Wei Yan () (died October 234),

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 Theo ...

Wenchang, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

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. Originally a subordinate of the warlord

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

in the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

, Wei Yan rose through the ranks and became a general when Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province (covering present-day

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 t ...

and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Co ...

) in 214. His performance in battle helped him to become a prominent figure in the Shu military in a short period of time. He was later appointed as the Administrator 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 ...

Commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and ...

and as an Area Commander in 219. Between 228 and 234, he participated actively in the Northern Expeditions led by the Shu regent

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 ...

against Shu's rival state,

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < Ma Dai Ma Dai () ( 222–235) was a Chinese military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under his uncle Ma Teng, a warlord in northwestern China, during the late Eastern Han dynasty. After Ma ...

, for alleged treason.

Early life

Wei Yan was from Yiyang Commandery (), which covered parts of present-day

Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as 南洋 (Southern Ocean) * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing ...

in southern

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 a ...

and parts of northern

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

. He started his career as a foot soldier under the warlord

, probably sometime between 209 and 211 when Liu Bei was in southern

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the '' Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Empe ...

(covering present-day Hubei and

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

). Around 212, he followed Liu Bei into Yi Province (covering present-day

and

) and served Liu Bei as a personal retainer in

a war ''A War'' () is a 2015 Danish war drama film written and directed by Tobias Lindholm, and starring Pilou Asbæk and Søren Malling. It tells the story of a Danish military company in Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban while trying to prote ...

against Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (益州牧). Huang Zhong and Wei Yan scored many military exploits during the capture of Guanghan County. Thus, Wei Yan promoted to full general. Although the campaign met early success with the quick death of Gao Pei and Yang Huai and the later occupation of the passes followed by the defeat of Liu Zhang's reinforcement at Fu County. Pang Tong was killed during the siege of Luo castle and the It became a prolonged one. One year later, Wei Yan and Liu Bei finally captured Luocheng, then surrounded and occupied Chengdu together with Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei along with others. Thus, around summer 214, Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province from Liu Zhang. As Wei Yan has made several contributions in the campaign of Yi, Liu Bei promoted him to the rank of General of Ivory Gate ().

Administrator of Hanzhong

In 219, Wei Yan participated in Liu Bei campaign against his rival

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

in the Hanzhong Campaign. After Liu Bei captured Hanzhong, Liu Bei asked his subjects to nominate one of his generals to remain behind and guard Hanzhong. His subjects nominated Zhang Fei, who also strongly believed that he would most likely be chosen. However, much to everyone's surprise, Liu Bei chose Wei Yan instead and appointed him as General Who Guards Distant Lands () and acting Administrator of Hanzhong (). When Liu Bei asked Wei Yan in front of everyone how would he perform his duty, the latter confidently replied: During his tenure, Wei Yan explained to Liu Bei that he borrowed a strategy which were called the "double gates" (重门之计). This strategy adopted from the ancient text ''

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zh ...

''described it as a particularly designed fortifications which laid numerous military garrisons surrounding the outskirt and trail exits linking to Hanzhong. Following the end of the

and the start of the

period in 220, Liu Bei declared himself emperor in 221 and established the state of Shu Han (or Shu) to challenge the legitimacy of the Cao Wei (or Wei) state established by Cao Cao's successor,

Cao Pi Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest s ...

, to replace the Eastern Han dynasty. Liu Bei further promoted Wei Yan to General Who Guards the North () after his coronation.

Northern Expeditions

After Liu Bei died in 223, his son

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 Zhuge ...

succeeded him as the emperor of Shu. In the same year, Liu Shan enfeoffed Wei Yan as a Marquis of a Chief Village (). In 227,

, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, mobilised the Shu military and gathered troops in Hanzhong Commandery in preparation for a large-scale invasion of Shu's rival state, Cao Wei (or Wei), where he put Wei Yan in charge of the vanguard division and appointed him as acting Major under the Imperial Chancellor () and acting Inspector of

Liang Province Liang Province or Liangzhou () was a province in the northwest of ancient China, in the approximate location of the modern-day province of Gansu. It was bordered in the east by Sili Province. History Establishment The province was first con ...

().(五年，諸葛亮駐漢中，更以延為督前部，領丞相司馬、涼州刺史， ...) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 40. During this campaign, Wei Yan always requested to lead a separate detachment of 10,000 troops, take a different route and rendezvous with the Shu main army at Tong Pass (潼關; in present-day Tongguan County,

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 ...

). Wei Yan argued that The valley and the people in it has sufficient food supply which can support the operation at least for a week. However, Zhuge Liang rejected the plan because he thought that it was too risky, which prompted Wei Yan to scold Zhuge Liang as a coward and complained that his talent was not put to good use. When

Chen Shou Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the '' Records of ...

compiled the unofficial works on the history of Shu to write the ''Sanguozhi'', he only mentioned that Wei Yan suggested to Zhuge Liang to split the Shu army into two, and the two forces would take two different routes and rendezvous at Tong Pass. Later in 230, during the

Ziwu Campaign The Ziwu Campaign was a military counter offensive launched in 230 by the state of Cao Wei against his rival state Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The campaign was initiated by Wei's Grand Marshal, Cao Zhen following the num ...

, Wei Yan led some troops towards Yangxi (陽谿; southwest of present-day Wushan County, Gansu) and engaged the Wei forces led by and Guo Huai and

Fei Yao Fei Yao ( 220–231) was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Little information about Fei Yao is recorded in history; unlike other notable figures of the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three ...

, where Wei Yan managed to inflict a heavy defeat to them. Also, during the same year, he assisted another Shu general Wu Yi, both of them were ordered to attack Nan'an Commandery (南安郡; southeast of present-day Longxi County,

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibe ...

) where they scored another victory against

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

's army led by

. During the fourth campaign in 231, Wei Yan was also involved in the

Battle of Mount Qi The Battle of Mount Qi was a military conflict which took place around Mount Qi (祁山; the mountainous regions around present-day Li County, Gansu) between the states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 231 during the Three Kingdoms period of China. ...

when he together with the Shu generals Gao Xiang and Wu Ban, scored a major victory against the Wei army led by

Sima Yi Sima Yi ( ; 179 CE – 7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 un ...

, where they killed 3,000 Wei soldiers and seized 5,000 sets of armour and 3,100 crossbows. Sima Yi was forced to retreat back to his camp. Zhang He, a veteran Wei general was also killed in battle during this conflict. As a reward for his contributions, the Shu government promoted Wei Yan to Vanguard Military Adviser () and Senior General Who Attacks the West (), and elevated him from a village marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Nanzheng" ().

Battle of Wuzhang Plains

In 234, Zhuge Liang launched the fifth Shu invasion of Wei, with Wei Yan leading the Shu vanguard force as one of his commanding officer, Wei Yan reportedly had a dream that on the top of his head would grow a horn, he asked the meaning of this to the dream diviner Zhao Zhi (趙直). Zhao Zhi lied to him and said: After he left, he revealed to someone that the word "horn" (角) is composed of a "knife" (刀) with "use" (用) below it, which mean dreaming of "using knife" atop one person head and were considered as extremely ominous omen. Later, in the encampment Wei Yan had a quarrel with Yang Yi, Zhuge Liang's chief clerk, as Wei Yan was extremely resentful of Yang Yi. Whenever they got into heated quarrels, Wei Yan often drew his sword and brandished it in front of Yang Yi who sobbed as tears rolled down his cheeks; which prompted Fei Yi then to stepped in to stop them from fighting and managed to keep them under control until Zhuge Liang's death. Zhuge Liang was upset by the lack of harmony between Wei Yan and Yang Yi, but was unwilling to side with either of them because he appreciated the talents of both men. When Zhuge Liang became critically ill during the invasion, he gave secret orders to Yang Yi, Fei Yi and

Jiang Wei Jiang Wei (202 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Boyue, was a military general of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in Ji County (present-day Gangu County, Gansu), Jiang Wei started his career as a military officer ...

to lead the army back to Shu after his death, with Wei Yan in charge of the rearguard and Jiang Wei to follow behind, and being instructed If Wei Yan refused to follow the order, they were to retreat without him. When Zhuge Liang died, news of his death were kept secret. Yang Yi sent Fei Yi to meet Wei Yan and assess his intentions. Wei Yan told Fei Yi: Wei Yan then asked Fei Yi to assist him in making arrangements for part of the Shu army to remain behind and continue with the campaign, while the rest would retreat back to Shu. Fei Yi pretended to write a letter, signed by both of them, and told Wei Yan that he would read out the letter to all the officers about the new arrangements, where he lied by telling Wei Yan that he will go back and explain Wei Yan answer to Yang Yi.

Death

Wei Yan then let Fei Yi leave, but he immediately regretted his decision and went after Fei Yi, although Wei Yan could not catch up Fei Yi in time. He then sent his subordinate to meet Yang Yi and the others, but was shocked to discover that all units were preparing to retreat in accordance with Zhuge Liang's final orders. Wei Yan wanted to continue the battle even though Zhuge Liang had died, so he became furious when he heard of the retreat. He intended to block the Shu forces from retreating, so he led his force towards the south – ahead of the main army under Yang Yi's command – and sealed the return route by destroying the gallery roads leading back to Shu. Wei Yan and Yang Yi separately wrote memorials to the Shu imperial court to accuse each other, which both memorials arrived in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

on the same day. The Shu emperor

asked the ministers Dong Yun and

Jiang Wan Jiang Wan (180s - November or December 246), courtesy name Gongyan, was a regent and military general of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Jiang Wan initially served as a scribe, ...

for their opinions. Both of them sided with Yang Yi and felt that Wei Yan's actions were suspicious. In the meantime, Yang Yi ordered his men to cut down trees to rebuild the gallery roads, and his troops marched day and night to catch up with Wei Yan. Wei Yan arrived at the southern valley first and ordered his soldiers to attack Yang Yi. Yang Yi sent Wang Ping to resist Wei Yan. Wang Ping shouted at Wei Yan: As Wei Yan was left with only his son(s) and a few followers, They fled towards Hanzhong Commandery, Yang Yi ordered

Ma Dai Ma Dai () ( 222–235) was a Chinese military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under his uncle Ma Teng, a warlord in northwestern China, during the late Eastern Han dynasty. After Ma ...

to give chase and caught up with Wei Yan. Ma Dai killed Wei Yan, brought his head back, and threw it in front of Yang Yi. Yang Yi trampled on Wei Yan's decapitated head and said: Thus, the family members and close relatives of Wei Yan were also executed. Before Wei Yan's death, Jiang Wan had led the imperial guards from Chengdu to deal with what appeared to be a mutiny by Wei Yan. They had travelled for about 10 '' li'' (about three miles) when they received news of Wei Yan's death; they then turned back and returned to Chengdu.

Character analysis

Wei Yan 2016 Temple of Marquis Wu (Wuzhang Plains)

Wei Yan was known to treat his soldiers well and for his bravery with valor that surpassed others, although he was also boastful of his talents hence his peers tended to avoid him.

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime ...

, the ruler of Wu and another contemporary figure of three kingdoms era, has remarked that the moment Zhuge Liang passed away, Wei Yan will be proven unreliable.

, who wrote Wei Yan's biography in the ''Sanguozhi'', analysed Wei Yan's death as such: Chen Shou also remarked that Zhuge Liang himself highly valued Wei Yan bravery and caught in dilemma when the latter had conflict with Yang Yi, ration and transportation staff officer which talent in managing his duties Zhuge Liang also valued. A similar, but somewhat different and more detailed account exists in the historical text ''

Weilüe The ''Weilüe'' () was a Chinese historical text written by Yu Huan between 239 and 265. Yu Huan was an official in the state of Cao Wei (220–265) during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280). Although not a formal historian, Yu Huan has been h ...

'' work by later Wei dynasty historian named

Yu Huan Yu Huan ( third century) was a historian of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Yu Huan was from Jingzhao Commandery, which is around present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi.''Shitong'' vol. 12. He is best known for writin ...

stated that Zhuge Liang told Wei Yan to setting up defense, although he also gave further instruction to "not return here". Wei Yan kept this order for himself and did not share with others, thus prompting Wei Yan's rival, Yang Yi, to spread false rumours that Wei Yan has intended to defect to the enemy, which led the incited Shu soldiers to attack Wei Yan and killing him. However,

Pei Songzhi Pei Songzhi (372–451), courtesy name Shiqi, was a Chinese historian and politician who lived in the late Eastern Jin dynasty and Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi, but he moved to the Jiangnan region late ...

, who added the ''Weilüe'' account to Wei Yan's biography and annotated the ''Sanguozhi'', doubted the ''Weilüe'' account as he remarked: Furthermore, modern era historical analysis stated that Wei Yan's death was explained in political terms in ''Injustice to Wei Yan'' (), a neoteric article by Zhu Ziyan, a history professor from Shanghai University, where Zhu wrote that Zhuge Liang personally appointed

, Fei Yi and

to be his successors, but Wei Yan's appointments and contributions were greater than those of any of them at the time. Zhuge Liang ostracised Wei Yan and cracked down on him because he wanted to eliminate Wei Yan as a possible obstacle to his appointed successors. Meanwhile, in the ''Analysis of the Three Kingdoms'',

Yi Zhongtian Yi Zhongtian (born 8 February 1947) is a Chinese writer and historian. He is also a professor and Ph.D. supervisor at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Xiamen University's School of Humanities. Life and career Yi's grandfather ...

commented that Zhuge Liang's last order to forcibly retreat and leave Wei Yan alone was contradicted by what he personally instructed Wei Yan, such contradiction indirectly leading to the tragedy between Wei Yan and Yang Yi. Hence the forcible retreat might be the idea of Yang Yi, not Zhuge Liang, since Zhuge Liang died before devising any withdrawal plan, thus prompted Yi Zhongtian to theorized that there was no evidence of this theory that Yang Yi fabricated the order. Yi Zhongtian also explained another possible hypothesis that Zhuge Liang's final order "leave Wei Yan alone" simply meant "ignore Wei Yan", did not mean "kill Wei Yan". Shu Han's main forces must withdraw to guard the rear area, and if Wei Yan could not be stopped then just let him be. Yi Zhongtian analized and criticize that Wei Yan did not grasp the political-economical reasons behind both of Zhuge Liang's expeditions and his extreme caution. Zhuge Liang launched the expeditions not only to restore the Han dynasty, but also to keep Shu Han in warring conditions and used that to increase his control over the internal affair and suppress the potential dissidents amongst local nobility. As smallest and weakest amongst the Three Kingdoms, Shu Han would be the first one to be targeted at, hence it had to make pre-emptive attacks to intimidate the opponents, to enlarge its territory and to improve its conditions - the rate of success was not high but it was better than doing nothing. Zhuge Liang's goal of Han restoration was sincere and never changed, however the powerful Cao Wei could not be defeated quickly in one single blow, hence the expeditions must be done in a careful manner with guaranteed advances rather than daring but risky strikes which could lead to disasters like Xiaoting or Fancheng. Such a complicated situation could not be explained clearly to Wei Yan, and probably it did not need to be, as Zhuge Liang wanted to keep Wei Yan's spirit at its highest.

Ziwu Valley plan analysis

Wei Yan's reasoning for his Ziwu Valley Plan was recorded in the ''

'', which was then added as an annotation to his biography in the ''Sanguozhi'', where

recorded that Wei Yan received intelligence that the defender of the strategic city

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

, that he judged Xiahou Mao, as incompetent commander. Thus, Wei Yan reasoned, it would be easy for him to take 5,000 troops (and another 5,000 to carry supplies) across the

Qin Mountains The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow ...

via the Ziwu Valley (子午谷) and into Chang'an. Wei Yan estimated that he would reach Chang'an in ten days and scare Xiahou Mao into flight, leaving the grain in Chang'an's storehouses for Shu's taking. There, Wei Yan's force can wait for Zhuge Liang's main army to take the safer road out of Xie Valley (斜谷) and rendezvous in Chang'an. In this way, the region west of

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an m ...

could be conquered in one movement." Weilue argued the possibility of Ziwu valley plans, as although the plan of Wei Yan could have been worked since although Sima Yi intelligence has acknowledged the plan, Xiahou Mao, who at that time was the commander of Chang'an did not realize it. When the Wei government received intelligence about Wei Yan's Ziwu Valley Plan, the Wei emperor Cao Rui immediately removed Xiahou Mao from his military command in Chang'an and reassigned him to be a Master of Writing () in Luoyang.

in his ''Analysis of the Three Kingdoms'' commented that both proponents and opponents of Wei Yan's plan have their own good reasons. Cao Wei met the first Northern Expedition with little preparation as they didn't fathom that Shu Han could make such an offensive, hence the combination of Zhuge Liang and Wei Yan's strikes could results in huge impact. However, Wei Yan's plan was also very risky, as neither the flight Xiahou Mao or his subordinates nor the timely arrival of Zhuge Liang's main forces was guaranteed, moreover the formidable Guo Huai was also in nearby region and could come to assist Xiahou Mao. However, recent scholarship of Chinese history criticized the account of

in his Weilue work that Yu Huan has exaggerated the alleged conflict between Wei Yan with his superior, Zhuge Liang, regarding the rejection of the latter for the strategy which proposed by Wei Yan. Wen-Chin Wang from Department of Chinese Language and Literature has suspected the bias of Yu Huan personal view which he viewed Yu Huan as Wei supporter, where Wei kingdom during the late Han era were the arch enemy of Shu kingdom.

Legacy

Military fortification

The "Heavy Gate" (重门之计) bulwark which designed by Wei Yan during his tenure as administrator of Hanzhong particularly came to use twice when used by the successor administrator of Hanzhong. And greatly helped Wang Ping, to defend the province from a massive invasion led by Cao Shuang. Later,

, the grand commandant of Shu kingdom

dismantled Dismantled (born Gary Zon) is an electronic music artist from the United States. History Dismantled is the product of an experiment that began in late 2000 by Gary Zon, who was attempting to create something similar to Front Line Assembly's s ...

this "Heavy Gate" fortification which designed by Wei Yan in favor of his own design. However, Jiang Wei's new defense strategy failed to impede the advance of Zhong Hui, general of Wei, while Jiang Wei himself were repelled from Hanzhong effectively causing Hanzhong fall to Wei kingdom.

Wei Yan Shrines

A Wei Yan Shrine () is located in Baique Village, Sanquan Township,

Zitong County Zitong County () is a county in the northeast of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Mianyang. It has an area of , and a population of in 2002. Its seat is from Chengdu Chengdu (, ; ...

. In front of the shrine flows a Wei Family River (). On the plains east of the river, there once stood a Wei Family River Temple (), which had three stone tablets in front of it. One of the stone tablets bore the words "Wei Yan once led soldiers and was stationed here.". According to legend, in 231, during the fourth Shu invasion of Wei,

ordered Wei Yan to lead a separate force to station south of the Wei Family River where, in memory of the incident, the locals built the Wei Family River Temple beside the river and a small bridge called "General Bridge" (). The Wei Yan Shrine was initially demolished by the government but was rebuilt in 1995. A statue of Wei Yan stands in the main hall of the shrine. There is another temple attributed to Wei Yan in allegedly Wei Yan hometown, in Weijia village Gaobao Township,

Qingfeng County Qingfeng County is a county located in the northeast of Henan province, bordering the provinces of Hebei to the northwest and Shandong to the east. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Puyang. In the Han Dynasty, D ...

, Puyang City, in

Province.

In popular cultures

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Wei Yan appears as a character in the historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...

'' by

Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese writer who lived during the Ming dynasty. He was also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo was attri ...

, which romanticises the historical events leading to, and during the

period, such as Wei Yan participation in the fictional Battle of Changsha. Wei Yan surrendered to Liu Bei after killing his superior, Han Xuan. During a clash between Liu Bei against Ma Chao forces, Wei Yan defeat Ma Dai after they duelled for several bouts, causing the latter to flee. During the battle in ianzhong, Wei Yan and Zhang Fei were unable to overcame Zhang He, causing both to retreat. According to Zhang Chaoju, Wei Yan were beaten during this campaign by Cao Cao general named Pang De. Later, during the battle of Wuzhang plains, Wei Yan lured

and his two sons,

Sima Shi Sima Shi () (208 – 23 March 255), courtesy name Ziyuan, was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, a ...

and

Sima Zhao Sima Zhao () (211 – 6 September 265), courtesy name Zishang, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Sima Zhao capably maintained control of Wei, which had been ...

into fire ambush. However, suddenly there are heavy raining that caused the fire extinguished and the plan failed, prompting the Simas to escape.

Modern era depictions

“Sun Qi Mountain” drama which was written by Wei Ming-Lun, that described the relationship between two important historical figures Zhuge Liang and Wei Yan depicted the latter in positive light as it was not Wei Yan intent to betray Shu, which making him as tragic hero figure. Wei Yan is featured as a playable character in

Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its ''Dynasty Warriors'' games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based on p ...

's ''

Dynasty Warriors is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now is Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel o ...

'' and '' Warriors Orochi'' video game series. He also appears in Koei's '' Dynasty Tactics 2''.

Bibliography

Notes

References

Primary & secondary sources

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * * * * * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wei, Yan Year of birth unknown 234 deaths 3rd-century executions Executed people from Henan Executed Shu Han people Executed Three Kingdoms people Generals under Liu Bei Han dynasty generals from Henan Han dynasty politicians from Henan Officials under Liu Bei Political office-holders in Shaanxi People executed by a Three Kingdoms state by decapitation People executed by Shu Han Shu Han generals Shu Han politicians