The story of Huang Feihu

Huang Feihu came of a line of generals who had served Shang for generations. He held the title King of Martial Achievement Who Guards the State, was stationed at Chaoge in command of the Shang armies, and had his residence at a key point in the city with standards before the gate and a great retinue in attendance. King Zhou had given him a five-coloured divine ox that travelled a thousand li a day for his campaigns.

One year a banquet was held in the palace and the king ordered the wives of the officials to come and offer greetings. Huang Feihu’s wife, Lady Jia, was lured by Daji up onto the Star-Plucking Tower and driven to leap to her death.

Huang Feihu’s sister, Consort Huang, came to the palace at the news and asked the king to his face how her sister-in-law had died. In his anger the king threw her from the tower with his own hands, and she was killed on the spot.

Having lost wife and sister together, Huang Feihu could not master his grief and rage. That night he gathered his retainers Huang Ming, Zhou Ji, Long Huan and Wu Qian and his sons Huang Tianlu, Huang Tianjue and Huang Tianxiang, burned his own residence, and left the city under cover of night, breaking out of Chaoge for Western Qi. The wind was high that night and the fire rose from the house to redden half the sky as Huang Feihu led his people out through the western gate and rode hard for the west.

Hearing that Huang Feihu had fled with his whole household, King Zhou in fury ordered his arrest, told every pass to search carefully and let nobody through, and the garrisons set out to intercept him; so Huang Feihu fought his way along and lost men on the road.

At Jiepai Pass the commander Xu Gai, hearing why he had come and remembering their old friendship, opened the gate and let him through. His son Xu Fang led troops in pursuit and failed to catch him, and Xu Gai abandoned the pass and went with Huang Feihu.

At Sishui Pass the commander Han Rong held it and fought hard; his sons Han Sheng and Han Bian came out to intercept and both died before the lines, and Han Rong afterwards killed himself on the wall, and Huang Feihu took the pass and went through.

At Chuanyun Pass the commander Chen Tong struck at him with the fire-dragon dart; fire burst from it, singeing off Huang Feihu’s beard and hair and wounding his neck, but his officers shielded him and he broke through and rode on west.

At Tong Pass the ground before the gate was steep, and the commander came out at the news to block him; after a hard fight Huang Feihu forced the pass and got clear. By the time they reached Lintong Pass it was near dusk, the lamps on the tower were few and the garrison came out in haste; Huang Feihu cut his way through again, and at last saw the walls of Western Qi, where Ji Chang and Jiang Shang met him and brought his people inside.

Once with Zhou, Huang Feihu was given a command in the Western Qi army and campaigned against King Zhou under Jiang Shang through many hard battles. His son Huang Tianhua marched with him, father and son each with their own troops, and both won distinction. When Wen Zhong set out the Ten Absolutes to block the Zhou army, Huang Feihu and his officers helped break them under Jiang Shang, leading from the front and charging the enemy lines more than once.

When the army pushed on to Mianchi, the commander Zhang Kui was master of the earth-travelling art and his wife Gao Lanying used the sun-god needles. In the fighting Zhang Kui caught Huang Feihu out and he was killed before the lines, and his five-coloured divine ox fell with him.

The battle for Mianchi went on, and Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying were both killed before the lines in turn. The Zhou army took Mianchi and marched on east.

On the day the roll was read at the investiture terrace, Jiang Shang installed Huang Feihu as the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, the Benevolent Sage of Mount Tai Equal to Heaven, with authority over life and death in the underworld and first among the gods of the five peaks.