Xu Zhi

Historical Record

Regarding Xu Zhi, the official histories such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms contain no explicit account. His life, origins, and the specific offices he held within the Cao Wei regime are nowhere found in the historical records. Thus, from the standpoint of the historical record, Xu Zhi is a relatively blank figure whose deeds were not recorded by the official historians. This means we cannot construct a true historical image of Xu Zhi from official source materials; whether he existed, and what role he played in historical events, cannot be conclusively verified.

In the Novel

In the literary world of Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Xu Zhi is portrayed as an exceptionally brave general of Cao Wei, his image displayed mainly in Chapter 109. When the Wei General of the Left Guo Huai sent an urgent dispatch to Luoyang reporting an incursion by Shu troops, Sima Shi gathered his generals and asked who dared to meet the enemy. At this point, the General Who Upholds the State, Xu Zhi, stepped forward and volunteered himself ^c:5472. Sima Shi, who had long known of Xu Zhi's valor, was greatly pleased, and so appointed Xu Zhi as vanguard and ordered Sima Zhao to be Grand Commander, leading troops to Longxi to engage Jiang Wei ^c:5472.

At Dongting, Xu Zhi encountered the Shu army led by Jiang Wei, and the two armies arrayed their formations. Xu Zhi, wielding a great mountain-cleaving axe, rode out from his ranks to issue a challenge. The Shu general Liao Hua was first to meet him in battle, but after only a few bouts dragged his blade and fled in defeat. Then Zhang Yi galloped forth with leveled spear to take his place, yet he too could not withstand Xu Zhi's onslaught, and after fighting only a few bouts fled back into the ranks in defeat ^c:5472. Xu Zhi seized the opportunity to drive his troops forward in slaughter; the Shu troops were heavily defeated and forced to retreat more than thirty li. Sima Zhao then also withdrew his troops to camp, and each side pitched its encampment ^c:5472. The depiction of this battle fully displays the image of valor and martial skill that the novel grants to Xu Zhi: he not only dared to issue the challenge but gained a marked advantage on the battlefield, defeating two of Shu Han's leading generals. Yet this series of splendid combat episodes is found nowhere in the historical sources—it is entirely the literary creation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Key Relationships

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Xu Zhi's key relationships revolve mainly around the Cao Wei regime. He served Cao Wei and was an important general under the Sima family. Specifically, he took his orders directly from Sima Shi and was esteemed by Sima Shi, who regarded him as "exceptionally brave" ^c:5472. In the military confrontation with Shu Han, he served as vanguard and took the field together with the Grand Commander Sima Zhao ^c:5472. This superior-subordinate relationship, along with his positioning as part of the Cao Wei military force, constitutes his core social and military relationships in the novel. Owing to the absence of historical sources, these relationships are unique to the novel.

Signature Scene

Xu Zhi's most signature scene is undoubtedly his clash with the generals of Shu Han at Dongting in Chapter 109 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In this battle, wielding a great mountain-cleaving axe, he rode out to issue a challenge and successively defeated Liao Hua and Zhang Yi ^c:5472. After fighting Xu Zhi for only a few bouts, Liao Hua "dragged his blade and fled back," and Zhang Yi too "after fighting only a few bouts, fled back into the ranks in defeat" ^c:5472. This battle, in which he took on two opponents at once and gained a marked advantage, not only displayed Xu Zhi's superb martial skill and remarkable daring, but also directly led to the Shu troops' "great defeat and retreat of more than thirty li" ^c:5472. This scene is the only segment in the novel that depicts Xu Zhi's personal valor in detail, and it is the concentrated embodiment of his image as an "exceptionally brave" general (unique to the novel).