Xiahou Xuan

Historical Record

Xiahou Xuan, styled Taichu, was a nephew of Xiahou Shang^[1]. He enjoyed great renown in his youth and at the age of capping (twenty) was appointed Cavalier Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gates. Once, at an audience with the emperor, he sat side by side with Mao Zeng, younger brother of the empress; Xiahou Xuan felt this a disgrace and let his displeasure show on his face. Emperor Ming was thereby displeased with him and demoted him to Supervisor of the Forest of Plumes^[1].

In the early Zhengshi era, when Cao Shuang held the regency, Xiahou Xuan, as a maternal cousin of Cao Shuang, was successively promoted to Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary and Central Protector of the Army. According to the *Shiyu*, Xiahou Xuan was renowned for his ability to judge men; during his time as Central Protector of the Army, the military officers and advisers he promoted and appointed were all without exception men of distinction, many of whom later became provincial or commandery governors, and the institutions and teachings he established are still revered as models today^[1].

The Grand Tutor Sima Yi once asked Xiahou Xuan about current affairs. Xiahou Xuan proposed that selecting talent and appointing officials was an important power of the state, that the authority to weigh and assess men should belong exclusively to the court, while filial conduct should be assessed by the people of the local districts. He held that to clarify governance and select carefully, the key lay in clear division of duties, not letting them be confused with one another. He criticized the abuses of the Rectifier officials in grading talent at that time, holding that the Rectifier should only be responsible for examining conduct, distinguishing high and low, and assessing categories, and should not interfere with the power of weighing and assessing. He advocated that an official's ability be reported by the various ranking superiors to the court, the court then combining it with the virtue assessed in the local districts, with the final ruling unified by the court. In this way inner and outer would check each other, allowing the people's hearts to be settled, affairs to be handled rightly, customs to be made tranquil, and talent to be selected carefully^[2].

Soon Xiahou Xuan was appointed General Who Conquers the West, with the credentials to oversee all military affairs of Yong and Liang Provinces^[3]. He once joined Cao Shuang in launching the Luogu campaign, which was mocked by his contemporaries. After Cao Shuang was executed, Xiahou Xuan was summoned to be Grand Herald and, several years later, transferred to Grand Master of Ceremonies. Because of Cao Shuang's fall, Xiahou Xuan was sidelined and felt deeply frustrated within^[3].

Although the Director of the Secretariat Li Feng had long been favored and trusted by the Grand General Sima Shi, he privately inclined toward Xiahou Xuan. He allied with the empress's father, the Imperial Household Grandee Zhang Ji, and secretly plotted to install Xiahou Xuan as regent. Li Feng used his power at court, and because his son had married a princess and because he was a fellow townsman of Zhang Ji, he won Zhang Ji's trust. Li Feng once secretly instructed his younger brother, the Yanzhou Inspector Li Yi, to seek entry to the court, intending to have him bring troops into the capital to rise together, but Li Yi's request to enter court was not approved^[3].

In the second month of the sixth year of Jiaping, on the occasion of investing a Honored Lady, Li Feng and the others planned to use the chance of the emperor's appearance at the throne, with guards at every gate, to kill the Grand General Sima Shi, install Xiahou Xuan in his place, and appoint Zhang Ji General of Agile Cavalry. Li Feng secretly informed the Supervisor of the Yellow Gates Su Shuo, the Director of the Yongning Office Yue Dun, the Supernumerary Mounted Attendant Liu Xian, and others, saying that the Grand General Sima Shi was severe and had repeatedly mentioned their unlawful acts within the palace, citing the affair of Zhang Dang as a warning, so as to win their support. Su Shuo and the others all expressed their willingness to comply^[3].

However, the Grand General Sima Shi had slightly perceived their plot and asked to meet Li Feng. Not knowing of the trap, Li Feng went, and was killed by Sima Shi^[3]. After the affair came to light, Xiahou Xuan, Zhang Ji, Su Shuo, Yue Dun, Liu Xian, and others were arrested and handed over to the Commandant of Justice. The Commandant of Justice Zhong Yu tried the case; in prison Xiahou Xuan refused to yield and sternly questioned Zhong Yu. Because of his bearing as a man of renown and his lofty, pure integrity, Zhong Yu found it hard to make him yield, and so spent the night composing a confession for him to fit the case, then, weeping, showed it to Xiahou Xuan. Having read it, Xiahou Xuan merely nodded^[3].

The Commandant of Justice Zhong Yu memorialized that Li Feng and the others had plotted to coerce the emperor and presume to kill the chief minister, committing the crime of high treason, and requested that they be dealt with according to law. After joint deliberation by the high ministers and the Commandant of Justice, all agreed that Li Feng and the others, having received exceptional honors and held control of confidential matters, that Zhang Ji as an imperial relative by marriage, and Xiahou Xuan as a hereditary minister, had harbored treacherous hearts and schemed wickedly, colluding with eunuchs and supplying them with treacherous plans, intending to coerce the sovereign, eliminate the good ministers, presume to install a regent, and overthrow the court. In the end, an edict was issued, and Li Feng, Xiahou Xuan, Zhang Ji, Yue Dun, Liu Xian, and others were all exterminated to the third degree of kin^[3]. Before his execution, Xiahou Xuan's expression did not change and his bearing remained composed; he was forty-six years old at the time^[3].

In the Novel

In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Xiahou Xuan is portrayed as an upright man loyal to the house of Wei and opposed to the Sima clan's usurpation of power^[4]. He first appears in Chapter 109, when Sima Zhao returned in triumph to Luoyang and, with his brother Sima Shi, monopolized court power, leaving the Wei ruler Cao Fang deeply uneasy^[4].

After court was dismissed, Cao Fang held a secret discussion with the Grand Master of Ceremonies Xiahou Xuan, the Director of the Secretariat Li Feng, and the Imperial Household Grandee Zhang Ji (father of Empress Zhang). Cao Fang wept, complaining that Sima Shi regarded him as a small child and the officials as weeds, and feared that the realm would sooner or later fall to the Sima clan^[4]. Li Feng and Xiahou Xuan both declared their willingness to share the emperor's worries and root out the treacherous villains. Xiahou Xuan particularly noted that his elder kinsman Xiahou Ba had surrendered to Shu Han precisely out of fear of being murdered by the Sima brothers. He declared that as an old relative by marriage of the state he was unwilling to sit and watch the traitors throw the state into chaos, and was willing to join Li Feng and Zhang Ji in receiving the edict to campaign against Sima Shi^[4].

Cao Fang then took off his dragon-and-phoenix undershirt, bit his fingertip, and wrote a blood edict, handing it to Zhang Ji, and charged them to be careful and on no account let it leak out^[5]. Li Feng said that they were not of Dong Cheng's sort, and that Sima Shi could not compare with the Martial Ancestor Cao Cao, and consoled Cao Fang that he need not be so suspicious^[5].

After the three took their leave, outside the Donghua Gate they met Sima Shi coming with a sword at his side. Sima Shi asked why they had been so late leaving court. Li Feng lied that they had been attending the emperor reading books in the inner palace. When Sima Shi pressed further as to what books, Li Feng answered "the books of the Three Dynasties—Xia, Shang, and Zhou." When Sima Shi asked what the emperor had inquired about, Li Feng again lied that the emperor had asked about Yi Yin's support of Shang and the Duke of Zhou's regency, and that they had all replied that the Grand General Sima was himself a Yi Yin and a Duke of Zhou^[5].

Sima Shi sneered, seeing through their lie, and pointed out that they were not comparing him to Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou but rather hinting that he was a Wang Mang or a Dong Zhuo. The three flatly denied it, but Sima Shi, seeing that their eyes were still red with weeping, sternly demanded to know what they had been weeping over in the secret chamber^[5].

At this point, Xiahou Xuan, knowing the matter had been exposed, loudly cursed Sima Shi for overawing his sovereign and plotting usurpation^[5]. Sima Shi flew into a rage and ordered his guards to seize Xiahou Xuan. Refusing to yield, Xiahou Xuan rolled up his sleeves and rushed straight at Sima Shi, only to be seized by the guards. Sima Shi ordered a search, and on Zhang Ji's body found the dragon-and-phoenix undershirt bearing the words in blood—Cao Fang's secret edict^[5]. This episode differs from the histories, where Li Feng was perceived by Sima Shi and secretly killed and Xiahou Xuan and the others were subsequently arrested; in the novel Xiahou Xuan's resistance is more direct and fierce, highlighting his loyal and ardent character.

Key Relationships

* Xiahou Shang (kin_of): Xiahou Xuan was a nephew of Xiahou Shang, belonging to the Cao Wei kinship, a relation clearly recorded in the histories^[1].
* Cao Shuang (kin_of): Xiahou Xuan was a maternal cousin of Cao Shuang and was thus given great responsibility during Cao Shuang's regency, successively promoted to Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary and Central Protector of the Army^[1]. After Cao Shuang was executed, Xiahou Xuan was thereby implicated and felt frustrated within^[3].
* Sima Yi (advises_in): Xiahou Xuan was once asked by the Grand Tutor Sima Yi about current affairs of state and offered profound views on the selection of talent and the system of weighing and assessing men^[2].
* Sima Shi (enemy_of): Xiahou Xuan was Sima Shi's political foe; in the histories, he took part in the plot by Li Feng and Zhang Ji to kill Sima Shi and install himself as regent^[3]. In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Xiahou Xuan even directly confronted Sima Shi and loudly cursed him for his usurping acts^[5].
* Li Feng (ally_of): Li Feng was Xiahou Xuan's political ally; the two jointly plotted against Sima Shi, intending to install Xiahou Xuan as regent^[3].
* Zhang Ji (ally_of): Zhang Ji was the imperial father-in-law of Cao Fang and an ally of Li Feng and Xiahou Xuan, jointly taking part in the plot against Sima Shi^[3].
* Cao Fang (serves): In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Xiahou Xuan is portrayed as a subject loyal to the Wei ruler Cao Fang, receiving Cao Fang's blood edict together with Li Feng and Zhang Ji and plotting to campaign against Sima Shi^[4] (novel only).

Signature Scenes

* "Ashamed to Sit beside Mao Zeng": In his youth Xiahou Xuan felt disgraced at sitting side by side with Mao Zeng, younger brother of the empress, and showed his displeasure in his expression, for which he was demoted by Emperor Ming. This reflects his lofty self-regard and his refusal to keep company with the vulgar^[1].
* "On the Selection and Use of Talent": In discussing current affairs with Sima Yi, Xiahou Xuan offered detailed proposals on the selection of talent and the system of weighing and assessing men, advocating a clear division of duties to prevent encroachment between superiors and inferiors, in hopes of making customs tranquil and the selection of talent careful. This displays his far-reaching political insight and his thought on governing the state^[2].
* "The Luogu Campaign": Xiahou Xuan once joined Cao Shuang in launching the Luogu campaign, which was mocked at the time. This reflects his participation, as a trusted man of Cao Shuang, in some of the military actions of the late Cao Wei era^[3].
* "Plotting against Sima Shi": Xiahou Xuan took part in the plot by Li Feng, Zhang Ji, and others to kill Sima Shi, intending to take his place as regent. This event ultimately led to his being exterminated to the third degree of kin and was the turning point and end of his political career^[3].
* "Unyielding in the Face of Calamity, Cursing Loudly": In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, when Sima Shi saw through his plot, Xiahou Xuan, knowing the matter had leaked, loudly cursed Sima Shi for overawing his sovereign and plotting usurpation, and tried to attack Sima Shi, only to be seized by the guards. This scene vividly portrays his "unyielding in the face of calamity" character, echoing the historical record that "at the execution in the eastern market, his expression did not change and his bearing remained composed," though the novel's depiction is more dramatically charged^[5].
* "Refusing to Sign a Confession in Prison": After his arrest, Xiahou Xuan refused to yield in the Commandant of Justice's prison and sternly questioned the Commandant of Justice Zhong Yu, displaying his lofty integrity and unyielding will^[3].