RNo direct record — estimated from his being the enemy general in the clash where Zhang Ni fellShu 13 §63
NWith a mountain-splitting great axe, beat Liao Hua and Zhang Yi one after the other within a few boutsCh. 109 §3Ch. 109 §4Ch. 109 §5
Xu Zhi 徐質
| Occupation | RGeneral · Protector of the Army for the Campaign against Shu NGeneral · General Who Supports the State | Faction | Wei |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | N? Unverified | Native place | |
| Died | N253 Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | NKilled in battle Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R3 |
Profile
Xu Zhi was a general of Wei. He has no biography of his own in the Records and appears once each in the record of Chen Tai in Records of Wei 22, the record of Zhang Ni in Records of Shu 13 and the record of Jiang Wei in Records of Shu 14. When Chen Tai, Inspector of Yong Province, surrounded the two forts Jiang Wei had built at Mount Qu, Xu Zhi, as Protector of the Army for the Campaign against Shu, served under Chen Tai's command together with Deng Ai and others. Records, Wei 22 §38–40Records, Shu 13 §63Records, Shu 14 §36
In the 17th year of Yanxi (254), when Jiang Wei came out to Longxi again and surrounded Xiangwu, Xu Zhi clashed with him. In this battle Zhang Ni of Shu lost his life in the line of battle, and Jiang Wei took heads and broke the enemy, so that the Wei army was defeated and withdrew. Chen Shou's main text does not record Xu Zhi's courtesy name, origin or death, and the Records contain no assessment of him. Records, Shu 13 §62–63Records, Shu 14 §36
In the Romance he appears in Chapter 109 as General Who Supports the State, and appears only in this one of its 120 chapters; his name is in no chapter title. The Romance depicts him as driving back Liao Hua and Zhang Yi one after the other, but then, sent to cut a grain route at Mount Tielong, falling into an ambush, his horse brought down by Jiang Wei's spear, and dying under the swords of the soldiers. Romance, Ch. 109 §3–4 · 7–10
In the Records
At the beginning of Jiaping, Chen Tai replaced Guo Huai as Inspector of Yong Province. The Shu General-in-Chief Jiang Wei led his host to build two forts backed against Mount Qu, had the Generals of the Standard Gou An, Li Xin and others hold them, and gathered Qiang and Hu hostages and others to raid the commanderies. When Guo Huai, General Who Conquers the West, discussed how to resist them, Chen Tai said that although the forts at Qu were strong, they were far from Shu and the roads were steep, so grain would have to be carried to them; if they surrounded and took them, they could capture them without staining their blades with blood. Records, Wei 22 §38–39
Guo Huai followed Chen Tai's plan and had Chen Tai lead Xu Zhi, Protector of the Army for the Campaign against Shu, Deng Ai, Administrator of Nan'an, and others forward to surround the forts. They cut off the supply route and the flowing water outside the forts, and when Gou An and the others challenged them to battle they did not respond, so that the officers and men inside were reduced to straits, sharing out their grain and gathering snow to hold out from day to day. Jiang Wei came out from Mount Niutou to the rescue, but when Guo Huai, following Chen Tai's plan, led the various forces to encamp on the Tao River, Jiang Wei took fright and fled, and Gou An and the others, left isolated, all surrendered. Records, Wei 22 §40–41
In the summer of the 16th year of Yanxi (253) Jiang Wei went out through Shiying, passed Dongting and besieged Nan'an, but when the Wei Inspector of Yong Province, Chen Tai, came as far as Luomen to break the siege, Jiang Wei's provisions ran out and he withdrew. The following year he went out to Longxi again, and Li Jian, the county chief who held Didao, surrendered the city. Jiang Wei advanced to besiege Xiangwu and clashed with the Wei general Xu Zhi, taking heads and breaking the enemy, so that the Wei army was defeated and withdrew. Taking advantage of his victory, Jiang Wei brought many places to submission, and returned carrying off the people of the three counties of Heguan, Didao and Lintao. Records, Shu 14 §36
The record of Zhang Ni describes this battle as follows. When Li Jian secretly sent a letter asking to surrender, the General of the Guards Jiang Wei led Zhang Ni and others out to Longxi, and when they reached Didao, Li Jian came out to meet them with all the officials and people of the city. When the army advanced and clashed with the Wei general Xu Zhi, Zhang Ni lost his life in the line of battle, but the enemies he killed and wounded were more than double his own side's losses. Zhang Ni's appointment as General Who Sweeps Away Bandits was in the 17th year of Yanxi (254). Records, Shu 13 §62–63
These three passages are the only places in Chen Shou's main text where Xu Zhi appears. His courtesy name, origin, later deeds and death are not recorded, and the Records contain no assessment of him. Records, Wei 22 §40Records, Shu 13 §63Records, Shu 14 §36
In the Romance
In Chapter 109 of the Romance, in the autumn of the 16th year of Yanxi (253), Jiang Wei raises an army of 200,000, marches out of Yangping Pass and attacks Wei, and the Qiang king Midang also sends 50,000 troops to Nan'an. When Guo Huai, the Wei General of the Left, sends an urgent report, Sima Shi asks his generals who will resist the Shu army, and Xu Zhi, General Who Supports the State, steps forward to volunteer. Sima Shi, who has long known that Xu Zhi is brave beyond other men, makes him vanguard and Sima Zhao Grand Commander and sends them to Longxi. Romance, Ch. 109 §1–3
When they meet Jiang Wei at Dongting, Xu Zhi comes out brandishing a mountain-splitting great axe and challenges him to battle. Liao Hua retreats dragging his blade after only a few bouts, and Zhang Yi too is beaten after a few bouts and returns into his lines. Xu Zhi drives his troops forward in a charge, and the Shu army is badly defeated and falls back more than thirty li. After consulting Xiahou Ba, Jiang Wei decides to lure Xu Zhi out by turning against Wei the fact that the Wei army has repeatedly cut the Shu grain routes. Romance, Ch. 109 §3–5
Hearing a report that the Shu army is carrying grain with wooden oxen and gliding horses behind Mount Tielong, Sima Zhao orders Xu Zhi to lead 5,000 men and cut the grain route. Xu Zhi has half his troops escort back to camp the grain abandoned by the two hundred or so fleeing Shu soldiers, and leads the other half in pursuit until he reaches a place where carts block the road. Amid flames shooting up on both sides, with the mountain road behind him also cut off by carts, Liao Hua and Zhang Yi attack along two routes, and the Wei army is badly defeated. Romance, Ch. 109 §7–9
Fleeing alone for his life, Xu Zhi meets Jiang Wei, who appears ahead of him. A single thrust of Jiang Wei's spear brings down his horse, and Xu Zhi, tumbling from the saddle, is hacked to death by the soldiers' swords. Half of his troops escorting the grain are also captured by Xiahou Ba and surrender, and Xiahou Ba, disguising his men with Wei armor and banners, charges into the Wei camp. At the end of the same chapter the Romance states that although Jiang Wei lost the battle, he had shot Guo Huai dead and cut down Xu Zhi, breaking the might of Wei, and so his merit made up for his fault. Romance, Ch. 109 §10–11 · 23
Where the Romance differs
Office: In Chapter 109 of the Romance, Xu Zhi is General Who Supports the State, and Sima Shi makes him vanguard. In the Records, Xu Zhi appears in the record of Chen Tai as Protector of the Army for the Campaign against Shu, and in the records of Jiang Wei and Zhang Ni only as 'the Wei general'. Romance, Ch. 109 §3Records, Wei 22 §40Records, Shu 13 §63Records, Shu 14 §36
When and where he fought: In Chapter 109 of the Romance, Xu Zhi fights Jiang Wei at Dongting and Mount Tielong in the autumn of the 16th year of Yanxi (253). In the Records, when Jiang Wei went out through Shiying in the summer of the 16th year of Yanxi, passed Dongting and besieged Nan'an, he withdrew because his provisions ran out when Chen Tai arrived; it was the following year, when Jiang Wei besieged Xiangwu, that he clashed with Xu Zhi. Romance, Ch. 109 §1 · 3 · 7Records, Shu 14 §36
Xu Zhi's death: In Chapter 109 of the Romance, Xu Zhi falls into the ambush at Mount Tielong, his horse is brought down by Jiang Wei's spear, and he dies under the soldiers' swords. The record of Jiang Wei in the Records says only that Jiang Wei clashed with Xu Zhi, taking heads and breaking the enemy, so that the Wei army was defeated and withdrew, and does not state that Xu Zhi died. Romance, Ch. 109 §10Records, Shu 14 §36Records, Shu 13 §63
Zhang Ni's death: In the Records, Zhang Ni lost his life in the line of battle in the clash with Xu Zhi. In Chapter 109 of the Romance, Zhang Ni appears only as grain transport officer, and the generals who fight Xu Zhi are Liao Hua and Zhang Yi; Zhang Ni dies in Chapter 111, struck by the arrows loosed wildly by the Wei troops after going in to rescue the encircled Jiang Wei. Records, Shu 13 §63Romance, Ch. 109 §1 · 4Romance, Ch. 111 §21
The siege at Mount Qu: In the record of Chen Tai in the Records, Xu Zhi, as Protector of the Army for the Campaign against Shu, surrounded the two forts at Mount Qu together with Chen Tai and Deng Ai. In Chapter 107 of the Romance, the siege of Mount Qu is conducted by Guo Huai and Chen Tai, and Xu Zhi does not appear. Records, Wei 22 §40Romance, Ch. 107 §42–43
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 total390 / 1000Rank 678 of 996 · Top 69%Romance total416 / 1000Rank 401 of 1,113 · Top 37%
Romance adaptation index+26Romance total − Records total
- LEA5058+8
- STR4580+35
- INT4028−12
- POL3531−4
- CHA3838±0
- VIR4548+3
- ADP4038−2
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3331−2
- DIS3333±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as a Wei generalShu 14 §36
NFell into Jiang Wei's ambush baited with a grain convoy and was badly defeatedCh. 109 §8Ch. 109 §9
8 similar abilities — show evidence
RJoined the siege as Protector of the Army for the Campaign against Shu, and Zhang Ni fell fighting him, but he was defeated by Jiang WeiWei 22 §40Shu 13 §63Shu 14 §36
NAs vanguard, drove the Shu army back more than thirty liCh. 109 §3Ch. 109 §4
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as a Wei generalShu 14 §36
NNo direct record — estimated from his posts as General Who Supports the State and vanguardCh. 109 §3
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as a Wei generalShu 14 §36
NNo direct record — estimated from his posts as General Who Supports the State and vanguardCh. 109 §3
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as a Wei generalShu 14 §36
NVolunteered to go and resist the Shu armyCh. 109 §3
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as a Wei generalShu 14 §36
NSeized the grain and pursued with only half his men, and was surroundedCh. 109 §8
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as a Wei generalShu 14 §36
NNo direct record — estimated from his posts as General Who Supports the State and vanguardCh. 109 §3
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as a Wei generalShu 14 §36
NNo direct record — estimated from his posts as General Who Supports the State and vanguardCh. 109 §3
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as a Wei generalShu 14 §36
NNo direct record — estimated from his posts as General Who Supports the State and vanguardCh. 109 §3
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 (1)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history
- Wei · Romance · Romance ch. 109 「”昭唤徐质曰：“昔日所以胜蜀者，因断彼粮道也」 · Q124633883
Related events (2)
- Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions 240~262 · Command
- Battle of Qucheng 249 · Command
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).
Items owned or made (1)
- Kaishan Dafu · Weapon · 253 · Romance
Ownership and authorship assigned by 3KDEX from source sentences — not yet reviewed (unverified).