Is “Huyan Zan dreamed of Yuchi Gong teaching him spear techniques” true?
According to the 'History of Song: Biography of Huyan Zan', he was exceptionally brave, 'tattooed all over his body with the characters 'loyal heart to kill the enemy', and even his wife, children, and servants were all tattooed like that.' He also made the 'breaking formation sword' and the 'demon-subduing pestle'. The official history has no record of him learning spear techniques from a deity in a dream. In 'Romance of the Yang Family Generals', Chapter 2, it is fictionalized that Huyan Zan stayed overnight in a broken temple, saw a statue with the inscription 'Shrine of Yuchi Gong of the Tang Dynasty', and in a dream learned the invincible divine spear from Yuchi Jingde. This is purely a fictional deification in the romance.
In the official history, Huyan Zan was brave and reckless, tattooed with 'loyal heart to kill the enemy' all over his body, while the novel embellishes that he learned spear techniques from Yuchi Gong in a dream.
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