Zhong Hui

Historical Record

Zhong Hui, styled Shiji, was a native of Changshe in Yingchuan and the youngest son of the Grand Tutor Zhong Yao ^c:3943. From childhood he was quick-witted and precocious; at the age of five, the Central Protector of the Army Jiang Ji marveled at him, saying "this is no ordinary man" ^c:3943. By the time he reached adulthood, Zhong Hui was brimming with talent, broadly learned and finely versed in the study of names and principles, often pursuing his studies day and night, and his fame thus spread far and wide ^c:3943. During the Zhengshi era, he was appointed Gentleman of the Imperial Library, and later promoted to Imperial Secretary and Gentleman-Attendant of the Palace Writers ^c:6537. After the Duke of Gaogui Precinct, Cao Mao, ascended the throne, he was granted the rank of Marquis Within the Passes ^c:6537.

During the rebellion of Guanqiu Jian, Zhong Hui accompanied the Grand General, Prince Jing of Sima (Sima Shi), on the eastern campaign, taking charge of secret affairs ^c:3945. After Prince Jing, Sima Shi, died of illness at Xu Chang, his younger brother Prince Wen of Sima, Sima Zhao, took command of the six armies, while Zhong Hui devised plans behind the scenes ^c:3945. Together with Fu Gu he schemed to enable Sima Zhao to swiftly grasp military authority and be appointed Grand General and regent ^c:3945. Zhong Hui was therefore promoted to Gentleman of the Yellow Gate and enfeoffed as Marquis of Dongwu Precinct, with a fief of three hundred households ^c:3945.

In suppressing Zhuge Dan's Rebellion, Zhong Hui displayed his outstanding stratagems even further. Taking advantage of a quarrel among the nephews of the Wu general Quan Cong, he devised a stratagem of sowing discord, causing Wu generals such as Quan Yi to open the gates and surrender, hastening the fall of Shouchun ^c:3947. Zhong Hui therefore won Sima Zhao's deep trust, and people of the time called him "Zifang" ^c:3947. After the army returned, he was appointed Grand Coachman, but firmly declined and instead transferred to be a Gentleman of the Household, managing the records office in the Grand General's headquarters, becoming Sima Zhao's most trusted confidant ^c:3947. For his merit in suppressing Zhuge Dan, Zhong Hui was advanced to Marquis of Chen, but repeatedly declined and was ultimately appointed Colonel-Director of Retainers ^c:3947. Although he held an external post, he could oversee the gains and losses of current government, take part in the court's major decisions—even the execution of Ji Kang and others was all by Zhong Hui's design ^c:3947.

In the third year of Jingyuan (262 CE), Sima Zhao wished to mount a great campaign against Shu, and Zhong Hui too believed Shu could be taken; together with Sima Zhao he planned out the terrain and assessed the situation of affairs ^c:3948. In the autumn of the following year, Zhong Hui was appointed General Who Guards the West, holding the staff of authority and commanding the military affairs of Guanzhong, leading more than a hundred thousand troops to enter Shu by separate routes through the Xie Valley and the Luo Valley ^c:3948. He was strict in military discipline: he even beheaded the Garrison Gate General Xu Yi for failing to maintain the road, which had caused a bridge to break and a horse to fall, so that the armies were struck with awe ^c:3948. After entering Shu, Zhong Hui sent soldiers to offer sacrifices at Zhuge Liang's tomb, and strictly forbade the soldiers from grazing or cutting wood and fodder around the tomb ^c:6539.

After Deng Ai successfully crossed by stealth through Yinping, Zhong Hui secretly memorialized Sima Zhao, falsely accusing Deng Ai of harboring rebellion ^c:3950. Sima Zhao thereupon issued an edict to summon Deng Ai in a prison cart. Zhong Hui was ordered to advance on Chengdu, with Wei Guan going ahead, who successfully arrested Deng Ai and his son ^c:3950. After Deng Ai was captured, Zhong Hui alone commanded the great army, his might shaking the western land. Reckoning his fame and merit to surpass the age, and that he could no longer stand below others, he conceived the intent to rebel ^c:3950. He planned to join with the Shu Han surrendered generals such as Jiang Wei, having Jiang Wei lead the Shu troops out through the Xie Valley, while he himself would lead the main army behind, intending to seize Chang'an and Luoyang directly and then take all under Heaven ^c:3950.

On the fifteenth day of the first month of the first year of Xianxi (264 CE), Zhong Hui reached Chengdu. The next day, he falsely claimed a posthumous edict of Empress Dowager Guo, summoned the Protectors of the Army, commandery administrators, Garrison Gate Cavalry Supervisors and above, along with the former officials of Shu Han, and proclaimed the raising of troops to depose Sima Zhao ^c:3950. However, owing to the informing of Qiu Jian, the supervisor of his headquarters (a former subordinate of Hu Lie), and the counterattack of Hu Lie and his son and Wei Guan and others, Zhong Hui's rebellion swiftly failed ^c:3950. On the eighteenth day of the first month, the Wei army mutinied, and Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei were killed amid the chaos of the troops, at the age of forty ^c:15088.

In the Novel

The Zhong Hui of the *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* has his stratagems further embellished; he is praised by Sima Zhao as "my Zifang" ^c:15044, and many times offers counsel for Sima Zhao at critical moments. When Sima Shi was gravely ill, Zhong Hui advised Sima Zhao to return swiftly to Luoyang to forestall any upheaval in the court ^c:15042. In suppressing Zhuge Dan's Rebellion, Zhong Hui advised Sima Zhao to besiege the city on three sides, leaving open the main road of the south gate to let the enemy flee of their own accord, then pursue and strike them; this stratagem won the Wei army a great victory ^c:15044. He also advised Sima Zhao not to bury alive the surrendered Wu troops, but to release them back to Jiangnan to display the magnanimity of the Central States, which won Sima Zhao's deep approval ^c:15048.

In the campaign against Shu, Zhong Hui's stratagems run throughout. He presented Sima Zhao with a map and plan for the campaign against Shu, detailing the routes of march and strategic dispositions ^c:3955. To confuse Eastern Wu, he even, under the pretext of campaigning against Wu, built ships on a large scale, in reality preparing for the campaign against Shu ^c:15052. After entering Shu, Zhong Hui displayed his harsh military law: because the vanguard Xu Yi had failed to repair a bridge, causing him nearly to fall from his horse, he beheaded Xu Yi despite the pleas of the generals, striking awe into the three armies ^c:3956. In assaulting Yangping Pass, he threatened that if surrender were refused, then "jade and stone would burn alike," and, using the surrender of the Shu general Jiang Shu, successfully took the pass ^c:15057.

The novel also adds the detail of Zhong Hui sacrificing at Zhuge Liang's tomb, and an episode in which he dreamed of Zhuge Liang admonishing him to "by no means wantonly slay living beings" ^c:3957. Zhong Hui therefore issued an order through the army to raise white banners reading "protect the state, pacify the people," committing not the slightest offense, so that the people of Hanzhong were moved with gratitude ^c:3957.

In his relationship with Deng Ai, the novel emphasizes the conflict and mutual suspicion between Zhong Hui and Deng Ai. With the words that Deng Ai was a "mediocre talent," Zhong Hui lured Deng Ai into a surprise attack on Chengdu by the byways of Yinping, in reality wishing to use his hand to break Shu ^c:15065. After Deng Ai successfully destroyed Shu, Zhong Hui exploited Sima Zhao's suspicion of Deng Ai, forging Deng Ai's memorials to make their wording arrogant, ultimately succeeding in framing Deng Ai and his son ^c:15071.

Zhong Hui's interactions with Jiang Wei are likewise quite dramatic in the novel. Jiang Wei feigned surrender at Jianmen Pass, in reality wishing to use Zhong Hui's strength to restore the Han imperial house ^c:15070. Zhong Hui trusted him deeply, even sworn brothers with Jiang Wei, deliberating great affairs together each day ^c:3960. Jiang Wei also secretly wrote to Liu Shan, saying "endure a few days' humiliation, and I, Wei, will cause the altars of state, having been imperiled, to be restored to safety" ^c:3960. Zhong Hui, urged on by Jiang Wei, ultimately falsely claimed a posthumous edict of Empress Dowager Guo, wishing to raise troops to depose Sima Zhao, and planned to bury alive the Wei generals who would not comply ^c:6543. However, because Qiu Jian informed Hu Lie, the Wei army mutinied, and Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei were ultimately killed amid the chaos of the troops ^c:15084. The novel also describes the detail of Jiang Wei's gallbladder being "as large as a hen's egg" after his death ^c:6543.

Key Relationships

* Sima Zhao (enemy_of): Zhong Hui was Sima Zhao's trusted strategist; after Sima Shi died of illness, he helped Sima Zhao stabilize his military authority, and rendered great service in suppressing Zhuge Dan's Rebellion, being praised by Sima Zhao as "my Zifang" ^c:15044. However, after the destruction of Shu, Zhong Hui, his merits eclipsing his lord, conceived treacherous designs, and ultimately forged an edict to raise troops in rebellion against Sima Zhao ^c:3950.
* Deng Ai (betrayed_by): Zhong Hui and Deng Ai were both chief generals in the campaign against Shu, but the two had long been at odds. Zhong Hui exploited Sima Zhao's suspicion of Deng Ai, secretly memorializing to falsely accuse Deng Ai of harboring rebellion, and forged Deng Ai's memorials, ultimately causing Deng Ai and his son to be summoned in a prison cart ^{c:3950 c:15071}.
* Jiang Wei (commands_in): After the destruction of Shu, Zhong Hui treated Jiang Wei and the other Shu Han surrendered generals generously, riding in the same carriage and sitting on the same mat with Jiang Wei ^c:3952. When Zhong Hui plotted rebellion, he planned to have Jiang Wei lead the Shu troops as the vanguard ^c:3950. In the novel, Jiang Wei went further, feigning surrender to Zhong Hui to use his hand to restore the Han imperial house, and plotting rebellion together with Zhong Hui ^c:15070.
* Empress Guo of Mingyuan (witnesses): When Zhong Hui plotted rebellion, he falsely claimed a posthumous edict of Empress Dowager Guo, raising troops in her name to depose Sima Zhao ^c:3950 (unique to the novel; the historical record states he forged a posthumous edict of the Empress Dowager, without specifying which Empress Dowager).
* Hu Lie: Hu Lie was the former lord of Qiu Jian, the supervisor of Zhong Hui's headquarters. When Zhong Hui plotted rebellion, he imprisoned Hu Lie and other Wei generals. Qiu Jian informed Hu Lie, bringing about the mutiny of the Wei army, and ultimately Zhong Hui's failure ^{c:3950 c:15084}.
* Wei Guan: Wei Guan was the supervisor of the army sent by Sima Zhao to Zhong Hui's army. After Zhong Hui falsely accused Deng Ai, Wei Guan was ordered to arrest Deng Ai ^c:3950. When Zhong Hui plotted rebellion, Wei Guan, together with Hu Lie and others, counterattacked, ultimately putting down Zhong Hui's rebellion ^{c:3950 c:15085}.

Signature Scenes

* The Stratagem at Shouchun: In suppressing Zhuge Dan's Rebellion, Zhong Hui offered Sima Zhao the plan of besieging the city on three sides, leaving open the main road of the south gate to let the enemy flee of their own accord, then pursuing and striking them, winning the Wei army a great victory, for which Sima Zhao praised him as "my Zifang" ^c:15044.
* Beheading Xu Yi: On the campaign against Shu, because the vanguard Xu Yi had failed to maintain the road, causing Zhong Hui nearly to fall from his horse, Zhong Hui beheaded Xu Yi despite the pleas of the generals, thereby enforcing strict military discipline and striking awe into the three armies ^c:3956.
* Sacrificing at Zhuge Liang's Tomb: After entering Shu, Zhong Hui made a special point of going to offer sacrifices at Zhuge Liang's tomb, and strictly forbade the soldiers from grazing or cutting wood and fodder around the tomb ^c:6539. In the novel, he even dreamed of Zhuge Liang admonishing him to "by no means wantonly slay living beings," and therefore raised white banners reading "protect the state, pacify the people," committing not the slightest offense ^c:3957.
* Framing Deng Ai: Zhong Hui exploited Sima Zhao's suspicion of Deng Ai, secretly memorializing to falsely accuse Deng Ai of harboring rebellion, and forging Deng Ai's memorials to make their wording arrogant, ultimately succeeding in framing Deng Ai and his son and having them summoned in a prison cart ^{c:3950 c:15071}.
* The Chengdu Rebellion: After Zhong Hui alone commanded the great army, reckoning his merits to eclipse the age and that he could no longer stand below others, he falsely claimed a posthumous edict of Empress Dowager Guo, summoned the generals at Chengdu, and intended to raise troops to depose Sima Zhao and take all under Heaven ^c:3950. However, owing to the informing of Qiu Jian, the supervisor of his headquarters, and the counterattack of Hu Lie, Wei Guan and others, Zhong Hui's rebellion swiftly failed, and he was ultimately killed amid the chaos of the troops ^c:15088.
* Plotting with Jiang Wei (unique to the novel): In the novel, Jiang Wei feigned surrender to Zhong Hui and plotted with him, wishing to use Zhong Hui's strength to restore the Han imperial house. Jiang Wei presented Zhong Hui with the Marquis of Wu's bequeathed map and urged Zhong Hui to raise troops to depose Sima Zhao ^{c:3960 c:15071}.