Wen Chou - in Fiction

In Fiction

In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wen was said to have a face like that of the xiezhi. In chapter 5, Yuan Shao gave high praise to Wen's prowess in battle. Faced with the indomitable enemy commander Hua Xiong, Yuan lamented, "If I had either Yan Liang or Wen Chou here, I would have nothing to fear."

This comment foreshadows the appearance of Wen in chapter 26, where he volunteered to avenge his close friend Yan Liang, who was killed in the Battle of Boma. Given 70,000 troops, Wen crossed the Yellow River and came for Cao Cao's camp. In an unusual move, Cao turned his entire formation around, placing the supplies in front. While Wen's soldiers were busy looting the supplies, Cao directed his men south onto a knoll, from where they allowed their horses to graze. Wen's soldiers pounced upon the horses as they approached the knoll and became disorganized. Cao then gave the order for a counterattack, forcing the enemies to retreat.

Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, two of Cao's best generals, gave chase. Wen fired two arrows from atop his horse, one of which sliced off the feather on Zhang's helmet and the other hit Zhang's horse in the face. Brandishing his poleaxe, Xu came for Wen but had to retreat when a band of enemy soldiers came to their commander's rescue.

Leading a dozen riders, Guan Yu then cut off Wen's escape and engaged in a duel with the enemy. Within three bouts, Wen withdrew and attempted to evade. However, Guan's horse, the Red Hare, was of a superior breed and soon caught up. Guan then slew Wen from behind.