Wei Warrior
Dian Wei, the Guard at Wancheng
典韋died 1974 star
In short
Dian Wei (died 197) was the commander of Cao Cao's bodyguard, known for his strength and for a pair of halberds said to weigh eighty catties. When Zhang Xiu, who had just surrendered, attacked Cao Cao's camp at Wancheng by night in 197, Dian Wei held the gate with a dozen men until all were dead. Cao Cao escaped. His eldest son and a nephew did not.
| Lived | died 197 |
|---|---|
| Name in Chinese | 典韋 |
| Served | Zhang Miao, then Cao Cao |
The history
Dian Wei was from Jiwu in Chenliu, a big man with a name for keeping his word. As a youth he avenged a friend by killing a former official at his own gate and walking away through the market, with hundreds following and none daring to close.
He joined the army under Zhang Miao, where he is said to have raised with one hand a great banner that many men together could not lift. Under Cao Cao he made his name in 194 against Lu Bu at Puyang. Leading a few dozen volunteers in double armor, without shields, he told a companion to call out only when the enemy was ten paces off, then five, and then he threw short halberds, and a man fell with each.
Cao Cao made him commander of his guard. Dian Wei stood behind him all day with a great axe, slept beside his tent, and seldom went home. He ate and drank for two men.
In 197 Zhang Xiu surrendered Wancheng and then, provoked, attacked the camp at night. Dian Wei fought at the front gate, and Zhang Xiu’s soldiers could not get in. They came round by other gates. He had about ten men left, each fighting ten. With a long halberd he broke ten spears at a stroke. Wounded in dozens of places and fighting hand to hand, he seized two men, one under each arm, and killed them. Then he died of his wounds. Only then did the enemy dare come near.
Cao Cao lost his son Cao Ang and his nephew Cao Anmin that night. He wept for Dian Wei, and held a rite for him each time he passed the place.
The novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms adds a detail: Zhang Xiu’s man Hu Che’er gets Dian Wei drunk and steals his halberds before the attack. The rest is close to the record.
Dian Wei in the game
In Warlords of the Three Kingdoms Dian Wei is the Guard at Wancheng: a 4 star warriorof Wei. The game's line for him: “He held the camp gate at Wancheng with a halberd in each hand so that his lord could reach the river.”
| Kingdom | Wei |
|---|---|
| Role | Warrior |
| Rarity | 4 star |
| Base attack and defense | 28 and 20 |
| Where from | Sold in the Merit Shop for 500 Merit, the currency the weekly Kingdom War pays. |
A warlord sworn to Wei fields him 10% stronger, as every General of their own Kingdom. Wei, Shu or Wu has what the choice changes.
Four star is where he starts. Duplicates become shards, shards add stars, and each star adds a tenth to both numbers.
Questions
How did Dian Wei die?
Fighting at the gate of Cao Cao's camp at Wancheng in 197. He and about a dozen guards held off Zhang Xiu's men at close quarters. At the end, wounded in dozens of places, he seized two soldiers and killed them with his hands, and he died cursing the enemy.
What weapons did Dian Wei use?
A pair of heavy halberds and a long blade. The army had a rhyme about the warrior under Cao Cao's banner who carried twin halberds of eighty catties.
Why did Zhang Xiu attack Cao Cao at Wancheng?
Zhang Xiu had surrendered, and then Cao Cao took his uncle's widow as a concubine. Zhang Xiu resented it, Cao Cao heard and planned to kill him, and Zhang Xiu struck first.
How do you get Dian Wei in Warlords of the Three Kingdoms?
Sold in the Merit Shop for 500 Merit, the currency the weekly Kingdom War pays.
Sources
The history follows Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, written in the third century, with Pei Songzhi's annotations of the fifth, and Fan Ye's Book of the Later Han for the years before the Han court fell apart. What the page calls the novel is Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, of the fourteenth century. Where the two disagree, the page says which is speaking. For more on him, see Dian Wei on Wikipedia.
Written by Gitkonek Studio, .
Keep reading
- Guo Jia, the Demon TalentCao Cao's favorite strategist, whose counsel won the north and whose death, Cao Cao said, lost Red Cliffs.
- Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed GeneralStruck in the eye by an arrow, he pulled it out and ate the eye, saying he would not waste a gift from his parents.
- Xu Chu, the Tiger FoolCao Cao's bodyguard, who once dragged an ox backward by its tail for a hundred paces.
- Cao Cao, the Hero of ChaosXu Shao called him a capable minister in peace and a treacherous hero in chaos; he laughed and took the second.
- Sima Yi, the Wolf Who Looks BackHe outwaited Cao Cao, outlasted Zhuge Liang, and left his grandsons an empire that had not been his.