Wei Yan

Wei Yan (pronunciation ) (died 234), courtesy name Wenchang, was a military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Wei Yan rose through the ranks and became a general when Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) in 214. His performance in battle helped him to become a prominent figure in the Shu military in a short period of time. He was later appointed as the Administrator of Hanzhong Commandery and as an Area Commander in 219. Between 228 and 234, he participated actively in the Northern Expeditions led by the Shu regent Zhuge Liang against Shu's rival state, Cao Wei. After Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Wei Yan was killed by another Shu general, Ma Dai, for alleged treason.

Wei Yan was from Yiyang Commandery (義陽郡), which covered parts of present-day Nanyang in southern Henan and parts of northern Hubei. He started his career as a foot soldier under the warlord Liu Bei, probably sometime between 209 and 211 when Liu Bei was in southern Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan). Around 212, he followed Liu Bei into Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) and fought on Liu Bei's side in a war against Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province. He made several contributions in battle and was promoted to the rank of a General of the Standard (牙門將軍) probably in 214 after Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province from Liu Zhang.

In 219, after Liu Bei defeated his rival Cao Cao in the Hanzhong Campaign and seized control of Hanzhong Commandery, he declared himself "King of Hanzhong" (漢中王) and designated Chengdu as the capital of his kingdom. Before leaving Hanzhong, he asked his subjects to nominate one of his generals to remain behind and guard Hanzhong. His subjects nominated Zhang Fei, who also strongly believed that he would most likely be chosen. However, much to everyone's surprise, Liu Bei chose Wei Yan instead and appointed him as General Who Guards Distant Lands (鎮遠將軍) and acting Administrator of Hanzhong (漢中太守).

When Liu Bei asked Wei Yan in front of everyone how would he perform his duty, the latter confidently replied: "If Cao Cao leads all the forces of the Empire to attack Hanzhong, let me assist Your Highness in resisting them. If an enemy general comes with an army of 100,000, let me engulf them for Your Highness." Liu Bei was pleased and impressed with Wei Yan's reply.

During his tenure, Wei Yan borrowed the concept of "double gates" from the ancient text I Ching and laid numerous camps along the outskirt and trail exits linking to Hanzhong. His defence mechanism was very effective in driving the enemy out, and his arrangement was adopted by those succeeded him as the defender of Hanzhong.

Following the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and the start of the Three Kingdoms period in 220, Liu Bei declared himself emperor in 221 and established the state of Shu Han (or Shu) to challenge the legitimacy of the Cao Wei (or Wei) state established by Cao Cao's successor, Cao Pi, to replace the Eastern Han dynasty. Liu Bei promoted Wei Yan to General Who Guards the North (鎮北將軍) after his coronation.

An illustration of Wei Yan from a Qing dynasty edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It shows Wei Yan (far left) trapping Sima Yi and his sons in Shangfang Valley (上方谷) during one of the Northern Expeditions.

After Liu Bei died in 223, his son Liu Shan succeeded him as the emperor of Shu. In the same year, Liu Shan enfeoffed Wei Yan as a Marquis of a Chief Village (都亭侯).

In 227, Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, mobilised the Shu military and gathered troops in Hanzhong Commandery in preparation for a large-scale invasion of Shu's rival state, Cao Wei (or Wei). He put Wei Yan in charge of the vanguard division and appointed him as acting Major under the Imperial Chancellor (丞相司馬) and acting Inspector of Liang Province (涼州刺史).

Wei Yan probably participated in most, if not all, of the five Shu invasions of Wei between 228 and 234. In 230, Wei Yan attacked and defeated the Wei generals Fei Yao and Guo Huai at Yangxi (陽谿; southwest of present-day Wushan County, Gansu). During the fourth campaign in 231, he also joined the Shu generals Gao Xiang and Wu Ban in resisting the main Wei army led by Sima Yi and scored a major victory over the enemy: they killed 3,000 Wei soldiers and seized 5,000 sets of armour and 3,100 crossbows. Sima Yi retreated back to his camp. As a reward for his contributions, the Shu government promoted Wei Yan to Vanguard Military Adviser (前軍師) and Senior General Who Attacks the West (征西大將軍), and elevated him from a village marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Nanzheng" (南鄭侯).

Ziwu Valley Plan

Every time Wei Yan followed Zhuge Liang to battle, he requested to lead a separate detachment of 10,000 troops, take a different route and rendezvous with the Shu main army at Tong Pass (潼關; in present-day Tongguan County, Shaanxi). This was based on an earlier strategy used by the general Han Xin in the 200s BCE. Zhuge Liang rejected the plan because he thought that it was too risky. Wei Yan saw Zhuge Liang as a coward and complained that his talent was not put to good use.

When Chen Shou compiled the unofficial works on the history of Shu to write the Sanguozhi, he only mentioned that Wei Yan suggested to Zhuge Liang to split the Shu army into two, and the two forces would take two different routes and rendezvous at Tong Pass.

Wei Yan's reasoning for his Ziwu Valley Plan was recorded in the Weilüe, which was then added as an annotation to his biography in the Sanguozhi. It stated: "Wei Yan received intelligence that the defender of the strategic city Chang'an, Xiahou Mao, was cowardly and incompetent. Thus, he reasoned, it would be easy for him to take 5,000 troops (and another 5,000 to carry supplies) across the Qin Mountains via the Ziwu Valley (子午谷) and into Chang'an. Wei Yan estimated that he would reach Chang'an in ten days and scare Xiahou Mao into flight, leaving the grain in Chang'an's storehouses for Shu's taking. There, Wei Yan's force can wait for Zhuge Liang's main army to take the safer road out of Xie Valley (斜谷) and rendezvous in Chang'an. In this way, the region west of Xianyang could be conquered in one movement."

When the Wei government received intelligence about Wei Yan's Ziwu Valley Plan, the Wei emperor Cao Rui immediately removed Xiahou Mao from his military command in Chang'an and reassigned him to be a Master of Writing (尚書) in Luoyang.

Conflict with Yang Yi

Wei Yan treated his soldiers well and was known for his bravery. However, he was also boastful of his talents and his peers tended to avoid him. Yang Yi, Zhuge Liang's chief clerk, made no concession to Wei Yan. Wei Yan was extremely resentful of Yang Yi. Whenever they got into heated quarrels, Wei Yan often drew his sword and brandished it in front of Yang Yi; Yang Yi sobbed as tears rolled down his cheeks. Fei Yi then stepped in to stop them from fighting and managed to keep them under control until Zhuge Liang's death. Zhuge Liang was upset by the lack of harmony between Wei Yan and Yang Yi, but was unwilling to side with either of them because he appreciated the talents of both men.

An illustration from a Qing dynasty edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It shows Wei Yan (far left) ruining Zhuge Liang's ritual to extend his life at the Battle of Wuzhang Plains.

In 234, Zhuge Liang launched the fifth Shu invasion of Wei, with Wei Yan leading the Shu vanguard force. When he became critically ill during the stalemate, he gave secret orders to Yang Yi, Fei Yi and Jiang Wei to lead the army back to Shu after his death, with Wei Yan in charge of the rearguard and Jiang Wei to follow behind. If Wei Yan refused to follow the order, they were to retreat without him. When Zhuge Liang died, news of his death were kept secret. Yang Yi sent Fei Yi to meet Wei Yan and assess his intentions.

Wei Yan told Fei Yi: "Although the Imperial Chancellor is dead, I am still alive. The officials serving in the Imperial Chancellor's Office may bring his body back (to Chengdu) for burial, but I should remain behind to lead the army to attack the enemy. Must we abandon our mission just because of the death of one man? Besides, who am I, Wei Yan, to submit to Yang Yi's command and lead the rearguard?"

Wei Yan then asked Fei Yi to assist him in making arrangements for part of the Shu army to remain behind and continue with the campaign, while the rest would retreat back to Shu. Fei Yi pretended to write a letter, signed by both of them, and told Wei Yan that he would read out the letter to all the officers about the new arrangements. He also told Wei Yan: "I will go back and explain your point of view to Chief Clerk Yang. The Chief Clerk is a civil official who knows little about military affairs. He will definitely not oppose the new arrangements."

Wei Yan then let Fei Yi leave, but he immediately regretted his decision and went after Fei Yi, but could not catch up with him in time. He then sent his subordinate to meet Yang Yi and the others, but was shocked to discover that all units were preparing to retreat in accordance with Zhuge Liang's final orders. Wei Yan wanted to continue the battle even though Zhuge Liang had died, so he became furious when he heard of the retreat. He intended to block the Shu forces from retreating, so he led his force towards the south – ahead of the main army under Yang Yi's command – and sealed the return route by destroying the gallery roads leading back to Shu.

Wei Yan and Yang Yi separately wrote memorials to the Shu imperial court to accuse each other of treason. Their memorials arrived in Chengdu on the same day. The Shu emperor Liu Shan asked the ministers Dong Yun and Jiang Wan for their opinions. Both of them sided with Yang Yi and felt that Wei Yan's actions were suspicious. In the meantime, Yang Yi ordered his men to cut down trees to rebuild the gallery roads, and his troops marched day and night to catch up with Wei Yan. Wei Yan arrived at the southern valley first and ordered his soldiers to attack Yang Yi. Yang Yi sent Wang Ping to resist Wei Yan. Wang Ping shouted at Wei Yan: "His Excellency (Zhuge Liang) had just died and his body had yet to turn cold, and now you dare to do something like this!" Wei Yan's men knew that their commander was in the wrong so they deserted.

Wei Yan was left with only his son(s) and a few followers. They fled towards Hanzhong Commandery. Yang Yi ordered Ma Dai to give chase. Ma Dai caught up with Wei Yan, decapitated him, brought his head back, and threw it in front of Yang Yi. Yang Yi trampled on Wei Yan's head and said, "You inferior slave! Now, can you still commit evil?" Wei Yan's family members and close relatives were also executed. Before Wei Yan's death, Jiang Wan had led the imperial guards from Chengdu to deal with what appeared to be a mutiny by Wei Yan. They had travelled for about 10 li (about three miles) when they received news of Wei Yan's death; they then turned back and returned to Chengdu.

Analysis

Chen Shou, who wrote Wei Yan's biography in the Sanguozhi, analysed Wei Yan's death as such:

"Wei Yan's initial intention was not to head north to surrender to Cao Wei. Instead, he wanted to retreat back to the south. He desired to kill Yang Yi and the others who disagreed with him. Although the officers held differing opinions, he strongly believed that they would generally agree to him becoming Zhuge Liang's successor. That was his true intention; he was not thinking of rebelling."

A similar, but somewhat different and more detailed account exists in the historical text Weilüe, which states:

"When Zhuge Liang was ill, he told Wei Yan and the others, "After I die, all of you should be cautious in setting up defences, but do not return here." Wei Yan was then ordered to take Zhuge Liang's command and to not reveal news about Zhuge Liang's death. He did as he was instructed after Zhuge Liang died. When the Shu forces reached Baokou (襃口), Zhuge Liang's death was announced and a funeral was held. Zhuge Liang's chief clerk, Yang Yi, was on bad terms with Wei Yan all this while, and he feared that he would be harmed when he heard that Wei Yan had taken charge of the armies. He spread rumours that Wei Yan was planning to defect to Cao Wei, and then led the soldiers to attack Wei Yan. Wei Yan had no intention of defecting to Cao Wei, so he did not put up resistance and retreated instead, but Yang Yi and his men caught up with him and killed him."

Pei Songzhi, who added the Weilüe account to Wei Yan's biography and annotated the Sanguozhi, commented on the Weilüe account as follows:

"I believe this account was derived from hearsay in the enemy state (Cao Wei) and may not be as reliable as compared to the original account (by Chen Shou)."

Wei Yan's death was explained in political terms in Injustice to Wei Yan (魏延的千古奇冤), a neoteric article by Zhu Ziyan, a history professor from Shanghai University. In the article, Zhu wrote that Zhuge Liang personally appointed Jiang Wan, Fei Yi and Jiang Wei to be his successors, but Wei Yan's appointments and contributions were greater than those of any of them at the time. Zhuge Liang ostracised Wei Yan and cracked down on him because he wanted to eliminate Wei Yan as a possible obstacle to his appointed successors.

A Wei Yan Shrine (魏延祠) is located in Baique Village, Sanquan Township, Zitong County, Sichuan. In front of the shrine flows a Wei Family River (魏家河). On the plains east of the river, there once stood a Wei Family River Temple (魏家河廟), which had three stone tablets in front of it. One of the stone tablets bore the words "Wei Yan once led soldiers and was stationed here." According to legend, in 231, during the fourth Shu invasion of Wei, Zhuge Liang ordered Wei Yan to lead a separate force to station south of the Wei Family River. In memory of the incident, the locals built the Wei Family River Temple beside the river and a small bridge called "General Bridge" (將軍橋). The stone tablet was lost when the temple was destroyed in 1968; only the bridge remained, but it is usually submerged until the low tide in June or July. The Wei Yan Shrine was initially demolished by the government but was rebuilt in 1995. A statue of Wei Yan stands in the main hall of the shrine.

Wei Yan appears as a character in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, which romanticises the historical events leading to, and during the Three Kingdoms period. For instance, he participates in the fictional Battle of Changsha.

Wei Yan is featured as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series. He also appears in Koei's Dynasty Tactics 2.