Hu Zhi 胡質

Hu Zhi 胡質 (d. 250), courtesy name unknown, was a military commander of the Wei dynasty 曹魏 (220-265) during the Three Kingdoms period 三國 (220-280).

He hailed from Shouchun 壽春 (today in Anhui) and was a small official in the local administration. The warlord Cao Cao 曹操 appointed him magistrate (ling 令) of Dunqiu 頓丘, then consultant in the Eastern Section of the Counsellor-in-chief (chengxiang dongcao yiling shi 丞相東曹議令史). In the early 220s he was made a court gentleman in the Ministry of Personnel (libu 吏部), then governor (taishou 太守) of Changshan 常山, then of Dongguan 東莞. Hu Zhi was then promoted to the office of regional inspector (cishi 刺史) of the province of Jingzhou 荊州 (approx. modern Hubei). He earned the title of General Wielding Authority (zhenwei jiangjun 振威將軍) and was granted nobility with the title of a Marquis within the Passes (guanneihou 關內侯).

His victory at Fancheng 樊城 over Zhu Ran 朱然, a general of the empire of Wu, earned him the title of General Conquering the East (zhengdong jiangjun 征東將軍), and he was made temporary commander-in-chief (jiajie dudu 假節都督) over the provinces Qingzhou 青州 (approx. Shandong) and Xuzhou 徐州 (northern Jiangsu). In this function he took care for the construction of granaries to secure the supply of the local armies in defense against the empire of Wu. Hu Zhi therefore had several canals dug out to make transport easier in that region. He was posthumously given the title of Neighbourhood Marquis of Yangling 陽陵亭侯, with the posthumous title of Marquis Zhen 陽陵亭貞侯.