Novel scene
Three Heroes Fight Lü Bu 三英戰呂布
About this event
Three Heroes Fight Lü Bu is the scene corresponding to the last phrase of the Chapter 5 title of the Romance, "Issuing a false edict, the garrisons answer Lord Cao; breaking the pass troops, the three heroes fight Lü Bu." During the Battle of Hulao Pass, Zhang Fei, Guan Yu and Liu Bei in turn block Lü Bu as he pursues Gongsun Zan, surround him and fight, and Lü Bu, hard put to hold them off, rides Red Hare up onto Hulao Pass in flight. Romance, Ch. 5 §48–50 · 54
Chen Shou's text has no such scene. The Biography of the First Sovereign says only that Liu Bei at this time, after serving as Deputy of Xiami County and Commandant of Gaotang County, went to entrust himself to the General of the Household Gongsun Zan, and has no record of his taking part in the fighting against Dong Zhuo. Records, Shu 2 §6–7
In the Romance
In Chapter 5 of the Romance, Dong Zhuo holds Hulao Pass with 150,000 men and has Lü Bu set up a great camp before the pass with 30,000, and Yuan Shao sends eight contingents of lords—Wang Kuang, Qiao Mao, Bao Xin, Yuan Yi, Sun Rong, Zhang Yang, Tao Qian and Gongsun Zan—to meet him. Lü Bu runs through Fang Yue, a famous general of Henei, in fewer than five bouts, knocks one of Zhang Yang's lieutenants from his horse with a single thrust of his halberd, and cuts off the wrist of Kong Rong's lieutenant Wu Anguo. The lords fret that Lü Bu is a hero no one can match. Romance, Ch. 5 §41–47
When Lü Bu challenges them again, Gongsun Zan meets him in person but is defeated and flees, and just as Lü Bu, pursuing on Red Hare, is about to stab him in the back with his painted halberd, Zhang Fei charges in, gripping the Zhangba Shemao (eighteen-foot serpent spear) and shouting, "Slave of three surnames, don't run!" When there is no decision after more than fifty bouts, Guan Yu joins the attack with the eighty-two-jin Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and when they still cannot bring Lü Bu down after thirty bouts, Liu Bei draws his Shuanggujian (paired swords) and dashes in from the side. Romance, Ch. 5 §48–49
The three surround Lü Bu and fight, wheeling around him like a revolving lantern, while the troops of the eight contingents watch, dumbstruck. Lü Bu, hard put to hold them off, makes a feint thrust at Liu Bei's face, breaks through a corner of their formation and flees, trailing his halberd behind him, and rides Red Hare up onto Hulao Pass. The Romance sings of the three fights of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei against Lü Bu in a long ballad. Romance, Ch. 5 §50–54
The three chase Lü Bu to the foot of the pass, and Zhang Fei, seeing a blue silk canopy fluttering atop the pass, spurs his horse toward it, saying they must capture Dong Zhuo. At the start of Chapter 6, Zhang Fei is driven back by arrows and stones falling like rain, and the lords of the eight contingents invite the three to celebrate their achievement. Romance, Ch. 5 §54–55Romance, Ch. 6 §1
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Romance chapters (2)
Records volumes (1)
Related works (2)
- Three Heroes Fighting Lü Bu at Hulaoguan Art
- 虎牢關三戰呂布 Classical texts
Linked via Wikidata "depicts" and character names in titles (unverified) — not yet reviewed.