12. The Chinese word is ba, "hegemon" or "lord protector."
13. After the fall of the Qin dynasty, Xiang Yu honored King Huai of Chu with the title Righteous Emperor. In 206 b. c. Xiang Yu, as the "hegemon of Western Chu," had the Righteous Emperor killed; this became the first year of the Han. See S], "Xiang Yu benji."
14. The TS mentions that Zhuge Jin had taken refuge in the south from the disorders in the north. He was versed in the Odes (Mao text), the Book of Documents, and the Zuo zhuan, making him an Old Text Confucian like Lord Guan and Xuande.
15. Cao Cao also had appointed Sun Quan General Who Punishes Barbarians (taolu jiangjun), a title for Quan that the TS preserves. Zhu Xi headlines his entry with this appointment (see Gangmu, juan 13). However, the title is not found in the Mao edition, probably in deference to the Manchu prohibition of the word lu (slave), a derogatory term sometimes used by the Chinese to refer to northern non-Han nations, especially the Jurchen, remote ancestors of the Manchus. See Herbert Franke, "Some Aspects of Chinese Private Historiography in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries," in Historians of China and Japan, ed. W. G. Beasley and E. G. Pulleyblank (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1961), p. 124.
16. Cao Cao had held Zhang Hong hostage when the marriage between Cao Ren's daughter and Sun Kuang was arranged (see the opening of this chapter).
17. Mao (introductory note): " Sun Ce wanted to unite with Yuan Shao against Cao Cao, a rapid reversal of alliances. Sun Quan then broke off with Yuan Shao and declared his obedience to Cao Cao, preserving a unity that almost was divided and a division that was almost ended. How hard to grasp—these mysterious transformations events bring.
"The previous chapter related how Liu Bei left Yuan Shao. The following chapter will relate how Yuan Shao attacked Cao Cao for the second time. This chapter unexpectedly separates these events with a narrative of the Southland, like an astonishing peak boldly drawn into the background. As events unfold, the narrative design alters."
CHAPTER 30
1. Mao (introductory note): "After Han Gao Zu and Xiang Yu had agreed to let the River Hong divide their realms, Gao Zu wanted to return home. If Zhang Liang had not convinced him not to return home, who knows who the victor would have been? Here, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were locked in battle at Guandu, and Cao Cao, short of grain, wanted to return to Xuchang. If Xun Wenruo had not convinced him to stay, who knows what the outcome might have been? It is a great moment in the story, resembling a complex position in chess, with the struggle focused on a single move."
2. Yejun, capital of Jizhou, Yuan Shao's home province.
3. Mao (introductory note): "When Cao Cao attacked Lü Bu, Yuan Shao could have sent his whole army against the capital. His failure to do so was a mistake. When Cao Cao attacked Liu Bei, Yuan Shao let the same opportunity pass again. After Lü Bu and Liu Bei were defeated, it was too late to try to wrest the capital from Cao Cao. Yet, with his main force at Guandu and an auxiliary force attacking the capital, Yuan Shao might still have had his victory. Once again, he failed to act."
4. The TS (p. 298) dates this to Jian An 5 (a. d. 200), 10th month, 23d day.
5. Mao (introductory note): "Initially, Han Xin and Chen Ping served Chu; but Xiang Yu drove them to serve Han Gao Zu. Xu You and Zhang He initially served Yuan Shao; he drove them into the service of Cao Cao. How lamentable! As for those who suffered abuse but refused to leave, there is only Fan Zeng in the former instance, and Ju Shou in the latter. Such men are rare."
6. Sun Bin was a Warring States strategist. When the king of Qi sent Tian Ji and Sun Bin to raise Wei's siege of Handan, capital of the state of Zhao, Sun Bin stormed Wei's capital city, knowing that Wei's best troops were deployed at Handan.
7. Pei Songzhi quotes the Xiandi zhuan, which has Ju Shou replying to Cao Cao's offer, "My uncle, mother, and younger brothers are at Yuan Shao's mercy. If you would grant a kindness, a speedy death would be a blessing" (SGZ, p. 200). The TS (p. 301) follows Pei Songzhi.
CHAPTER 31
1. The yellow star is identified with the star Canopus in Edward Schafer, Pacing the Void (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1977), p. 69; other commentators have suggested the planet Saturn. The yellow star portends imperial good fortune. More generally, yellow stars augur well for ordinary men.
2. The SGZ (p. 22) dates this battle in the 4th month of Jian An 6 (a. d. 201).
3. Liu Pi and Gong Du were both former Yellow Scarves leaders. According to the ZZTJ (p. 2031), "Liu Bei was plundering the area between Runan and Yingchuan [i. e., moving north from Runan and closer to the capital]. This caused unrest among the officials and the population south of Xuchang, and Cao Cao considered [Bei's activities] a threat to the security [of the court].... Cao Cao sent Cao Ren with cavalry to attack [Liu Bei]. Cao Ren, after defeating [Bei] and driving him away, restored governmental control in all of the counties that had rebelled. Ren then returned [to Xuchang]." According to the SGZ (p. 20), "In Runan, Liu Pi and other rebels who had surrendered revolted [against the court] and began working with Yuan Shao; they plundered the area south of the capital. Shao sent Liu Bei to give aid to Liu Pi. Cao Cao dispatched Cao Ren to the area, and he defeated Liu Bei and Liu Pi."
4. In the TS (p. 308) this section, equivalent to the second half of chapter 31, opens with a lament by Cao Cao: "Since raising a loyalist force to rid the realm of violence and sedition, the men from my native region have almost all perished. I hardly see anyone I know in the course of a day, and it makes me sad. Now the ripening crops need attention. Military action can be suspended." Some of Cao Cao's best-known poems, "Haolixing," for example, express a similar mood of sorrow.
5. Mao (introductory note): "Chen Lin, in the indictment of Cao Cao that he composed at Yuan Shao's behest, never mentioned the decree because Dong Cheng's plot was still secret. At the battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao announced his possession of the decree... but did not recite it before the army. Here Xuande's recitation is thoroughly satisfying. 'At the command of the beloved and trusted leader, the soldiers give their utmost, ' the Book of Changes tells us. This applies to Xuande. In the presence of the highest principle [da yi, we no longer judge according to success or failure."
6. Mao: "During this period Cao Cao was conducting raids on Gong Du and in Runan, but nothing has been said about it; everyone is kept in the dark." In the TS Xuande says, "He is afraid to fight us!" Mao Zonggang leaves out this bit of naivete.
7. The text is evasive about Liu Biao's titles, perhaps because he was made imperial inspector of Jingzhou by Dong Zhuo and later named protector by the renegade generals Li Jue and Guo Si. See his biography in SGZ, pp. 210-17.
8. Xuande's arrival in Jingzhou is headlined in the Gangmu and dated to the ninth month of Jian An 6. In the PH, Liu Biao ( "King of Jing" ) says, "I never expected the imperial uncle to come here. I have no kinsmen in Jingzhou. But now in him and his brothers I will have support" (p. 62).
In a. d. 198 Cao Cao had supported a rebellion in Jingzhou's southern district of Changsha. After crushing the rebellion in a. d. 200, Liu Biao himself began to display publicly his imperial ambitions while Cao Cao was locked in combat with Yuan Shao. See ZZTJ, pp. 2039-40.
CHAPTER 32
1. Mao: "Sun Ce died grandly; Yuan Shao died wretchedly." Yuan Shao died in the fifth month of Jian An 7 (a. d. 202).
2. "Both brothers" probably means Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.
3. The city is variously referred to as Ye, Yejun, or Jizhou. The governing city of a province often takes the name of the province; e. g., Xuzhou is the capital of Xuzhou, Jingzhou of Jingzhou.
4. Mao (introductory note): "Reflecting on the disorder in the house of Yuan, truly, since ancient times no man has ever achieved power if his family was beset by fraternal conflict. The peach garden brotherhood in which men of a different surname bound themselves as kinsmen we will not touch on. Sun Ce and Sun Quan of Wu had mutual respect for each other's ability, and Cao Hong of Wei was willing to sacrifice himself in recognition of Cao Cao's greate
r talents."
5. Mao: "So timid against Cao Cao, so fierce against his elder brother."
6. A small gate for launching sudden sorties from inside the city.
7. Mao: "It was Yuan against Yuan within the family. Cao Cao's using Yuan generals against Yuan is a part of this."
8. Shen Pei's death is dated in the TS (p. 323) to the seventh month of Jian An 9 (a. d. 204).
9. Mao: "Chen Lin likened himself to the arrow, Yuan Shao to the string. It is the string that sends the arrow. And if Cao Cao will be the string, Chen Lin will be his arrow.... The killing of Shen Pei resembles the killing of Chen Gong. The sparing of Chen Lin resembles the sparing of Zhang Liao."
10. According to the TS Cao Cao took for his concubine a woman of the Bian family in Langye who had been a courtesan. This woman was Cao Pi's mother (p. 323).
11. Mao (introductory note): "Yuan Shao unexpectedly took Jizhou province from Han Fu. Just as unexpectedly Cao Cao took it from Yuan Shao. Initially, Han Fu lost it, Gongsun Zan fought for it, and Yuan Shao took it. After Yuan Shao's death Yuan Tan lost it, Yuan Shang fought for it, and Cao Cao took it. In the twinkling of an eye the robber is robbed!... This chapter recounts the struggle between Cao Cao and the Yuans in patterns of reversal. First, Yuan Shang wants to aid Yuan Tan; second, he refuses to aid him; third, he goes to his aid. First, Yuan Tan wants to surrender to Cao Cao; second, he allies with Yuan Shang; finally, he surrenders to Cao Cao. First, Cao Cao attacks Jizhou; next, he attacks Jingzhou; in the end, he attacks Jizhou."
CHAPTER 33
1. Mao: "An indication that Lady Zhen will become empress to the future emperor Cao Pi."
2. Mao (introductory note): "Lady Liu, mother of Yuan Shang, displayed the cruelest jealousy [in killing Yuan Shao's concubines; see opening of chap. 32], Then, after the capture of her city, instead of dying to preserve her honor, she angled to save her skin by offering Lady Zhen to Cao Pi."
3. Nine is an "ideal" number and is used to represent the whole.
4. In the last chapter Wang Xiu appealed to the Yuan brothers to act in the name of fraternal love to preserve their provinces.
5. The Wuhuan people of Liaoxi were led by Tadu. In the period a. d. 190-93 this chieftain organized the Wuhuan of three other districts—Shanggu, Youbeiping, and Liaodong—into a powerful alliance. For aiding Yuan Shao against Gongsun Zan, Tadu was enfeoffed as king of the Wuhuan. The "Wudi ji" dates the flight of the Yuan brothers to the spring of Jian An 10 (a. d. 205); see SGZ, p. 27.
The "Wudi ji" here and elsewhere shows how dramatic reform measures were integral to Cao Cao's ingenious military tactics. Under Jian An 10: "Cao Cao ordered cessation of private vengeance, prohibited expensive funerals, and subjected all uniformly to the laws. That month [the first] Yuan Xi's leading generals Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan and others turned against and attacked the Yuan brothers, who fled to the Wuhuan of the Three Districts" (SGZ, p. 27). Three Kingdoms tends not to bring out the social aspect of Cao Cao's tactics. See Jian An 5, autumn, when Cao Cao's social measures served military ends (ZZTJ, pp. 2030-31).
6. This was Zuixian Wang. The southern branch of the Xiongnu had become loyal to the Han court during the later reigns.
7. Jian An 11 (a. d. 206), seventh month (TS, p. 330). At about this time Liu Xuande tried to get Liu Biao to attack Xuchang, but without success.
8. Fan Li helped the defeated king of Yue conquer the state of Wu. Chen Ping was a minister to Han Gao Zu. His "Hereditary House" is translated in Records of the Grand Historian, trans. Burton Watson, 1: 152.
9. The "Wudi ji" (SGZ, p. 28) dates Cao Cao's return to the second month of Jian An 12 (a. d. 207).
CHAPTER 34
1. Xun You is referring to the mythic succession from god-king Yao to god-king Shun; see Shu jing, "Yao dian" and "Shun dian." Yao passed over his own son and chose the worthy but unrelated Shun to succeed him. Xun You is implicitly comparing Emperor Xian to Yao and Cao Cao to Shun.
2. Jiangxia is the easternmost district of Jingzhou. Its capital, Jiangxia, is above the Yangzi and close to Lujiang, the Southland district due east. It was a focus of contention between Jingzhou and the Southland.
The PH (p. 62) describes Liu Biao's thoughts on Xuande's arrival: "How unexpected! I had no kinsmen in this province. Now I will have the imperial uncle, Guan, and Zhang as my arms and shoulders."
3. Mao (introductory note): "Yuan Shao doted on his second wife. So did Liu Biao. Yuan Shao loved his cadet the most. So did Liu Biao. Yuan Shao was indulgent and indecisive. So was Liu Biao. Why were the two men so alike? In the first place, each was too proud of his family traditions.... In the second, each was too satisfied with mere reputation.... But Liu Biao was superior to Yuan Shao in this respect: Yuan Shao killed Tian Feng because of Pang Ji's slander; Liu Biao, however, did not kill Xuande despite Cai Mao's slander." Note that Chen Shou puts the biographies of Yuan Shao and Liu Biao in the same chapter of the SGZ; see SGZ ( "Dong er Yuan Liu zhuan" ), pp. 171-217.
4. In the Chinese text the horse is called dilu: literally, "target skull." The term is translated "white forehead" in Richard B. Mather's version of Liu I-ch'ing [Liu Yiqing], Shih-shuo Hsin-yü: A New Account of Tales of the World (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1976), p. 16.
5. Xinye was a frontline position facing Cao Cao's domain.
6. Mao (introductory note): "Liu Bei urged Liu Biao to attack Xuchang only when Cao Cao was attacking the Wuhuan, not when Cao Cao was attacking Jizhou. Why? In Jizhou Cao Cao was still close enough to the capital for a timely return. But to return from the Wuhuan to rescue the capital would have taken too long. Furthermore, Liu Biao had previously shown a want of courage in not saving Yuan Tan, and so Cao Cao did not take Liu Biao seriously and consequently had not prepared."
7. Liu Biao had welcomed Xuande in Jingzhou six years earlier in the autumn of Jian An 6 (a. d. 201), a few months after Yuan Shao's final defeat at Cangting (ZZTJ, p. 2041).
8. Lord Guan calls Liu Biao Liu Jingzhou, after the province he governs.
9. Mao: "This is a fabrication, like the verse he attributed to Xuande."
10. I. e., Xianyang, capital of the Qin, north across the River Wei from Chang'an, the Former Han capital. The Han dynasty could be said to have begun when Liu Bang received the surrender of the last Qin emperor in 207 b. c. and then entered Xianyang. After five more years of civil war Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and founded the Han.
11. The phrase yue ma (vaulting horse), used in the title of chapter 34, recalls the figure of Gongsun Shu, an official of the Wang Mang government who proclaimed himself emperor of an independent kingdom in the Riverlands (Yizhou, including Hanzhong) after the fall of Wang Mang. In a. d. 36 the founder of the Later Han, Emperor Guang Wu (Liu Xiu), completed his conquest of the empire when his forces killed Gongsun Shu near Chengdu. The poet Zuo Taichong refers to Gongsun Shu as "vaulting on horseback" and pairs him with Liu Xuande in the closing lines of his "Shudu fu" (Wenxuan, juan 4): "Gongsun vaulted on his horse and proclaimed himself emperor, / Liu [Xuande] of royal stock descended from his palanquin and made himself king." The biography of Gongsun Shu is in HHS, pp. 533-45. See also Du Fu, "Ge ye," line 7, "Sleeping Dragon and Vaulting Horse ended up in the yellow earth." On proclaiming himself emperor, Gongsun Shu gave priority to the color white; hence, he is sometimes known as the White Emperor (baidi); he also founded the city Baidi. That Liu Xuande died in Baidi (renamed Yong'an) reinforces the association with Gongsun Shu.
CHAPTER 35
1. Mao (introductory note): "If Zhang Fei had been in Zhao Zilong's place, he would have killed Cai Mao. If Lord Guan had been in Zhao Zilong's place, he would at the least have seized Cai Mao and demanded his brother's person. Would either of Xuande's brothers have been willing to release Cai Mao so easily and then search for him first in Xinye, then in Nanzhang? All three men are equally courageous, but Zilong is by nature meticulous, unperturbable."
2. His name is, literally, ''Water-mirror. '' Water, like the mind, reflects accurately o
nly when calm. The term "water-mirror" suggests a man of impartiality, objectivity, and insight. Xi Zuochi discusses the imagery of water and mirror as objective standards: "When water is absolutely level, it can serve as a standard for [a line] not true; when a mirror is absolutely clear, an ugly person will not become angry at his reflection. Water and mirror can reveal all without incurring resentment because they have no personal interest [in the result they yield]" ; SGZ, p. 1001.
3. Literally, "the yellow springs below."
4. The events involving Liu Bei will culminate in the interview with Zhuge Liang described in chapter 38 and dated in the ZZTJ (pp. 2074-75) to a. d. 207.
CHAPTER 36
1. Mao: "Lord Guan adopted Guan Ping, but he did not want Xuande to adopt Kou Feng. The reason is that a vassal's children would not fight to succeed him, but the children of a lord will."
2. Mao: "Not even Xuande knows who he is!"
3. The text now reverts to Shan Fu's real name, Xu Shu. This translation keeps the assumed name, Shan Fu.
4. Mao: "The author supplies the sentence that Xuande failed to hear the night he overhead Shan Fu and Still Water conversing."
5. The few sentences on Shan Fu carried in the SGZ (p. 914) are in the Wei lüe, quoted in the commentary to Zhuge Liang's biography. The novel's departure from the earlier record begins with the introduction of Madame Xu, Shan Fu's mother. Cao Cao's imprisoning the woman, Cheng Yu's coaxing handwriting samples from her, etc., appear to be inventions of the novelist, most likely for the purpose of providing a pious motive for Shan Fu's defection to Cao Cao.
In the PH account (p. 64), Xuande holds a banquet for Shan Fu after his victory over Cao Ren: "Shan Fu thought to himself that day, 'My mother is in Xuchang, and Cao Cao knows I am here and have killed his soldiers. We are enemies now and my mother and family are unsafe. ' Shan Fu took his leave. Xuande was unhappy." Mao Zonggang suggests that the military director assumed the name Shan Fu to keep his identity from Cao Cao.
However much he may have admired Xuande, Shan Fu probably foresaw that he would soon suffer defeats. Thus, another possibility is that he chose to leave Xuande. If so, a letter from his mother was his best chance of getting safely away. This speculation is supported by the ZZTJ's placing of Shan Fu's departure between the eighth and tenth months of Jian An 13, when Xuande was on the run near Dangyang and nearly overwhelmed by Cao Cao's special five-thousand-man force. These historical events postdate by months Xuande's famous meeting and interview with Kongming; see ZZTJ, p. 2084.
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