The primary task here is to comb through the historical clues while constantly following the central axis northward through the uniform darkness, otherwise I will completely lose my way. There’s a good possibility that this axis already exists in our pineal glands, although right now I know nothing of it. The primary task also includes: bidding farewell not only to my relatives, but also to humanity, in entering the one-person isolation module.
Hu Fen is one of the most influential generals of the Jin dynasty. A personal friend to the Sima family, the father of one of Sima Yan’s favorite concubines, and one of the men who helped conquer Wu and unite the land, his accomplishments far outweigh his fame. Though often overshadowed by some of Jin’s other generals in most adaptations, Hu Fen is a man who deserves time in the sun. His father, Hu Zun, was also a man of great fame who should be mentioned, as is his daughter Hu Fang.
The Hu family became one of the most influential families in Jin through their military achievements. Their rise to fame began with Hu Zun, the family’s patriarch. He had several sons, most notably Hu Fen and Hu Lie, both men of great talent. Hu Lie’s son, Hu Yuan, also proved himself to be a brave warrior, while Hu Fen’s daughter Hu Fang was Sima Yan’s favorite consort. This prosperity began with Hu Zun.
Not much is actually recorded about Hu Zun himself. Despite having an impressive list of deeds, he has no biography in the Sanguo Zhi or the Jinshu. The origins of his family are unclear, and though he shares his family name with several other famous figures of the Han dynasty, it is impossible to say whether he is connected to them or not. Hu Zun and his family came from Linjin county in Anding, Liang province, so it is possible that he was related to Hu Zhen, a general under Dong Zhuo and later Director of Retainers under Li Jue. This connection, however, is only speculative.
The earliest mention of Hu Zun comes from the year 233, while he was serving as a subordinate under Sima Yi in Yong province. That year, there was a minor revolt led by one of the Xiongnu chieftains. Sima Yi decided that this matter was beneath his personal attention and instead commissioned Hu Zun, a general of unspecified rank, to crush them. Hu Zun achieved an easy victory over the Xiongnu and received their surrender after defeating them in battle. Hu Zun probably served in Sima Yi’s other battles in the west. These would include his victories over Shu in 231, 234, and 236.
As one of Sima Yi’s trusted generals, he followed Sima Yi during his campaign to capture Liaodong, where Hu Zun played a major role. One of the main obstacles to Sima Yi’s conquest was Gongsun Yuan’s line of fortifications along the Liao river, commanded by Gongsun Yuan’s general Bei Yan. Sima Yi used a decoy unit to lure Bei Yan’s forces out of their defensive positions and crossed the river unopposed. Bei Yan eventually realized that he had been deceived and left the route to Xiangping exposed, so he hurried back in hopes of getting to the city before Sima Yi. Sima Yi predicted this movement and ordered Hu Zun to set up an ambush along Bei Yan’s route of return. Bei Yan fell right into the trap and Hu Zun crushed his army. This broke the majority of Gongsun Yuan’s army and eliminated the only significant opposition Sima Yi faced. The conquest of Liaodong was only a matter of time after that.
After his success in Liaodong, Hu Zun’s whereabouts are unclear for the next several years. Noting that he was later granted a position of command on the eastern front against Wu, he probably contributed to Sima Yi’s victories over Wu in 241 and 243. Given the close ties between the Hu and Sima families, he also might have provided assistance during the Sima family’s coup d'état in 249, though if he was stationed in the east he would not have been in a position to do so. Hu Zun almost certainly engaged in the operations against Wang Ling in 251, though Wang Ling wisely surrendered before battle began. Whatever his whereabouts and deeds, Hu Zun was one of Wei’s most prominent generals by 252, when he held the title General Who Conquers the East. He was also, at some point, made Marquis of Yinmi.
Around the end of 252 (in February of the Western year 253), Sima Shi ordered a vast army to invade Wu on three fronts. Sima Zhao led a force to Lake Chao, in order to destroy a large, fortified dam that Zhuge Ke had built there previously. Hu Zun served as the leader of his vanguard for this campaign. Initially, he enjoyed great success. Hu Zun crushed the primary Wu forces guarding the dam and seized it. There were two strong fortresses on either side of the dam that did not fall easily, so Hu Zun besieged them and it looked like they would soon fall.
However, Hu Zun quickly grew complacent and did not worry about a Wu counter-attack. He did not enforce discipline among his soldiers, and because it was cold they grew lazy and started spending their time drinking instead of watching. Ding Feng observed this and took advantage of Hu Zun’s laxitude to launch a night raid. He caught Hu Zun’s forces off guard and devastated his forward positions. In the wake of this surprising attack, Zhuge Ke and Lü Ju appeared with the main Wu force and attacked the disorganized Wei forces. Meanwhile, Zhu Yi arrived with a naval force and destroyed the bridges Hu Zun had built on the lake. As a result of all this, most of Hu Zun’s men were slaughtered and the Wei army suffered one of its worst defeats. Despite Hu Zun’s inattentiveness directly contributing to the defeat, Sima Shi chose to blame Sima Zhao instead, so Hu Zun was not punished.
At the start of 255, Hu Zun was called to deal with Guanqiu Jian’s rebellion. He was given command of the soldiers from Qing and Xu provinces and ordered to occupy the counties of Qiao and Song in order to prevent Guanqiu Jian from fleeing to Wu, and to repel Wu reinforcements. Sun Jun did indeed seek to take advantage fo the opportunity and led an invasion force, hoping to seize Shouchun in the confusion. However, Hu Zun, Deng Ai, and Zhuge Dan defeated the Wu army and protected the city. As a reward for this excellent service, Hu Zun was promoted to General of the Guards later that year.
Sadly, Hu Zun did not hold his title long. He passed away in 256, and his marquisate was inherited by his eldest son. He was posthumously named General of the Chariots and Cavalry, an honor rarely bestowed.
Hu Fen was one of Hu Zun’s sons, though not the eldest. He was born in Linjin county in Anding, the traditional home of the Hu family. As a young man, he displayed extraordinary promise. He had a great mind for strategy and planning, as well as a great capacity for the martial arts. Sima Yi was an exceptional judge of ability as well as a close friend to the Hu family, so he quickly took notice of Hu Fen’s talent. He soon decided to make the young Hu Fen one of his protégés and assigned Hu Fen to be one of his personal attendants. Hu Fen followed Sima Yi during the campaign for Liaodong in 238 and learned military affairs first-hand from him.
After returning from Liaodong, Sima Yi decided to entrust Hu Fen with command and made him a colonel. Hu Fen’s exact whereabouts over the next several years are unclear, but he most likely served as a subordinate to either Sima Yi or Hu Zun. Whatever his specific position, Hu Fen remained in the Sima family’s good graces.
In 255, Hu Fen was called into military service in the west. Jiang Wei had invaded and, due to a blunder on the part of Yong’s Inspector Wang Jing, he had scored a victory west of the Tao river and was besieging the city of Didao. Chen Tai called for reinforcements, and Hu Fen was sent along as part of the contingent led by Deng Ai and Sima Fu. Their arrival was a great boon to Chen Tai’s cause, and upon receiving this aid, he easily crushed Jiang Wei’s forces and saved the city.
Hu Fen distinguished himself enough at Didao to earn Sima Zhao’s interest. After taking power as the Grand General later in 255, Sima Zhao transferred Hu Fen to his command with the rank of Major to the Grand General. While this would ordinarily signify a demotion from his previous rank as a colonel, it was an elevation in this particular circumstance. This position put him as second-in-command of Sima Zhao’s personal forces and was a position of major responsibility. Given the close association between the Hu and Sima families, Hu Fen and Sima Zhao were probably very close friends. At the very least, they had known each other for decades.
Zhuge Dan’s rebellion in 257 meant that Hu Fen was once again sent out into the field, where he helped to coordinate the armies under Sima Zhao. Hu Fen actively participated in the fighting, taking the field himself with excellent results. During the final assault on Shouchun at the start of 258, Zhuge Dan attempted to flee with a small group of loyalists. Hu Fen pursued him and was personally responsible for capturing and killing Zhuge Dan. This was a major achievement and one of the brightest points of Hu Fen’s impressive record.
After this, Hu Fen received even greater favor from the Sima family and was made Inspector of Xu province. Talented in domestic affairs as well as civil matters, Hu Fen proved to be a capable governor and was soon made the Marquis of Xiayang for his contributions. He remained a governor in Xu province for several peaceful years, but the military life always called to him. Eventually, he was called to take up arms again in service to Jin.
In 270, Xianbei forces under Shujineng staged a revolt and killed Hu Fen’s younger brother, Hu Lie. They then crushed a Jin army sent to suppress them. This inspired other tribal forces to revolt, and one particularly dangerous rebellion was led by the Xiongnu leader, Liu Meng, who sought to reestablish the old Xiongnu Confederacy long ago destroyed by Han. Because the Xiongnu were spread across the north, the rebellion was a grave threat, particularly to Bing province. Sima Yan ordered Hu Fen to suppress the revolt, making him the military supervisor for the campaign, with plenipotentiary authority. Forces were dispatched from Luoyang to aid him, particularly a contingent of cavalry under one Lu Fan (sometimes called Lu Bo).
While waiting for reinforcements, Hu Fen adopted a strategy of containment and blocked the passages to the south, keeping the Xiongnu confined to the north. The ensuing campaign was lengthy and lasted from the first month of 271 until a full year later. Eventually, Hu Fen and Lu Fan managed to catch Liu Meng in a pincer attack and kill him in battle. After that, it was a much simpler matter to mop up the remaining rebels and intimidate the others into surrender. The campaign ended in a resounding victory for Jin and for Hu Fen in particular.
For his part in the victory, he was made General Who Guards the South and Marshal of Jing province, maintaining his plenipotentiary authority. At that point, people agreed that Hu Fen had surpassed his father and brother in fame. He was further granted the title Protector of the Army (making him responsible for military discipline) and made one of Sima Yan’s attendants.
In 276, Hu Fen was called upon to settle another northern rebellion. Eight tribes of the Xianbei and Wuhuan people revolted against Jin and plundered Bing commandery. Hu Fen was made Inspector of Bing and given control of the northern armies to stop him. The resulting campaign was quick and decisive. Hu Fen crushed the revolt in less than a month, destroying the hopes of future rebels.
After this victory, Hu Fen was again sent to the south and made General of the Left as well as Marshal of the Jingbei region, which was essentially Jin’s portion of the divided Jiangxia commandery, with some of the surrounding territory. From his headquarters in Shaxian, Hu Fen repelled Wu raids on the border and prepared for the eventual invasion of Wu.
Around the end of 279, Sima Yan finally ordered the invasion everyone had been expecting. The main thrust of the attack was to be led by Wang Jun from Yi province, who would sail down the Yangzi river and destroy everything he came across. The other Jin commanders would attack Wu’s major cities in order to break the spine of the Wu military. Wang Hun and Sima Zhou were to threaten Jianye and defeat the main Wu force there, then converge on the city when Wang Jun joined them. The other group, including Hu Fen, Wang Rong, and Du Yu, was tasked with capturing Wuchang and everything west of it in order to give Sun Hao nowhere to go and prevent any Wu forces from reinforcing Jianye.
Hu Fen’s main task was to attack Xiakou, one of Wu’s strongest defensive positions. However, the Wu army was undermanned and unmotivated, without any famous commanders in the region. Xiakou easily fell to Hu Fen’s assault in January of 280. After capturing the city, Hu Fen remained in the area to secure Jin’s rear lines and ensure lines of communication, supply, and retreat. In order to further assist the campaign, he detached 7,000 men to join Wang Jun’s navy, and these men helped press on the attack.
By March, Wu’s army was utterly destroyed. Most commanders and soldiers had surrendered and defected when the Jin army arrived, and the few loyalists who remained were easily crushed. With Jianye threatened and no help available to him, Sun Hao surrendered, bringing about the end of Wu and of the Three Kingdoms era.
After the unification of Jin, Hu Fen was recalled to Luoyang, where Sima Yan assigned him political duties. He was made a supervisor in the Secretariat and given the title Grand General Who Guards the South. Furthermore, for his part in the conquest of Wu, Hu Fen was honored with the same ceremonies as the Three Excellencies. The remainder of Hu Fen’s life was relatively peaceful, though he made a few political enemies. Chief among Hu Fen’s enemies was the Empress’s father, Yang Jun, who personally hated Hu Fen and worried about the Hu family’s growing power. However, Yang Jun was also scared to death of Hu Fen because of his long history of military accomplishments, so he never dared act on this hatred.
Hu Fen passed away in 288 and was posthumously honored as General of the Chariots and Cavalry, jus tlike his father. He was granted the posthumous name of Zhuang, meaning “strong”.
Hu Fen had only one son, who died young. He did, however, have a daughter named Hu Fang. In 273, she became one of Sima Yan’s concubines. She was known for her unusually bold behavior as well as her quick wit and great beauty, making her one of the most interesting women of Sima Yan’s court. Initially, Hu Fang was reluctant to join the harem, though she later softened to him.
It was characteristic of the harem women to be servile, quiet, and obedient to the emperor, but as one might guess from the martial reputation of the Hu family, Hu Fang had no patience for such things. She spoke to Sima Yan with boldness and bluntness, never mincing her words or being overly delicate. Though much of the court was scandalized by what they perceived as a lack of respect, Sima Yan was actually quite pleased to have a woman in his life who spoke so honestly to him. The two of them grew to be a very close couple, as Hu Fang was one of very few people who treated Sima Yan as a man rather than an emperor. The two were often together and enjoyed many pastimes as a couple. They were particularly fond of playing xiangqi against each other.
After the conquest of Wu, Sima Yan took in over 1,000 of Sun Hao’s concubines, who had nowhere else to go. Despite this massive influx of women in his harem, Sima Yan still favored Hu Fang the most. Her treatment was second only to that of the Empress, Yang Yan. The Yang family began to fear that the Hu would overthrow them, and this was the source of Yang Jun’s hatred for Hu Fen. But everyone feared to move against the Hu family and so neither father nor daughter came to harm. When Yang Yan became deathly ill, many assumed that Hu Fang would be Jin’s next empress. However, Yang Yan made Sima Yan promise to marry her cousin, Yang Zhi, instead; this is the only reason Hu Fang did not take the throne.
Hu Fang and Sima Yan remained a close couple until the end of their lives. They had only one child together, the Princess of Wu’an. Sadly, the year of Hu Fang’s death is unrecorded, as are details about her daughter’s life. She was, however, a major figure in the Jin court and a very interesting woman in her own right. Her boldness and honesty even towards the emperor makes her a very special woman in Chinese history.
Hu Zun, Hu Fen, and Hu Fang were all intriguing figures and were among the most respected individuals of Wei and Jin in their various lifetimes. Though many details about their lives and achievements are unrecorded, surviving records make it clear that they were an impressive family. Counting Hu Lie and Yu Yuan among their number, it is easy to see how the Hu family gained such prominence in Jin. It is a shame that they aren’t better known.
What kind of possibility can the making of pottery—one of humanity’s oldest survival techniques—give us today? How can it help us to reconnect to the world? If art practices and survival techniques are supposed to be inseparable, how can we rediscover such a union? Through what methods and trials?
Hu Fang, as quoted in 'In converstation: Yanagi SŌETSU comes here, without invitation'.
"Conversations | The Future of the Museum | Digital Frontiers" at Art Basel 2009
Anne Faggionato, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, BlueLabel, London
Hu Fang, Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou and the shop, Beijing
Martin Roth, Director General, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden
Peter Weibel, Chairman and CEO, ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe
Moderator | Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director of Exhibitions and Programmes and Director of International Projects, Serpentine Gallery, London
