Xiahou Xuan
At a young age, Deng Yang was already famous in Luoyang, the imperial capital of the Cao Wei state in the Three Kingdoms period. His fame put him on par with other contemporaries such as Xiahou Xuan, Zhuge Dan and Tian Chou. He held the positions of Gentleman of Writing (), Palace Gentleman (), and Prefect () of Luoyang during the reign of Cao Rui ( 226–239), the second Wei emperor. However, he was later dismissed from office for engaging in superficial and fame-seeking behaviour.