Liu Feng

Historical Record

Liu Feng, originally surnamed Kou, was the son of the Kou family of the Marquisate of Luo, and the nephew of the Liu family of Changsha. While Liu Bei was in Jing Province, having no heir of his own, he adopted Liu Feng as his foster son.^[1] In the sixteenth year of Jian'an (211 CE), when Liu Bei entered Shu to attack Liu Zhang, Liu Feng was already over twenty, displaying exceptional martial skill and strength. He accompanied Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, and others upstream, repeatedly achieving merit in the campaigns. After Yi Province was pacified, Liu Feng was appointed Deputy Army Gentleman of the Household.^[1]

In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219 CE), Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao at Hanzhong, beheaded Xiahou Yuan, and successfully took possession of Hanzhong.^[2] Liu Bei then dispatched generals such as Liu Feng, Meng Da, and Li Ping to attack Shangyong Commandery. Meng Da had originally been a subordinate general of Liu Zhang, but later went over to Liu Bei together with Fa Zheng and was appointed Administrator of Yidu. That same year, Liu Bei ordered Meng Da to attack Fangling northward from Zigui, and the Administrator of Fangling, Kuai Qi, was killed by Meng Da. As Meng Da was preparing to go on to attack Shangyong, Liu Bei, worried that Meng Da could not stand alone, dispatched Liu Feng to go down the Mian River southward from Hanzhong to take command of Meng Da's army and join him at Shangyong.^[3] The Administrator of Shangyong, Shen Dan, led his men to surrender and sent his wife and clan to Chengdu. Liu Bei therefore promoted Shen Dan to General Who Conquers the North, keeping him as Administrator of Shangyong, and enfeoffed his younger brother Shen Yi as General Who Establishes Faith and Administrator of Xicheng. Liu Feng too was promoted, for this merit, to Deputy Army General.^[3]

However, while Guan Yu was besieging Fancheng and Xiangyang, he repeatedly sought aid from Liu Feng and Meng Da, hoping they would dispatch troops to help. But Liu Feng and Meng Da refused Guan Yu's request, on the grounds that "the mountain commandery has only just submitted and cannot be disturbed."^[3] Not long after, Guan Yu was defeated and died, and Liu Bei was deeply displeased at this. Moreover, a conflict arose between Liu Feng and Meng Da; Liu Feng had once seized Meng Da's military band. Meng Da, both fearing punishment and harboring resentment toward Liu Feng, thereupon submitted a memorial taking his leave of Liu Bei and led his troops to surrender to Cao Wei.^[3]

After Meng Da surrendered to Wei, Cao Wei dispatched the General Who Conquers the South, Xiahou Shang, and the General of the Right, Xu Huang, together with Meng Da, to attack Liu Feng. Shen Dan's younger brother Shen Yi betrayed Liu Feng, causing Liu Feng to be defeated and flee back to Chengdu.^[4] After Liu Feng returned to Chengdu, Liu Bei reproached him for encroaching upon Meng Da and for failing to dispatch troops to rescue Guan Yu. Zhuge Liang, considering that Liu Feng was fierce and hard by nature and fearing he would be difficult to control after Liu Bei's death, urged Liu Bei to take this chance to remove him. Liu Bei thereupon ordered Liu Feng to take his own life. Before his death Liu Feng sighed, "I regret not heeding the words of Meng Zidu!" and Liu Bei shed tears for this.^[4]

In the Novel

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms greatly elaborates and dramatizes Liu Feng upon the basis of history, making his image more vivid and more tragic.

Liu Feng's appearance is itself tinged with legend. In Chapter 36, Liu Bei met the county magistrate Liu Mi at Fancheng, and Liu Mi recommended his nephew Kou Feng to Liu Bei. Seeing Kou Feng's noble bearing, Liu Bei adopted him as his foster son and renamed him Liu Feng.^[5] This episode has no record in the histories; it is the "adopted-son" identity the Romance arranges for Liu Feng, and it also foreshadows Guan Yu's later displeasure with him. Guan Yu at the time expressed his displeasure, holding that "since you, elder brother, already have a son, why use an adopted one? It will surely breed trouble later"—foretelling Liu Feng's future tragic fate.^[5]

Before Liu Bei entered Shu, Liu Feng repeatedly campaigned with the army, displaying his martial valor. For example, after the battle of Bowang Slope, Zhuge Liang arranged for Liu Feng and Mi Fang each to lead troops with red and green banners to garrison before Magpie-Tail Slope, thirty li outside Xinye, to seize the chance to pursue and cut down the defeated Cao troops.^[6] In the course of taking Yi Province, Liu Feng also played an important role. He accompanied Liu Bei, Pang Tong, and others westward, and at a banquet danced with swords alongside Guan Ping, Wei Yan, and others, dispelling the suspicions of Liu Zhang's subordinate generals.^[7] In the attack on Luocheng, Liu Feng, together with Guan Ping, led thirty thousand fresh troops to repel Zhang Ren's army that was pursuing Liu Bei, recapturing a great many warhorses and displaying his valorous side.^[8]

The Romance also particularly emphasizes Liu Feng's conduct in the Hanzhong Campaign. In Chapter 70, Liu Feng went, by Liu Bei's order, to support Huang Zhong. Huang Zhong used the stratagem of "the arrogant army" to lure the enemy deep in; though Liu Feng once urged Huang Zhong that "the soldiers are spent and weary, and may rest a while," Huang Zhong insisted that "without entering the tiger's den, how can one seize the tiger's cubs," and ultimately greatly defeated the army of Xiahou Shang and Han Hao.^[9],^[10] In the ensuing Battle of Mount Dingjun, Liu Feng again urged Huang Zhong that "the sun has already sunk in the west, and the troops, having come from afar, are weary; it would be well to rest a while," but Huang Zhong did not heed him, ultimately beheading Han Hao and, in concert with Yan Yan, burning the Cao army's camp by fire to win a great victory.^[11] These episodes all highlight Liu Feng's prudence as a young general and Huang Zhong's valor and resourcefulness as a veteran general.

Liu Feng's tragic fate, however, reaches its climax when Guan Yu was defeated and fled to Maicheng. When Liao Hua came to Shangyong to seek aid, Liu Feng conferred with Meng Da. Meng Da, on the grounds that "the mountain city has only just submitted and the people's hearts are not yet settled," dissuaded Liu Feng from dispatching troops. Worse still, Meng Da sowed discord, pointing out that Guan Yu had harbored resentment over Liu Feng's having been adopted as a foster son, and had once urged Liu Bei to place Liu Feng at Shangyong to forestall future trouble.^[12] Heeding Meng Da's words, Liu Feng refused Liao Hua's plea for aid, leading to Guan Yu's ultimate defeat and death.^[13] This episode is a major piece of the Romance's shaping of Liu Feng, saddling him with the infamy of failing to rescue his uncle, and becoming the direct cause of his eventual being ordered to take his own life.

After Meng Da surrendered to Wei, Cao Pi ordered him to attack Liu Feng. Meng Da wrote to summon Liu Feng to surrender, but Liu Feng was enraged, tore up the letter, and beheaded the envoy.^[14] Liu Feng then fought Meng Da, but fell into Meng Da's ambush and was crushingly defeated under the pincer attack of Xiahou Shang and Xu Huang. When he fled back to Shangyong, the brothers Shen Dan and Shen Yi had already surrendered to Wei, the city gates were shut tight, and Liu Feng, with nowhere to go, could only flee to Chengdu.^[15] After Liu Feng returned to Chengdu, he tearfully recounted to Liu Bei what had happened. Liu Bei angrily rebuked him: "What face have you, disgraced son, to come back and see me again!" and reproached him, "How could you be obstructed by the hindrance of a slanderous traitor!" In the end, Liu Bei heeded Zhuge Liang's advice and had Liu Feng beheaded.^[15] In the Romance, beyond the historical "fierce and hard, difficult to control," Zhuge Liang's urging of Liu Bei to kill Liu Feng also adds the consideration of "fearing he will breed change in days to come," lending Liu Feng's death a more political significance.

Key Relationships

* Liu Bei's faction (serves): As Liu Bei's foster son, Liu Feng long served Liu Bei's faction, taking part in important military actions such as the entry into Shu and the Hanzhong Campaign.^[1],^[2]
* Liu Bei (kin_of): Liu Feng was Liu Bei's adopted son, taken in when Liu Bei had no heir. This father-son relationship, however, ultimately broke down for reasons such as Liu Feng's failure to rescue Guan Yu and his discord with Meng Da, and Liu Bei in the end ordered Liu Feng to take his own life.^[1],^[4]
* Shu Han (serves): Around the founding of Shu Han, Liu Feng achieved merit for Shu Han's expansion and consolidation, holding posts such as Deputy Army Gentleman of the Household and Deputy Army General.^[1],^[3]
* Zhuge Liang (fights_in): Liu Feng once advanced westward upstream together with Zhuge Liang to attack Liu Zhang.^[1] After Liu Feng returned in defeat, however, Zhuge Liang, considering him "fierce and hard, difficult to control," urged Liu Bei to remove him—a key factor in Liu Feng's tragic end.^[4]
* Guan Yu (kin_of): In the Romance, Guan Yu is Liu Feng's uncle. But Guan Yu harbored a grudge over Liu Feng's adoption as a foster son (Romance only).^[5] Liu Feng's refusal to rescue Guan Yu directly led to Guan Yu's defeat and death, and also became an important cause of Liu Feng's being ordered to die.^[3],^[13]
* Meng Da (fights_in): Liu Feng and Meng Da once took Shangyong together, but the two were on poor terms; Liu Feng once seized Meng Da's military band. Meng Da ultimately surrendered to Wei out of fear of punishment and resentment of Liu Feng, and then turned to attack Liu Feng.^[3]
* Shen Dan, Shen Yi (fights_in): Liu Feng once took Shangyong, where Shen Dan surrendered. But after Liu Feng's defeat, Shen Yi betrayed Liu Feng, and Shen Dan too surrendered to Wei, leaving Liu Feng with nowhere to turn.^[4],^[15]
* Cao Zhang (fights_in): In the Romance, Liu Feng once fought Cao Zhang, but "in only three bouts, Feng was crushingly defeated and turned back" (Romance only).^[16]

Signature Scenes

* Being adopted as Liu Bei's foster son: While in Jing Province, having no heir, Liu Bei adopted Kou Feng as his foster son and renamed him Liu Feng. This event established Liu Feng's special standing in Liu Bei's faction and foreshadowed his later fate.^[1] In the Romance, Guan Yu expressed displeasure at this, foreshadowing the complex relationship between Liu Feng and Guan Yu^[5] (Romance only).
* Entering Shu with the army and repeatedly achieving merit: When Liu Bei entered Shu to attack Liu Zhang, Liu Feng displayed exceptional martial skill and strength, advancing westward upstream with Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, and others, victorious wherever he was; after Yi Province was pacified he was appointed Deputy Army Gentleman of the Household.^[1]
* Taking Shangyong and holding it with Meng Da: Liu Bei dispatched Liu Feng, Meng Da, and others to take Shangyong; after Liu Feng joined Meng Da, the Administrator of Shangyong, Shen Dan, surrendered. Liu Feng was thereby promoted to Deputy Army General and held Shangyong together with Meng Da.^[2],^[3]
* Refusing to rescue Guan Yu: When Guan Yu besieged Fancheng and Xiangyang, he repeatedly sought aid from Liu Feng and Meng Da, but the two refused to dispatch troops on the grounds that "the mountain commandery has only just submitted and cannot be disturbed," leading to Guan Yu's ultimate defeat and death. This event was a major turning point in Liu Feng's life, directly causing Liu Bei's displeasure with him.^[3] In the Romance, Meng Da's sowing of discord further aggravated Liu Feng's mistaken decision^[12] (Romance only).
* Meng Da surrenders to Wei and counterattacks Liu Feng: Liu Feng and Meng Da were on poor terms, and Meng Da, fearing punishment, surrendered to Wei. Cao Wei dispatched Xiahou Shang and Xu Huang together with Meng Da to attack Liu Feng. Shen Yi betrayed Liu Feng, causing his defeat and his flight back to Chengdu.^[3],^[4] In the Romance, Meng Da once wrote to summon Liu Feng to surrender, but Liu Feng tore up the letter and beheaded the envoy, and was ultimately crushingly defeated in the engagement with Meng Da^[14],^[15] (Romance only).
* Being ordered to die by Liu Bei: After Liu Feng returned to Chengdu, Liu Bei reproached him for failing to rescue Guan Yu and for encroaching upon Meng Da. Zhuge Liang, considering Liu Feng fierce and hard and difficult to control, urged Liu Bei to remove him. Liu Bei in the end ordered Liu Feng to take his own life; before his death Liu Feng sighed, "I regret not heeding the words of Meng Zidu," and Liu Bei wept for this.^[4] In the Romance, after beheading Liu Feng, Liu Bei came to regret it over the matter of Meng Da's summons to surrender, and, grieving for Lord Guan, fell ill^[15] (Romance only).