Biography
Family Background and Early Years
Meng Huo came from the prominent Meng clan of Nanzhong. During the Eastern Han, many Han settlers had already moved into Nanzhong, roughly present-day Yunnan, Guizhou, and southwestern Sichuan, producing powerful local clans such as the Jiao, Yong, Lou, Cuan, Meng, Liang, Mao, and Li families. The Meng were among the prominent groups and included branches associated with Zhuti and Jianning. Members of the Zhuti Meng had served in the interior since the Western Han, while the Jianning Meng are generally regarded as having moved south from the Zhuti branch.
Meng Huo's ethnic affiliation has long been disputed. One view identifies him as a Han local strongman whose ancestors had migrated south, another as a Yi leader, while still others regard him as a powerful local figure who had become culturally mixed or “barbarized.” A claimed Yi name is Jieduo Awen.
Although he came from a prominent clan, Meng Huo lived for many years in a region where indigenous and Han populations were intermingled. He enjoyed substantial prestige among both groups; the historical phrase says that he was “respected by the indigenous and the Han.” This dual standing gave him considerable mobilizing power in Nanzhong and later helped make him both a rebel leader and a key figure in Shu Han's governance of the region.
There is also disagreement over his native place. The *Chronicles of Huayang* contains different references to Jianning and Zhuti, and the matter remains disputed. During the Republican era, scholar Zhang Hualan wrote *A Critique of Meng Huo*, questioning whether Meng Huo was a fictitious figure. He argued that the *Records of the Three Kingdoms* described rebels such as Yong Kai and Gao Ding in detail and would not have omitted a man supposedly “respected by indigenous and Han alike,” and that a man “captured seven times” being named Huo, meaning “capture,” appeared suspiciously convenient. More scholars, including Huang Chengzong, have argued that Meng Huo was historical, pointing to the Eastern Han “Meng Xiaoju Stele” excavated at Zhaotong in Yunnan as evidence that the Meng surname was indeed prominent in Nanzhong.
Participation in the Rebellion
After Liu Bei pacified Shu in 214, the nineteenth year of Jian'an, he sent General Who Pacifies the Distant Deng Fang to administer Nanzhong as Administrator of Zhuti and Laixiang Commander, with his headquarters at Nanguang. Deng Fang was said to regard wealth lightly and to be resolute and courageous, earning respect among both indigenous and Han people. After Deng Fang died, Liu Bei asked administrative aide Li Hui who could replace him. Li Hui compared himself to Zhao Chongguo, and Liu Bei appointed him commander, moving the headquarters to Pingyi County.
In 223, the first year of Jianxing, Shu Han emperor Liu Bei died and the situation in Nanzhong changed abruptly. Yong Kai, a prominent Yizhou clansman; Gao Dingyuan, an indigenous leader of Yuexi; and Zhu Bao, Administrator of Zangke, successively rose in rebellion. Yong Kai killed Administrator Zheng Ang and bound the succeeding administrator Zhang Yi, sending him to Eastern Wu, where Sun Quan appointed Yong Kai remotely as Administrator of Yongchang. The indigenous people of Yizhou initially did not wish to follow Yong Kai, so he sent Meng Huo to stir them up. Meng Huo falsely told the elders: “The court wants three hundred black dogs with entirely black chests, three dou of mann nao, and three thousand lengths of zhuo wood, each three zhang long. Can you provide them?” Zhuo wood was hard and curved and did not grow even two zhang tall, making the demand impossible. The people therefore believed him and followed Yong Kai in rebellion.
Because the state had only recently suffered the death of its ruler, Zhuge Liang did not immediately send a punitive army and instead adopted a policy of conciliation. He sent official Chang Qi to inspect Nanzhong and had Protector-General Li Yan write to admonish Yong Kai. Yong Kai replied arrogantly: “I have heard that there cannot be two suns in Heaven nor two kings on earth. Now the realm is divided and there are three legitimate calendars. People in distant lands are bewildered and do not know whom to follow.” When Chang Qi reached Zangke, he arrested and interrogated the registrar there and was killed by Zhu Bao, further widening the rebellion.
Seven Captures and Seven Releases
In the spring of 225, the third year of Jianxing, Zhuge Liang personally led a large army south in three columns: Ma Zhong attacked Zangke, Li Hui advanced toward Yizhou, and Zhuge Liang led the main force against Yuexi. Yong Kai led his troops toward Yuexi to support Gao Ding but was instead killed by Gao Ding's followers. Meng Huo gathered Yong Kai's scattered troops and became the new rebel leader. Zhuge Liang killed Gao Dingyuan, Ma Zhong pacified Zangke, and Li Hui fought in Nanzhong. Meng Huo withdrew to a base south of the Jinsha River and between there and Yongchang, roughly in the area from present-day Heqing to Dali in Yunnan.
Zhuge Liang heard that Meng Huo was respected by both indigenous and Han people and ordered that he be taken alive. According to the *Spring and Autumn Annals of the Han and Jin*, after capturing Meng Huo, Zhuge Liang took him around the Shu encampment and asked, “What do you think of this army?” Meng Huo replied: “Before, I did not know what was real and what was empty, and so I was defeated. Now that I have been permitted to inspect your camp, if this is all there is, it will certainly be easy to defeat.” Zhuge Liang laughed and released him to fight again. This process of seven releases and seven captures ended with Meng Huo sincerely submitting and refusing to leave again. He said: “My lord, this is Heaven's might. The people of the south will rebel no more.”
Before the campaign, staff officer Ma Su had accompanied Zhuge Liang for several dozen li and advised him: “In the method of warfare, attacking the heart is superior and attacking cities inferior; warfare of the mind is superior and warfare with weapons inferior. I hope, my lord, that you will simply make their hearts submit.” Zhuge Liang adopted the advice. The seven captures and seven releases were later treated as the fullest example of the principle “attacking the heart is superior.”
It should be noted that the story of the seven captures and seven releases first appears in the *Chronicles of Huayang* and the *Spring and Autumn Annals of the Han and Jin*. The *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, the standard dynastic history, does not record it, and its historicity has therefore been debated. Pei Songzhi's commentary on the *Records of the Three Kingdoms* nevertheless quotes the passage from the *Spring and Autumn Annals of the Han and Jin* in full, and Sima Guang's *Zizhi Tongjian* also includes the episode; the source text notes that it does not directly contradict the *Records of the Three Kingdoms*.
Service in Shu
In the autumn of 225, the third year of Jianxing, the four Nanzhong commanderies of Yizhou, Yuexi, Zangke, and Yongchang were pacified. Zhuge Liang renamed Yizhou Commandery as Jianning and appointed Li Hui administrator. He separated territory from Jianning and Yuexi to form Yunnan Commandery and appointed Lü Kai administrator, and separated territory from Jianning and Zangke to form Xinggu Commandery, with Ma Zhong as Administrator of Zangke. He also moved more than ten thousand households of strong soldiers known as the Qing Qiang into Shu, organized them into five divisions called the “Flying Army,” and assigned weaker people as retainers to the powerful Jiao, Yong, Lou, Cuan, Meng, Liang, Mao, and Li clans, establishing five division commandants known as the “Five Sons.”
Zhuge Liang adopted a conciliatory policy described as “leaving no garrison and transporting no grain.” He brought outstanding men from Nanzhong into the central government. Meng Huo, together with Cuan Xi of Jianning and Meng Yan of Zhuti, entered government service. Meng Huo followed Zhuge Liang to Chengdu and was appointed Vice Censor-in-Chief. Cuan Xi eventually became a military commander, while Meng Yan became General Who Supports Han. By these appointments, Zhuge Liang both won the loyalty of Nanzhong and incorporated potential rebel forces into the Shu Han bureaucracy.
After his submission, Meng Huo assisted Shu Han in stabilizing Nanzhong. During Zhuge Liang's lifetime, the region saw no further major rebellion. Gold, silver, cinnabar lacquer, plow oxen, warhorses, and other resources from Nanzhong were supplied steadily for Shu Han's military and state needs and became important logistical support for Zhuge Liang's northern campaigns. When Cao Wei invaded Shu in 263, Nanzhong did not send troops to relieve Chengdu. The source text gives several possible explanations, including that Meng Huo may already have died or become elderly, that his power was not the only major force in Nanzhong, and that relations between the central government and Nanzhong were limited in late Shu Han.