Ding Feng

Historical Record

Ding Feng, courtesy name Chengyuan, was a native of Anfeng in Lujiang, and an important general of Eastern Wu in its later period. With his valor, resolution, and outstanding military ability, he repeatedly distinguished himself in the service of the Sun Wu regime, rising to the offices of Grand Marshal and Left Army Advisor. Ding Feng began as a junior officer following Gan Ning, and through his merits was successively promoted to General of the Vanguard. He was firm and resolute in character, often leading from the front in battle, cutting down enemy commanders and seizing their standards, and was held in high esteem by Sun Quan.

At the Battle of Dongxing, Wei dispatched Zhuge Dan and Hu Zun with a great army to attack Dongxing, and Zhuge Ke led troops to resist them. At the time the generals generally believed that the enemy would withdraw because the Grand Tutor had come in person; only Ding Feng held a different view, arguing that since the Wei army had come in such force, it must have a careful plan and should not be taken lightly. He stressed: "Do not rely on the enemy's not coming; rely on our having the means to defeat him."^[1] After Zhuge Ke landed, Ding Feng advanced together with Tang Zi, Lü Ju, Liu Zan, and others from the west of the mountains. Seeing that the various forces were moving slowly and fearing that the Wei army would seize the advantageous terrain, he resolutely ordered the other units to take the lower road while he himself led three thousand crack troops straight ahead. It happened to be a north wind, and Ding Feng, using the wind, reached Xutang within two days and seized the key position. Just then the weather was bitterly cold; the Wei generals held a great feast. Observing that the enemy's forward force was thin, Ding Feng said to his subordinates: "The reward of being enfeoffed as a marquis lies in this very day!" He ordered his soldiers to take off their armor, wearing only helmets and bearing short weapons. Seeing this, the Wei soldiers laughed and paid no heed, making no preparations. Ding Feng seized the moment and loosed his troops in a fierce assault, smashing the enemy vanguard. Then reinforcements such as Lü Ju arrived, and the Wei army was routed. For this victory Ding Feng was appointed General Who Exterminates Bandits and advanced in rank to Marquis of Duxiang.^[1]

After Sun Xiu ascended the throne, he plotted with Zhang Bu to put to death the powerful minister Sun Chen. Zhang Bu recommended Ding Feng to Sun Xiu, saying that though he was not skilled in documents, he was extraordinary in stratagem and could decide great matters. Sun Xiu summoned Ding Feng and informed him of his intent. Ding Feng held that Sun Chen's brothers and partisans were numerous and could not be subdued in haste, and advised exploiting the La-month banquet to slay him using the emperor's own troops. Sun Xiu adopted his plan. At the banquet, Ding Feng and Zhang Bu together commanded the guards on either side to cut down Sun Chen. Ding Feng was thereupon promoted to Grand General and given additional command of the Left and Right Protectorates. In the second year of Yongan he was granted the staff of authority and made Governor of Xu Province. In the sixth year of Yongan, when Wei attacked Shu, Ding Feng led troops to Shouchun, intending to draw off the Wei army in order to relieve Shu Han. But Shu Han was ultimately destroyed, and Ding Feng's forces accordingly withdrew.^[2]

After Sun Xiu's death, Ding Feng, the Chancellor Puyang Xing, and others followed the advice of Wan Yu and together enthroned Sun Hao as emperor. Ding Feng was thereupon promoted to Right Grand Marshal and Left Army Advisor. In the third year of Baoding, Sun Hao ordered Ding Feng and Zhuge Jing to attack Hefei. Ding Feng once wrote to the Jin general Shi Bao to sow discord, and Shi Bao was as a result recalled to court. In the first year of Jianheng, Ding Feng again led his men to rebuild Xutang and took the opportunity to attack Jin's Guyang. But the people of Guyang, hearing of it, fled in droves, and Ding Feng gained nothing. Sun Hao was furious at this and beheaded Ding Feng's guide-officer. In the third year of Jianheng, Ding Feng died. Because his position was lofty, his power great, and his merits outstanding, he had gradually grown arrogant and complacent, and some men slandered him. Sun Hao pursued the matter of his earlier campaign that had achieved nothing, and exiled Ding Feng's family to Linchuan. Ding Feng's younger brother Ding Feng (Ding Feng the younger) rose to the office of General of the Rear and died before him.^[3]

In the Novel

In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, the figure of Ding Feng is further developed: he is not only a valiant warrior but is also endowed with wit and decisiveness, playing a key role above all in Eastern Wu's several major military operations. He first appears in Chapter 38, when he, together with Lü Meng, Lu Xun, Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, and others, is recruited by Sun Quan and becomes one of the fine generals of the Southland, illustrating Eastern Wu's abundance of talent.^[4]

After the Battle of Red Cliffs, Zhou Yu schemed to capture Zhuge Liang and ordered Ding Feng and Xu Sheng to pursue him by land and water. Ding Feng arrived first with cavalry at the altar, but found no sign of Zhuge Liang and could only rendezvous with Xu Sheng, who arrived afterward. A soldier informed them that Zhuge Liang had already departed by boat. Ding Feng and Xu Sheng gave chase by land and water; Xu Sheng called out loudly from his boat, but Zhuge Liang laughed at the stern, explaining that he had foreseen Zhou Yu's intent and that Zhao Yun had come to meet him, urging them not to pursue. After Ding Feng joined Xu Sheng on the shore, he sighed that Zhuge Liang's divine calculation was beyond any man's match, and that with the matchless valor of Zhao Yun besides, he advised Xu Sheng to pursue no further and simply return to report.^[5][6] Although this episode is not recorded in history, it greatly highlights Zhuge Liang's cunning and at the same time shows, from the side, Ding Feng's clear-eyed grasp of the situation.

When Zhou Yu sought to take Nan Commandery, Ding Feng and Xu Sheng were appointed deputy generals and, following Jiang Qin as the vanguard, led elite troops across the river.^[7] Later, when Zhou Yu schemed to lure Liu Bei to Jing Province to capture him, Ding Feng, together with Xu Sheng, Gan Ning, Ling Tong, Lü Meng, and others, followed Zhou Yu with a great army by land and water to Jing Province.^[8] After Guan Yu carelessly lost Jing Province, Ding Feng, together with Xu Sheng, Jiang Qin, Han Dang, Zhou Tai, and other generals, besieged Guan Yu, ultimately driving him in defeat to Maicheng.^[9]

At the Battle of Xiaoting, Ding Feng and Xu Sheng went on campaign as Lu Xun's escorts. When the Shu troops paraded their might, removing their armor and reviling the Wu army, Xu Sheng and Ding Feng asked to give battle, but were stopped by Lu Xun on the grounds that it was "a ruse to lure the enemy."^[10] In this battle Ding Feng once tried to persuade the rear-guard Fu Tong to surrender, but Fu Tong would rather die than yield, and fell in battle.^[11] This depiction further shapes Ding Feng's valor and also displays the loyalty and devotion of the Shu Han officers.

When Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, attacked Wu, Ding Feng led troops in a surprise assault on the banks of the Huai River, wounding Zhang Liao with an arrow and, together with Sun Shao, seizing a great deal of the Wei army's supplies, so that the Wei army was heavily defeated.^[12] The Battle of Dongxing is depicted even more vividly in the novel. Zhuge Ke led troops to resist the Wei army, and Ding Feng volunteered, leading three thousand marines in advance. Using the north wind, he reached Xutang in two days. The Wei generals Hu Zun and the others were holding a great feast, and seeing the small number of men on Ding Feng's boats, paid no heed. Ding Feng then ordered his soldiers to strip off their armor and carry only short blades, and catching the Wei army off guard, fiercely assaulted the Wei camp, cutting down Han Zong and wounding Huan Jia, smashing the Wei army.^[13][14][15] This battle in the novel greatly highlights Ding Feng's combined wit and valor and his ability to adapt to circumstances.

After Sun Xiu ascended the throne, Ding Feng again played a key role in the slaying of Sun Chen. Zhang Bu recommended Ding Feng to Sun Xiu as one "surpassing in stratagem, able to decide great matters." Ding Feng proposed a plan to slay Sun Chen at the La-day banquet, and personally arranged it, ultimately succeeding in removing the powerful minister.^[16] Moreover, when Shu Han was in dire peril, Ding Feng was also ordered to lead troops to relieve Shu, splitting his forces into three routes advancing toward Mianzhong and Shouchun to draw off the Wei army.^[17]

Key Relationships

* Gan Ning (serves): In his early years Ding Feng followed Gan Ning as a junior officer, serving under his command and gradually accumulating experience and merit. (historical)
* Sun Wu (serves): Ding Feng was loyal to the Sun Wu regime all his life, from the time of Sun Quan through the reigns of Sun Liang, Sun Xiu, and Sun Hao, achieving brilliant feats for Eastern Wu and serving as an important military pillar of Sun Wu in its later period. (historical)
* Sun Quan's Faction (serves): Ding Feng was an outstanding general who emerged in the middle-to-late period of Sun Quan's faction, coming to prominence during Sun Quan's reign and continuing to play an important role under the later rulers of Wu. (historical)
* Zhuge Liang (pursuit by land): In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, after the Battle of Red Cliffs Zhou Yu sent Ding Feng and Xu Sheng to pursue Zhuge Liang, but Zhuge Liang had long foreseen it and had Zhao Yun to meet him, so that Ding Feng returned without success. Ding Feng accordingly sighed at Zhuge Liang's divine calculation. (unique to the novel)^[5][6]
* Sun Chen (slaying): After Sun Xiu ascended the throne, Ding Feng conspired with Zhang Bu and successfully slew the powerful minister Sun Chen at the La-month banquet, consolidating Sun Xiu's rule. (historical)^[2]
* Zhuge Ke (Battle of Dongxing): At the Battle of Dongxing, Ding Feng was a valiant general under Zhuge Ke; he overrode the general opinion and struck first, earning the foremost merit in Eastern Wu's great victory at Dongxing. (historical)^[1]
* Zhang Bu (plotting Sun Chen's death): Zhang Bu recommended Ding Feng to Sun Xiu and together with Ding Feng planned and carried out the slaying of Sun Chen. (historical)^[2]
* Shi Bao (sowing discord): Ding Feng once wrote to the Jin general Shi Bao, attempting to sow discord between him and Sima Zhao, ultimately causing Shi Bao to be recalled to court. (historical)^[3]
* Fu Tong (persuading to surrender): At the Battle of Xiaoting, Ding Feng once tried to persuade the rear-guard Shu general Fu Tong to surrender, but Fu Tong would rather die than yield, and fell in battle. (unique to the novel)^[11]
* Zhang Liao (wounding with an arrow): In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, when Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, attacked Wu, Ding Feng launched a surprise assault on the banks of the Huai River and shot Zhang Liao in the waist with an arrow, so that Zhang Liao died of his wound. (unique to the novel)^[12]

Signature Scenes

* Smashing the Wei army in the snow at Dongxing: This is Ding Feng's most representative battle. At Dongxing, in bitter cold and driving snow, the Wei generals held a great drinking feast and were lax in their defenses. Ding Feng seized the moment, ordered his soldiers to take off their armor and carry short weapons, and launched a fierce surprise assault, smashing the Wei vanguard and winning the great victory at Dongxing for Eastern Wu. This scene fully displays Ding Feng's valor, resolution, and military insight.^[1] (historical)
* Slaying Sun Chen at the La-month banquet: After Sun Xiu ascended the throne, Ding Feng conspired with Zhang Bu and, in the name of the emperor, successfully slew the powerful minister Sun Chen at the La-month banquet, removing a grave threat for Eastern Wu. This event displays Ding Feng's wit and execution in political struggle.^[2] (historical)
* Returning empty-handed from pursuing Zhuge Liang: In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, after the Battle of Red Cliffs Zhou Yu sent Ding Feng and Xu Sheng to pursue Zhuge Liang. In the course of the pursuit Ding Feng sighed at Zhuge Liang's divine calculation and ultimately returned without success. Although this scene is fictional to the novel, it highlights Ding Feng's admiration for a man of wisdom and adds a legendary luster to Zhuge Liang's image.^[5][6] (unique to the novel)
* Persuading Fu Tong to surrender at the Battle of Xiaoting: At the Battle of Xiaoting, Ding Feng, as a Wu general, once tried to persuade the rear-guard Shu general Fu Tong to surrender. Fu Tong would rather die than yield, and fell in battle. This scene displays Ding Feng's image as an enemy general and sets off Fu Tong's loyalty and devotion.^[11] (unique to the novel)
* Wounding Zhang Liao with an arrow on the banks of the Huai: In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, when Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, attacked Wu, Ding Feng made a surprise assault on the Wei army on the banks of the Huai River and shot Zhang Liao in the waist with an arrow, so that Zhang Liao died of his wound. This episode greatly elevates Ding Feng's martial image and also serves as the end of the famous general Zhang Liao.^[12] (unique to the novel)