RNo direct record — estimated from his being killed while fighting at XiaotingShu 2 §71
NPraised in a poem for loyalty without equal, and gave his life in the service of the stateCh. 84 §38Ch. 85 §2
Feng Xi 馮習
| Occupation | RGeneral · Commander of the Army NGeneral · Vanguard | Faction | Shu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | R? N? Unverified | Native place | Nan Commandery |
| Died | R222 N(same) Unverified | Place of death | RXiaoting |
| Cause of death | RKilled in battle NKilled in battle Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R5 |
Profile
Feng Xi, courtesy name Xiuyuan, was a man of Nan Commandery. He followed Liu Bei into Shu, and when Liu Bei set out against Wu in the autumn of the 1st year of Zhangwu (221), he and Wu Ban defeated the Wu general Li Yi and others at Wu County and encamped at Zigui. Records, Shu 15 §74Records, Shu 2 §68–69
Liu Bei made him Grand Superintendent in command of the various armies, but in the 6th month of the 2nd year of Zhangwu (222), when Lu Xun crushed Liu Bei's army at Xiaoting, he was killed in battle along with Zhang Nan and others. Records, Wu 13 §17 · 21Records, Shu 15 §74Records, Shu 2 §70–71
He has no separate biography in the Records; the note Chen Shou appended beneath Yang Xi's 'Encomia on the Supporting Ministers of Ji Han' tells of his deeds. This encomium said, 'Xiuyuan made light of the enemy, lost the moment and brought on disaster.' In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 81 and appears in 5 of its 120 chapters, though his name is in no chapter title. He sets out as a deputy general under Liu Bei against Wu and later becomes the vanguard, and in Chapter 84, after the camps have been burned, he dies with Zhang Nan in the confused fighting. Records, Shu 15 §33 · 74Romance, Ch. 81 §12Romance, Ch. 83 §50Romance, Ch. 84 §37
In the Records
Feng Xi, courtesy name Xiuyuan, was a man of Nan Commandery. He has no separate biography in the Records. He was among those included in the 'Encomia on the Supporting Ministers of Ji Han' that Yang Xi wrote in the 4th year of Yanxi (241), and for those who received an encomium but had no biography, Chen Shou appended notes beneath the encomium giving the beginning and end of their careers. According to that note, Feng Xi followed Liu Bei into Shu. Records, Shu 15 §33 · 74
In the autumn, the 7th month, of the 1st year of Zhangwu (221), Liu Bei, enraged that Sun Quan had attacked Guan Yu by surprise, led his armies against Wu. Sun Quan sent a letter asking for peace, but Liu Bei refused. When the Wu generals Lu Yi (Lu Xun), Li Yi, Liu A and others were stationed at Wu County and Zigui, the generals Wu Ban and Feng Xi attacked and defeated Li Yi and the others at Wu County and encamped at Zigui. Thereupon the Man peoples of the Five Streams of Wuling sent envoys asking for troops. Records, Shu 2 §68–69
In the 2nd month of the 2nd year of Zhangwu (222), Liu Bei advanced from Zigui at the head of his generals, following the mountains and cutting across the ridges, and set up camp at Xiaoting in Yidao. The Biography of Lu Xun records that Liu Bei set up dozens of encampments from the Wu Gorge and Jianping to the border of Yiling, and made the general Feng Xi Grand Superintendent, Zhang Nan commander of the vanguard, and Fu Kuang, Zhao Rong, Liao Chun, Fu Tong and others detached commanders. The note attached to Yang Xi's encomium records that at this time Feng Xi, as Commander of the Army, had charge of the various armies. Records, Shu 2 §70Records, Wu 13 §17Records, Shu 15 §74
Lu Xun waited until the Shu troops, who had held on for a long time, were worn out; he first attacked one camp, and when that went badly, he had each soldier carry a bundle of thatch grass and took the camps by fire attack. Then he led all his armies in a simultaneous assault, beheaded Zhang Nan, Feng Xi, the barbarian king Shamoke and others, and broke more than forty camps. The Biography of the First Sovereign records that in the 6th month Lu Yi (Lu Xun) crushed the First Sovereign's army at Xiaoting, and the generals Feng Xi, Zhang Nan and others were all killed. Records, Wu 13 §20–21Records, Shu 2 §71
The Biography of Pan Zhang records that when Liu Bei came out to Yiling, Pan Zhang joined forces with Lu Xun to resist him, and Pan Zhang's men cut down Liu Bei's Protector of the Army Feng Xi and others. The note attached to Yang Xi's encomium records that Feng Xi was heavily defeated at Xiaoting, and that Zhang Nan, leading troops against Wu, died together with Feng Xi. Records, Wu 10 §92Records, Shu 15 §74
In his encomium Yang Xi said, 'Xiuyuan made light of the enemy, lost the moment and brought on disaster; Wenjin (Zhang Nan) threw himself forward and shared in this downfall. The calamity arose from one man and spread until it grew vast.' Feng Xi does not appear in Chen Shou's assessment. Records, Shu 15 §74 · 85
In the Romance
In Chapter 81 of the Romance, Liu Bei throws to the ground a memorial urging him not to attack Wu and sets out on campaign, making Huang Zhong vanguard of the front army and Feng Xi and Zhang Nan deputy generals. Romance, Ch. 81 §12
In Chapter 82, Wu Ban leads Zhang Nan and Feng Xi in a sweeping attack on Sun Huan's camp. When Sun Huan, having lost Li Yi, Xie Jing, Tan Xiong and others, asks for help, Zhang Nan and Feng Xi propose to Wu Ban that they take advantage of the weakness to raid the camp. Wu Ban, worried about Zhu Ran's navy, proposes sending soldiers as false deserters to lure Zhu Ran out, and Feng Xi and the others gladly agree. The soldiers tell Zhu Ran that they are men under Feng Xi and that tonight Feng Xi will raid Sun Huan's camp with fire as the signal. That night Feng Xi, Zhang Nan and Wu Ban storm Sun Huan's camp by three routes; Cui Yu, coming to the rescue, is captured by Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, and Sun Huan flees to the city of Yiling, where Wu Ban and the others surround him. Romance, Ch. 82 §28 · 31–33 · 35–37
In Chapter 83, in the 1st month of spring in the 2nd year of Zhangwu, when Huang Zhong, indignant at being called old, comes to the camp at Yiling, Wu Ban, Zhang Nan and Feng Xi receive him. Feng Xi and the others urge him not to advance rashly, but Huang Zhong will not listen and goes out, and Wu Ban sends Feng Xi with troops to help him in the fight. Romance, Ch. 83 §1–3
When Lu Xun holds firm and will not come out, in the same chapter the vanguard Feng Xi reports that the weather is so hot that the troops are camped under a blazing sun and fetching water is very hard. Liu Bei has every camp moved to places thick with woods, close to streams and the waters of the valleys, and Feng Xi, carrying out the order, moves all the camps to where the trees are shady and dense. Romance, Ch. 83 §49–50
In Chapter 84, when a southeast wind rises and fires break out in the encampments to the left and right of the imperial camp, Liu Bei rushes to Feng Xi's camp, but there too the flames reach the sky. Feng Xi flees with a few dozen horsemen and clashes with the Wu general Xu Sheng. Feng Xi goes to Wu Ban and Zhang Nan, who have been besieging the city of Yiling, to tell them that the Shu army has been defeated, and on the way to rescue Liu Bei together with Zhang Nan he is caught between the Wu troops ahead and Sun Huan, who has sallied out from the city of Yiling, and dies in the confused fighting. The Romance includes a poem by a later writer saying, 'Feng Xi's loyalty had no equal, and Zhang Nan's righteousness had few to match it,' and in Chapter 85 Liu Bei grieves on hearing that Feng Xi, Zhang Nan, Fu Tong and others have given their lives in the service of the state. Romance, Ch. 84 §23–24 · 37–38Romance, Ch. 85 §2
Where the Romance differs
His post: In Chapter 81 of the Romance, Feng Xi becomes a deputy general together with Zhang Nan, and in Chapter 83 he is called the vanguard. In the Biography of Lu Xun in the Records, Liu Bei made Feng Xi Grand Superintendent and Zhang Nan commander of the vanguard, and the note attached to Yang Xi's encomium records that Feng Xi, as Commander of the Army, had charge of the various armies. Romance, Ch. 81 §12Romance, Ch. 83 §50Records, Wu 13 §17Records, Shu 15 §74
The first battle and Li Yi: In the Biography of the First Sovereign in the Records, Wu Ban and Feng Xi defeated the Wu general Li Yi and others at Wu County and encamped at Zigui, and Li Yi later pursued Liu Bei's retreating army together with Liu A. In Chapter 82 of the Romance, Feng Xi raids Sun Huan's camp together with Wu Ban and Zhang Nan, and Li Yi appears as one of the generals Sun Huan had lost before that. Romance, Ch. 82 §31 · 35Records, Shu 2 §69 · 71
Moving the camps into the woods: In Chapter 83 of the Romance, Feng Xi reports that it is hard to fetch water in the heat, and Liu Bei has all the camps moved into the woods. The Biography of the First Sovereign in the Records says that Liu Bei set up camp at Xiaoting following the mountains and cutting across the ridges, and the Biography of Lu Xun only records that he set up dozens of encampments from the Wu Gorge and Jianping to the border of Yiling; there is no record that Feng Xi proposed moving the camps. Romance, Ch. 83 §50Records, Shu 2 §70Records, Wu 13 §17
Where and how he died: In Chapter 84 of the Romance, Feng Xi tells Zhang Nan, who has been besieging the city of Yiling, of the defeat, and on the way to rescue Liu Bei with him he is attacked from front and rear and dies in the confused fighting. In the Biography of the First Sovereign in the Records, Feng Xi, Zhang Nan and others were all killed when Lu Xun crushed Liu Bei's army at Xiaoting; the Biography of Lu Xun says that after the fire attack Lu Xun launched a simultaneous assault and beheaded Zhang Nan, Feng Xi and Shamoke, and the Biography of Pan Zhang records that Pan Zhang's men cut down Feng Xi and others. Romance, Ch. 84 §37Records, Shu 2 §71Records, Wu 13 §21Records, Wu 10 §92
Assessment: Chapter 84 of the Romance praises him with a poem by a later writer saying, 'Feng Xi's loyalty had no equal.' Yang Xi's encomium, included in the Records, said, 'Xiuyuan made light of the enemy, lost the moment and brought on disaster,' and that the calamity arose from one man and spread until it grew vast. Romance, Ch. 84 §38Records, Shu 15 §74
Origin and courtesy name: The Records state that Feng Xi's courtesy name was Xiuyuan, that he was a man of Nan Commandery, and that he followed Liu Bei into Shu. From Chapter 81 to Chapter 85 the Romance records neither his courtesy name and origin nor his earlier deeds. Records, Shu 15 §74Romance, Ch. 81 §12Romance, Ch. 85 §2
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.
Abilities
The Records score (Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms, main text) is the baseline. Each ability compares how the Romance redrew the same person, and the evidence from both sources explains the difference.
Records total395 / 1000Rank 645 of 996 · Top 65%Romance total421 / 1000Rank 372 of 1,113 · Top 34%
Romance adaptation index+26Romance total − Records total
- LEA5248−4
- STR4545±0
- INT3835−3
- POL3331−2
- CHA4038−2
- VIR5082+32
- ADP4045+5
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3333±0
- DIS3333±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
9 similar abilities — show evidence
RDefeated Li Yi with Wu Ban and became Grand Superintendent, but was routed and killed at XiaotingShu 2 §69Wu 13 §17Wu 13 §21
NSuccessfully raided Sun Huan's camp, but was routed when his camps were burned in the fire attackCh. 82 §35Ch. 84 §23
RNo direct record — estimated from his fighting as a generalShu 2 §69
NClashed with Xu Sheng but could not break the encirclement and died in the confused fightingCh. 84 §24Ch. 84 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his appointment as Grand SuperintendentWu 13 §17
NUrged the raid on the camp, and his report of the heat led to the camps being moved into the woodsCh. 82 §31Ch. 83 §50
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a military commanderWu 13 §17
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a vanguard commanderCh. 83 §50
RNo direct record — estimated from his appointment as Grand SuperintendentWu 13 §17
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a vanguard commanderCh. 83 §50
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a military commanderWu 13 §17
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a vanguard commanderCh. 83 §50
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a military commanderWu 13 §17
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a vanguard commanderCh. 83 §50
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a military commanderWu 13 §17
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a vanguard commanderCh. 83 §50
Records Romance Unverified No direct record; scored from their actions (evidence grade C)
3KDEX scoring — the Records use the main text of Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms; the Romance uses the 120-chapter Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Click a source tag to open that passage in the reader.
Romance chapters (5)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history
- Shu · Romance · Romance ch. 82 「蜀将张南、冯习谓吴班曰：“目今吴兵势败，正好乘虚劫寨」 · Q124397562
Related events (2)
- Battle of Xiaoting 221~222 · Command
- Lu Xun Burns Seven Hundred Li of Camps 222 · Appears (Romance scene)
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).