RNo direct recordWu 1 §7
NRefused the Ten Attendants' demand for bribes, and wept at being unable to save his rulerCh. 2 §29Ch. 13 §24
Zhu Jun 朱儁
| Occupation | RNGeneral · General of Chariots and Cavalry | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | Native place | Kuaiji Commandery | |
| Cause of death | RIllness NIllness Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R5 |
Profile
Zhu Jun was a general of the end of the Later Han. He has no biography of his own in the Records; in Chen Shou's main text his name appears in Records of Wu 1, the Biography of Sun Jian, as the General of the Household who suppressed the Yellow Turbans. Chen Shou's main text does not record his courtesy name, origin or death. Records, Wu 1 §6–7
In the 1st year of Zhongping (184), when the Yellow Turbans rose, the Han court sent the General of Chariots and Cavalry Huangfu Song and the General of the Household Zhu Jun to suppress them. Zhu Jun memorialized requesting Sun Jian as his Assistant Army Major and fought together with him. When the bandits of Runan and Yingchuan fled to hold Wancheng, Sun Jian was first to scale the wall and inflicted a great defeat on them, and Zhu Jun reported the full circumstances to the emperor. Records, Wu 1 §6–7
The Records has no assessment of him. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 1 as a General of the Household setting out against the Yellow Turbans and appears in 4 of its 120 chapters; there is no chapter with his name in its title. In Chapter 2 he leads the Liu Bei brothers and Sun Jian in pacifying the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, and in Chapter 13, after being seized by Guo Si and released, he returns home, falls ill and dies. Romance, Ch. 1 §12Romance, Ch. 2 §3 · 17–18Romance, Ch. 13 §24
In the Records
In the 1st year of Zhongping (184) Zhang Jue, master of the Yellow Turban bandits, rose in Wei Commandery, and on the jiazi day of the 3rd month thirty-six groups rose all at once in a single morning; the realm responded to them, burning commanderies and counties and killing their officials. The Han court sent the General of Chariots and Cavalry Huangfu Song and the General of the Household Zhu Jun to lead troops and suppress them. Records, Wu 1 §6
Zhu Jun memorialized requesting Sun Jian, Assistant Magistrate of Xiapi, as his Assistant Army Major. The young men of his home district who had followed Sun Jian at Xiapi all wished to go with him, and Sun Jian further recruited merchants and travelers and picked soldiers of the Huai and Si region, gaining something over a thousand men; he joined forces with Zhu Jun and fought, and wherever they went no one could stand before them. When the bandits of Runan and Yingchuan, hard pressed, fled to hold Wancheng, Sun Jian personally took charge of one side, was first to scale the wall and at last inflicted a great defeat on them. Zhu Jun reported the full circumstances to the emperor, and Sun Jian was appointed Major of a Separate Command. Records, Wu 1 §5 · 7
Chen Shou's main text does not record Zhu Jun's courtesy name or origin, his later career or his death, nor does it assess him. His name appears only in these two passages of the Biography of Sun Jian. Records, Wu 1 §6–7
In the Romance
In Chapter 1 of the Romance, as the Yellow Turbans grow ever stronger, He Jin petitions the emperor and has the Generals of the Household Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun lead picked troops and attack them along three separate routes. Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun face Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao at Yingchuan, and when the bandits fall back to Changshe and pitch camp against the long grass, they plan an attack by fire. Each soldier ties a bundle of grass and lies in wait, and on a night when a great wind rises, after the second watch, they set fires all at once and strike the bandits' camp; by the time Liu Bei, sent by Lu Zhi, arrives, the bandits have already been defeated and scattered. Romance, Ch. 1 §12 · 34–35 · 42
In Chapter 2, when Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei come to him, Zhu Jun treats them generously, joins forces with them to attack Zhang Bao and makes Liu Bei his vanguard. When Liu Bei is driven back by Zhang Bao's sorcery, Zhu Jun has the blood of pigs, sheep and dogs prepared and says that if soldiers are hidden on the hill and pour it down from the high slope, the sorcery will be broken. With his sorcery broken, Zhang Bao flees to Yangcheng; Zhu Jun surrounds and attacks Yangcheng, and on hearing that Huangfu Song has won a great victory he presses the assault, whereupon the bandit general Yan Zheng stabs Zhang Bao to death and surrenders, presenting his head. Romance, Ch. 2 §3–5 · 7–9
Next, when the Yellow Turban remnants Zhao Hong, Han Zhong and Sun Zhong seize Wancheng, the court orders Zhu Jun to attack them with his victorious army as it stands. When Han Zhong, his food exhausted inside the city, offers to surrender, Zhu Jun refuses, saying that now that the realm is united under one rule, accepting their surrender would only encourage the bandits' ambitions. Agreeing with Liu Bei that the bandits will fight to the death if surrounded on all sides as in an iron barrel and that the southeast should be left open, he attacks only the northwest, and together with Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei he falls on Han Zhong as he abandons the city and flees, and shoots him dead. Romance, Ch. 2 §10–14
When Wancheng is retaken while he has briefly withdrawn before Zhao Hong's strength, Zhu Jun warmly welcomes Sun Jian, who happens to arrive with troops, and has him attack the south gate and Liu Bei the north gate, while he himself attacks the west gate and leaves the east gate for the bandits to flee through. Sun Jian strikes down Zhao Hong and Liu Bei strikes down Sun Zhong, Zhu Jun's main army follows up the attack, and more than ten commanderies around Nanyang are pacified. Zhu Jun returns to the capital and by edict is made General of Chariots and Cavalry and Intendant of Henan, and he memorializes the merits of Sun Jian, Liu Bei and others; but Sun Jian, having connections, becomes a Major of a separate commandery, while Liu Bei waits long without receiving any office. Romance, Ch. 2 §14 · 16–18
In Chapter 10, seeking to win popular esteem, Li Jue and Guo Si summon Zhu Jun to court, make him Minister Coachman and have him share in managing the government. When the Yellow Turbans rise again in Qing Province, Minister Coachman Zhu Jun recommends Cao Cao, Administrator of Dong Commandery, saying that no one but Cao Mengde can crush the bandit hordes of Shandong, and Li Jue drafts an edict through the night ordering Cao Cao to attack the bandits together with Bao Xin, Chancellor of Jibei. Romance, Ch. 10 §5 · 17–18
In Chapter 13, Grand Minister of Agriculture Zhu Jun and Grand Commandant Yang Biao secretly tell Emperor Xian that it would be a great fortune for the realm if Cao Cao were made to uphold the state. When Li Jue and Guo Si fight each other, he and Yang Biao gather more than sixty court officials and go to Guo Si's camp to urge reconciliation, but all the officials are imprisoned, and only Yang Biao and Zhu Jun are released after the General of the Household Yang Mi pleads hard for them. When Yang Biao says that as ministers of the state who cannot correct their ruler and save their lord they are merely living in vain, the two embrace each other, weep and collapse to the ground, and Zhu Jun returns home, falls ill and dies. Romance, Ch. 13 §10 · 23–24
Where the Romance differs
Setting out: In Chapter 1 of the Romance, at He Jin's request, the Generals of the Household Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun set out along three separate routes against the Yellow Turbans. In the Biography of Sun Jian in the Records, the Han court sent the General of Chariots and Cavalry Huangfu Song and the General of the Household Zhu Jun to suppress them. Romance, Ch. 1 §12Records, Wu 1 §6
Fire at Changshe and Zhang Bao's sorcery: In Chapter 1 of the Romance, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun attack with fire the bandits camped in the long grass at Changshe, and in Chapter 2 Zhu Jun has Zhang Bao's sorcery broken with animal blood. The passage on the campaign against the Yellow Turbans in the Biography of Sun Jian in the Records mentions neither this fire attack nor the sorcery. Romance, Ch. 1 §35Romance, Ch. 2 §5Records, Wu 1 §6–7
Liu Bei: In Chapter 2 of the Romance, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei go to Zhu Jun, become his vanguard and stay with him through the fighting at Wancheng. The Biography of the First Sovereign in the Records says that Liu Bei led his own followers under Colonel Zou Jing against the Yellow Turbans and for his merit was appointed Commandant of Anxi; Zhu Jun does not appear. Romance, Ch. 2 §3 · 10Records, Shu 2 §6
Sun Jian's arrival: In Chapter 2 of the Romance, Sun Jian on his own initiative gathers more than fifteen hundred men, young men of his home district, merchants and picked soldiers of the Huai and Si, and comes to help in the fighting at Wancheng. In the Biography of Sun Jian in the Records, Zhu Jun memorialized requesting Sun Jian as his Assistant Army Major, and the troops Sun Jian gathered numbered something over a thousand. Romance, Ch. 2 §14 · 16Records, Wu 1 §7
The bandits of Wancheng: In Chapter 2 of the Romance, Wancheng is held by the Yellow Turban remnants Zhao Hong, Han Zhong and Sun Zhong; Han Zhong is shot dead after his surrender is refused, and Sun Jian and Liu Bei strike down Zhao Hong and Sun Zhong. The Biography of Sun Jian in the Records says only that the bandits of Runan and Yingchuan, hard pressed, fled to hold Wancheng and that Sun Jian was first to scale the wall and inflicted a great defeat on them; the bandit leaders are not named. Romance, Ch. 2 §10–14 · 17–18Records, Wu 1 §7
Sun Jian's office: In Chapter 2 of the Romance, Zhu Jun memorializes their merits, but Sun Jian, having connections, becomes a Major of a separate commandery. In the Records, Zhu Jun reported the full circumstances and Sun Jian was appointed Major of a Separate Command. Romance, Ch. 2 §18Records, Wu 1 §7
Recommending Cao Cao: In Chapter 10 of the Romance, Minister Coachman Zhu Jun recommends Cao Cao as the man to crush the Yellow Turbans of Qing Province, and Li Jue sends Cao Cao an edict to attack the bandits together with Bao Xin. In the Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records, after a million Yellow Turbans of Qing Province entered Yan Province and Liu Dai was killed fighting them, Bao Xin, together with the provincial officer Wan Qian and others, came to Dong Commandery and welcomed Cao Cao to take charge as Governor of Yan Province. Romance, Ch. 10 §17–18Records, Wei 1 §22–23
The seizure of the ministers: In Chapter 13 of the Romance, Yang Biao and Zhu Jun gather more than sixty officials and go to Guo Si's camp to urge reconciliation, but are imprisoned, and only the two of them are released. The Biography of Dong Zhuo in the Records says only that when Li Jue sent the high ministers to Guo Si to ask for peace, Guo Si seized them all; it does not name those ministers. Romance, Ch. 13 §23–24Records, Wei 6 §24
Death: In Chapter 13 of the Romance, Zhu Jun is released from Guo Si's camp, returns home, falls ill and dies. Chen Shou's main text does not mention Zhu Jun's death. Romance, Ch. 13 §24Records, Wu 1 §6–7
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.
Abilities
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.
Records total481 / 1000Rank 292 of 996 · Top 30%Romance total551 / 1000Rank 45 of 1,113 · Top 5%
Romance adaptation index+70Romance total − Records total
- LEA6674+8
- STR4548+3
- INT4564+19
- POL4548+3
- CHA5058+8
- VIR5072+22
- ADP4540−5
- SCH3535±0
- DIP4042+2
- DIS6070+10
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RRequested Sun Jian as Assistant Army Major and reported his merit, getting him made Major of a Separate CommandWu 1 §7
NRecommended Cao Mengde as the only man for the Shandong bandits, and memorialized the merits of Sun Jian and Liu BeiCh. 10 §18Ch. 2 §18
7 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct recordWu 1 §6
NWent to placate Guo Si, was imprisoned, then fell ill and diedCh. 2 §29Ch. 13 §23
RNo direct recordWu 1 §6
NUrged Guo Si to reconcile together with the officials but was imprisonedCh. 13 §23
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.
Romance chapters (4)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Related events (2)
- Yellow Turban Rebellion 184 · Command
- Battle of Changshe 184 · Command
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).