courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...
Weidu, was a military general of the state of Shu Han in the
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
period of China.
Life
Hu Ji was from Yiyang County (), Yiyang Commandery (), which is located east of present-day
Tongbai County
Tongbai County () is a county in the south of Henan province, China, bordering Hubei province to the south. The easternmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Nanyang, it has an area of and a population of 420,000.
Administrat ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
. Little is known about his early life; the first mention of him in historical records was when he was already serving in the Shu Han state during the Three Kingdoms period as a Registrar () under
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is ...
Liu Shan
Liu Shan () (207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhug ...
to strip Li Yan of his appointments and titles.
Following Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Liu Shan appointed Hu Ji as ''zhongdianjun'' () and enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Chengyang Village (). When the Shu general Wang Ping died in 248, the Shu imperial court appointed Hu Ji as the Area Commander of
Hanzhong
Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west.
The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as th ...
to replace Wang Ping, in addition to granting him imperial authority and appointing him as the nominal Inspector () of
Yan Province
Yan Province or Yanzhou was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), it covered roughly present-day southwestern Shandong, eastern Henan, and the northwestern corner of Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ...
. Some years later, he was promoted to Senior General Who Guards the West ().
In 256, when the Shu general Jiang Wei led Shu forces on a military campaign against Wei, he made arrangements with Hu Ji, who was leading another detachment, to rendezvous with him in Shanggui County (上邽縣; in present-day
Tianshui
Tianshui is the second-largest city in Gansu Province, China. The city is located in the southeast of the province, along the upper reaches of the Wei River and at the boundary of the Loess Plateau and the Qinling Mountains. As of the 2020 ce ...
, Gansu). However, Hu Ji did not show up, and Jiang Wei ended up being defeated by Wei forces under
Deng Ai
Deng Ai (197 – late March 264Vol.04 of ''Sanguozhi'' and vol.02 of ''Jin Shu'' both indicated that Deng Ai was arrested in the 1st month of the 1st year of the ''Xianxi'' era. The month corresponds to 15 Feb to 14 Mar 264 in the Julian calendar ...
's command. Hu Ji was later promoted to Right General of Agile Cavalry (). In 258, Jiang Wei deployed Hu Ji, Wang Han () and Jiang Bin () in Hanshou County (漢壽縣; northeast of present-day
Jiange County
Jiange County () is a county of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of Guangyuan city. The history of Jiange County as a county division goes back around 1700 years. The county has historically been a junction between the nort ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
), Yuecheng County (樂城縣; present-day
Chenggu County
Chenggu County () is a county of Hanzhong, in the southwest of Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi ( ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
) and Hancheng County (漢城縣; present-day
Mian County
Mian County or Mianxian () is a county of Hanzhong, in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Gansu province to the northwest. Its area measures , and its total population as of 2020 was 429,000 people. During the Qin and Han dynast ...
, Shaanxi) to guard against invasions from Wei.
Hu Ji died in an unknown year. He was known for being loyal, upright and honest. Zhuge Liang once mentioned that Hu Ji, Cui Zhouping (),
Xu Shu
Xu Shu ( 207–220s), courtesy name Yuanzhi, originally named Xu Fu, was an official of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was born in the late Eastern Han dynasty and used to be a vigilante swordsman in his early ...
and
Dong He
Dong He (died early 221), courtesy name Youzai, was an official and minister of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He originally served as Administrator of Yizhou under Liu Zhang, but surrendered to Liu Bei during ...
() were the only ones among his friends who could criticise him and point out his shortcomings and failures.