Xu Zhi

Historical Record

The historical record of Xu Zhi is extremely scant; in the official histories there is virtually no independent biography or detailed account of his life. This means that, in the verifiable historical documents, Xu Zhi was not a figure of marked influence or one who left important deeds. His existence is mentioned only incidentally in the records of others, or not recorded by the historians at all. We therefore cannot construct from the historical biographical materials Xu Zhi's life, offices, words, or his specific role in historical events. This forms a sharp contrast with many important figures of the Three Kingdoms period, and makes our understanding of Xu Zhi rest chiefly on the depictions of literary works.

In the Novel

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Xu Zhi appears as Assistant Grand Astrologer, his image revolving chiefly around his functions of "divining by the Changes" and "watching the heavens," and playing the role of advancing the process by which Cao Wei supplanted the Han. He first appears when Cao Cao falls ill^[1]. At that time, with Cao Cao long sick and not recovering, Xu Zhi came to an audience and recommended to Cao Cao the divine diviner Guan Lu. Xu Zhi gave a detailed account of Guan Lu's life, his strange and wondrous tales, and his uncanny powers of divination, including Guan Lu's expounding the Changes to Dan Zichun, divining the cause of the illness of the Guo En brothers, healing the wife and children of Wang Ji, guessing the object hidden by Zhuge Yuan, and finding an old woman's ox, and a whole series of such stories^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}. Among these, the most captivating is the legend of Guan Lu adding years to the lifespan of Zhao Yan, with a detailed account of how the two immortals of the Southern Dipper and the Northern Dipper added ninety-nine years to Zhao Yan's life^[8][9]. Through Xu Zhi's narration, Guan Lu's image is shaped as exceedingly mysterious and profound, and it also indirectly displays Xu Zhi's own knowledge, as Assistant Grand Astrologer, of folk adepts and strange tales.

Xu Zhi's second important appearance comes at the crucial moment when Cao Wei supplanted the Han. In the eighth month of that year, auspicious portents appeared in various places — "a phoenix presented itself at Shiyi county, a qilin appeared at the city of Linzi, a yellow dragon manifested at Ye Commandery"^[10]. Xu Zhi deliberated with the General of the Household Gentlemen Li Fu, holding that these portents were "signs that Wei should supplant the Han," and so, together with other civil and military officials, entered the hall to urge Emperor Xian of Han to abdicate the throne to the King of Wei, Cao Pi^[10]. In remonstrating with Emperor Xian, Xu Zhi further exercised his duty as a "heaven-watching" official, memorializing that "observing the celestial signs by night, I see that the fated span of the blazing Han is now ended; Your Majesty's imperial star is hidden and unclear; the celestial signs of the state of Wei reach to the limits of heaven and probe the earth — they are hard to express in full"^[11]. He even cited prophetic texts, interpreting "the ghost at the side, joined with the figure beside it; it shall supplant the Han, of which nothing more can be said. The word is in the east, the noon is in the west; two suns shining together move up and down," pointing out the meaning of the graph "Wei" and of "Xu Chang," to prove that Cao Wei receiving the abdication at Xu Chang was the mandate of Heaven^[11]. Although Emperor Xian of Han expressed doubt at this, Xu Zhi's words undoubtedly provided a "mandate of Heaven" basis of legitimacy for Cao Pi supplanting the Han. In the novel, Xu Zhi's image is the typical proclaimer of the "doctrine of Heaven's mandate"; his words and deeds advance the story toward the climax of Cao Wei supplanting the Han, but these episodes are unrecorded in the histories and belong to the novel's literary creation.

Key Relationships

* Cao Cao (advises_in): Xu Zhi recommended Guan Lu to Cao Cao and gave a detailed account of Guan Lu's wondrous deeds, indirectly influencing Cao Cao's view of the art of divination and his attention to Guan Lu (novel only)^[1].
* Guan Lu (friend_of): Xu Zhi was Guan Lu's recommender and appreciative confidant, with deep knowledge of Guan Lu's life, skills, and legends, and recommended Guan Lu strongly before Cao Cao, displaying a certain connection between the two and Xu Zhi's high regard for Guan Lu (novel only)^[2].
* Cao Pi (advises_in): Xu Zhi, together with Li Fu and other officials, remonstrated with Emperor Xian of Han to abdicate the throne to Cao Pi, and from the standpoint of celestial signs and prophetic texts provided a "mandate of Heaven" basis of legitimacy for Cao Pi supplanting the Han, being one of the important promoters of Cao Pi supplanting the Han (novel only)^[10][11].
* Liu Xie (advises_in): Xu Zhi, as one of the group urging the abdication, directly memorialized Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, requesting the abdication; his words placed enormous political pressure on Liu Xie and hastened the end of the Han dynasty (novel only)^[10][11].

Signature Scene

* Recommending Guan Lu to Cao Cao: When Cao Cao fell ill, Xu Zhi came to an audience and not only introduced to Cao Cao the divine diviner Guan Lu but also vividly recounted Guan Lu's many strange tales, including the legend of his adding years to Zhao Yan's lifespan, so that Guan Lu's image became established in the reader's mind^[1][9] (novel only).
* Urging Emperor Xian of Han to abdicate: Xu Zhi, together with Li Fu and other civil and military officials, entered the hall and, on the basis of the auspicious portents appearing in various places and the results of his night observation of the celestial signs, strongly urged Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, to abdicate the throne to Cao Pi. He even cited prophetic texts, ingeniously interpreting "Wei" and "Xu Chang," to provide a "mandate of Heaven" argument for Cao Wei supplanting the Han — an important scene advancing the Han-to-Wei abdication^[10][11] (novel only).