He was a military officer serving the warlord Lü Bu during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Lü Bu was resting when his subordinates Song Xian and Wei Xu captured him and tied him up. They threw his ji down the walls and opened the gates for Cao Cao's forces to enter. Lü Bu was brought before Cao Cao and he complained that he was too tightly bound, but Cao Cao said, "A tiger must be tied up securely." Lü Bu then said to Hou Cheng, Wei Xu and Song Xian, "I treated all of you well, why do you betray me?" Song Xian replied, "(You) listen to your wives and concubines and ignore our advice. You call this 'treating us well'?" Lü Bu remained silent.