zhuge Shang was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was a son of Zhuge Zhan and grandson of Zhuge Liang.Zhuge Shang and his father defended Chengdu when the rival state of Cao Wei invaded Shu Han...
, along with Huang Chong
Huang Chong
Huang Chong was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was the son of Huang Quan....
(son of Huang Quan), hopelessly outnumbered.