Zhuge Zhan (227–263),

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 Theobald ...

Siyuan, was a military general and official 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 Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period of China. He was a son of

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 r ...

, the first Imperial Chancellor of Shu.

Early life

When Zhuge Zhan was 16 years old, he married a Shu princess (a daughter of the Shu emperor

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 Lia ...

) and was appointed as a Cavalry Commandant (騎都尉). One year later, he was promoted to a General of the Household (中郎將) in the Yulin (羽林) unit of the Imperial Guards. He subsequently held the following positions in the Shu government: Palace Attendant (侍中), Supervisor of the Masters of Writing (尚書僕射) and Military Adviser-General (軍師將軍). Apart from serving as an official, Zhuge Zhan was also skilled in painting and calligraphy. Since the people of Shu deeply missed Zhuge Liang, who died in 234, they especially liked Zhuge Zhan for his talents because he reminded them of his father. Whenever the Shu government implemented a favourable policy, the people give credit to Zhuge Zhan even though it might have had nothing to do with him. As Zhuge Liang never established any formal history bureau in the Shu government, it was hard to distinguish which policies Zhuge Zhan had a role in, although it was clear that Zhuge Zhan's reputation was greater than his actual accomplishments.

Pinnacle of power

Zhuge Zhan's frequent promotions continued until he reached the top of the imperial administrative system – the role of the Imperial Secretariat. At the same time, Zhuge Zhan was appointed as acting Protector-General (都護) and acting General of the Guards (衛將軍). Having seen his father adopt an aggressive foreign policy towards Shu's rival state

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

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

in the form of six military campaigns between 228 and 234, Zhuge Zhan recognised the inherent dangers of overly using military force, especially for Shu since it was far weaker than Wei in terms of military and economic power. After

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 ...

became the ''de facto'' overall commander of the Shu army, Zhuge Zhan attempted to dissuade him from continuing to wage war against Wei but to no avail – Jiang Wei launched a total of 11 military campaigns against Wei between 240 and 262. After Jiang Wei suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Wei forces, Zhuge Zhan wrote to the Shu emperor Liu Shan, asking him to remove Jiang Wei from his military command and replace him with Yan Yu, a friend of the eunuch

Huang Hao Huang Hao ( 220s–263) was a Chinese eunuch and politician serving under Liu Shan (), the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. Highly favoured by Liu Shan, he was commonly blamed fo ...

. Zhuge Zhan's memorial to Liu Shan was preserved and was still available by the time of the Jin dynasty. However, it is not known whether Liu Shan heeded Zhuge Zhan's advice, because Jiang Wei did not return to the Shu capital,

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

, after his failure in the last of the 11 campaigns, presumably because he knew that the people of Shu were increasingly resentful of him. Liu Shan also compromised Zhuge Zhan's proposal to switch from an offensive stance against Wei to a defensive one, because he had earlier replaced

Wei Yan Wei Yan () (died October 234), courtesy name Wenchang, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dy ...

's tried-and-tested defensive layout with a high-risk-high-reward strategy by Jiang Wei. Previously, the Shu general Wei Yan had invented a defensive strategy to hinder and repel invading forces by setting up "covering camps" on the outskirts and exits of trails leading to Hanzhong Commandery, a strategic location on the road into the Shu heartland. Even after Wei Yan's death, Liu Shan had followed this arrangement, which allowed the Shu forces to successfully keep Wei invaders out every time. However, Jiang Wei argued that Wei Yan's design "could only repel the enemy but not reap big profits." Hoping to score a decisive victory, Jiang Wei proposed to abandon the camps set up by Wei Yan and vacate all the passes in 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 ...

, so an invading Wei army could be lured deeper into Hanzhong Commandery, where the weary expedition force could be blocked and rendered vulnerable to a Shu counterattack upon retreat. Jiang Wei claimed his arrangement could achieve a decisive victory previously unimaginable when they had just defended along the Qin Mountains. Since Jiang Wei's analysis had sound logic and merit, Zhuge Zhan did not oppose dismantling Wei Yan's intertwined fortifications.

Futile effort to defend Shu

In early 263, Jiang Wei requested reinforcements from

after he heard that the Wei government had put the general

Zhong Hui Zhong Hui (225 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Shiji, was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the younger son of Zhang Changpu with Zhong Y ...

in charge of military affairs along the Wei–Shu border. However, Liu Shan believed in Huang Hao's witchcraft, according to which destiny dictated Wei that would not attack. Liu Shan did not inform Zhuge Zhan of Jiang Wei's warnings. Nevertheless, Liu Shan did send reinforcements before the Wei invasion commenced. When the Wei forces started advancing towards Shu in September 263, the first half of Jiang Wei's plan worked – the Wei forces marched unopposed until they reached Han (漢; in present-day

Mian County Mian County or Mianxian () is a county of Hanzhong, in Shaannan, 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 dynast ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

) and Yue (樂; in 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) counties, which served as bait to wear out the enemy. However, Zhong Hui sent two smaller detachments to attack the two counties and led the main Wei army further into Shu territory. In the meantime, Jiang Wei lost to the Wei generals Wang Qi (王欣) and Yang Xin (楊欣) and had to retreat to the highly fortified mountain pass at Jiange (劍閣; in 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 ...

). Upon learning that Jiang Wei's plan had failed and sown the seeds of destruction, Zhuge Zhan hastily assembled an army in Chengdu and moved to Fu County to prepare for a final defence.

Battles with Deng Ai, and death

The aforementioned military movements happened within weeks, and Zhong Hui's rapid advance shocked most of the Shu generals. As they realised the danger of letting the enemy in, Jiang Wei and his comrades were still stuck at Jiange. As he knew that Jiange was well-defended, Zhuge Zhan did not send reinforcements there and instead held his position in Fu County. When the Wei general

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 ...

suddenly appeared in Jiangyou (江由) with his troops after taking a dangerous shortcut across mountainous terrain, the official in charge of Jiangyou surrendered without putting up a fight. Huang Chong, a son of Huang Quan, had urged Zhuge Zhan on numerous occasions to move quickly and seize control of advantageous terrain before Deng Ai did. Zhuge Zhan, however, deemed Huang Chong's plan too ambitious and adopted a more "cautious" approach instead. When Huang Chong repeatedly urged him to attack Deng Ai, Zhuge Zhan relented and tentatively sent a vanguard force to attack the enemy, which defeated them. Zhuge Zhan then left Fu County for the better fortified

Mianzhu Mianzhu ( zh, s=绵竹, t=綿竹, w=Mienchu, p=Miánzhú) is a county-level city of Deyang, Sichuan province in Southwest China. It has an area of and a population of 510,000 in 2004. The city was heavily damaged during the 2008 Sichuan earthq ...

, where he planned to make a last stand against Deng Ai. When Deng Ai besieged Zhuge Zhan at Mianzhu, he offered the latter a chance to surrender and promised to recommend to the Wei government to enfeoff Zhuge Zhan as the Prince of Langye if he surrendered. However, Zhuge Zhan refused, had Deng Ai's messenger executed, and ordered his troops to prepare for battle outside the pass. He supposedly arranged his troops in the Eight Trigrams Formation invented by his father. At the time, there were other notable Shu figures with Zhuge Zhan at Mianzhu, including Zhang Zun (張遵; a grandson of

Zhang Fei Zhang Fei () (died July or August 221 AD), courtesy name Yide, was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who were among the earlies ...

), Li Qiu (李球; an imperial guard commander), Huang Chong, as well as Zhuge Zhan's eldest son Zhuge Shang. After Huang Chong gave a speech to the Shu soldiers to boost their morale, both sides engaged in battle. Deng Ai ordered his son Deng Zhong (鄧忠) and another officer Shi Zuan (師纂) to flank Zhuge Zhan's position. They moved to the formation's left and right but the Shu forces intercepted them and drove them back; only Deng Ai's central force remained intact. When Deng Zhong and Shi Zuan complained that there was no way to break the formation and suggested that they retreat, Deng Ai angrily said that they must win if they wanted to live another day, and even threatened to execute anyone who spoke of retreat. Deng Zhong and Shi Zuan then led their men to attack the Shu formation again and succeeded in breaking it.(蜀卫将军诸葛瞻自涪还绵竹，列陈待艾。艾遣子惠唐亭侯忠等出其右，司马师纂等出其左。忠、纂战不利，并退还，曰：“贼未可击。”艾怒曰：“存亡之分，在此一举，何不可之有？”乃叱忠、纂等，将斩之。忠、纂驰还更战，大破之，斩瞻及尚书张遵等首，进军到雒。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 28. Zhuge Zhan, Zhuge Shang, Zhang Zun, Li Qiu, Huang Chong and other Shu officers were killed in action.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

In the 14th-century 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 and ...

'', which romanticises the events before and during the

period, the writer

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 ...

depicts the ill-fated defence of

in a dramatic fashion. When the Shu emperor

sought Zhuge Zhan's opinion on how to drive the Wei invaders, Zhuge Zhan thought of dressing up as his deceased father to scare away the enemy. His ruse worked initially as the Wei soldiers panicked and scattered upon thinking that Zhuge Liang had returned from the dead. However,

quickly pointed out that it was someone pretending to be Zhuge Liang and ordered his troops to regroup and attack. Zhuge Zhan died at the Battle of Mianzhu along with his eldest son Zhuge Shang, Huang Chong and others while helplessly outnumbered by Deng Ai's forces.

Notes

References

* 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''). * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). * 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:Zhuge, Zhan 227 births 263 deaths Shu Han generals Shu Han politicians Three Kingdoms people killed in battle