In 255, he participated in a rebellion in Shouchun started by his father, Wen Qin, and another Wei general, Guanqiu Jian.
However, the rebellion was suppressed and Wen Qin and his family were forced to defect to Eastern Wu, Wei's rival state.
In 257, when another rebellion broke out in Shouchun, Wen Qin and his sons led troops from Wu to support the rebel leader, Zhuge Dan.
Wen Yang continued serving under the Jin dynasty, which replaced the Wei regime in February 266, and achieved fame for leading successful military campaigns against tribal rebels led by Tufa Shujineng in northwestern China.
In April 291, he was falsely accused of plotting a rebellion with Yang Jun, an ousted regent, and was arrested and executed along with his family.
In the spring of 255, Guanqiu Jian, Wen Qin and others sent out a fake imperial decree in the name of Empress Dowager Guo, listing out 11 crimes allegedly committed by Sima Shi, and started a rebellion in Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui) to remove Sima Shi and his clan and supporters from power.
Wen Qin heeded his son's advice and sent two separate forces to attack Sima Shi at night.
That night, Wen Yang led his men to raid the Wei camp and shouted out Sima Shi's name during the attack.
[10] When Wen Yang and his younger brother, Wen Hu (文虎), received news of their father's death, they led their men to confront Zhuge Dan and avenge their father, but their men refused to obey their orders.
[11] Wen Yang continued serving under the Jin dynasty, which, in February 266, replaced the state of Cao Wei after Sima Zhao's son, Sima Yan, forced the last Wei emperor Cao Huan to abdicate the throne in his favour.
However, Emperor Wu did not like Wen Yang after meeting him and found an excuse to remove him from his appointment.
He is described as follows: "... Wen Yang was 18 years old, eight chi tall, [he was] dressed in full armour, with an iron club attached to his belt, [he] grabbed his spear swiftly and mounted his horse, observed the Wei camp in the far distance and advanced forward.
"[17]A verse in the novel compared his courageous actions during the raid on Sima Shi's camp at Yuejia to Zhao Yun's heroics at the Battle of Changban.
[18] Wen Yang was first introduced as a playable character in the eighth instalment of Koei's Dynasty Warriors video game series.