Xiahou Yuan

Xiahou Yuan is Cao Cao's and Xiahou Dun's cousin. He is one of Wei's accomplished generals and a candidate for the Five Generals of Wei. A master of the bow in his own right, he is generally considered to be Huang Zhong's rival.

In the Dynasty Warriors series, he is 28 years old and his height is 183 cm (6'). His height in Kessen II is 180 cm (approximately 5'11").

Dynasty Warriors
Xiahou Yuan is one of Cao Cao's prized generals who appears in many of his cousin's early campaigns. During the Battle of Guan Du, he sometimes scouts Zhang He's talents as an asset for Cao Cao. Unless it is his own story, he often dies against his rival at Mt. Ding Jun if left unattended.

His Legend Mode in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends focus on an incident during the Battle of Mt. Ding Jun. Zhang He lost foothold of his position and fled back to Xiahou Yuan wounded. Forgiving his comrade's fault, he personally rides into battle to defend the main camp from Huang Zhong's soldiers. They fight in a narrow pass while Zhang He recovers. As time progresses, Xiahou Dun reinforces him and they endure the Shu general's assault until Cao Cao arrives.

Dynasty Warriors 5 describes him as a masterful general who specializes in archery and surprise attacks. He aids in ending his lord's rivals at Xia Pi and Guan Du. After their victory at Tong Gate, he is given the task of dealing with Liu Bei's advance at Mt. Ding Jun. He continues to act as the main commander in Cao Cao's absence and they are able to claim victory with their lord's reinforcements. Xiahou Yuan's bravery during the conflict weakens the resolve of Wei's rivals and the land is soon united under Cao Cao. Though living in a time of peace, Xiahou Yuan swears to never abandon his bow to honor those who were slain by it.

He shares his Legend Mode in the Xtreme Legends expansion with Zhang He, Cao Ren and Cao Cao at the Battle of Yang Ping Gate. They face the supernatural Five Bushel sect lead by Zhang Lu. Needing the area to open a path to Shu, Xiahou Yuan heads up the eastern mountain path to surprise Zhang Lu. If his ambush succeeds, the sorcerer will be flustered and cowers within his main camp.

In Dynasty Warriors 6, Xiahou Yuan appears as a Free Mode only character. He appears to reinforce Xu Chang's defenses against Sun Ce and charges to reclaim one of their forts from Huang Zhong at Mt. Ding Jun. Based on his repeated appearances in the characters' ending scenarios, he survives the battle during Wei's story and sees the new land their lord envisioned. In Zhang He's story in Special, they work together to defend the mountain.

Warriors Orochi
In Orochi's story mode, Xiahou Yuan is one of the main generals who participated in his kingdom's resistance against the serpent king. When the army is faced with cannons, however, he and the other generals flee to regain their composure. Eventually, he is defeated and he escapes capture.

Filled with pride for his kingdom, he joins an anti-Orochi resistance with Huang Gai and Xu Zhu in Warriors Orochi. When he sees Cao Pi in the enemy ranks, he chastises the heir for ruining Wei. He defiantly joins forces with his brother in an effort to defeat their lord's son. As they fight, both brothers realize Cao Pi's true intentions to rebel and finally join his ranks.

In Warriors Orochi 2, Xiahou Yuan leads the fire attack against Lu Bu's army at Si Shui Gate. At Ji Castle, he rescues Magoichi and Toshiie from being defeated by Sima Yi's offensive forces. He holds the fort with reserve forces while Magoichi rushes to gather his renegades. Though allied with her in this title, he has a hard time believing in Kunoichi's strength. In his dream mode, he teams up with Huang Zhong and Ina to show that archers can still surpass advanced military firearms.

Kessen
Xiahou Yuan is a powerful yet short-lived general in Kessen II. His War stat is high and his officer skills can easily route any of Shu's generals. He is one of Cao Cao's greatest generals who provides strategies for battle. While they were riding to do battle with Zhuge Liang, both he and Cao Cao are caught in an ambush. Xiahou Yuan volunteers to take his lord's place alone on the field. Though his cousin protested, he retreats back to their base for a war council. Wei would later receive news of his death at Zhang Fei's hands.

Personality
Not one for eloquence, Xiahou Yuan is a gruff yet practical man of war. Though dedicated to his family's vision, he is more social and loose than his older cousins, willing to crack affable jokes during battle. Always on the go, Xiahou Yuan thinks every battle as a step in Cao Cao's conquests and wants them to be done and over with as soon as possible. He has little tolerance for interruptions and is known to have a short fuse when the enemy gains the advantage. When off duty, he is actually a kind soul who doesn't stress too much over his losses. He is the one who offers an optimistic and friendly view to his brooding comrades within Wei. Occasionally, his softer side surfaces on the battlefield, as he remarks his reluctance to fight against women, children, or men with good character. In the overseas script, Xiahou Yuan talks with a quick, lively rhythm and often says lines that are slightly more compassionate than his English counterpart.

He admires Xiahou Dun and fondly calls him "Brother Dun" (惇兄). He shares his cousin's sense of loyalty and rudeness, as they can both be equally cold to their foes. He is also respected by Cao Cao as his lord addresses Xiahou Yuan by his style name. Xiahou Yuan is disturbed by Zhang He's eccentric traits and is the only officer in Wei to openly criticize his "weirdness". At the same time, however, he respects Zhang He's abilities and knows that he is still a valuable ally. This trait continues in the Warriors Orochi series when he meets some of the off-beat characters from the Samurai Warriors cast, such as Kunoichi and Yoshimoto. He is nicer to Nōhime, Nu Wa, and Keiji in the same series.

If an original character decides to stay close to him, Xiahou Yuan's only request from them is to never die before him. Should he fall in battle, he asks that his comrade not follow him. Although he initially thinks it's a joke that a woman would want to be with him, Xiahou Yuan treasures his wife in Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires and frets over her well being.

Cocky of his own abilities, he is also known to tease Huang Zhong's age and capabilities when they clash at Mt. Ding Jun. The two men have a rivalry throughout the series as masters of the bow. Additionally a cynic within the crossover series, he expresses his doubts towards Himiko and Mitsunari's strengths.

Character Symbolism
The original names for his third and forth weapons as well as his weapons in Dynasty Warriors 6 take their namesakes from the Nine Heavens. In modern times, this term is used to describe the astronomical objects rotating in our part of the galaxy: the sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. During Ancient China, the concept refers to the heavens divided into the cardinal directions and their intermediate points.


 * 1) Center - Juntian (鈞天, Kinten)
 * 2) East - Cangtian (蒼天, Sōten)
 * 3) West - Haotian (昊天, Kōten)
 * 4) South - Yantian (炎天, Enten)
 * 5) North - Xuantian (玄天, Genten)
 * 6) Northeast - Biantian (変天, Henten)
 * 7) Northwest - Youtian (幽天, Yuuten)
 * 8) Southwest - Shutian (朱天, Shuten)
 * 9) Southeast - Yangtian (陽天, Yōten)

Each heaven is protected by various deities within Taoism and continue to influence other aspects of Chinese mythology, including the Four Symbols.

Voice Actors

 * Steve Blum - Dynasty Warriors 4~6, Warriors Orochi (English)
 * Tony Oliver - Dynasty Warriors 6 Special ~ Strikeforce, Warriors Orochi 2 (English)
 * Lee Byung Joo - Dynasty Warriors 2 (Korean)
 * Kim Min-Seong - Dynasty Warriors 3 (Korean)
 * Choi Seok Pil - Dynasty Warriors 4~5 (Korean)
 * Beau Billingslea - Kessen II (English)
 * Yasuhiko Tokuyama - Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Hirohiko Kakegawa - Kessen II (Japanese)

Quotes

 * See also: Xiahou Yuan/Quotes


 * "I'm not gonna ask for help, but someone better offer soon!"
 * Xiahou Yuan in trouble; Dynasty Warriors 6


 * "Hey granddad! Your hip too sore to come out and fight?"
 * "Who said that? I demand you show yourself!"
 * Xiahou Yuan and Huang Zhong at the Battle of Shikoku; Warriors Orochi 2


 * "My lord! What of the Mandate of Heaven? Who among us will quell this rebellion? I beg you to put your faith in a loyal servant."
 * Xiahou Yuan covering Cao Cao's escape; Kessen II

Ground Moveset

 * undefined, (undefined, undefined): A series of four bow shots. Five arrows per wave.
 * , undefined: Xiahou Yuan swings his rod upwards.
 * ,, undefined (undefined, undefined, undefined): Firmly planting his feet in the ground with each lunge, Xiahou Yuan whacks forward with his weapon, alternating directions each time.
 * ,, , undefined: Spins around and swipes downwards with weapon.
 * ,, , , undefined: swings club upwards, sending a purple wave of wind in front of him.
 * ,, , , , undefined (undefined, undefined, undefined): Swings weapon in alternating directions.
 * A series of jumping revolutions.


 * , : Jump, then swipe.
 * , undefined: Xiahou Yuan jumps and flips directly downwards, crashing his weapon into the ground.

Horse Moveset

 * undefined: Xiahou Yuan leans to each side, and swipes with his weapon.
 * ,, , , , : Three attacks to the right side, three to the left.
 * Repeating slashes to all sides until the Musou gauge empties.


 * Warriors Orochi
 * R1: Quickly fires nine sets of arrows. Can rotate during the move's execution.

Dynasty Warriors 6
He shares his moveset with Huang Zhong and Zhou Tai. See Cloned Moveset for more details.
 * Special Attack: Volley: releases waves of arrows surrounding the player to annihilate enemies. Xiahou Yuan's version may be upgraded to include a fire element.

Weapons

 * See also: Xiahou Yuan/Weapons

Historical Information
Xiahou Yuan was born in the county of Qiao (谯, present day Bozhou, Anhui). He was a benefactor to Cao Cao, his later lord, even during their younger days in the county. The Records of Three Kingdoms records an incident where Cao Cao committed a crime, for which Xiahou Yuan took the blame, though the innocent man was eventually acquitted through efforts by Cao Cao.

In 190, Cao Cao started raising an army to join the coalition against Dong Zhuo, the tyrannical warlord who held the emperor hostage in the imperial court. Xiahou Yuan heeded the call together with his elder cousin Xiahou Dun. For many years, Xiahou Yuan stayed close to Cao Cao's side during his various regional campaigns.

Xiahou Yuan was placed in charge of the food supplied to troops in Yan province (兖州), Yu province (豫州), and Xu province (徐州) during the Battle of Red Cliffs. The fact that Cao Cao's army recovered so quick after the defeat at Red Cliffs was partly due to Xiahou's timely transport of materials. Xiahou kept his role in logistic management until the end of the battle of Jiangling, in which Cao Cao gave up the city of Jiangling to the forces of Sun Quan.

In 213, Ma Chao besieged the city of Ji (冀; not to be confused with Ji province), east of present day Gangu, Gansu in Liang province (凉洲). Xiahou Yuan led a force to its rescue, but the city fell before he could arrive. Ma Chao, aware of his enemy's coming, met Xiahou Yuan 200 li outside Ji. Xiahou Yuan's troops were outmatched on the open field, and were forced to retreat.

Two years later, Ma Chao attacked Mount Qi (祁山). Many believed that Cao Cao's order was required before help could be sent, but Xiahou Yuan decided that it would take too long to seek the approval of his lord, who was 2,000 li away in Ye. He then took over the initiative and sent out Zhang He with 5,000 troops as the pioneer force, while he tailed behind with the supplies. By the time Xiahou Yuan arrived at Mount Qi, Zhang He had already defeated Ma Chao.

After the victory, Xiahou Yuan began to prepare for an offensive against Ma Chao's ally, Han Sui. When Han Sui got wind of the plan, he retreated westwards. Xiahou Yuan chased him all the way to Lueyang (略阳). Understanding that Han Sui's force was largely made up of men from the Qiang tribe in Changli (长离), Xiahou Yuan decided to attack Changli in order to draw Han Sui out from behind fortifications.

Leaving behind most of his supplies, Xiahou Yuan led his cavalry and light infantry to ransack Changli, killing numerous inhabitants there. True to his predictions, Han Sui came to the tribe's rescue. Seeing that they were outnumbered, Xiahou Yuan's men wanted to build defense works before engaging the enemy. However, believing that such construction would further exhaust his troops, who were already worn from the travel, Xiahou Yuan ordered an immediate attack on his just arrived rival, and his army ultimately prevailed.

With Han Sui removed, Xiahou Yuan went on to put down other oppositions in the region, he forced the King of Di to flee to Hanzhong, and incorporated surrendered forces into his own. In 214 AD, Xiahou Yuan led his combined forces to invade Song Jian, who established a tiny kingdom 30 years ago. Song's capital was besieged for only a month or so, before it was captured by Xiahou. Xiahou beheaded Song and all of his officers. The Qiang and Di tribesmen were terrified by Song's quick downfall and the massacre that followed. Thus, by 215, most of the Qiang tribes had surrendered to the Kingdom of Wei. Cao Cao was full of praise for his general. Quoting Confucius, he said to Xiahou Yuan, "I cannot do as well as you". Thereafter, Cao Cao always had Xiahou next to him when he met with the Qiang or Di chiefs.

In 216, Zhang Lu surrendered Hanzhong to Cao Cao. Xiahou Yuan was then left in defense of this strategic commandery that lied between the territories of Cao Cao and Liu Bei. The year after, Liu Bei led a force upon Hanzhong, and met with Xiahou Yuan at the Yangping Pass.

The confrontation dragged on for more than a year. One night, Liu Bei set fire to the barbed fence Xiahou Yuan erected around his camp at the foot of Mt. Dingjun. Alarmed by the attack, Xiahou Yuan sent Zhang He to defend the eastern corner of the camp, while he guarded the south. Liu Bei's main force pressed against Zhang He, outmatching the latter. Xiahou Yuan had to dispatch a fraction of his own troops to Zhang He's rescue.

Accompanied by thundering drums, a division of Liu Bei's troops led by Huang Zhong then descended upon Xiahou Yuan's dwindling force. The battle became a rout and Xiahou Yuan himself was killed in battle. Hanzhong soon fell to Liu Bei's forces and would not be reclaimed until decades later.

After his death, Xiahou Yuan was given the posthumous title of Marquis Min, literally meaning the sympathetic marquis.

In his early years, Chinese population was plagued with hardships due to devastations caused by war and nature, and even the affluent Xiahou Family was no exception. Xiahou Yuan's daughter had to go out to gather firewoods to help out the family because Xiahou Yuan's income was not enough to buy firewoods from the market. As a result, in her last trip to gather firewood for her family, Xiahou Yuan's daughter was captured by Zhang Fei's troops, but it turned out to be a blessing for her: Zhang Fei married Xiahou Yuan's daughter and both of their two daughters were married to Liu Shan and became the empresses of Shu Han.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Xiahou Yuan was a bold general who joined Cao Cao after his escape from Dong Zhuo. He was made a commander after Cao Cao became Emperor Xian's minister.

Xiahou Yuan stationed his troops on Mount Dingjun and effectively resisted the advance of Huang Zhong, a mighty general under Liu Bei, who ordered a campaign on the area of Hanzhong. Under the council of advisor Fa Zheng, Huang Zhong occupied Mount Tiandang, a taller peak that lied to the west of Mount Dingjun. From this new vantage point Huang Zhong had an excellent view of Xiahou Yuan's troop movements.

Xiahou Yuan could not tolerate his enemy spying on him and insisted on attacking Mount Tiandang, though his aide Zhang He tried to dissuade him from doing so. Setting out his troops to surround Mount Tiandang, Xiahou Yuan rode forth and challenged his enemy to battle. However, Huang Zhong kept his troops back and refused to engage.

In the afternoon, Fa Zheng saw from his lookout post near the peak that Xiahou Yuan's troops had grown tired and dispirited. He then hoisted a red flag, signaling Huang Zhong to attack. Amid deafening drums and war horns, the Chengdu troops rushed downhill with Huang Zhong galloping in the forefront. Before he could react, Xiahou Yuan was cleft into two below his shoulders by Huang Zhong. With their commander dead, Xiahou Yuan's soldiers were easily defeated and Mount Dingjun was taken.

Trivia

 * His nickname with Japanese Dynasty Warriors fans is "Enjeru" (淵ジェル), a portmanteau of the Japanese way of saying Yuan (En) and angel.