Wutugu

Historical Record

As for Wutugu, there is no mention of him whatsoever in official histories such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms. No lord of Wuge named Wutugu appears in the sources, nor is there any record of his outlandish traits—not eating the five grains, having scales on his body, and being impervious to blade and arrow. Likewise, the rattan armor army, with its special manufacturing technique and its quality of being impenetrable to blade and spear, is not found in any verifiable historical material. Therefore, from the standpoint of the historical record, Wutugu, along with his kingdom of Wuge and his rattan armor army, are all fictional figures and settings of literary creation. In the official histories, Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign did indeed take place, but its specific course and the opponents it encountered differ markedly from the depiction in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The official histories do not record Zhuge Liang encountering any such bizarre barbarian leader or army during the southern campaign. Thus, in historical scholarship, Wutugu is not regarded as a real person.

In the Novel

In the grand narrative of Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wutugu, as lord of the southern barbarian kingdom of Wuge, with his distinctive outlandish image and powerful rattan armor army, adds a vivid stroke to Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign. He first appears in Chapter 90, when Meng Huo, defeated in his repeated clashes with the Shu army and at his wit's end, follows the advice of the Dailai Dongzhu and goes to the kingdom of Wuge, seven hundred li to the southeast, to seek aid^[1].

Wutugu's image is depicted as extremely bizarre: he is "twelve feet tall, does not eat the five grains, and takes live snakes and fierce beasts for food; his body has scales, and blade and arrow cannot pierce it"^[1]. This superhuman physique and diet, together with his blade-and-spear-proof body, greatly reinforce the mystery and might of this leader of an alien people. His troops, the famous rattan armor army, are the very emblem of his power. The rattan armor these soldiers wear is made of rattan growing in mountain ravines through a special process; it must be "soaked in oil and only taken out and dried in the sun after half a year; dried and soaked again, fully more than ten times, before the armor is at last made"^[1]. This rattan armor not only "does not sink when crossing rivers and does not get wet in water," but is also such that "blade and arrow both cannot penetrate it"^[1], making the rattan armor army all but invincible on the battlefield.

After Meng Huo tearfully relates his defeats to Wutugu, Wutugu gladly agrees to help, and summons his two subordinate captains, Tu An and Xini, leading thirty thousand rattan-armor troops to march mightily to the battlefield^[1]. In his clashes with the Shu army, Wutugu displays his proud and stubbornly valiant nature. He heeds Meng Huo's advice to be wary of Zhuge Liang's ambushes and ruses, and confers with Meng Huo that "wherever in the valleys there are dense woods and trees, one must not advance lightly"^[2]. Yet, even with such precautions, Wutugu, relying on the toughness of the rattan armor army, repeatedly defeats Wei Yan and seizes one Shu camp after another. Under Wei Yan's tactic of luring the enemy deep, Wutugu's rattan armor army wins fifteen engagements in a row and seizes seven camps, leading Meng Huo to believe for a time that Zhuge Liang was "already at the end of his stratagems"^[3]. Wutugu therefore "rejoiced greatly, and so gave no further thought to the Shu troops"^[3], deeply confident in the might of his army, and finally falls into Zhuge Liang's trap of burning the rattan armor army, his whole host annihilated and Wutugu himself perishing in the sea of flames, becoming yet another victim of Zhuge Liang's stratagems. Wutugu's image in the novel is not only a representative of the might of an alien people but also a foil to set off Zhuge Liang's marvelous calculations.

Key Relationships

* Wuge (Lord of): Wutugu is the lord of the kingdom of Wuge, a remote and mysterious wild land in the novel, whose inhabitants possess a distinctive physique and military technology. Wuge is the source of Wutugu's power and the birthplace of his rattan armor army (novel only).
* Meng Huo (Commands in): Meng Huo is the one for whom Wutugu sends out troops to help. After Meng Huo repeatedly loses to Zhuge Liang, he seeks aid from Wutugu and gains Wutugu's full support. On the battlefield Wutugu heeds Meng Huo's advice and together they oppose the Shu army, with Meng Huo to a degree playing the role of Wutugu's military adviser^[2] (novel only).
* Tu An, Xini (Subordinates): These two are captains under Wutugu charged with leading the rattan armor army into battle. They are the concrete executors of Wutugu's military force (novel only).
* Zhuge Liang (Adversary): Zhuge Liang is Wutugu's final opponent. Wutugu's might and the rattan armor army's imperviousness to blade and spear become a perfect testing ground for Zhuge Liang's stratagems. In the end, through a fire attack, Zhuge Liang utterly defeats Wutugu and his rattan armor army, displaying his extraordinary military wisdom (novel only).

Signature Scenes

* Meng Huo Seeks Aid from Wuge: After repeated defeats, Meng Huo follows the advice of the Dailai Dongzhu and goes to Wuge to seek an audience with Wutugu. This scene describes in detail Wutugu's outlandish image and the strangeness of Wuge and the rattan armor army, setting a mysterious and powerful tone for Wutugu's entrance^[1] (novel only).
* The Rattan Armor Army Crosses the Peach Blossom Water: Wutugu leads thirty thousand rattan-armor troops across the Peach Blossom Water, of which "if people of other lands drink it they all die, but only people of Wuge who drink it find their spirits doubled," displaying the distinctive physique of the people of Wuge and the rattan armor army's powerful marching ability, foreshadowing the great challenge it is about to bring to the Shu army^[1] (novel only).
* The Rattan Armor Army Wins Fifteen Engagements in a Row: In its clashes with Wei Yan, Wutugu's rattan armor army, relying on its imperviousness to blade and spear, wins fifteen engagements in a row and seizes seven camps, making the Shu army fall back step by step. This scene fully displays the rattan armor army's powerful combat strength, as well as Wutugu's valor and pride, and foreshadows Zhuge Liang's later fire attack^[3] (novel only).
* Burning the Rattan Armor Army: This is Wutugu's most famous end. Exploiting the oil-soaked nature of the rattan armor, Zhuge Liang lays a fire-attack stratagem, luring Wutugu and his thirty thousand rattan-armor troops into Panshe Valley and burning them all to ashes in a single great fire. This scene is not only the tragic end of Wutugu but also a classic embodiment of Zhuge Liang's marvelous calculations, and one of the most brutal and unforgettable battles in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (novel only).