| Occupation | RNOfficial · Master of Writing | Faction | Wei |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | Book of Wei |
| Born | R? N? Unverified | Native place | Qinghe Commandery |
| Died | R260 N(same) Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | RExecuted NExecuted Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R29 |
Wang Jing was a native of Qinghe and, together with Xu Yun, was counted among the renowned scholars of Ji Province. After serving as a commandery Administrator and as Administrator of Jiangxia, he held the posts of Inspector of two provinces and Colonel-Director of Retainers. Records, Wei 9 §130Records, Wei 29 §63
In the 2nd year of Zhengyuan (255), as Inspector of Yong Province, he fought Jiang Wei at Taoxi (west of the Tao River), was heavily defeated and was trapped in the city of Didao, until he was freed by Chen Tai's relief. In the 5th year of Ganlu (260), while he was Master of Writing (shangshu), he was implicated and executed in the affair in which Cao Mao, Duke of Gaogui Village, summoning him in order to strike at Sima Zhao, showed him an edict written on yellow silk. Records, Wei 4 §57 · 100–102Records, Wei 22 §43 · 50Records, Wei 9 §130
The Records has no separate biography of him; a short notice is attached at the end of Xiahou Xuan's biography, after the account of Xu Yun, and the assessment of volume 9 does not deal with him. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 110 as Inspector of Yong Province and appears in 3 of its 120 chapters; there is no chapter whose title bears his name. In Chapter 114 he is portrayed as a man who tries to dissuade Cao Mao from his venture, is seized, and is executed together with his mother. Records, Wei 9 §127–132Romance, Ch. 110 §34Romance, Ch. 114 §8–9 · 19
Wang Jing was a native of Qinghe and, together with Xu Yun, was counted among the renowned scholars of Ji Province. When he first became a commandery Administrator, his mother said to him, 'You are the son of a farming family, and now your office has reached two thousand shi. Anything in excess is inauspicious, so you may stop here.' Wang Jing could not follow her advice; he went on to be Inspector of two provinces and Colonel-Director of Retainers, and in the end came to ruin. Records, Wei 9 §130
According to the biographies of technicians, Wang Jing, who had left office and was at home, asked Guan Lu to divine about a strange occurrence. Guan Lu correctly described how at night a streaming light like a swallow or sparrow had entered his bosom, and said it was a sign that he would be promoted. Shortly afterwards Wang Jing became Administrator of Jiangxia. Records, Wei 29 §62–63
In the 2nd year of Zhengyuan (255), Wang Jing, Inspector of Yong Province, told Chen Tai, General Who Conquers the West, that Jiang Wei and Xiahou Ba intended to head for Qishan, Shiying and Jincheng along three routes, and asked to divide the troops and advance. Chen Tai replied that he should ascertain reliable news and advance only after the forces in the east and west had joined. When Jiang Wei and the others, leading several tens of thousands of men, headed from Fuhan toward Didao, Chen Tai ordered Wang Jing to station himself at Didao and wait for the main army. But when the armies under Wang Jing fared badly at Guguan, Wang Jing crossed the Tao River on his own authority, fought Jiang Wei and was heavily defeated, falling back to hold the city of Didao with only some 10,000 men. All the rest scattered. Records, Wei 22 §42–43Records, Wei 4 §57
The Annals of the Three Young Emperors record this battle as Wang Jing's heavy defeat at Taoxi in the 8th month of that year, and an edict issued in the 10th month of that year said that the officers and men who died numbered in the thousands. In the Shu records, Jiang Wei's biography says that those killed among Wang Jing's host numbered several tens of thousands, and Zhang Yi's biography says that those who died in the Tao River numbered ten thousand. Records, Wei 4 §57–58Records, Shu 14 §37Records, Shu 15 §15
When Jiang Wei surrounded Didao, Chen Tai said that Wang Jing ought to have raised his walls and deepened his ramparts to blunt the enemy's spirit, but instead had fought and been shut up in Didao. Deng Ai and others proposed holding the strategic points and waiting for the enemy to tire, but Chen Tai crossed the Gaocheng Ridge, reached the high mountain southeast of Didao at night, lit many beacon fires, and sounded drums and horns. When Jiang Wei withdrew, the officers and men in the city were able to come out. Wang Jing sighed, 'Our provisions would not have lasted ten days; had relief not come in time, the whole city would have been slaughtered and an entire province lost.' Deng Ai's biography also records that Deng Ai lifted the siege of Wang Jing at Didao, and Deng Ai said, 'The defeat at Taoxi was no small loss.' Records, Wei 22 §44–50Records, Wei 28 §63
In the Ganlu era Wang Jing became Master of Writing. In the 5th month of the 5th year of Ganlu (260), the Duke of Gaogui Village summoned the Palace Attendant Wang Chen, the Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary Wang Ye and the Master of Writing Wang Jing, took from his bosom an edict written on yellow silk and showed it to them, saying he would carry it out that very day. Wang Chen and Wang Ye immediately ran to tell the General-in-Chief Sima Zhao, and the Duke of Gaogui Village went out through the Yunlong Gate to fight and was killed by the vanguard. The Empress Dowager's decree declared that the Master of Writing Wang Jing was so vicious and treasonous that his crimes were beyond words, and ordered him and his family arrested and handed over to the Commandant of Justice. Wang Jing was implicated in the affair of the Duke of Gaogui Village and executed. Records, Wei 4 §97–98 · 100–102Records, Wei 9 §130
In his assessment of volume 9, Chen Shou discussed only the generals of the Xiahou and Cao clans, Cao Shuang and Xiahou Xuan; he did not assess Wang Jing. Records, Wei 9 §132
In Chapter 110 of the Romance, when Jiang Wei, heading for Fuhan with 50,000 troops, reaches the Tao River, Wang Jing, Inspector of Yong Province, is the first to raise 70,000 horse and foot to meet him. He demands to know why Jiang Wei keeps invading when Wei, Wu and Shu already stand like the legs of a tripod, and Jiang Wei replies that he has come to call to account Sima Shi, who deposed his sovereign without cause. Saying that the Shu army has formed up with its back to the river and will all drown if it loses, Wang Jing sends out four generals: Zhang Ming, Hua Yong, Liu Da and Zhu Fang. Romance, Ch. 110 §34–36
When Jiang Wei flees after a few bouts, Wang Jing drives his troops after him, but at the riverbank the Shu army turns and strikes back, while Zhang Yi and Xiahou Ba surround them from behind. The Wei troops trample one another, those who drown in the Tao River are beyond counting, and the heads taken number more than ten thousand. Wang Jing barely breaks out with a hundred horsemen from his defeated army, enters the city of Didao and shuts the gates. When Jiang Wei attacks Didao, Deng Ai arrives with a plan just as Chen Tai, General Who Conquers the West, is about to avenge the defeat, and in Chapter 111, after Jiang Wei withdraws, Wang Jing welcomes Chen Tai and Deng Ai into the city, bows to thank them for lifting the siege, and holds a banquet. Romance, Ch. 110 §36–40Romance, Ch. 111 §1
In Chapter 114, when Sima Zhao demands the rank of Duke of Jin and the Nine Bestowments, Cao Mao summons the Palace Attendant Wang Chen, the Master of Writing Wang Jing and the Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary Wang Ye and proposes to strike at Sima Zhao. Wang Jing remonstrates, citing how Duke Zhao of Lu, unable to endure the Ji clan, lost his state, and urges him to plan slowly, since power has long since passed to the Sima clan and the palace guard is weak. When Wang Chen and Wang Ye propose turning themselves in to Sima Zhao, he flies into a rage, saying, 'When the sovereign is troubled, his subjects are disgraced; when the sovereign is disgraced, his subjects die. How dare we be of two minds?' When Cao Mao mounts his carriage and sets out, Wang Jing prostrates himself before the carriage in tears and tries to stop him, saying that attacking Sima Zhao with a few hundred men is like driving sheep into a tiger's mouth. Romance, Ch. 114 §6–11
After Cheng Ji stabs Cao Mao to death, Wang Jing, coming after him, rebukes Jia Chong, 'How dare a traitor murder his sovereign!' and is bound. Sima Zhao throws Wang Jing's entire family into prison. When his mother is brought in bound, Wang Jing weeps that his unfilial self has brought ruin on her, but his mother laughs aloud and says, 'Who does not die? The only fear is not finding the right place to die.' The next day Wang Jing's entire family is taken to the Eastern Market, and mother and son receive their punishment with smiles. The Romance says that all the gentry and common people of the city shed tears, and appends a poem by a later writer. Romance, Ch. 114 §13–14 · 19–21
In the same chapter, Deng Ai's Army Adviser Wang Guan (王瓘) feigns surrender to Jiang Wei, claiming to be Wang Jing's nephew. Jiang Wei sees through the deception, reasoning that Sima Zhao, having killed Wang Jing and exterminated his three sets of kin, would never leave his own nephew commanding troops beyond the passes. Romance, Ch. 114 §25 · 27 · 30
The defeat at Taoxi: In Chapter 110 of the Romance, Wang Jing meets Jiang Wei with 70,000 troops, falls into the trap of the back-to-the-river formation and the ambush, is defeated, and enters the city of Didao with a hundred horsemen. In the Records, Chen Tai ordered him to station himself at Didao and wait, but when he fared badly at Guguan, Wang Jing crossed the Tao River on his own authority, fought and was heavily defeated, and fell back to the city of Didao with some 10,000 men. Romance, Ch. 110 §34–37Records, Wei 22 §42–43
The plan of relief: In Chapter 110 of the Romance, Deng Ai devises the plan of laying ambushes and alarming the Shu army with drums and beacon fires. In Chen Tai's biography in the Records, Deng Ai and others proposed holding the strategic points and waiting, but Chen Tai rejected this, crossed the Gaocheng Ridge, and announced the arrival of relief with beacon fires and drums. Romance, Ch. 110 §39–40Records, Wei 22 §44–50
After the siege was lifted: In Chapter 111 of the Romance, Wang Jing welcomes Chen Tai and Deng Ai into the city, bows to thank them and holds a banquet. In the Records, Wang Jing sighs, 'Our provisions would not have lasted ten days; had relief not come in time, an entire province would have been lost.' Romance, Ch. 111 §1Records, Wei 22 §50
The Duke of Gaogui Village's venture: In Chapter 114 of the Romance, Wang Jing tries to dissuade Cao Mao by citing the case of Duke Zhao of Lu, and remonstrates in tears, prostrate before the carriage. In the Records, there is only the Empress Dowager's decree stating that the Duke of Gaogui Village summoned Wang Chen, Wang Ye and Wang Jing and showed them the edict, and that Wang Chen and Wang Ye informed the General-in-Chief; Chen Shou's main text has no word of Wang Jing remonstrating. Romance, Ch. 114 §8–11Records, Wei 4 §100–101Records, Wei 9 §130
How he was seized: In Chapter 114 of the Romance, Wang Jing is bound after rebuking Jia Chong upon Cao Mao's death, and Sima Zhao imprisons his family. In the Records, the Empress Dowager's decree called Wang Jing a vicious traitor and ordered him and his family arrested and handed over to the Commandant of Justice, and Wang Jing was implicated in the affair of the Duke of Gaogui Village and executed. Romance, Ch. 114 §13–14 · 19Records, Wei 4 §102Records, Wei 9 §130
His mother: In Chapter 114 of the Romance, his mother laughs in prison that she has found the right place to die, and mother and son are executed together at the Eastern Market. The only words of his mother preserved in Chen Shou's main text in the Records are those she spoke when Wang Jing first became a commandery Administrator, telling him that a farmer's son who had reached two thousand shi should stop there; her death is not recorded. Romance, Ch. 114 §19Records, Wei 9 §130Records, Wei 4 §102
His nephew Wang Guan: Wang Guan in Chapter 114 of the Romance feigns surrender, claiming to be Wang Jing's nephew. Chen Shou's main text in the Records has no nephew of Wang Jing named Wang Guan (王瓘). Romance, Ch. 114 §27Records, Wei 9 §130Records, Wei 4 §100–102
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
The Records score (Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms, main text) is the baseline. Each ability compares how the Romance redrew the same person, and the evidence from both sources explains the difference.
RNo direct record — estimated, as there is only the record of his implication in the Duke of Gaogui Village's affairWei 9 §130
NRemonstrated without informing Sima Zhao and met his execution with a smile, praised for true integrityCh. 114 §10Ch. 114 §19Ch. 114 §21
RCould not stop when his mother told him to, and in the end came to ruinWei 9 §130
NTried to stop the rash uprising but did not save himself, and was executed with his whole familyCh. 114 §8Ch. 114 §19
RReported that Jiang Wei would come by three routes, but disobeyed orders, crossed the Tao River on his own and was defeatedWei 22 §42Wei 22 §43
NFell for Jiang Wei's lure, but foresaw that Cao Mao's uprising could not succeedCh. 110 §36Ch. 114 §10
RRose to Master of Writing after serving as Inspector of two provinces and Colonel-Director of RetainersWei 9 §130
NNo direct record — estimated from his holding a banquet and giving rewards as Inspector of Yong ProvinceCh. 111 §1
RWas heavily defeated by Jiang Wei at Taoxi with tens of thousands killed; Chen Tai faulted him for fighting instead of holding the cityShu 14 §37Wei 22 §43Wei 22 §46
NMet the enemy with 70,000 but was surrounded chasing a feigned retreat; over half died or drowned in the Tao RiverCh. 110 §36Ch. 110 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his record as Inspector of Yong ProvinceWei 4 §57
NNo direct record — estimated from his coming out with his officers merely to exchange wordsCh. 110 §35
RWas counted with Xu Yun among the renowned scholars of Ji Province, and the officers and men in the besieged city were of one mindWei 9 §130Wei 22 §52
NWhen he was executed, all the gentry and common people of the city shed tearsCh. 114 §20
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his being counted among the renowned scholars of Ji ProvinceWei 9 §130
NNo direct record — estimated from his remonstrance citing the precedent of Duke Zhao of LuCh. 114 §8
RNo direct record — estimated from his proposal to Chen Tai on deploying troopsWei 22 §42
NTook Jiang Wei to task for invading, and tearfully remonstrated with Cao Mao but failed to persuade himCh. 110 §35Ch. 114 §10
RNo direct record — estimated from his official careerWei 9 §130
NNo direct record — estimated in the absence of recordsCh. 110 §34
Records Romance Unverified No direct record; scored from their actions (evidence grade C)
3KDEX scoring — the Records use the main text of Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms; the Romance uses the 120-chapter Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Click a source tag to open that passage in the reader.
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).