Sun Huan

Historical Record

Sun Huan, styled Shuwu, was a son of Sun He, a member of the Wu royal clan. According to the Book of Wu, Sun He had four sons, of whom Sun Huan was the third. He was upright in appearance and bearing, of dignified mien, intelligent and clear-minded, broadly learned with a strong memory, and skilled at debate and reply. Sun Quan once praised him as "the Yan Yuan of the royal clan" and promoted him to Commandant of the Martial Guard. ^c:1358

At the age of only twenty-five, Sun Huan was appointed General of the Household Who Calms the East, and together with Lu Xun resisted Liu Bei's attack. At the time Liu Bei's army was of great momentum, "filling the hills and choking the valleys," yet Sun Huan was able to fight with all his might, and in concert with Lu Xun, finally defeated Liu Bei's army. In the battle Sun Huan cut off the Kui road, severing the vital route of Liu Bei's retreat. Liu Bei was thereby forced to scale mountains and cross ridges to barely escape, and resentfully lamented, "When I first came to the capital, Huan was still a small child, yet now he presses me to this extremity!" ^c:1358 For his merit Sun Huan was appointed General Who Establishes Valor and enfeoffed as Marquis of Dantu; later, charged with supervising Niugang and building the Hengjiang fort, he died not long afterward.

In the early stage of the Battle of Xiaoting, Sun Huan was ordered to attack Liu Bei's vanguard alone at Yidao, but was surrounded by Liu Bei's army. He sought aid from Lu Xun, but Lu Xun deemed it "not yet permissible" and did not immediately come to the rescue. At the time the generals were puzzled that Lu Xun would not save Sun Huan, and Lu Xun explained, "The General Who Calms the East has the hearts of his men, his city is strong and his provisions ample; there is nothing to worry about. Wait until my plan unfolds—I mean not to save the General Who Calms the East, and yet the General Who Calms the East will relieve himself." ^c:1360 Once Lu Xun's strategic deployment was fully carried out, Liu Bei was indeed routed. After the battle, when Sun Huan saw Lu Xun, he said, "Before, I truly resented not being rescued; but coming to this day, I now know that there was method in your dispositions." ^c:1360 This shows that he ultimately understood and acknowledged Lu Xun's strategic foresight. In the campaign to resist Liu Bei, some of the generals were veterans from Sun Ce's time or relatives of the royal house, each presuming on his own merit and refusing to obey one another. Lu Xun once gripped his sword to overawe the generals and uphold military discipline.

In the Novel

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Sun Huan's image is given more dramatic coloring and the trait of youthful spirit. He first appears after Sun Quan styled himself king, when Liu Bei launched a great attack on Eastern Wu. When Sun Quan lamented that no one could share his burden, Sun Huan, only twenty-five years old, stepped forward and volunteered, asking to lead troops to crush Shu. He claimed, "Though young, I am fairly versed in the art of war," and mentioned that under his command were two fierce generals, Li Yi and Xie Jing. ^c:1361 Though Sun Quan affirmed his courage, he considered him young in years, and so sent the Tiger-Might General Zhu Ran to campaign together with him, appointing Sun Huan Commander of the Left and Zhu Ran Commander of the Right, in command of fifty thousand naval and land troops.

Sun Huan led his army to garrison the border pass of Yidu, confronting the Shu army. Before the two battle lines, he had a fierce verbal exchange with Zhang Bao and Guan Xing. Zhang Bao cursed him as a "whelp," and Sun Huan retorted in kind, bringing up the cause of the death of Zhang Bao's father Zhang Fei. ^c:10019 Then Sun Huan's subordinate Xie Jing fought Zhang Bao for more than thirty bouts before fleeing. Li Yi took Xie Jing's place and fought Zhang Bao for more than twenty bouts without a decision, but the Wu vice-general Tan Xiong loosed a cold arrow that struck Zhang Bao's warhorse, throwing Zhang Bao to the ground. At the critical moment, Guan Xing arrived in time and with one stroke cut Li Yi down from his horse, saving Zhang Bao. Sun Huan was thereby greatly defeated and beat the gongs to withdraw. ^c:10019

Afterward, on his flight, Sun Huan met the pincer attack of Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, and his subordinate general Cui Yu was captured alive by Zhang Bao. Sun Huan led his remnant troops in flight to the city of Yiling, where he was besieged by Wu Ban and other Shu forces. ^c:10020 After Lu Xun replaced Lü Meng as Grand Commander, Zhou Tai once raised with Lu Xun that Sun Huan was besieged in Yiling, with no provisions within and no relief without, and asked Lu Xun to devise a plan to rescue him early. Lu Xun, however, deemed that Sun Huan "has deeply won the hearts of the army and is sure to hold firm; there is no need to save him. Wait until I have crushed Shu, and he will come out of himself." ^c:1362 This accords with Lu Xun's judgment of Sun Huan's predicament in the historical record, but in the novel, through Zhou Tai's question and Lu Xun's reply, Lu Xun's resourcefulness and the generals' lack of deference to him are further highlighted.

Key Relationships

* Sun He (parent_of): Sun Huan's father, originally surnamed Yu, was granted the surname Sun because of Sun Ce's fondness for him, and Sun Huan therefore also belonged to the royal clan of the King of Wu. ^c:1361
* Lu Xun (fights_in): At the Battle of Xiaoting, Sun Huan resisted Liu Bei together with Lu Xun, and ultimately understood and admired Lu Xun's strategic deployment. ^c:1360 In the novel, Lu Xun likewise adopted toward the besieged Sun Huan the strategy of "leaving him unrescued so that he relieves himself." ^c:1362
* Liu Bei (enemy_of): At the Battle of Xiaoting, Sun Huan was Liu Bei's formidable opponent, even forcing Liu Bei into ignominious flight and prompting Liu Bei's lament, "When I first came to the capital, Huan was still a small child, yet now he presses me to this extremity!" ^c:1358
* Eastern Wu (commands_in): Sun Huan was a member of the Eastern Wu royal clan, rising to General Who Establishes Valor and Marquis of Dantu, and having served in posts such as General of the Household Who Calms the East and Commandant of the Martial Guard, serving the Eastern Wu regime. ^c:1358
* Zhang Bao (enemy_of, novel-only): In the novel, Sun Huan had a fierce verbal clash and combat with Zhang Bao before the lines; his great general Li Yi was ultimately killed by Guan Xing, and Sun Huan was thereby greatly defeated. ^c:10019
* Guan Xing (enemy_of, novel-only): In the novel, Guan Xing saved Zhang Bao and cut down Li Yi, bringing about Sun Huan's great defeat, and took part in the operation to besiege Sun Huan in the city of Yiling. ^c:10019

Signature Scenes

* Forcing Liu Bei to retreat at the Battle of Xiaoting: At the Battle of Xiaoting, Sun Huan, in concert with Lu Xun, by his valiant fighting successfully defeated Liu Bei's great army and cut off his retreat, forcing Liu Bei into ignominious flight and drawing from Liu Bei the lament, "When I first came to the capital, Huan was still a small child, yet now he presses me to this extremity!" ^c:1358 This is Sun Huan's most representative military achievement in the historical record.
* Besieged at Yidao, Lu Xun's "leaving him unrescued so that he relieves himself": In the early stage of the Battle of Xiaoting, Sun Huan was besieged by Liu Bei at Yidao. Lu Xun judged that his "city is strong and provisions ample" and adopted the strategy of not immediately rescuing him. Afterward, Sun Huan understood Lu Xun's deep foresight and said, "I now know that there was method in your dispositions." ^c:1360 This scene displays Sun Huan's acknowledgment of Lu Xun's military talent and reflects Lu Xun's strategic vision.
* Cursing before the lines and fleeing to Yiling (novel-only): In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, while confronting the Shu army at Yidu, Sun Huan engaged in a fierce cursing match before the lines with Zhang Bao. Then his great general Li Yi was cut down by Guan Xing, and Sun Huan was thereby greatly defeated, finally leading his remnant troops in flight to the city of Yiling, where he was besieged by the Shu army. ^c:10019 This scene highlights Sun Huan's youthful spirit and his role in the novel as a foil to the early Shu victories.