| Occupation | RNStrategist | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | R? Unverified | Native place | Yingchuan Commandery |
| Died | R205 Unverified | Place of death | RNNanpi County |
| Cause of death | RKilled in battle NKilled in battle Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R19 |
Guo Tu was a native of Yingchuan and an adviser to Yuan Shao. He has no biography of his own in the Records and appears in the Biography of Yuan Shao, the Annals of Emperor Wu, and the Biographies of Xun Yu, Guo Jia and Zhang He. He went as Yuan Shao's envoy to the Son of Heaven in Hedong and urged him to welcome the Son of Heaven and make Ye the capital, but Yuan Shao did not follow his advice. Records, Wei 6 §48Records, Wei 10 §4
At Guandu he urged attacking Cao Cao's main camp instead of relieving Wuchao, and when the plan miscarried he slandered Zhang He, who then went over to Cao Cao. After Yuan Shao's death he sided with the eldest son Yuan Tan together with Xin Ping, and in the 1st month of the 10th year of Jian'an (205), when Cao Cao took Nanpi, he was beheaded along with Yuan Tan. Records, Wei 17 §43–44Records, Wei 6 §60 · 67
Chen Shou wrote no separate assessment of Guo Tu, but Guo Jia foresaw that, since Guo Tu and Feng Ji had become advisers to Yuan Shao's two sons, they would surely set the two fighting each other. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 22 as an adviser to Yuan Shao and features in 8 of its 120 chapters, but his name is in no chapter title. In Chapter 33, at Nanpi, he is hit by Yue Jin's arrow and falls into the moat. Records, Wei 14 §36Romance, Ch. 22 §7Romance, Ch. 33 §19
Guo Tu was a native of Yingchuan. Xun Yu's younger brother Xun Chen, as well as Xin Ping and Guo Tu, who came from the same commandery as Xun Yu, were all employed by Yuan Shao. When Guo Jia first went north and met Yuan Shao, he told Yuan Shao's advisers Xin Ping and Guo Tu that Lord Yuan took up many lines of business but grasped few essentials, and loved scheming but lacked decision, so it would be hard to settle the enterprise of a king or hegemon with him, and he left. Records, Wei 6 §48Records, Wei 10 §4Records, Wei 14 §31
The enthronement of the Son of Heaven had not been Yuan Shao's wish in the first place. When the Son of Heaven was in Hedong, Yuan Shao sent Guo Tu of Yingchuan as his envoy, and on his return Guo Tu urged Yuan Shao to welcome the Son of Heaven and make Ye the capital, but Yuan Shao did not follow his advice. Just then Taizu (Cao Cao) welcomed the Son of Heaven, made Xu the capital and took the lands south of the Yellow River, and all of Guanzhong submitted to him. Yuan Shao regretted it and wanted Taizu to move the Son of Heaven to Juancheng so as to have him near, but Taizu refused. Records, Wei 6 §48
In the 2nd month of the 5th year of Jian'an (200), Yuan Shao sent Guo Tu, Chunyu Qiong and Yan Liang to attack Liu Yan, Administrator of Dong Commandery, at Baima, while he himself led his troops to Liyang, intending to cross the Yellow River. In the 4th month Taizu came north to relieve Liu Yan, beheaded Yan Liang and lifted the siege of Baima. Records, Wei 1 §60–61
At Guandu, when Yuan Shao had Chunyu Qiong and others supervise the transport of grain and station at Wuchao, Taizu personally launched a swift attack on them. When Zhang He said they must hurry to lead troops to the rescue, Guo Tu said, 'Zhang He's plan is wrong. It would be better to attack his main camp. Then he will be bound to return; this is the way to resolve the matter by itself without a rescue.' Zhang He countered that Lord Cao's camp was strong and could not be taken, but Yuan Shao sent only light cavalry to rescue Chunyu Qiong and attacked Taizu's camp with his main force, and could not take it. Records, Wei 17 §42–43
When Taizu did indeed defeat Chunyu Qiong and the others, Yuan Shao's army collapsed. Guo Tu, ashamed, slandered Zhang He again, saying, 'Zhang He is pleased that our army was defeated and has spoken insolently,' and Zhang He, afraid, at last went over to Taizu. Records, Wei 17 §44
After his defeat at Guandu, Yuan Shao fell ill and died of anxiety in the 7th year of Jian'an (202). Yuan Shao loved his youngest son Yuan Shang and wanted him as his successor but had not yet made it known. Shen Pei and Feng Ji vied for power with Xin Ping and Guo Tu; Shen Pei and Feng Ji sided with Yuan Shang, and Xin Ping and Guo Tu with Yuan Tan. The people wanted to set up Yuan Tan because he was the eldest, but Shen Pei and the others, fearing that if Yuan Tan were set up Xin Ping and the others would harm them, used Yuan Shao's long-held wish as a pretext and set up Yuan Shang. Unable to succeed, Yuan Tan styled himself General of Chariots and Cavalry, and from this a rift arose between the two brothers. Records, Wei 6 §58 · 60
When Taizu defeated Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang in successive battles at Liyang, the generals wanted to press their advantage and attack. Guo Jia said that Yuan Shao had not been able to settle on either of his two sons as heir and that Guo Tu and Feng Ji had become their advisers, so they would surely set the two fighting and the brothers would split apart; he therefore proposed to feign an attack on Jing Province and wait for things to change. When Taizu went south as far as Xiping, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang at last raised troops and attacked each other. Records, Wei 14 §36Records, Wei 6 §62
While Taizu was besieging Ye, Yuan Tan seized Ganling, Anping, Bohai and Hejian, attacked Yuan Shang at Zhongshan and took over his followers. When Taizu was about to attack Yuan Tan, Yuan Tan abandoned Pingyuan, took in Nanpi as well and stationed himself at Longcou; in the 12th month, when Taizu encamped before his gates, he fled by night to Nanpi and camped by the Qing River. In the 1st month of the 10th year of Jian'an (205), Taizu attacked and took Nanpi and beheaded Yuan Tan, Guo Tu and others. Records, Wei 6 §67
Chen Shou wrote no separate assessment of Guo Tu. In the assessment of Records of Wei 6, he said that Yuan Shao was outwardly magnanimous but inwardly jealous and loved scheming but lacked decision, and that it was no misfortune that his line of succession was toppled after he set aside the eldest son and set up a younger one. Records, Wei 6 §96
In Chapter 22 of the Romance, when Yuan Shao, having received Zheng Xuan's letter, debates whether to attack Cao Cao, Ju Shou calls it an army without just cause, but the adviser Guo Tu says, 'How can sending troops against Cao Cao be called without cause?' and urges him to join Liu Bei in upholding the great cause and attack Cao Cao. Once the deployment for the campaign is settled, he advises that only by listing Cao Cao's crimes one by one and circulating a proclamation to every commandery will their cause be right and their words persuasive. Romance, Ch. 22 §7 · 9
In Chapter 26 he and Shen Pei tell Yuan Shao that it was Guan Yu again who killed Wen Chou, while Liu Bei pretends not to know. In Chapter 28 he remonstrates that if Liu Bei is sent to Jing Province with Jian Yong he will surely not come back, but when Yuan Shao does not listen he goes out sighing; when Liu Bei fails to return, he says that Cao Cao is a stronger enemy than Liu Bei and proposes joining hands with Sun Ce of Jiangdong, and Chen Zhen sets out as envoy. Romance, Ch. 26 §14Romance, Ch. 28 §51 · 62
In Chapter 30, when fire rises over Wuchao, Zhang He offers to go to the rescue, but Guo Tu, arguing that Cao Cao must have gone there in person and that if they attack his empty camp he will surely return, repeatedly urges 'Sun Bin's plan of besieging Wei to relieve Zhao.' When Zhang He and Gao Lan attack Cao Cao's camp and suffer a heavy defeat, Guo Tu, afraid the two will return and dispute who was at fault, gets in first with the slander that they had always meant to surrender to Cao Cao, and then sends a man to tell them that their lord is going to kill them. Gao Lan beheads Yuan Shao's envoy and surrenders to Cao Cao together with Zhang He. Romance, Ch. 30 §42–43 · 46–49
In Chapter 31, when Yuan Shao wants to make his third son Yuan Shang his heir, Guo Tu says that setting aside the eldest for a younger son would sow the seeds of disorder, and that he should first attend to plans for resisting the enemy. Xin Ping and Guo Tu are portrayed as supporting and assisting Yuan Tan, and the ailing Yuan Shao has the two accompany Yuan Tan to Qing Province. Romance, Ch. 31 §7–9 · 20
In Chapter 32, when Yuan Shao dies, Guo Tu advises Yuan Tan to stay outside the city and watch how things go, and himself enters Ji Province, pretends that Yuan Tan is ill, asks for an assistant and brings back Feng Ji, who is chosen by lot. After Cao Cao withdraws, he proposes a plan to invite Yuan Shang and Shen Pei to a banquet and kill them, but Shen Pei sees through it as Guo Tu's scheme, and Yuan Tan is defeated. Besieged at Pingyuan, he proposes surrendering to Cao Cao to have him attack Ji Province and recommends Xin Ping's younger brother Xin Pi as envoy; later he proposes secretly sending generals' seals to Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang to make them act as insiders, but the two hand the seals over to Cao Cao. Romance, Ch. 32 §6–8 · 16 · 18 · 20–21 · 30–31
In Chapter 33, Guo Tu proposes to Yuan Tan, trapped in Nanpi, that they drive all the common people out in front with the troops following behind them and fight to the death. When Cao Cao beats the drum himself and routs Yuan Tan's army and Yuan Tan is killed by Cao Hong, Guo Tu gallops toward the city, but is hit by an arrow shot by Yue Jin, and he and his horse fall together into the city moat. Romance, Ch. 33 §17–19
Welcoming the Son of Heaven: In the Biography of Yuan Shao in the Records, Guo Tu went as envoy to the Son of Heaven in Hedong and urged welcoming him and making Ye the capital. The Romance first brings Guo Tu on in the debate over attacking Cao Cao in Chapter 22 and does not depict this episode. Records, Wei 6 §48Romance, Ch. 22 §7
Baima: In the Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records, Yuan Shao sent Guo Tu, Chunyu Qiong and Yan Liang together to attack Liu Yan at Baima. In Chapter 25 of the Romance, Yan Liang alone attacks Baima as the vanguard, and Guo Tu does not appear. Records, Wei 1 §60Romance, Ch. 25 §39
The debate over relieving Wuchao: In Chapter 30 of the Romance, Guo Tu cites Sun Bin's plan to urge an attack on Cao Cao's camp, and Yuan Shao sends Zhang He and Gao Lan against that camp. In the Biography of Zhang He in the Records, Guo Tu likewise said that attacking the main camp would resolve the matter by itself, but the text says only that Yuan Shao attacked the camp with his main force and does not say that he sent Zhang He on that attack. Romance, Ch. 30 §42–43Records, Wei 17 §43
Zhang He's defection: In Chapter 30 of the Romance, Guo Tu slanders Zhang He and Gao Lan as having meant to surrender and sends a man to warn them of their coming death, and Gao Lan beheads Yuan Shao's envoy. In the Records, after Wuchao fell, Guo Tu, ashamed, slandered Zhang He as being pleased at the defeat and speaking insolently, and Zhang He, afraid, went over. There is no advance warning and no beheading of an envoy. Romance, Ch. 30 §47–48Records, Wei 17 §44
The succession debate: In Chapter 31 of the Romance, Guo Tu remonstrates with Yuan Shao in person not to set aside the eldest son. In the Records, Xin Ping and Guo Tu sided with Yuan Tan, and the text says only that after Yuan Shao's death Shen Pei and the others used Yuan Shao's long-held wish as a pretext to set up Yuan Shang; there is no remonstrance by Guo Tu during Yuan Shao's lifetime. Romance, Ch. 31 §8–9Records, Wei 6 §60
Bringing Feng Ji: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, Guo Tu goes to Yuan Shang, asks for an assistant and brings back Feng Ji, chosen by lot. In the Biography of Yuan Shao in the Records, Yuan Shang gave Yuan Tan only a few troops and sent Feng Ji along with him, and when Yuan Tan's request for more troops was refused he killed Feng Ji. Guo Tu does not appear. Romance, Ch. 32 §7–8Records, Wei 6 §61
The brothers' fight: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, Guo Tu's plan to invite Yuan Shang and Shen Pei to a banquet and kill them sparks the fighting. The Records say only that when Taizu headed for Jing Province and reached Xiping, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang raised troops and attacked each other, and Guo Jia had foreseen that Guo Tu and Feng Ji would set the two fighting. Romance, Ch. 32 §16Records, Wei 6 §62Records, Wei 14 §36
The envoy to Cao Cao: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, Guo Tu proposes surrendering to Cao Cao and recommends Xin Pi as envoy. The Records say only that when Yuan Shang pressed his attack, Yuan Tan sent Xin Pi to ask Taizu for help, and do not record who advised it. Romance, Ch. 32 §20–21Records, Wei 6 §62
The seals for Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, Yuan Tan has generals' seals carved and sent to the two Lüs on Guo Tu's advice. In the Records too, Yuan Tan secretly carved generals' seals and gave them to Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang, but nothing says it was Guo Tu's plan. Romance, Ch. 32 §30Records, Wei 6 §62
Nanpi and his death: In Chapter 33 of the Romance, they fight with the common people in front as Guo Tu advised, and Guo Tu is hit by Yue Jin's arrow and falls into the moat. In the Records, Taizu attacked and took Nanpi and beheaded Yuan Tan, Guo Tu and others. There is no plan of putting the people in front and no arrow from Yue Jin. Romance, Ch. 33 §17–19Records, Wei 6 §67Records, Wei 9 §45–46
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.
RAshamed when his plan failed, he slandered Zhang He, and he joined the power struggle on Yuan Tan's sideWei 17 §44Wei 6 §60
NSlandered Zhang He and Gao Lan, urged assassinating Yuan Shang, and sent the common people to fight in frontCh. 30 §47Ch. 32 §16Ch. 33 §17
RNo direct record — estimated from his being Yuan Shao's adviserWei 14 §31
NRecommended the eloquent Xin Pi as envoy to Cao CaoCh. 32 §21
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as an adviserWei 1 §60
NNo direct record — estimated from the record of his being shot and falling into the moatCh. 33 §19
RUrged welcoming the Son of Heaven and making Ye the capital; his plan to attack the main camp instead of relieving Wuchao failedWei 6 §48Wei 17 §43
NInsisted on raiding the main camp and failed; called a man of many schemes; devised the plan to draw in Cao CaoCh. 30 §42Ch. 32 §12Ch. 32 §20
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his employment by Yuan ShaoWei 10 §4
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as an adviserCh. 32 §20
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).