Shen Rong 審榮
| Occupation | RGeneral | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | Native place | Wei Commandery Unverified | |
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R2 |
Profile
Shen Rong was the son of the elder brother of Shen Pei, who held Ye under Yuan Shang. He has no biography of his own in the Records, and in Chen Shou's main text his name appears once each in the Annals of Emperor Wu (Records of Wei 1) and in the Biographies of Dong Zhuo, the Two Yuans and Liu Biao (Records of Wei 6). In the 8th month of the 9th year of Jian'an (204), in Ye, surrounded by Cao Cao's army, he opened at night the east gate he was guarding and let the troops in; Shen Pei was captured and beheaded, and Ye was pacified. Records, Wei 1 §81 · 84Records, Wei 6 §66
In the Romance he appears only in Chapter 32, and no chapter has his name in its title. The Romance portrays him as Shen Pei's nephew who, having long been on close terms with Xin Pi, was filled with resentment when Shen Pei killed Xin Pi's family, tied a letter offering to open the city gate to an arrow and shot it down below the walls, and then, at daybreak the next day, opened the west gate and let Cao Cao's troops in. Romance, Ch. 32 §47–48
In the Records
In the 2nd month of the 9th year of Jian'an (204), when Yuan Shang went off again to attack Yuan Tan, he left Su You and Shen Pei to hold Ye. Cao Cao attacked Ye, and in the 5th month breached the Zhang River to flood the city, and more than half of those in the city starved to death. When Yuan Shang, who had come back to the rescue, was defeated and fled to Zhongshan, Cao Cao had men who had surrendered from Yuan Shang's army show the families in the city the seal, ribbon, tally and axe of Yuan Shang that he had seized, and morale within the city collapsed. Records, Wei 1 §81–83
In the 8th month, Shen Rong, the son of Shen Pei's elder brother, opened at night the east gate of the city that he was guarding and let the troops in. Shen Pei fought back but was defeated and captured, and, firm and stirring in voice and spirit, never uttered a word of submission before he was beheaded; Ye was pacified. Chen Shou's main text does not record Shen Rong's courtesy name or office, why he opened the gate, or what he did afterward. Records, Wei 1 §84Records, Wei 6 §66
In the Romance
In Chapter 32 of the Romance, Cao Cao, following Xu You's plan, draws the waters of the Zhang River into the city of Ji Province, and inside the city, with the grain also exhausted, the soldiers starve to death. When Xin Pi, outside the city, holds up Yuan Shang's seal, ribbon and clothing skewered on the point of a spear and urges surrender, Shen Pei in a great rage beheads more than eighty members of Xin Pi's family, old and young, on the city wall and throws their heads down below the walls. Romance, Ch. 32 §46–47
Shen Pei's nephew Shen Rong had long been on close terms with Xin Pi, and on seeing Xin Pi's family put to death he is filled with resentment. He secretly writes a letter offering to open the city gate, ties it to an arrow and shoots it down below the walls; a soldier picks it up and presents it, and Xin Pi passes the letter on to Cao Cao. Cao Cao first issues an order that once they enter Ji Province the old and young of the Yuan family are not to be harmed and that soldiers and people who surrender are to be spared, and at daybreak the next day Shen Rong throws open the west gate and lets Cao Cao's troops in. Romance, Ch. 32 §48
Shen Pei, who is on the southeast tower of the wall, comes down from the wall to fight and is captured by Xu Huang. When Cao Cao asks whether he knows who it was that opened the gate and let him in, Shen Pei says he does not, and when Cao Cao says it was his nephew Shen Rong, Shen Pei angrily says that the young wretch was always of bad conduct and has now come to this. Shen Pei refuses to the end to surrender, kneels facing north and receives the blade, and Shen Rong's name does not appear again in the Romance after this. Romance, Ch. 32 §49–52
Where the Romance differs
The gate he opened: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, Shen Rong throws open the west gate and lets Cao Cao's troops in. The Annals of Emperor Wu and the Biographies of Dong Zhuo, the Two Yuans and Liu Biao in the Records both record that he opened the east gate he was guarding. Romance, Ch. 32 §48Records, Wei 1 §84Records, Wei 6 §66
When he opened the gate: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, he opens the gate at daybreak the day after the letter tied to the arrow reaches Cao Cao. In the Records, he opened the gate at night in the 8th month. Romance, Ch. 32 §48Records, Wei 1 §84Records, Wei 6 §66
Motive and collusion: Chapter 32 of the Romance portrays Shen Rong as having long been on close terms with Xin Pi and, filled with resentment when Shen Pei killed Xin Pi's family, shooting down a letter tied to an arrow offering to open the city gate. The two records in Chen Shou's main text state neither why Shen Rong opened the gate nor whether he had been in contact with Cao Cao's side beforehand. Romance, Ch. 32 §47–48Records, Wei 1 §84Records, Wei 6 §66
Exchange with Shen Pei: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, Cao Cao tells the captured Shen Pei that the man who opened the gate was his nephew Shen Rong, and Shen Pei angrily calls the young wretch a man of bad conduct. Chen Shou's main text says only that Shen Pei never uttered a word of submission before he was beheaded, and records no words exchanged about Shen Rong. Romance, Ch. 32 §50Records, Wei 6 §66
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.
- LEA4035−5
- STR3833−5
- INT4545±0
- POL3531−4
- CHA3838±0
- VIR2832+4
- ADP5555±0
- SCH3335+2
- DIP3538+3
- DIS3531−4
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
No ability differs by 10 or more — the Romance portrays this person much as the Records do.
10 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his guarding the east gate of YeWei 1 §84Wei 6 §66
NNo direct record — estimated from his status as Shen Pei's nephewCh. 32 §48
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his guarding the east gate of YeWei 1 §84Wei 6 §66
NNo direct record — estimated from his status as Shen Pei's nephewCh. 32 §48
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his guarding the east gate of YeWei 1 §84Wei 6 §66
NSecretly sent a letter by arrow offering to open the city gateCh. 32 §48
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his guarding the east gate of YeWei 1 §84Wei 6 §66
NNo direct record — estimated from his status as Shen Pei's nephewCh. 32 §48
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his guarding the east gate of YeWei 1 §84Wei 6 §66
NNo direct record — estimated from his status as Shen Pei's nephewCh. 32 §48
ROpened at night the east gate of Ye, which his uncle Shen Pei was holding, and let Cao Cao's army inWei 1 §84Wei 6 §66
NAngered by the harm done to his friend Xin Pi's family, he gave up the city gate his uncle was holdingCh. 32 §48Ch. 32 §50
RWhen Ye was besieged, opened the city gate and went over to Cao Cao's sideWei 1 §84Wei 6 §66
NJust before Ji Province fell, opened the west gate and went over to Cao CaoCh. 32 §48Ch. 32 §50
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his guarding the east gate of YeWei 1 §84Wei 6 §66
NNo direct record — estimated from his status as Shen Pei's nephewCh. 32 §48
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his guarding the east gate of YeWei 1 §84Wei 6 §66
NNo direct record — estimated from his status as Shen Pei's nephewCh. 32 §48
RNo direct record — estimated from the record of his guarding the east gate of YeWei 1 §84Wei 6 §66
NNo direct record — estimated from his status as Shen Pei's nephewCh. 32 §48
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 (1)
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