Wen Chou (pronunciationⓘ) (died 200) was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. His force was defeated by that of rival warlord Cao Cao in the Battle of Yan Ford and he was killed in the midst of battle.
Historical records pertaining to Wen Chou are scarce. References to him could be found in the Records of the Three Kingdoms in the biographies of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Xun Yu and Xun You, from where it could be gathered that Wen Chou was a fierce warrior whose prowess in battle matched that of his counterpart, Yan Liang.
In 200, after Yan Liang was killed in the Battle of Boma, Yuan Shao brought his main army south of the Yellow River and launched a full-fledged attack on Cao Cao. Wen Chou and Liu Bei were sent forth with a vanguard force of more than 5,000 riders to pursue Cao Cao's retreating forces. Making a stand atop a knoll, Cao Cao retained less than 600 cavalry and let loose the remaining horses.
As Wen Chou's troops arrived, many broke ranks to loot the horses and other supplies. Cao Cao then gave order for a counterattack. The small but elite cavalry force scored a brilliant victory over the disorganised enemy and killed Wen Chou in battle. In the official records, Wen Chou died in battle to unknown assailants, but secondary sources written after the period attribute Guan Yu as the one who slayed Wen Chou.[1][2][3]
In Romance of the Three KingdomsEdit
In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wen Chou is said to have a face like that of the xiezhi.[a] In Chapter 5, Yuan Shao praises Wen Chou's prowess in battle when he laments, while under attack by Hua Xiong, that "If I had either Yan Liang or Wen Chou here, I would have nothing to fear."
This comment foreshadows the appearance of Wen Chou in chapter 26, where he volunteers to avenge his close friend Yan Liang, who is killed in the Battle of Boma by Guan Yu. Given 70,000 troops, Wen Chou crosses the Yellow River and heads straight towards Cao Cao's camp. In an unusual move, Cao Cao turns his entire formation around, placing the supplies in front. While Wen Chou's soldiers are busy looting the supplies, Cao Cao directs his men south onto a knoll, from where they allow their horses to graze. Wen Chou's soldiers pounce upon the horses as they approach the knoll and become disorganised. Cao Cao then gives the order for a counterattack, forcing the enemy to retreat.
Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, two of Cao Cao's best generals, give chase. Wen Chou fires two arrows from atop his horse, one of which slices off the feather on Zhang Liao's helmet and the other hits his horse in the face. Brandishing his poleaxe, Xu Huang charges towards Wen Chou but has to retreat when a band of enemy soldiers come to their commander's rescue.
Leading a dozen riders, Guan Yu then cuts off Wen Chou's escape and engaged him in a duel. Within three bouts, Wen Chou withdraws and attempts to evade. However, Guan Yu's horse, the Red Hare, is of a superior breed and soon catches up with him. Guan Yu then kills Wen Chou from behind.
chou, pronunciation, died, military, general, serving, under, warlord, yuan, shao, during, late, eastern, dynasty, china, force, defeated, that, rival, warlord, battle, ford, killed, midst, battle, 文醜a, qing, dynasty, illustration, bornunknowndied200yan, ford,. Wen Chou pronunciation died 200 was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China His force was defeated by that of rival warlord Cao Cao in the Battle of Yan Ford and he was killed in the midst of battle Wen Chou文醜A Qing dynasty illustration of Wen ChouBornUnknownDied200Yan Ford 延津 north of present day Yanjin County Henan OccupationMilitary GeneralWen ChouTraditional Chinese文醜Simplified Chinese文丑TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinWen ChǒuWade GilesWen Ch ouIn this Chinese name the family name is Wen Contents 1 Life 2 In Romance of the Three Kingdoms 3 See also 4 Notes 5 ReferencesLife EditHistorical records pertaining to Wen Chou are scarce References to him could be found in the Records of the Three Kingdoms in the biographies of Yuan Shao Cao Cao Xun Yu and Xun You from where it could be gathered that Wen Chou was a fierce warrior whose prowess in battle matched that of his counterpart Yan Liang In 200 after Yan Liang was killed in the Battle of Boma Yuan Shao brought his main army south of the Yellow River and launched a full fledged attack on Cao Cao Wen Chou and Liu Bei were sent forth with a vanguard force of more than 5 000 riders to pursue Cao Cao s retreating forces Making a stand atop a knoll Cao Cao retained less than 600 cavalry and let loose the remaining horses As Wen Chou s troops arrived many broke ranks to loot the horses and other supplies Cao Cao then gave order for a counterattack The small but elite cavalry force scored a brilliant victory over the disorganised enemy and killed Wen Chou in battle In the official records Wen Chou died in battle to unknown assailants but secondary sources written after the period attribute Guan Yu as the one who slayed Wen Chou 1 2 3 In Romance of the Three Kingdoms EditIn the 14th century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms Wen Chou is said to have a face like that of the xiezhi a In Chapter 5 Yuan Shao praises Wen Chou s prowess in battle when he laments while under attack by Hua Xiong that If I had either Yan Liang or Wen Chou here I would have nothing to fear This comment foreshadows the appearance of Wen Chou in chapter 26 where he volunteers to avenge his close friend Yan Liang who is killed in the Battle of Boma by Guan Yu Given 70 000 troops Wen Chou crosses the Yellow River and heads straight towards Cao Cao s camp In an unusual move Cao Cao turns his entire formation around placing the supplies in front While Wen Chou s soldiers are busy looting the supplies Cao Cao directs his men south onto a knoll from where they allow their horses to graze Wen Chou s soldiers pounce upon the horses as they approach the knoll and become disorganised Cao Cao then gives the order for a counterattack forcing the enemy to retreat Zhang Liao and Xu Huang two of Cao Cao s best generals give chase Wen Chou fires two arrows from atop his horse one of which slices off the feather on Zhang Liao s helmet and the other hits his horse in the face Brandishing his poleaxe Xu Huang charges towards Wen Chou but has to retreat when a band of enemy soldiers come to their commander s rescue Leading a dozen riders Guan Yu then cuts off Wen Chou s escape and engaged him in a duel Within three bouts Wen Chou withdraws and attempts to evade However Guan Yu s horse the Red Hare is of a superior breed and soon catches up with him Guan Yu then kills Wen Chou from behind See also EditLists of people of the Three KingdomsNotes Edit The xiezhi 獬豸 is a legendary beast which supposedly looks hideous References Edit 二王尺牍集 觅迹求功 刺颜良于白马 诛文醜于南坡 丞相厚恩 满有所报 每留所赐之物 尽在府库封针 伏望台慈 俯垂鉴照 容斋随笔 关羽手杀袁绍二将颜良 文醜于万众之中 山西通志 斩颜良于白马 诛文丑于南坡 Chen Shou 3rd century Records of the Three Kingdoms Sanguozhi Luo Guanzhong 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms Sanguo Yanyi Pei Songzhi 5th century Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Sanguozhi zhu Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wen Chou amp oldid 1068051130, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
