Tian Xu ( 220–264) was a military officer of the state of

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period of China.

Life

Tian Xu was from Wuzhong County (無終縣), Youbeiping Commandery (右北平郡), which is in present-day Jizhou District, Tianjin. He was a grand-nephew of Tian Chou, an official who served under the warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

in the late Eastern Han dynasty. In 220, after

Cao Pi Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...

(Cao Cao's son and successor) ended the Eastern Han dynasty and established the state of

with himself as its first emperor, he wanted to honour Tian Chou for his good moral character. However, as both Tian Chou and his son were already deceased, Cao Pi decided to make Tian Xu the successor to Tian Chou, and he awarded Tian Xu the title of a Secondary Marquis (關內侯). In 263, Tian Xu participated in the campaign against Wei's rival state,

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...

, as an officer under the Wei general

Deng Ai Deng Ai (197 – late March 264Vol.04 of ''Sanguozhi'' and vol.02 of ''Jin Shu'' both indicated that Deng Ai was arrested in the 1st month of the 1st year of the ''Xianxi'' era. The month corresponds to 15 Feb to 14 Mar 264 in the Julian calendar ...

. When Deng Ai and the Shu general Jiang Wei were locked in a stalemate at Jiange (劍閣), Deng Ai decided to take a shortcut from Yinping (陰平) to Jiangyou (江油) to bypass Jiang Wei's defences. Tian Xu disobeyed Deng Ai's orders when he refused to advance, so Deng Ai wanted to execute him. Later, after Deng Ai defeated the Shu general Zhuge Zhan at Mianzhu (緜竹), Jiang Wei retreated from Jiange to Ba Commandery (巴郡). Another Wei army led by Zhong Hui advanced towards Fu County (涪縣), where Zhong Hui ordered Tian Xu, Hu Lie, Pang Hui and others to lead troops to pursue Jiang Wei's retreating army. Later that year, after the Shu emperor Liu Shan had surrendered and Shu had been vanquished by Wei, Zhong Hui planned to rebel against the Cao Wei state. He accused Deng Ai of plotting a rebellion and had Deng Ai arrested and sent back to the Wei capital,

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

. Zhong Hui staged a revolt in 264 but it was crushed and he lost his life. Deng Ai's subordinates wanted to bring their superior back from Luoyang. Wei Guan, another Wei officer who plotted with Zhong Hui against Deng Ai, feared that Deng Ai would take revenge on him if he returned, so he instigated Tian Xu to kill Deng Ai by reminding him of how Deng Ai wanted to execute him at Yinping in the previous year. Tian Xu led his men to intercept Deng Ai at Sanzao Village (三造亭), Mianzhu, where he killed Deng Ai and his son Deng Zhong (鄧忠).

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

'' (''Sanguozhi'') vol. 11, 28. * Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty (266–420), Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, ...

'' (''Jin Shu'') vol. 36. * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). '' Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Tian, Xu Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Cao Wei generals

Life

See also

References