A scholarly general with a blood feud against Zhang Liao. On the morning that mattered he set it aside: public duty first, private wrong second.
This is the state's business. May I forget the public duty for a private wrong?Li Dian before the Hefei sortie, 215; Sanguozhi, Wei shu 18, Biography of Li Dian
Appears in
Relations
- Zhang Liao feuding colleagues — An old killing stood between them; the sealed letter made them one body, and he refused to weigh private wrong against public duty.
- Cao Cao general — The sealed letter named him for the sortie — Generals Zhang and Li go out and fight — and he justified it.
Myth vs record
The story you may know
He went out only because Zhang Liao shamed him into it.
What the sources say
The biography gives the initiative to Li Dian himself: it was he who stood up and settled the hesitating council — this is the state's business; may private wrong outweigh public duty? He died the same year, aged in his thirties.