RAs acting Chief of Yongping he pacified the Shanyue, and the cunning and lawless held back their handsWu 10 §70
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 15 §55
Ling Cao 凌操
| Occupation | RGeneral · Colonel Who Destroys Bandits NGeneral · Colonel Who Follows on Campaign | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | N? Unverified | Native place | Wu Commandery Yuhang County Unverified |
| Died | N203 Unverified | Place of death | RNXiakou |
| Cause of death | RKilled in battle NKilled in battle Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R4 |
Profile
Ling Cao was the father of the Wu general Ling Tong. He has no biography of his own in the Records and appears briefly at the beginning of the account of Ling Tong in the Biographies of Cheng, Huang, Han, Jiang, Zhou, Chen, Dong, Gan, Ling, Xu, Pan and Ding in Records of Wu 10. He was a bold knight-errant with courage, followed Sun Ce on campaign from the time Sun Ce first rose, and after serving as acting Chief of Yongping was transferred to Colonel Who Destroys Bandits (pozei xiaowei). Records, Wu 10 §70
After Sun Quan took command of the army, Ling Cao followed him in the attack on Jiangxia; entering Xiakou, he was the first to land and broke the enemy's vanguard, but while advancing alone in a light boat he was struck by a stray arrow and killed. Chen Shou's text does not record the year of his death. Records, Wu 10 §70
In his assessment for volume 10, Chen Shou called the generals of the volume as a whole tiger-like servants of Jiangbiao, but did not single out Ling Cao. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 15 as a local man who led the villagers to attack and rout Yan Baihu, who had fled to Yuhang; he appears in 3 of the 120 chapters, and his name is in no chapter title. In Chapter 38 he charges into Xiakou and is killed by an arrow from Gan Ning. Records, Wu 10 §109Romance, Ch. 15 §54Romance, Ch. 38 §30
In the Records
Ling Tong, courtesy name Gongji, was a man of Yuhang County in Wu Commandery. Chen Shou recorded that his father Ling Cao was a bold knight-errant with courage. When Sun Ce first rose, Ling Cao followed him on every campaign and was always first in the army to brave the blades. As acting Chief of Yongping he pacified and governed the Shanyue, so that the cunning and lawless held back their hands, and he was transferred to Colonel Who Destroys Bandits. Records, Wu 10 §70
When Sun Quan took command of the army, Ling Cao followed him in the attack on Jiangxia. Entering Xiakou, he was the first to land and broke the enemy's vanguard, but while advancing alone in a light boat he was struck by a stray arrow and killed. Chen Shou's text does not record in which year this battle took place or who shot the arrow. Records, Wu 10 §70
His son Ling Tong was then fifteen years old. Because Ling Cao had died in the service of the state, Sun Quan made Ling Tong Major of a Separate Command and acting Commandant Who Destroys Bandits, and had him command his father's troops. Later, in an attack on mountain bandits, as the day set for the assault approached, Commander Chen Qin, who was drinking with Ling Tong, treated the company with contempt and then cursed Ling Tong and even his father Ling Cao, but Ling Tong only shed tears and did not answer. When Chen Qin insulted him again on the road, Ling Tong drew his blade and struck him, and Chen Qin died a few days later. Records, Wu 10 §71–72
In his assessment for volume 10, Chen Shou called the generals of the volume as a whole 'tiger-like servants of Jiangbiao, whom the Sun family treated generously,' but did not single out Ling Cao. Records, Wu 10 §109
In the Romance
In Chapter 15 of the Romance, when Sun Ce besieges the city of Wu, Yan Baihu abandons it and flees to Yuhang, plundering along the way; defeated by a local man, Ling Cao, who leads the villagers against him, he flees toward Kuaiji. Ling Cao and his son come to welcome Sun Ce, and Sun Ce makes them Colonels Who Follow on Campaign (congzheng xiaowei) and crosses the river with them at the head of the army. Romance, Ch. 15 §54–55
In Chapter 38, in the 11th month of the 8th year of Jian'an (203), Sun Quan attacks Huang Zu and they fight in the middle of the Great River, and Huang Zu's army is defeated. Sun Quan's subordinate general Ling Cao, leading the way in a light boat, charges into Xiakou and is killed by a single arrow from Huang Zu's subordinate general Gan Ning. His son Ling Tong, then only fifteen, fights with all his strength to wrest back his father's body, and Sun Quan, seeing that the situation is unfavorable, withdraws his army and returns to Eastern Wu. In the same chapter Lü Meng reports to Sun Quan that Gan Ning, though wishing to surrender, feared that Jiangdong resented him for saving Huang Zu and killing Ling Cao. Romance, Ch. 38 §30 · 42 · 44
In Chapter 39, at the banquet after Huang Zu's defeat, Ling Tong bursts into loud weeping, draws his sword and rushes at Gan Ning, because Gan Ning had shot and killed his father Ling Cao when he was at Jiangxia. Sun Quan restrains him, saying that at the time each was serving his own lord, and that same day sends Gan Ning to guard Xiakou to keep him away from Ling Tong. Romance, Ch. 39 §6–7
Where the Romance differs
How he came to follow Sun Ce: In Chapter 15 of the Romance, Ling Cao leads the villagers to attack and rout Yan Baihu, who was fleeing to Yuhang and plundering, and comes with his son to welcome Sun Ce. The Biography of Ling Tong in Chen Shou's text says only that he followed Sun Ce on every campaign from the time Sun Ce first rose, and does not record any fight with Yan Baihu. Romance, Ch. 15 §54–55Records, Wu 10 §70
Office: In Chapter 15 of the Romance, Sun Ce makes Ling Cao and his son Colonels Who Follow on Campaign. In the Records, Ling Cao served as acting Chief of Yongping and was transferred to Colonel Who Destroys Bandits. Romance, Ch. 15 §55Records, Wu 10 §70
Year of death: Chapter 38 of the Romance places the battle in which Ling Cao died in the 11th month of the 8th year of Jian'an (203). Chen Shou's text says only that it was the attack on Jiangxia after Sun Quan took command of the army, and does not give the year. Romance, Ch. 38 §30Records, Wu 10 §70
The archer: In Chapter 38 of the Romance, Ling Cao is killed by a single arrow from Huang Zu's subordinate general Gan Ning. The Biography of Ling Tong in Chen Shou's text says only that he was struck by a stray arrow and killed, and the main text of the Biography of Gan Ning does not mention him shooting Ling Cao either. Romance, Ch. 38 §30Records, Wu 10 §70 · 53–68
His body: In Chapter 38 of the Romance, the fifteen-year-old Ling Tong fights with all his strength to wrest back his father's body. The Records say nothing about recovering the body; Ling Tong became Major of a Separate Command at fifteen and commanded his father's troops. Romance, Ch. 38 §30Records, Wu 10 §70–71
The feud with Gan Ning: In Chapter 39 of the Romance, Ling Tong draws his sword at a banquet and rushes at Gan Ning, who had shot his father dead, and Sun Quan sends Gan Ning to Xiakou to keep the two apart. This episode is not in the biographies of Ling Tong and Gan Ning in Chen Shou's text. Romance, Ch. 39 §6–7Records, Wu 10 §53–68 · 70–79
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 total455 / 1000Rank 353 of 996 · Top 36%Romance total416 / 1000Rank 401 of 1,113 · Top 37%
Romance adaptation index−39Romance total − Records total
- LEA5550−5
- STR7060−10
- INT3835−3
- POL5535−20
- CHA4548+3
- VIR5548−7
- ADP4045+5
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3131±0
- DIS3533−2
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RCourageous, always first in the army to brave the blades and first to landWu 10 §70
NLed the way in a light boat and charged into XiakouCh. 38 §30
8 similar abilities — show evidence
RColonel Who Destroys Bandits; broke the enemy's vanguard at XiakouWu 10 §70
NLed the villagers to attack and rout Yan BaihuCh. 15 §54
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalWu 10 §70
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 15 §55
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalWu 10 §70
NRallied the local people and led them in battleCh. 15 §54
RFollowed every campaign from Sun Ce's early days and died in the service of the stateWu 10 §70Wu 10 §71
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 15 §55
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalWu 10 §70
NCame with his son to welcome Sun Ce and submitted to himCh. 15 §55
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalWu 10 §70
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 15 §55
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalWu 10 §70
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 15 §55
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalWu 10 §70
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalCh. 15 §55
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 (3)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Family
| Children | Ling Tong Novel & History |
|---|
Based on Wikidata items for the historical and Romance figures. Relations without the Unverified badge were also confirmed in the Records.
Related events (1)
- Battle of Xiakou 203 · Command
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).