Records of the Three Kingdoms
Sun Jian, courtesy name Wentai, was from Fuchun in Wu commandery. He was known for courage as a young man, fought the Yellow Turbans, and became governor of Changsha. When the eastern provinces rose against Dong Zhuo he reached the front and at Yangren smashed Dong Zhuo’s army. Hua Xiong, a commander in that army, was killed there. After Dong Zhuo moved west, Sun Jian entered Luoyang and repaired the plundered tombs. Pei Songzhi quotes a Wu account that Sun Jian found the imperial seal in a well, and Pei doubts the story.
In 191, at Yuan Shu’s urging, he attacked Liu Biao. Huang Zu’s men ambushed him on Xian Mountain. He was shot and killed at thirty-seven. The body was later returned. Sun Ce and Sun Quan were still young. The Jiangdong regime was conquered by Sun Ce in the years after this death. Sun Jian had not held it himself.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
The novel calls him the Tiger of Jiangdong. At Sishui Pass, Hua Xiong cuts down several officers and captures Sun Jian’s red scarf. Guan Yu’s warming-wine kill is placed after that setback. In the histories Hua Xiong dies in Sun Jian’s victory, not by Guan Yu’s hand.
The book also has Sun Jian pull the imperial seal from a well in Luoyang. Yuan Shu then detains him and demands the seal. The ambush on Xian Mountain remains: he dies under a flight of arrows, Huang Zu holds the body, and it is later exchanged. The seal ties his death to Yuan Shu’s imperial claim.
Reference: Wikipedia · Sun Jian