Su Wu
Upon his arrest, Su Wu refused to cooperate, and was imprisoned in a cellar. Accounts state that he was provided with neither food nor water, in an effort to elicit his cooperation. Remaining obstinate, Su Wu managed by eating the lining of his coat for food and melting the snow which drifted into his prison for water to drink. Upon his surviving this ordeal, the Xiongnu continued to hold him captive, and attempting to obtain his cooperation. The Xiongnu, rather than truly reporting the state of affairs to the Chinese, instead reported that he had died (Murck, 75); but, he was kept alive, and sent to work as a nomadic herdsperson, in which capacity he is generally supposed to have retained his official staff of office. As the years went by, Su was elevated in status, even it is said given a wife who bore him children. In the meantime, China and Xiongnu continued to conduct mutual hostilities, diplomacy was placed on the back burner, and Su Wu continued to herd the flocks of animals to which duty he was assigned, by the Xiongnu chanyu.