Xiahou Ba

Historical Record

Xiahou Ba, styled Zhongquan, was the second son of the famed Cao Wei general Xiahou Yuan. His family was closely connected to the Cao Wei imperial house; Xiahou Yuan's wife was a younger sister-in-law of Cao Cao ^c:1129. Xiahou Ba's elder brother Xiahou Heng married the daughter of the Founder's (Cao Cao's) younger brother, the Marquis Ai of Haiyang, and the family's favor was profound. During the Huangchu era, Xiahou Ba was granted a title, and during the Taihe era his four younger brothers were all granted the title of Marquis Within the Passes ^c:1129.

During the Zhengshi era, Xiahou Ba rose to Protector of the Army for the Campaign against Shu and General of the Right and was advanced to Marquis of Bochang Village. He had long been on close terms with the Grand General Cao Shuang ^c:1129. However, after Sima Yi launched his coup and executed Cao Shuang, Xiahou Ba grew fearful because of his closeness to Cao Shuang. At the time, the General Who Conquers the West, Xiahou Xuan, was Xiahou Ba's nephew and also Cao Shuang's nephew. After Sima Yi executed Cao Shuang, he summoned Xiahou Xuan back to the capital, and Xiahou Ba believed disaster would inevitably reach him. Moreover, he had earlier been at odds with the Yongzhou Inspector Guo Huai, and Guo Huai then succeeded Xiahou Xuan as General Who Conquers the West, which made Xiahou Ba all the more uneasy, until he finally resolved to defect to Shu Han ^c:1129.

On his flight to Shu Han, Xiahou Ba went south to Yinping but lost his way and entered a deep valley; when his provisions ran out, he even killed his horse and went on foot, injuring his feet so that he could only lie beneath a rock and send someone to seek aid. Learning of this, Shu Han sent people to welcome Xiahou Ba ^c:1129.

After Xiahou Ba defected to Shu Han, the Later Ruler of Shu Han, Liu Shan, received him in person and consoled him, saying, "Your father fell on the battlefield; he was not slain by my forefather's own hand." Liu Shan also pointed to his own sons and said to Xiahou Ba, "These are nephews of the Xiahou clan." For in the fifth year of Jian'an, Xiahou Ba's cousin (a daughter of Xiahou Yuan) had been taken by Zhang Fei while gathering firewood; learning she was a girl of good family, Zhang Fei married her, and she bore a daughter who later became Liu Shan's empress. Thus, when Xiahou Yuan first died, Zhang Fei's wife had even requested to bury Xiahou Yuan. Liu Shan generously bestowed rank and favor upon Xiahou Ba ^c:1129.

Xiahou Ba's younger brother Xiahou Wei rose to Yanzhou Inspector, and his descendants were many and illustrious: Xiahou Wei's son Xiahou Jun was Bingzhou Inspector, and Xiahou Zhuang was Administrator of Huainan; Xiahou Zhuang's son Xiahou Zhan was renowned for his learning and writing and rose to Chancellor of Nanyang and Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary. Xiahou Zhuang was also the brother-in-law of the Jin Empress Jingyang, showing how illustrious the Xiahou family was at the time ^c:1129. Xiahou Hui rose to Administrator of Le'an, renowned for his learning and skill in drafting memorials. Xiahou He rose to Intendant of Henan and Grand Master of Ceremonies ^c:1129.

In the Novel

In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Xiahou Ba's image is fuller, especially during Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions and Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions, where he has important roles as both a Wei general and a Shu general. He first appears during Zhuge Liang's sixth Northern Expedition, when Sima Yi recommended the four brothers Xiahou Ba, Xiahou Wei, Xiahou Hui, and Xiahou He to the Wei ruler Cao Rui, saying that Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei were skilled in archery and horsemanship and that Xiahou Hui and Xiahou He were well versed in strategy, and stressing that they "always wished to avenge their father" ^c:1130.

Before Zhuge Liang died at the Wuzhang Plains, Sima Yi once sent Xiahou Ba with a thousand troops to scout the Wuzhang Plains to investigate Zhuge Liang's illness ^c:1131. After Zhuge Liang's death, Sima Yi at first suspected a feigned death and only had Xiahou Ba lead a few dozen riders to scout secretly ^c:1132. When Xiahou Ba reported that the Shu troops had all withdrawn, Sima Yi at last became certain that Zhuge Liang was dead and led his army in pursuit. However, Sima Yi encountered the classic episode of "the dead Zhuge frightening off the living Zhongda" along the way, being driven back by the disguised Zhuge Liang figure put forward by Jiang Wei, with Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Hui at Sima Yi's side at the time ^c:9507.

When Sima Yi campaigned against Gongsun Yuan, Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei were ordered to set an ambush on the banks of the Ji River and successfully defeated Gongsun Yuan's generals Bei Yan and Yang Zuo; Xiahou Ba even slew Bei Yan with his own hand ^c:1133.

After Cao Shuang was executed, the novel's account of Xiahou Ba's defection to Shu differs slightly from the histories. In the novel, Sima Yi, fearing that Xiahou Ba, a relative of Cao Shuang, might suddenly rebel, issued an edict summoning Xiahou Ba to Luoyang for consultation. Hearing this, Xiahou Ba was greatly alarmed and led three thousand troops in revolt. He fought the Yongzhou Inspector Guo Huai and bitterly denounced Sima Yi for usurping power. Badly defeated in the pincer attack of Guo Huai and Chen Tai, he finally fled to Hanzhong ^c:5048. Jiang Wei received Xiahou Ba and praised him for "upholding the house of Han, no less worthy than the ancients" ^c:9512.

After defecting to Shu, Xiahou Ba became an important adviser and general to Jiang Wei. He once analyzed for Jiang Wei the two newly emerged talents of Wei—Zhong Hui and Deng Ai—calling them "deeply to be feared" ^c:9512. During Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions, Xiahou Ba repeatedly offered plans, such as advising Jiang Wei to attack Mount Niutou to relieve the siege of Qushan ^c:9514, and, at the Battle of Tielong Mountain, advising Jiang Wei to feign defeat to lure and kill the Wei general Xu Zhi and successfully capturing Xu Zhi's force ^c:9517, ^c:1134.

However, Xiahou Ba's end in the novel is rather tragic. During one of Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions, Xiahou Ba was ordered to lead the vanguard in attacking Taoyang. Seeing the city gates wide open and no banners on the walls, he mistook it for an empty city and charged in at the head, only to fall into an ambush by the Wei general and die beneath the city walls together with five hundred soldiers ^c:1138. This differs from the histories, where Xiahou Ba's end in Shu Han is not clearly recorded; the novel gives him a more dramatic conclusion.

Key Relationships

* Xiahou Yuan (kin_of): Xiahou Ba's father, a famed Cao Wei general, slain by Huang Zhong at the Battle of Mount Dingjun. After Xiahou Ba defected to Shu, Liu Shan once consoled him, saying his father was not slain by the Shu Han forefather ^c:1129. In the novel, the Xiahou brothers "always wished to avenge their father," an important motive for their early service to Cao Wei ^c:1130.
* Cao Shuang (friend_of): Xiahou Ba was on close terms with Cao Shuang during the Cao Wei period ^c:1129. After Cao Shuang was executed by Sima Yi, Xiahou Ba defected to Shu Han out of self-doubt, a major turning point in his life.
* Cao Wei (defected_from): Xiahou Ba was originally a Cao Wei general, who, growing fearful after Cao Shuang's execution, ultimately chose to defect to Shu Han ^c:1129.
* Shu Han (defected_to): After Xiahou Ba defected to Shu Han, he was generously treated and given great responsibility by Liu Shan, becoming an important general in Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions ^c:1129.
* Sima Yi (rival_of): In the novel, Xiahou Ba was early on a subordinate general of Sima Yi, taking part in operations against Shu Han ^c:1130. But after Sima Yi executed Cao Shuang, Xiahou Ba became Sima Yi's political foe and ultimately defected to Shu to oppose the Sima clan.
* Jiang Wei (colleague_of): After defecting to Shu, Xiahou Ba became an important adviser and comrade-in-arms to Jiang Wei, repeatedly taking part in Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions and offering plans ^c:9514, ^c:9517.
* Liu Shan (kin_of): Xiahou Ba's cousin was Zhang Fei's wife, and her daughter was Liu Shan's empress. Thus Liu Shan was the husband of Xiahou Ba's grandniece, a marital tie that won Xiahou Ba special favor after his defection to Shu ^c:1129.
* Guo Huai (rival_of): Xiahou Ba was at odds with the Yongzhou Inspector Guo Huai during the Cao Wei period ^c:1129. In the novel, Xiahou Ba fought Guo Huai before defecting to Shu ^c:5048.
* Zhong Hui, Deng Ai (rival_of): After defecting to Shu, Xiahou Ba mentioned to Jiang Wei the two newly emerged Wei talents Zhong Hui and Deng Ai, calling them "deeply to be feared" ^c:9512 (novel only).

Signature Scenes

* Defection to Shu Han: After Sima Yi executed Cao Shuang, Xiahou Ba fled out of self-doubt, enduring hardship along the way before finally being welcomed by Shu Han. Liu Shan consoled and gave him great responsibility on account of his family's marital tie to Shu Han (the daughter of Xiahou Ba's cousin being Liu Shan's empress)—the most important turning point in Xiahou Ba's life ^c:1129.
* Scouting the Wuzhang Plains: In the novel, around the time of Zhuge Liang's death at the Wuzhang Plains, Xiahou Ba was repeatedly ordered by Sima Yi to scout the Shu army's situation, indirectly taking part in the classic episode of "the dead Zhuge frightening off the living Zhongda" ^c:1131, ^c:1132, ^c:9507 (novel only).
* Slaying Bei Yan: In the novel, when Sima Yi campaigned against Gongsun Yuan, Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei set an ambush, and Xiahou Ba slew Gongsun Yuan's general Bei Yan with his own hand, displaying his valor ^c:1133 (novel only).
* Offering Plans at Tielong Mountain: In the novel, during Jiang Wei's Northern Expedition, Xiahou Ba advised Jiang Wei to feign defeat to lure the enemy, successfully defeating the Wei general Xu Zhi and trapping Sima Zhao at Tielong Mountain, displaying his military strategy ^c:9517, ^c:1134 (novel only).
* Falling into an Ambush and Dying at Taoyang: In the novel, while attacking Taoyang, Xiahou Ba mistakenly fell for the Wei army's empty-fort strategy and ultimately died beneath the city walls together with his five hundred men, giving his life for Shu Han ^c:1138 (novel only).