Han Zong

Historical Record

Han Zong, whose father was a Wu general, accordingly also served Eastern Wu. After Sun Quan moved his capital to Jianye in the first year of the Huanglong era (229 CE), in the second year of Huanglong (230 CE) a dike was built at Dongxing to hold back the lake waters, though it was later abandoned after the failed campaign against Huainan. During his time in Eastern Wu, Han Zong was treated with some favor by Sun Quan on account of his father. However, when Sun Quan campaigned against Shiyang and ordered Han Zong to remain in garrison at Wuchang, Han Zong behaved licentiously and improperly during that time. Although Sun Quan, mindful of old ties, did not call him to account, Han Zong was inwardly seized with fear. According to the Book of Wu, Han Zong intended to defect; fearing that his subordinates would not follow him, he secretly incited his troops to plunder, luring them with goods, so that his subordinates vied to follow suit and became a great scourge to passing travelers. Han Zong then falsely claimed to have received an edict, that the matter of his troops engaging in banditry was being questioned, and declared that "the officers and below are all to be arrested and dealt with," hinting that he too might be implicated. His attendants therefore advised him that it would be better to leave. So Han Zong plotted together with his subordinates: on the pretext of burying his father, he gathered all his kin—his aunts and elder sisters—and married them all off to officers, and bestowed even his own favored maidservants and concubines upon his close associates. He slaughtered oxen and drank wine, smeared blood in a covenant oath, and finally, bearing his father's coffin, led his mother, household, and several thousand of his troops—men and women alike—to defect to Cao Wei^[1].

After surrendering to Cao Wei, Han Zong was appointed General and enfeoffed as Marquis of Guangyang. Thereafter Han Zong repeatedly raided Wu's borders and slew Wu's people, making Sun Quan gnash his teeth in hatred of him. In the tenth month of the first year of the Jianxing era (252 CE), Zhuge Ke rebuilt the great dike at Dongxing and constructed two forts at the commanding heights to left and right, leaving a thousand men to garrison each. Wei regarded the Wu forces' encroachment on its territory as a deep disgrace and ordered the great generals Hu Zun, Zhuge Dan, and others to lead seventy thousand troops, intending to surround the two redoubts and destroy the great dike. Zhuge Ke led forty thousand troops on a night march to the rescue. At the Battle of Dongxing, the Wei forces, commanded by Hu Zun and others, built a floating bridge to cross the river, drew up their ranks upon the dike, and divided their forces to attack the two forts. But the strongholds stood on high ground and could not be quickly taken. Zhuge Ke dispatched the generals Liu Zan, Lü Ju, Tang Zi, and Ding Feng as the vanguard. At the time it was bitterly cold and snowing, and the Wei generals were feasting together; seeing that Liu Zan and the others had few troops, had taken off their armor, carried no halberds, wore only helmets and bore only blades and shields, and were climbing the dike unprotected, they roundly mocked them and did not at once form ranks. Once the Wu forces had ascended the dike, they immediately raised a din and hacked into the enemy. The Wei forces panicked and scattered, vying to cross the floating bridge, which broke under them, and many Wei soldiers threw themselves into the water and trampled one another. The Administrator of Lean, Huan Jia, and other generals also fell in this battle, with tens of thousands dead. The renegade general Han Zong, who served as the vanguard commander of the Wei forces in this battle, was finally slain. Zhuge Ke sent his head to Sun Quan's ancestral temple to console his spirit^[2].

In the Novel

(No material from the novel.)

Since literary works such as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms contain no independent depiction or plot involving Han Zong, he cannot be discussed from the standpoint of the novel. In the historical sources, Han Zong is known chiefly for his betrayal of Wu and surrender to Wei and for his eventual death at the Battle of Dongxing; these events received no detailed literary treatment or adaptation in the novel.

Key Relationships

* Eastern Wu: Han Zong originally served Eastern Wu, his father likewise being a Wu general. Sun Quan once treated him with some favor on account of his father. In the end, however, Han Zong betrayed Eastern Wu and defected to Cao Wei^[1].
* Cao Wei: After betraying Wu, Han Zong defected to Cao Wei, where he was enfeoffed as General and Marquis of Guangyang. Thereafter Han Zong repeatedly raided Wu's borders for Cao Wei, becoming an object of Sun Quan's bitter hatred^[1].
* Zhuge Ke: At the Battle of Dongxing, Zhuge Ke led his forces to defeat the Wei army and personally slew Han Zong, the vanguard commander of the Wei forces, sending his head to Sun Quan's ancestral temple^[2].

Signature Scenes

* Betraying Wu and surrendering to Wei: During his garrison at Wuchang, Han Zong behaved improperly and, inwardly fearful, finally used the burial of his father as a pretext to lead his household and several thousand troops in defecting to Cao Wei. This act was not only a turning point in his personal fate but also marked his complete break with Eastern Wu^[1].
* Death at Dongxing: At the Battle of Dongxing, Han Zong served as the vanguard commander of the Wei forces. Facing the Wu army led by Zhuge Ke, the Wei forces were utterly defeated, and Han Zong was finally slain by Zhuge Ke, his head sent to Sun Quan's ancestral temple. This was not only the end of Han Zong's life but also a symbol of Eastern Wu's chastisement of a traitor^[2].