Hou Cheng
| Hou Cheng | |
|---|---|
| Officer of Lü Bu | |
| Born | (Unknown) |
| Died | (Unknown) |
| Names | |
| Traditional Chinese | 侯成 |
| Simplified Chinese | 侯成 |
| Pinyin | Hóu Chéng |
| Wade–Giles | Hou Ch'eng |
Hou Cheng (birth and death dates unknown) was a military officer serving under the warlord Lü Bu in the late Eastern Han dynasty.
In historical records
In 198, during the Battle of Xiapi, fought between the warlords Lü Bu and Cao Cao (with support from Liu Bei), Cao's forces besieged Lü Bu in the city of Xiapi (下邳; present-day Pizhou, Xuzhou, Jiangsu) and directed the waters of the Yi (沂) and Si (泗) rivers to flood the city. After three months, the morale of Lü Bu's army fell drastically and his men gradually alienated him.[1]
Around this time, Hou Cheng sent a trader to purchase 15 horses, but the man escaped with the horses and headed towards Xiaopei (小沛; present-day Pei County, Xuzhou, Jiangsu) with the intention of defecting to Liu Bei. Hou Cheng personally pursued the trader and retrieved all the horses. Lü Bu's officers then threw a feast to celebrate Hou Cheng's achievement. Hou Cheng prepared 5-6 hu (斛) of wine and about ten roasted hogs, and he presented half a hog and 5 dou (斗) of wine to Lü Bu before the feast started. He knelt down and said, "With your grace, I managed to retrieve the stolen horses. The others came to congratulate me, so I prepared some wine and hogs for a feast. I don't dare to start first, so now I present the food and wine to you." Lü Bu was furious and he said, "I banned alcohol, but you and the others dare to throw a party! Are you plotting with them to kill me?" Hou Cheng was shocked and he immediately left. He also discarded the wine he prepared and returned the gifts he received from the other officers. Later, Hou Cheng, along with his colleagues Song Xian and Wei Xu, captured Lü Bu's strategist Chen Gong and general Gao Shun, and led their troops to surrender to Cao Cao.[2]
In fiction
This incident was further dramatised in Chapter 19 of Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. When Hou Cheng presented wine to Lü Bu, the latter was angry because Hou defied his ban on alcohol. Lü Bu ordered Hou Cheng to be executed, but Song Xian and Wei Xu pleaded with their lord to spare Hou. Lü Bu then had Hou Cheng flogged 50 times before releasing him. Hou Cheng later plotted with Song Xian and Wei Xu to betray Lü Bu, so he stole Lü Bu's horse, the Red Hare, escaped from Xiapi, and went to Cao Cao's camp, where he told Cao about their plot. With the aid of Song Xian and Wei Xu, Cao Cao's forces broke into Xiapi and captured Lü Bu.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ (曹操壍圍之，壅沂、泗以灌其城，三月，上下離心。其將侯成使客牧其名馬，而客策之以叛。成追客得馬，諸將合禮以賀成。成分酒肉，先入詣布而言曰：「蒙將軍威靈，得所亡馬，諸將齊賀，未敢甞也，故先以奉貢。」布怒曰：「布禁酒而卿等醞釀，為欲因酒共謀布邪？」成忿懼，乃與諸將共執陳宮、高順，率其衆降。) Houhanshu vol. 75.
- ↑ (九州春秋曰：初，布騎將侯成遣客牧馬十五匹，客悉驅馬去，向沛城，欲歸劉備。成自將騎逐之，悉得馬還。諸將合禮賀成，成釀五六斛酒，獵得十餘頭豬，未飲食，先持半豬五斗酒自入詣布前，跪言：「間蒙將軍恩，逐得所失馬，諸將來相賀，自釀少酒，獵得豬，未敢飲食，先奉上微意。」布大怒曰：「布禁酒，卿釀酒，諸將共飲食作兄弟，共謀殺布邪？」成大懼而去，棄所釀酒，還諸將禮。由是自疑，會太祖圍下邳，成遂領衆降。) Jiuzhou Chunqiu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 7.
- ↑ Sanguo Yanyi ch. 19.
- Chen Shou. Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
- Fan Ye. Book of the Later Han (Houhanshu).
- Luo Guanzhong. Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi).
- Pei Songzhi. Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).