Meng Huo
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Meng Huo (孟獲), King of Nanman, was the chieftain and leader of the tribes in the Nan Zhong region south of the Kingdom of Shu in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was involved in several small skirmishes with Shu earlier, but when Wu and Wei were concentrating on fighting one another, Shu's Zhuge Liang launched a full invasion on the tribes. After being captured by Zhuge for seven times, he surrendered to him and swore his allegiance to Shu.
Meng Huo was married to Zhu Rong, who claimed descent from the god of fire.
In the official histories, Meng Huo was in fact Chinese. The above description is based on the partly-fictitious Luo Guanzhong novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where he is portrayed as a Nanman (literally "southern barbarian"), which was the name the Chinese gave to the tribesmen of the Nanzhong region.
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- In the third year of Jian Xing a bulletin came to Yizhou announcing, "Meng Huo has led one hundred thousand Man tribesmen across our borders to plunder the villages." (Chapter 87 - Paragraph 2)
- Despite protest from Court Conselor Wang Lian (Wenyi), Zhuge Liang (Kongming) leaves to lead five hundred thousand soldiers against the southern forces.
- The Shu forces were led by Zhuge Liang. Zhao Zilong and Wei Yan were his generals, their lieutenants being Wang Ping and Zhang Yi.
- Meng Huo speaks to Zhuge Liang: "The whole of the Riverlands once belonged to another. Your lord seized it by force and proclaimed himself emperor. My ancestors held these lands, which you have encroached upon so barbarically." (87-36)
- Zhuge Liang captures and frees Meng Huo: "I can catch him again with ease whenever I choose to. But pacification of the south requires that we subdue the hearts of the Man people." (88-1)
- During the conquest, Meng Huo was captured on seven different occasions, by Zhuge Liang. In addition, many Nanman generals and lieutenants were captured and treated with kindess. This caused many withdrawals and eventually the pacification of the south.
- Zhuge Liang: "I guessed the enemy would be looking for an ambush in the woods, so I set up decoy banners there to confuse them. There were never any troops. Next, I had Wei Yan lose a series of battles to strengthen their confidence... I ordered Ma Dai to deploy the black wagons in the valley - they had been loaded earlier with fire launchers called 'earth thunder', each containing nine missiles... We cut off the road and burned out the enemy..." (90-41)
- Finally, Meng Huo admits defeat: "Seven times captured, seven times freed! Such a thing has never happened! Though I stand beyond the range of imperial grace, I am not utterly ignorant of ritual, of what propriety and honor require. No, I am not so shameless!" (90-44)
Modern Depictions
- Meng Huo is a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors Series, since Dynasty Warriors 3. His story is a series of battles against northern enemies, who attempt to invade Nan Zhong. In the game, he is depicted as a large, dark-skinned man. He is very powerful, but at the same time, very slow to attack. His weapon of choice is a pair of large, gauntlets called "King of Beasts," which are shaped like wolf heads.
Reference
- Luo Guanzhong, translated by Moss Roberts (2004). Romance of the Three Kingdoms, University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22503-1.
External links
| Prominent people of the Three Kingdoms Era | |
| Rulers | Han: Emperor Ling of Han>Emperor Ling - Emperor Xiao - Emperor Xian Wei: Cao Cao - Cao Pi - Cao Rui - Cao Fang - Cao Mao - Cao Huan Shu: Liu Bei - Liu Shan Wu: Sun Jian - Sun Ce - Sun Quan - Sun Liang - Sun Xiu - Sun Hao Jin: Sima Yan Others: Dong Zhuo - Gongsun Zan - Han Fu - Liu Biao - Liu Yao - Liu Zhang - Lü Bu - Ma Teng - Meng Huo - Yuan Shao - Yuan Shu - Zhang Jiao - Zhang Lu |
| Advisors | Wei: Guo Jia - Sima Yi - Xun You - Xun Yu Shu: Fei Yi - Jiang Wan - Jiang Wei - Pang Tong - Zhuge Liang Wu: Lu Su - Lu Xun (Three Kingdoms)>Lu Xun - Zhou Yu - Zhuge Jin Others: Li Ru - Tian Feng |
| Generals | Wei: Dian Wei - Xiahou Dun - Xiahou Yuan - Xu Chu - Xu Huang - Zhang He - Zhang Liao Shu: Guan Yu - Huang Zhong - Ma Chao - Wei Yan - Zhang Fei (Three Kingdoms)>Zhang Fei - Zhao Yun Wu: Huang Gai - Lü Meng - Taishi Ci - Zhou Tai Others: Ji Ling - Wen Chou - Yan Liang |
| Others | Diaochan - Guan Lu - Hua Tuo - Sun Shangxiang - Sima Hui |
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