Xiahou Shang

Xiahou Shang (died 225), courtesy name Boren, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was a distant nephew of Xiahou Yuan and the father of Xiahou Xuan and Xiahou Hui.

Xiahou Shang was a distant nephew of Xiahou Yuan, who adopted him as a son. Xiahou Shang was not very active when Cao Cao was alive, only participating in suppressing barbarian rebellions. Cao Cao's successor, Cao Pi, was a close friend of Xiahou Shang, so Cao Pi gave him important positions, such as General who Conquers the South (征南將軍) and Inspector of Jing Province. Xiahou Shang generally took over commands for Cao Wei's southern frontiers. He took the Shu Han outpost at Shangyong (上庸) from Liu Feng, and although Eastern Wu was allied to Cao Wei at the time, Xiahou Shang tightened his defences against Eastern Wu. Surely enough, Sun Quan rebelled soon after. In 222, Xiahou Shang and Cao Zhen attacked the Eastern Wu fortress at Jiangling, guarded by Zhuge Jin. Xiahou Shang advanced both through land and water, burning Zhuge Jin's ships mid-river and capturing the fortress. However, he was called back because of a plague. For his efforts during this campaign he was granted an additional 600 taxable households,

Later Cao Pi sent him and Xu Huang to lead an army to attack Liu Bei's city of Shangyong(上庸), where they achieved success.

In 224, a favourite concubine of his drew the envy of his wife, who was the sister of Cao Zhen; in support of his clansmen, Cao Pi had the concubine strangled. Xiahou Shang became depressed after the loss of his favourite concubine and would not see anyone. A year later, Xiahou Shang fell to sickness and died, before which Cao Pi held his hand and sobbed.

In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Xiahou Shang is only portrayed as a minor character. He participated in the Battle of Mount Dingjun, as a subordinate of Xiahou Yuan, against Liu Bei's forces. During a skirmish, he was captured by the enemy and later released in exchange for the enemy general Chen Shi, who was captured by Xiahou. During the exchange, Huang Zhong fired an arrow at him, which hit him in the back and seriously injured him.