Xu Chu

Xu Chu (pronunciationⓘ) (died c. 230),[lower-alpha 1] courtesy name Zhongkang, was a Chinese military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career as a bodyguard to the warlord Cao Cao and later became a general in the state of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was described to be a big and strong man, yet simple minded and honest, so he was nicknamed "Tiger Fool" by his men. After his death, he was posthumously honoured with the title "Marquis Zhuang", which literally means "robust marquis".

Xu Chu
許褚
A Qing dynasty illustration of Xu Chu
General of the Military Guards (武衞將軍)
In office
220 (220)–? (?)
MonarchCao Pi
Central Resolute General (中堅將軍)
In office
c. 216 (c. 216)–220 (220)
MonarchEmperor Xian of Han
ChancellorCao Cao
Personal details
BornUnknown
Bozhou, Anhui
Diedc. 230[lower-alpha 1]
RelationsXu Ding (brother)
ChildrenXu Yi
OccupationMilitary general
Courtesy nameZhongkang (仲康)
Posthumous nameMarquis Zhuang (壯侯)
PeerageMarquis of Mou District
(牟鄉侯)
Nickname"Tiger Fool" (虎癡)
In this Chinese name, the family name is Xu.

Early life

Xu Chu was from Qiao County (譙縣), Pei State (沛國), which is present-day Bozhou, Anhui.[3] He was over eight chi tall (≈1.86 metres) with a broad waist. He had an imposing and sturdy look and was known for his great strength and courage.[4]

Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Xu Chu rallied thousands of his clan members and they constructed a fortress to fend off the Yellow Turban rebels. An army of rebels from Runan (汝南; present-day Runan County, Henan), numbering more than 10,000, once attacked Xu Chu's fortress. The defenders were outnumbered and worn out as the battle dragged on. When the arrows were used up, Xu Chu told all the men and women within the fortress to gather stones the size of chess pieces and place them in the four corners of the fortress. He then hurled the stones at the enemies, crushing the bones of all those who were hit. The rebels then kept a distance away and did not dare to come close. When the food supply was exhausted, Xu Chu pretended to negotiate a truce with the rebels and discuss a deal to exchange an ox for food. When the rebels came to collect the ox, the animal would always run back. Xu Chu, holding on to the ox's tail, pulled it along for more than a hundred steps. Seeing this, the startled rebels took off without the ox. The rebels in the surrounding areas heard of this incident and became fearful of Xu Chu.[5]

Service under Cao Cao

In 197, when Cao Cao came to the Runan and Huainan area, Xu Chu led his militia to join the warlord. Upon seeing Xu Chu's strength, Cao Cao exclaimed: "This man is my Fan Kuai!" Xu Chu was appointed as a Commandant (都尉) among Cao Cao's close guards, who were known as the "Tiger Warriors" (虎士). During Cao Cao's campaign against a rival warlord Zhang Xiu, Xu Chu fought on the frontline and slew many enemies. He was promoted to Colonel (校尉) for his achievement.[6]

In 200, Xu Chu followed Cao Cao to the Battle of Guandu against the northern warlord Yuan Shao. During the battle, Xu Ta (徐他) and some conspirators plotted to assassinate Cao Cao. They feared Xu Chu so they waited until he went to rest before they entered Cao Cao's tent with swords hidden under their clothes. Xu Chu felt uneasy earlier on, so he had returned to Cao Cao's tent to protect his lord. When Xu Ta and the others showed up in Cao Cao's tent, they were very surprised to see Xu Chu there and could not contain their astonishment. Xu Chu sensed their intentions and killed them. After this incident, Cao Cao trusted Xu Chu even more and would go nowhere without Xu Chu by his side. Xu Chu participated in the Battle of Ye in 204 and received the title of a Secondary Marquis (關內侯) as a reward for his efforts.[7]

Battle of Tong Pass
Main article: Battle of Tong Pass (211)

In 211, during the Battle of Tong Pass against a coalition of northwestern warlords led by Ma Chao and Han Sui, Cao Cao led his troops north across the Wei River in an attempt to circle to the rear of the enemy. The bulk of Cao Cao's troops had already crossed the river, leaving Cao Cao and his "Tiger Warriors" to bring up the rear. Just then, Ma Chao and his 10,000 horsemen caught up with them. As the enemies were approaching fast, Cao Cao's soldiers rushed to get on board the ferry, which was on the verge of sinking under the weight. Xu Chu held up a saddle with his left hand to shield Cao Cao from arrows and carried a sword in his right hand, using it to slash enemy soldiers trying to clamber onto the vessel. By then, the boatman had been killed by arrows, so Xu Chu, still holding up the saddle with his left hand, used his other hand to grab a bargepole and push the ferry away from the ford to safety.[8]

Cao Cao later agreed to meet Ma Chao and Han Sui for talks, and he brought along only Xu Chu. Ma Chao had confidence in himself and he secretly planned to use the opportunity to charge forward and capture Cao Cao, but he had heard of Xu Chu's might before and he suspected that the man beside Cao Cao was Xu Chu. Ma Chao asked Cao Cao: "Where's your Tiger Marquis?" Cao Cao pointed at Xu Chu, who glared at Ma Chao. Ma Chao was afraid and did not dare to make his move. Both sides then returned to their respective camps. Several days later, a battle was fought, and Cao Cao scored a major victory. Xu Chu killed several enemies and was promoted to Military Guard General of the Household (武衞中郎將) for his achievement. This was the first time the term "Military Guard" (武衞) was used. Cao Cao's soldiers knew that Xu Chu possessed the might of a tiger, but he was also simple minded, so they nicknamed him "Tiger Fool" (虎癡).[9]

Incident with Cao Ren

Xu Chu was known to be a cautious and serious person who did not talk much and was very mindful of rules and regulations. Once, Cao Cao's cousin Cao Ren came from Jing Province to meet Cao Cao, who had recently been enfeoffed as a vassal king. Cao Cao was still in his personal chambers, with Xu Chu standing guard outside, when Cao Ren arrived. Cao Ren asked Xu Chu to join him in the side room for a chat. However, Xu Chu told Cao Ren that Cao Cao was coming out soon, and then turned his back on Cao Ren and entered Cao Cao's chambers. Cao Ren was very unhappy with Xu Chu for treating him coldly. Later, someone told Xu Chu: "The General (Cao Ren) is a close relative and important subject of the King. He lowered himself when he asked to chat with you. How could you reject him?" Xu Chu replied: "He may be a close relative and important subject of the King, but he's in charge of external defences at the borders. I, Xu Chu, am in charge of internal security. If he wanted to chat with me, we could do so in public. Why did he ask to chat with me in private?" Cao Cao was impressed and he favoured Xu Chu even more after he heard about the incident, so he promoted him to Central Resolute General (中堅將軍).[10]

Service under Cao Pi

When Cao Cao died in March 220, Xu Chu was so overwhelmed with sorrow that he vomited blood. Later that year, Cao Cao's son Cao Pi ended the Eastern Han dynasty and established the state of Wei, marking the start of the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Pi became emperor and he also favoured Xu Chu greatly. He promoted Xu Chu to General of the Military Guards (武衞將軍), put him in charge of the palace guards and enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Wansui Village (萬歲亭侯). The original "Tiger Warriors" under Xu Chu's command were all commissioned as officers, but only slightly more than 10 of them rose through the ranks to become generals and marquises, while only about a hundred were promoted to commandants and colonels.[11]

Cao Pi died in June 226 and was succeeded by his son Cao Rui. Cao Rui enfeoffed Xu Chu as the Marquis of Mou District (牟鄉侯) and granted him a marquisate comprising 700 taxable households. He also awarded the peerage of a Secondary Marquis (關內侯) to one of Xu Chu's sons. After his death, Xu Chu was given the posthumous name "Marquis Zhuang" (壯侯), which literally means "robust marquis".[12]

Family and descendants

Sometime during the Taihe era (227-233) of Cao Rui's reign, the emperor issued an imperial edict praising Xu Chu and conferring the peerage of a Secondary Marquis (關內侯) on one of Xu Chu's sons and one of his grandsons.[13]

Xu Chu's son, Xu Yi (許儀), inherited his father's peerage. In 263, when the Wei state launched a major campaign to conquer its rival state Shu, Xu Yi served as an officer under the Wei general Zhong Hui, who tasked him with overseeing the construction of a road leading into Shu. However, when the road turned out to be poorly built, Zhong Hui disregarded Xu Yi's background and had him executed for failing his mission. The Wei army was shocked at Zhong Hui's audacity.[14] Xu Yi's son, Xu Zong (許綜), inherited his father's peerage at the beginning of the Taishi era (February 266 to 274) of the reign of Jin-dynasty emperor Emperor Wu.[15]

Xu Chu's elder brother, Xu Ding (許定), also served in the Wei military and was promoted to General Who Inspires Might (振威將軍) and commanded the huben division of the imperial guards.[16]

Appraisal

Chen Shou, who wrote Xu Chu's biography in the Sanguozhi, commented that Xu Chu and Dian Wei were powerful bodyguards and were comparable to Fan Kuai, a general who served under Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty.[17]

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Wooden sculpture of duel between Xu Chu (right) against Ma Chao (left) in fictionalized Three Kingdoms novel

Xu Chu appears as a character in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the historical events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. His bravery and strength are emphasised by a fictitious story in Chapter 59, when he duels with Ma Chao during the Battle of Tong Pass.[lower-alpha 2]

Xu Chu is featured as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series. His name is erroneously romanised as "Xu Zhu" in the games.

Xu Chu is featured as a guardian spirit alongside Dian Wei of General Cao Yanbing in the anime "Rakshasa Street".

See also

Notes
  1. Xu Chu's death date was not clearly recorded in his biography in the Sanguozhi. However, his biography suggests that he died after Cao Rui became emperor in June 226.[1] Rafe de Crespigny estimates that he died around 230.[2]
  2. See Battle of Tong Pass (211)#In Romance of the Three Kingdoms for more information.

References
  1. (明帝即位， ... 褚薨，...) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  2. de Crespigny (2007), p. 902.
  3. (許褚字仲康，譙國譙人也。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  4. (長八尺餘，腰大十圍，容貌雄毅，勇力絕人。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  5. (漢末，聚少年及宗族數千家，共堅壁以禦寇。時汝南葛陂賊萬餘人攻褚壁，褚衆少不敵，力戰疲極。兵矢盡，乃令壁中男女，聚治石如杅斗者置四隅。褚飛石擲之，所值皆摧碎。賊不敢進。糧乏，偽與賊和，以牛與賊易食，賊來取牛，牛輒奔還。褚乃出陳前，一手逆曳牛尾，行百餘步。賊衆驚，遂不敢取牛而走。由是淮、汝、陳、梁閒，聞皆畏憚之。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  6. (太祖徇淮、汝，褚以衆歸太祖。太祖見而壯之曰：「此吾樊噲也。」即日拜都尉，引入宿衞。諸從褚俠客，皆以為虎士。從征張繡，先登，斬首萬計，遷校尉。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  7. "《許褚傳》" [Biography of Xu Chu]. Chinese Text Project. Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 22 January 2022. (從討袁紹於官渡。時常從士徐他等謀為逆，以褚常侍左右，憚之不敢發。伺褚休下日，他等懷刀入。褚至下舍心動，即還侍。他等不知，入帳見褚，大驚愕。他色變，褚覺之，即擊殺他等。太祖益親信之，出入同行，不離左右。從圍鄴，力戰有功，賜爵關內侯。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  8. (從討韓遂、馬超於潼關。太祖將北渡，臨濟河，先渡兵，獨與褚及虎士百餘人留南岸斷後。超將步騎萬餘人，來奔太祖軍，矢下如雨。褚白太祖，賊來多，今兵渡以盡，宜去，乃扶太祖上船。賊戰急，軍爭濟，船重欲沒。褚斬攀船者，左手舉馬鞍鞌太祖。船工為流矢所中死，褚右手並泝船，僅乃得渡。是日，微褚幾危。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  9. (其後太祖與遂、超等單馬會語，左右皆不得從，唯將褚。超負其力，陰欲前突太祖，素聞褚勇，疑從騎是褚。乃問太祖曰：「公有虎侯者安在？」太祖顧指褚，褚瞋目盼之。超不敢動，乃各罷。後數日會戰，大破超等，褚身斬首級，遷武衞中郎將。武衞之號，自此始也。軍中以褚力如虎而癡，故號曰虎癡；是以超問虎侯，至今天下稱焉，皆謂其姓名也。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  10. (褚性謹慎奉法，質重少言。曹仁自荊州來朝謁，太祖未出，入與褚相見於殿外。仁呼褚入便坐語，褚曰：「王將出。」便還入殿，仁意恨之。或以責褚曰：「征南宗室重臣，降意呼君，君何故辭？」褚曰：「彼雖親重，外藩也。褚備內臣，衆談足矣，入室何私乎？」太祖聞，愈愛待之，遷中堅將軍。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  11. (太祖崩，褚號泣歐血。文帝踐阼，進封萬歲亭侯，遷武衞將軍，都督中軍宿衞禁兵，甚親近焉。初，褚所將為虎士者從征伐，太祖以為皆壯士也，同日拜為將，其後以功為將軍封侯者數十人，都尉、校尉百餘人，皆劒客也。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  12. (明帝即位，進牟鄉侯，邑七百戶，賜子爵一人關內侯。褚薨，謚曰壯侯。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  13. (太和中，帝思褚忠孝，下詔襃贊，復賜褚子孫二人爵關內侯。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  14. (先命牙門將許儀在前治道，會在後行，而橋穿，馬足陷，於是斬儀。儀者，許褚之子，有功王室，猶不原貸。諸軍聞之，莫不震竦。) Sanguozhi vol. 28.
  15. (子儀嗣。 ... 儀為鍾會所殺。 ... 泰始初，子綜嗣。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  16. (褚兄定，亦以軍功封為振威將軍，都督徼道虎賁。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
  17. (許褚、典韋折衝左右，抑亦漢之樊噲也。) Sanguozhi vol. 18.
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