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Xian Zhen
Commander of Jin's central army who planned the victory over Chu at Chengpu, ambushed the Qin army at Yao, and died charging the Di the same year
At dusk on a hilltop, a large tent stands open with a table holding a map marked with small stones inside, a saddled horse tethered outside, and fire stands burning; campfires dot the river plain below, and one tiny sentry stands on the slope.
Also known as Yuan Zhen
Xian Zhen, a Jin minister also called Yuan Zhen after his fief, lived in the Spring and Autumn period. When Duke Wen reorganized his three armies at Beilu in 633 BC he was made deputy of the lower army, and the next year, after the commander Xi Hu died, he was raised over others to command the central army. Before the battle of Chengpu he devised the ploys over Cao and Wey that goaded Chu into fighting, and in 632 BC Jin routed the Chu army. In 627 BC he insisted on ambushing the Qin army returning from its raid on Zheng and captured its three generals in the Yao mountains; when Duke Xiang freed them at the request of Lady Wen Ying, he spat on the ground before the duke. Later that year, having insulted his lord unpunished, he took off his helmet and charged into the Di army to his death; the Zuo Tradition (Zuozhuan) says the Di returned his head looking as if alive.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown–627 BCE