Tian Xu

Historical Record

Tian Xu appears in the official histories mainly as the man who ended Deng Ai. According to the *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, after Deng Ai and his son were arrested, Zhong Hui sent them off toward Chengdu. However, after Zhong Hui's death, Deng Ai's former officers and soldiers rescued him from the prison cart, intending to escort him back. At this point, Wei Guan dispatched Tian Xu and others to pursue and destroy Deng Ai. Tian Xu encountered Deng Ai west of Mianzhu and beheaded him. Deng Ai's son Deng Zhong was also killed together with him. Deng Ai's other sons at Luoyang were executed, and his wife and remaining children and grandchildren were exiled to the Western Regions ^c:2866.

The *Chronicle of Han and Jin* supplements an account of the grudge between Tian Xu and Deng Ai. When Deng Ai took Jiangyou, he had once wished to behead Tian Xu for refusing to advance, but for some reason let the matter drop. Therefore, when Wei Guan dispatched Tian Xu to pursue Deng Ai, he deliberately said to him: "You may now avenge the humiliation of Jiangyou." ^c:2866 This record reveals that Tian Xu harbored an old grudge against Deng Ai, and provides a motive for his ultimate beheading of Deng Ai. Du Yu once commented on this affair, holding that Wei Guan's action was improper, and predicting "Boyu will surely not escape!" (meaning Wei Guan would scarcely avoid disaster), and criticizing Wei Guan: "Having neither virtuous repute, nor governing his subordinates with rectitude—this is a petty man wielding the instrument of a gentleman; how shall he bear the responsibility?" On hearing this, Wei Guan immediately went to apologize to Du Yu ^c:2866. These details depict the key role Tian Xu played in the historical events and the complex relationship between him and Deng Ai.

In the Novel

In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Tian Xu's image is given greater dramatic force, especially in his interactions with Deng Ai. He first appears after Deng Ai took Jiangyou. At the time, Deng Ai led his army through perilous terrain and prepared to attack Fucheng. Tian Xu, as a subordinate general, advised Deng Ai to rest for several days before advancing, on the grounds that "our army has come through perilous terrain and is greatly exhausted; we ought first to rest for several days, and then advance." ^c:2867 Deng Ai flew into a rage at this, deeming that Tian Xu was disturbing the morale of the army, and shouted for him to be dragged out and beheaded. It was only thanks to the earnest pleading of the other generals that Tian Xu was spared death ^c:2867. This episode not only displays Deng Ai's strict command and his eagerness for quick success, but also lays the groundwork for Tian Xu's later beheading of Deng Ai.

Tian Xu's second important appearance comes after the deaths of Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei. When Deng Ai's subordinates learned that Zhong Hui and Jiang Wei were dead, they raided through the night to rescue Deng Ai. Learning of this, Wei Guan knew well that he had once captured Deng Ai, and that if Deng Ai did not die, his own life would be hard to preserve. At this point the army protector Tian Xu volunteered for the task, recalling the old affair of Deng Ai wishing to kill him at Jiangyou, and saying: "In the past, when Deng Ai took Jiangyou, he wished to kill me, and I was spared only by the officials' pleading. Today I shall avenge this grudge." ^c:2868 Wei Guan was overjoyed, and sent Tian Xu with five hundred troops to hasten to Mianzhu. Tian Xu happened to meet Deng Ai and his son just released from the prison cart, about to return to Chengdu. Deng Ai mistook them for his own troops coming to meet him, and was utterly unguarded—and was beheaded by Tian Xu with a single stroke. Deng Zhong also died amid the melee ^c:2868. Through these episodes, the novel shapes Tian Xu into a figure who both bore an old grudge and seized the chance for revenge, giving him a more active and key role in Deng Ai's death.

Key Relationships

* Deng Ai (enemy_of): The relationship between Tian Xu and Deng Ai is the most central and conflicted thread of his life. In history, Deng Ai once wished to behead Tian Xu for not advancing, planting the seed of hatred ^c:2866. In the novel, this episode is magnified: Tian Xu was nearly beheaded by Deng Ai for proposing rest, deepening the grudge between the two ^c:2867. In the end, at Wei Guan's instigation, Tian Xu personally beheaded Deng Ai and his son, completing his revenge ^c:2866, ^c:2868.
* Wei Guan (subordinate_of): Tian Xu was a subordinate general of Wei Guan. After Deng Ai was arrested, Wei Guan dispatched Tian Xu to pursue and destroy Deng Ai. Wei Guan well knew of the old grudge between Tian Xu and Deng Ai, and explicitly stated that this was Tian Xu's chance to "avenge the humiliation of Jiangyou" ^c:2866. This shows that Wei Guan cleverly exploited Tian Xu's personal grudge to achieve his own ends.
* The Other Generals (colleague_of): In the novel, when Deng Ai wished to behead Tian Xu, it was "the other generals' earnest pleading that spared him" ^c:2867, indicating that Tian Xu had a certain collegial bond or support among the other generals in the army.

Signature Scenes

* Nearly Beheaded at Jiangyou: After Deng Ai took Jiangyou, Tian Xu advised resting; Deng Ai flew into a rage and wished to behead him, but spared him after the other generals pleaded. This scene displays both Deng Ai's irascibility and eagerness for success and lays the groundwork for Tian Xu's later revenge ^c:2867 (novel only).
* Beheading Deng Ai at Mianzhu: This is Tian Xu's best-known signature event. At Wei Guan's instigation, Tian Xu led troops to encounter and behead Deng Ai and his son Deng Zhong west of Mianzhu. This moment was both the settling of Tian Xu's personal grudge and an important juncture in the late-stage power struggle following Wei's conquest of Shu ^c:2866, ^c:2868. This scene is recorded in both history and the novel, but the novel depicts his revenge motive and the process in greater detail and with more drama.