Historical Record
The historical records concerning Feng Xu are extremely few; in the official histories there is virtually no independent biography or detailed account of his life. This means that in historical materials such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Feng Xu was not recorded in detail as an important historical figure—his deeds, offices, or personal experiences. We are therefore unable to obtain any verifiable facts about Feng Xu from the historical materials, such as his origins, official career, specific merits and faults, or even his final fate. This leaves Feng Xu's true historical face indistinct; his existence is mentioned more through his association with other historical events or figures than through any independent influence of his own. In the absence of historical biographical materials, understanding of Feng Xu depends mainly on the shaping of literary works.
In the Novel
In the literary narrative of Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Feng Xu is portrayed as one of the "Ten Attendants," the eunuch faction of the late Eastern Han c:5209. From his very first appearance he is named together with nine others—Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Duan Gui, Empress Cao Jie, Hou Lan, Jian Shuo, Cheng Kuang, Xia Yun, and Guo Sheng—together forming the eunuch power that manipulated the government and brought disorder to the realm at that time. In the novel, these "Ten Attendants" colluded in wickedness, so that under Emperor Ling of Han "the government grew worse by the day, until the hearts of the people throughout the realm turned to disorder and bandits rose up like swarms of bees" c:5209. Although the novel gives no specific actions or independent episodes for Feng Xu himself, as one of the "Ten Attendants" his image is closely bound up with the corruption and despotic power of the whole eunuch faction. He represents one facet of the political darkness and the eclipse of imperial authority in the late Eastern Han and is one of the important factors leading to the great disorder of the realm. By placing him within this group, the novel reinforces his negative image; although the histories carry no clear record of his specific deeds, his presence in the novel undoubtedly deepens the reader's impression of the eunuchs' misrule in the late Eastern Han.
Key Relationships
Feng Xu's most key relationship is his alliance with the other members of the "Ten Attendants." In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he, together with Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Duan Gui, Empress Cao Jie, Hou Lan, Jian Shuo, Cheng Kuang, Xia Yun, and Guo Sheng, formed this eunuch faction that dominated the court c:5209 (novel only). This faction exploited Emperor Ling of Han's trust in Zhang Rang (whom he even called "Foster Father") to hollow out imperial authority and interfere in the government, so that the rule of the Eastern Han dynasty grew ever more decayed c:5209 (novel only). As one of its members, Feng Xu, though no specific personal deeds are depicted, by his very presence represents the collective will of the eunuch faction and its negative influence on the state's politics. This collective relationship is the cornerstone of his existence in the novel and the source of his influence. Moreover, there exists between him and Emperor Ling of Han an indirect relationship of power—that is, through the "Ten Attendants" faction's influence over the emperor, he indirectly took part in the decisions on the great affairs of state.
Signature Scenes
Feng Xu's signature scene in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is not any specific personal action, but his being listed at the very opening of the novel, as one of the "Ten Attendants," in the joint depiction of the eunuchs' misrule in the late Eastern Han c:5209 (novel only). In Chapter 1 of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the author, through a series of natural disasters and strange omens—such as "a great green snake flying down from the rafters and coiling upon the throne," "suddenly great thunder and great rain, with hail added," "an earthquake at Luoyang," "the sea overflowing," and "a hen changing into a cock"—lays the groundwork for the background of a realm about to fall into disorder c:5209. Then the Court Counselor Cai Yong submitted a memorial bluntly stating that it was "brought about by women and eunuchs meddling in government," his words pointing straight at the eunuchs c:5209. It is against just such a background that Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Feng Xu, and the others—"the ten colluding in wickedness, called the 'Ten Attendants'"—are explicitly identified as the chief culprits causing "the hearts of the people to turn to disorder and bandits to rise up like swarms of bees" c:5209. Feng Xu's name appearing in this crucial opening passage binds him, as one of the representatives of the eunuchs' misrule, closely to the whole turbulent situation of the late Eastern Han, making him a symbolic figure through which the novel reveals the maladies of the age. Although this scene has no personal lines or actions for Feng Xu, his very being mentioned constitutes his signature presence in the Romance.
Relationships
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Inner monologues · AI-generated1 段 ▸
- I, Feng Xu, was merely a middle常侍 in the final years of the Han, serving within the palace and witnessing what took plac