A claimant with a famous name and almost nothing else. Began 208 in flight; ended it holding the south of Jing.
Resolute and generous, wide in heart and courteous to men — he had the wind of the First Emperor of Han, and the make of a hero.Chen Shou's appraisal, Sanguozhi, Shu shu 2
Appears in
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Relations
- Zhuge Liang lord & strategist — Three visits to a thatched cottage — the visits are in the sources; the number three is in the memorial.
- Cao Cao rivals — The two halves of the age.
- Guan Yu lord & general — From the first raising of troops to the last. The histories say they shared a bed and a table, as brothers.
- Lu Xun opponents — Yiling, 222 CE. He came for Jing province and for his brother; a scholar of thirty-nine burned him out of the gorges.
- Huang Quan counsellor & lord — Overruled him before the war, and took the blame for it after: 'I let Huang Quan down.'
Myth vs record
The story you may know
A weeping weakling who won by kindness alone and let others fight for him.
What the sources say
The histories record a frontline commander from 184 to 223 who led his own campaigns; at Changban he chose to lose his army's speed rather than abandon the people following him.