Three Kingdoms

by Luo Guanzhong (Moss Roberts trans. )

  The Man of the Magnificent Beard [Lord Guan] said to Zhang Liao, "Is Xuzhou lost? The imperial uncle and Zhang Fei too?" "Killed in the confusion of battle," was the answer. The Man of the Magnificent Beard said, "Death I fear not. You must have come to win me over." "Not necessarily," Zhang Liao replied. "You have hidden your lord's family. But if Cao's troops come here, won't it pose quite a dilemma for you? You, a student of history from your youth, have read the Zuo zhuan to the Spring and Autumn Annals. Cao is a man who responds to the worthy and elevates the able. He would be most sympathetic. He has the greatest admiration for you."

  "What if I were to take refuge with Cao Cao?" Lord Guan asked. "You would get an important military position," Zhang Liao said. "Four hundred strings of cash monthly, an four hundred piculs of grain." "I'll surrender on three conditions," Lord Guan said.... "I am to live together with my lord's wives in a divided compound. If we have word of the imperial uncle, I am to go to him at once. My surrender is to the Han, not to Cao. Eventually I will perform an important service for His Excellency... otherwise I'll fight here to the death." Zhang Liao reported back to Cao Cao.

  Cao came to the wall of Xiapi and called for Lord Guan. "What about the three conditions?" Lord Guan asked him. Cao Cao shouted up, "This is the age of Han. You can seek protection with me. We will enfeoff you as lord of Shouting. The monthly stipend will be four hundred strings of cash and four hundred piculs of grain. You can live with your sisters in a divided compound. If your elder brother is found alive, you may take his family and go to him. You say you will do service for us, and I shall treat you as a trusted friend." Lord Guan descended and met Cao Cao.

  Several days later Lord Guan took the imperial uncle's family west to Chang'an [read Xuchang] to see the Emperor. The Emperor noted Lord Guan's great beard. In addition to the other things promised, the Emperor gave him gold and silver... and a minor banquet every third day, a major one every fifth.

  The imperial uncle came to a wood by a valley of Nine Mile Mountain, some fifty li north of Xuzhou. He had very few followers. He drew his sword and tried to cut his throat. His men stopped him. Xuande wept and said, "Xuzhou is lost. Zhang Fei may be dead. My beloved brother Lord Guan has taken my family to Cao Cao for refuge." So saying, he looked to Heaven, deeply shaken.

  Xuande finally reaches Qingzhou and decides to ask Yuan Shao for fifty thousand men to kill Cao Cao and rescue his family (pp. 50-52).

  CHAPTER 26

  1. Mao (introductory note): "Even scholars of wide learning sometimes mistakenly call Lord Guan 'lord of Shou precinct, ' taking 'Han' to refer to the dynasty. The error comes from the popular edition [suben, presumably the Li Zhuowu edition], which says that Lord Guan would not accept the seal of enfeoffment until the word 'Han' had been placed at the head of the title. Hanshou is the place-name; tinghou, the title." Hanshou was the capital of Jingzhou province before Liu Biao made Xiangyang the capital.

  2. According to the PH, after Wen Chou's death Yuan Shao again accused Liu Bei of collusion with Lord Guan and moved to have him executed. Zhao Zilong came to Liu Bei's rescue by persuading Yuan Shao that if Lord Guan knew where to find Liu Bei he would come over directly. Liu Bei, however, took a gloomier view of the situation and decided to leave Yuan Shao's camp. He was grateful to Zhao Zilong for interceding with Yuan Shao, but despaired of Lord Guan, convinced that his brother had really gone over to Cao Cao. Liu Bei set out for Jingzhou to seek refuge with Protector Liu Biao; and Zhao Zilong, won over by Liu Bei's charisma, went with him. (See pp. 56-57. )

  3. Mao: "Does Yuan Shao remember how, as war-ruler, he spurned Lord Guan when the lords met before the battle at Tiger Trap Pass?"

  4. Mao: "Lord Guan is not afraid Yuan Shao will kill him; he is afraid Xuande may no longer be with Yuan Shao. He will face what he must once Xuande's whereabouts have been confirmed."

  5. Mao: "Lord Guan assumes Cao Cao does not know where Xuande is; in fact, Cao Cao has already laid deep plans with Cheng Yu."

  6. Mao: "Waiting for Sun Qian to return, he withholds explanation."

  7. The TS passage (p. 255) contains no reference to a jun-chen (lord-vassal) bond between Xuande and Lord Guan. "Zhang Liao said to Lord Guan, 'What about the friendship between you and me? ' Lord Guan answered, 'Our friendship is fortuitous. If one of us gets into trouble, the other will help. If it is not possible to render assistance, then so be it. It is nothing like my life-and-death friendship with Xuande. ' Zhang Liao then asked, 'When Xuande was in trouble in Xiapi, why didn't you fight to the death to protect him? ' Lord Guan replied, 'At the time I did not know the actual situation. If Xuande has died, do you think I will live on? '"

  8. Mao: "This letter verifies Xuande's whereabouts. There is no need to wait for Sun Qian's report."

  9. This refers to an anecdote from the Warring States period. Two friends, Zuo Botao and Yangjue Ai, were bound for Chu in search of office when a snowstorm overtook them. There was not enough food and clothing to keep both alive, so Zuo Botao sacrificed himself, giving his share to Yangjue Ai. Later, Yangjue Ai became an official. He searched for and found Zuo Botao's remains, interred them, and then killed himself to demonstrate his loyalty to his friend's memory.

  10. Mao (introductory notes): "Zhang Liao originally served Lü Bu; Xu Huang originally served Yang Feng; Jia Xu originally served Zhang Xiu; Wen Ping originally served Liu Biao; Zhang He was formally Yuan Shao's vassal; Pang De was a general under Ma Chao. Each of these vassals had abandoned his former master to follow Cao Cao, and would have gladly died for his new lord. Lord Guan alone stayed true to his first lord."

  CHAPTER 27

  1. The TS cites three texts on Cao Cao's action:

  The historian [shiguan] Pei Songzhi delivered this judgment: "Lord Cao appreciated Lord [Guan] and inwardly prized his intention. By not going after [Lord Guan], [Cao Cao] consummated his sense of honor. Could [a leader] without the breadth of vision of a true king or a hegemon have gone so far [i. e., shown such tolerance]? Truly this shows Cao Cao's well-auguring excellence" (p. 259).

  Of Lord Guan the poet Song Xian wrote:

  His merit won, he returns on his own to his lord:

  Undoes the seal, stores the gold, and quits the capital.

  Nor glittering gold, nor gorgeous rooms divert him,

  Grace, honor, his only thoughts on the long road away.

  They say outstanding men are rare in a thousand years;

  I say a General Guan comes once in ten millennia.

  No, Cao Cao did not lack the cavalry to pursue;

  Lord Guan's departing letter weighed most with him.

  Another poem praised Cao Cao:

  In the early years before the three kingdoms formed,

  Cao Cao alone worked out the subtlest plans.

  He let General Guan go back to serve Xuande,

  Showing the character to rule the northern plains.

  The TS annotator adds: "This [poem] tells us that Lord Cao's refusal to kill Xuande or pursue Lord Guan was praiseworthy. Cao's restraint shows that he had a magnanimous and virtuous mind and was fit to rule the heartland [zhongyuan]. ''

  2. Lord Guan had told Cao Cao he might have to leave without formalities.

  3. In the TS (p. 262), Lord Guan's statement to Liao Hua is given in full: "I appreciate your generous offer, but unfortunately I am bound by my promise to Cao Cao to travel alone." Cao Cao had good relations with former Yellow Scarves elements but may have become nervous over growing disaffection in their ranks. He would not have wanted Lord Guan collecting their support on his way out. See ZZTJ, p. 2030: "The Runan Yellow Scarves leader Liu Pi and others revolted against Cao Cao and became receptive to Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao sent Liu Bei with forces to aid Liu Pi. Most of the counties in the area were receptive to Liu Bei."

  4. Mao (introductory note): "In this chapter the reader breathes one sigh for Cao Cao's sense of honor, and could well breathe another for his utter treachery. On Lord Guan's departure Cao Cao presented him with gold and a battle gown and p
ersonally saw his visitor off. The one thing he held back was a slip of paper [to see Lord Guan through the checkpoints].... Should a pass comander have killed him, Cao Cao could have preserved his reputation for cherishing able men by blaming the officer for wrongly taking Lord Guan's life."

  5. Mao: "Meeting today they speak of things long past and lay the basis for their next meeting twenty years hence."

  6. Mao: "At Jade Springs Hill." See chapter 77.

  CHAPTER 28

  1. Guanxi means "west of the pass" and suggests something like the American Wild West.

  2. The phrase "loyal vassal" is not in the TS. Mao Zonggang has added the idea of loyalty in Lord Guan's bond to Xuande. Similarly, Mao has inserted the words zhuchen (liege and liege man) in the second half of the chapter title to modify the phrase juyi (reunion of the righteous). In the Shuihu zhuan, the phrase juyi is used in the name of the bandits' meeting place.

  3. Jingzhou is the central province around which the three kingdoms will form. It is also the pivotal area in the development of the plot. Jingzhou comprises seven districts, clockwise from the north, Nanyang, Jiangxia, Changsha, Guiyang, Lingling, Wuling, and Nanjun. The "nine districts" of Jingzhou simply means all the districts. Two major rivers, the Han and the Great River, transect the province. The Han loops down from Xiangyang southeast to Jiangxia, where it joins the Great River close to the Southland; the Great River runs roughly horizontally from Nanjun in the west to Jiangxia. The four imperial districts of Changsha, Guiyang, Lingling, and Wuling lie below the Great River; Nanjun and Jiangxia lie above the Great River; and Nanyang lies above the River Han. The chief city, Xiangyang, on the south side of the River Han, stands between Nanyang and Nanjun; as Liu Biao's capital, the city was sometimes called Jingzhou.

  Having received his protectorship from Dong Zhuo's short-lived western court in Chang'an, Liu Biao was not considered loyal to the Han emperor's court. But he was not an active threat to the court, either. According to one of Cao Cao's advisers, "Liu Biao stays put between the Great River and the Han because, in my view, he lacks ambition" (chap. 32). Thus, the Han court controlled Nanyang, the imperial district north of the Han. This explains the novel's occasional use of the term Jing-Xiang instead of Jingzhou: Jingzhou] refers to the six districts below the river Han and Xiangyang] refers to the northernmost district, Nanyang. Traditionally, Jingzhou meant the land below the Han.

  The unusual term Jing-Xiang does not occur in the SGZ. It was, however, used in the Southern Song to name a key region for offensive or defensive operations against the Jurchen forces holding the north. For example, Chen Liang (1143-94), arguing a militant anti-Jurchen policy in a letter to his emperor, Song Xiao Zong (r. 1163-90), wrote, "In Spring and Autumn times, the southern kingdom of Chu held Jing-Xiang and struck fear into [the northern kingdoms] Jin and Qi. [As a result] Jin and Qi could not bend Chu to their purposes, and down to the Warring States period, Jin and Qi contested sovereignty only [westward] with Qin. Three hundred years later, [the Later Han founder] Guang Wu arose in Nanyang... and another two hundred years after that Nanyang was [still] a vital point, changing hands more than once in the Three Kingdoms period. Zhuge Liang came from Nanyang too... and Han was to depend on Jing-Xiang for its survival in Shu." See Chen Liang ji (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1974), p. 7. See also the afterword to this translation, n. 32.

  4. Mao (introductory note): "From an earlier perspective, the peach garden was the first juyi [righteous union]; Gucheng is the second juyi. From a later perspective, Xuande's meeting with Zhuge Liang at Nanyang will be a great juyi; meeting with Zhao Zilong is a minor juyi." Neither the juyi in the peach garden nor the one at Gucheng is attested in the histories.

  5. Mao (introductory note): "It is generally recognized that in surrendering to the Han, and not to Cao, Lord Guan showed great integrity. Zhang Fei's great integrity on this question is not so generally recognized.... Cao Cao was a traitor; thus, one who follows him is also a traitor. Zhang Fei mistakenly thought Lord Guan had submitted to Cao Cao... and denounced him, without stopping to consider their old friendship formed in the peach garden. It would seem that the lord-vassal bond took precedence for Fei over the fraternal bond, and that the breach of the lord-vassal bond [between Xuande and Lord Guan] suspended the fraternal bond between Zhang Fei and Lord Guan. Zhang Fei's public-minded indignation based on Emperor Xian's secreted decree outweighed the private covenant in the peach garden. We may infer from Zhang Fei's commitment that had he been the one encircled on the hill [by Cao's men], he would have died before compromising with Cao Cao.... Zhang Fei's hatred of Lü Bu [whom he called the" bastard with three fathers "] served to define correctly the father-son relation; his hatred of Cao Cao served to define correctly the lord-vassal relation.... Truly a filial son and a loyal vassal."

  Mao Zonggang's Confucianization of Zhang Fei completes the process of "taming" the PH characterization of Zhang Fei, a process that Luo Guanzhong began. In the Gucheng episode, the Pinghua has Zhang Fei established as Great King Without Surname in the Golden Bells Palace; his reign title is Year of Happiness. When Xuande and Zhao Zilong approach his city, Zhang Fei comes forth to fight. He is amazed at the prowess in combat Zilong displays. When, exhausted, Zilong retreats, Zhang Fei follows him and meets Xuande. Fei prostrates himself and welcomes his elder brother into the city, "making him August Emperor [huangdi]." Xuande tells Zhang Fei how Lord Guan took office under Cao Cao and endangered his, Xuande's, life by killing Yuan Shao's generals, saying, "He nearly sent me to my doom. The peach garden bonds of grace are no more" (pp. 59-62). The PH version of the ensuing clash and reconciliation between Lord Guan and Zhang Fei is used in both the TS and the Mao Zonggang edition.

  The histories paint a very different picture. There is no Gucheng reunion, but Xuande does revert to the banditry with which the novel begins. Yuan Shao sends Xuande to organize Yellow Scarves who have chosen to switch allegiance from Cao Cao. Xuande himself is described as plundering the area south of the capital and being chased out by Cao Cao. In a related incident Xuande kills Cao Cao's general Cai Yang. (In Three Kingdoms Lord Guan kills Cai Yang to prove his anti-Cao commitment to Zhang Fei. ) Indeed, in the ZZTJ only Cao Cao emerges as an effective governor. It is possible that the historical Xuande left Yuan Shao for the same reason the historical Lord Guan left Cao Cao, that is, to stay clear of the impending battle and let the two principal powers of the north exhaust themselves. See ZZTJ under autumn, a. d. 200 (pp. 2030-33).

  CHAPTER 29

  1. Lujiang is the northwestern district of Yangzhou, Yuzhang the western. As a result of Sun Ce's victories, the only district of Yangzhou remaining under the Han court's control was the northern district of Jiujiang (ZZTJ, p. 2037). The districts of Lujiang and Jiujiang lay between the River Huai and the Great River.

  2. According to Sun Ce's biography in SGZ (p. 1109), "Sun Ce's concealed intention was to surprise Xuchang and take custody of the Emperor. To this end he began quietly organizing an armed force." The placement of the story of Sun Ce in chapter 29 and the emphasis on his ambitions suggest that Zhu Xi's Gangmu was Luo Guanzhong's source. The PH does not introduce the Southland question at this point in the story, and the ZZTJ treats the subject in a different way. Grand marshal (dasima), was a former Han title, similar to grand commandant in the Later Han. Sun Ce sought, and Cao Cao refused, the title because it would have given Sun Ce status comparable to Cao Cao's.

  3. Xiang Yu was the main rival of the first Han emperor, Liu Bang, or Han Gao Zu (Supreme Ancestor, his temple name); Xiang Yu also came from south of the Great River.

  4. Mao: "Sun-Cao relations deteriorate after this."

  5. At the close of the Spring and Autumn period, Bi Yurang was serving as a retainer to Zhi Bo, ba or hegemon of Jin. A lord, Xiang, murdered Zhi Bo, divided the kingdom, and founded the kingdom of Zhao (an event often taken to mark the beginning of the Warring States period). Determined to avenge Zhi Bo, Yurang underwent many painful alterations of his appearance so that he could approa
ch Xiang undetected. After he had succeeded in entering Xiang's palace as a workman, Yurang tried but failed to kill Xiang. Impressed by Yurang's fierce devotion to his late master, Zhi Bo, Xiang pardoned him. Yurang made a second attempt on Xiang's life, and this time Xiang ordered him executed. Yurang's last plea was to have Xiang's cloak handed to him. In his final moments before death, Yurang then proceeded symbolically to exact vengeance on his lord's murderer by stabbing the cloak. See Chan-Kuo Ts'e [Zhanguo ce], trans. J. I. Crump, Jr. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970), pp. 285-87. Mao: "Yurang did not succeed in hurting his lord's enemy in the slightest, for he simply cut a piece of his cloak. Xu Gong's three avengers exacted greater satisfaction by far."

  6. TS: "Should an assassin appear, it would be the ghost of someone he had wronged" (p. 283).

  7. TS: "The man who shot me must be Cao's man" (p. 283).

  8. Yu Ji was a proponent of the Great Millennium and thus an influence on the ideology of the Yellow Scarves (see chap. 1). For further information see Max Kaltenmark, "The Ideology of the T'ai-p'ing ching," in Facets of Taoism, ed. Holmes Welch and Anna Seidel (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979).

  9. According to some sources, Yu Ji passed the text on to his disciple, Gong Chong, who later presented it to Emperor Shun (r. a. d. 126-44). See Max Kaltenmark, "The Ideology of the T'ai-p'ing ching," p. 20.

  10. In the TS the officials send their wives to Lady Wu to urge her to intercede. Sun Ce then tells her, "I would prefer you to pay no heed to these women, Mother" (p. 284).

  11. Mao: "Like Han Gao Zu and Fan Kuai, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were married to two sisters."