RNo direct recordWu 6 §42
NBelieved Lady Xu's false consent and entered the inner chamber drunkCh. 38 §33Ch. 38 §35
Gui Lan 嬀覽
| Occupation | RGeneral · Grand Commander NGeneral · Supervising Commander | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Cause of death | RKilled NKilled Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R4 |
Profile
Gui Lan was a man whom Sheng Xian, Administrator of Wu Commandery, had recommended as Filial and Incorrupt. When Sun Quan killed Sheng Xian, he fled with Dai Yuan and hid in the mountains, and when Sun Yi became Administrator of Danyang and summoned him with courtesy, he became Grand Commander supervising the troops. He has no biography of his own in Chen Shou's main text and appears in the account of Sun Shao in the Biographies of the Ruling House in Records of Wu 6. Records, Wu 6 §41
After Sun Yi was harmed, he and Dai Yuan killed Sun He, who rebuked them, and tried to welcome Liu Fu, Inspector of Yang Province, and respond to him with Danyang, but they were killed by Sun Yi's subordinates Xu Yuan, Sun Gao, Fu Ying and others. In the Romance he appears in Chapter 38 as the Supervising Commander of Danyang, and he appears in 1 of its 120 chapters; no chapter has his name in its title. The Romance portrays him as conspiring with Dai Yuan and Bian Hong to kill Sun Yi and then trying to take Sun Yi's wife Lady Xu, only to be killed by Sun Gao and Fu Ying, whom Lady Xu had hidden. Records, Wu 6 §42Romance, Ch. 38 §31–32 · 35–36
In the Records
Earlier, when Sun Quan killed Sheng Xian, the Administrator of Wu Commandery, Gui Lan and Dai Yuan, whom Sheng Xian had recommended as Filial and Incorrupt, fled and hid in the mountains. When Sun Yi became Administrator of Danyang, he summoned both men with courtesy; Gui Lan became Grand Commander supervising the troops, and Dai Yuan became Commandery Assistant. Sun Yi took up the post of Administrator of Danyang concurrently as Lieutenant General in the 8th year of Jian'an (203), when he was twenty years old. Records, Wu 6 §34 · 41
In the 9th year of Jian'an (204), Sun Yi was murdered by those around him. The account of Sun Yi in the Biographies of the Ruling House names his killer as his attendant Bian Hong and records that Bian Hong too was soon executed. Records, Wu 2 §8Records, Wu 6 §34
When Sun Yi was harmed, Sun He galloped to Wanling and angrily rebuked Gui Lan and Dai Yuan for failing to keep proper control and allowing a treacherous outrage to take place. The two conferred, saying, 'Bohai is only a distant relative of the general, yet he rebukes us like this. If the General Who Attacks Barbarians comes, not one of us will be left,' and in the end they killed Sun He. Bohai was Sun He's courtesy name, and General Who Attacks Barbarians was the title that Cao Cao had memorialized to confer on Sun Quan. The two then sent men north to welcome Liu Fu, Inspector of Yang Province, have him stay at Liyang, and intended to respond to him with Danyang. Records, Wu 6 §40 · 42Records, Wu 2 §5
Just then Sun Yi's subordinates Xu Yuan, Sun Gao, Fu Ying and others killed Gui Lan and Dai Yuan. Sun Quan, hearing of the upheaval, returned from Jiaoqiu and pacified Danyang on the way. Chen Shou's main text does not record Gui Lan's courtesy name, his origin or the year of his death, and there is no assessment of him. Records, Wu 6 §42–43
In the Romance
In Chapter 38 of the Romance, Sun Yi, Administrator of Danyang, is rough by nature and fond of wine, and when drunk he habitually flogs his soldiers. Gui Lan, the Supervising Commander of Danyang, and Dai Yuan, Assistant of the Commandery, constantly harbor the intention of killing Sun Yi, and, making common cause with Sun Yi's attendant Bian Hong, they plot together to kill him. When the banquet at which the generals and county magistrates have gathered at Danyang breaks up in the evening, Bian Hong, wearing a sword, follows Sun Yi out of the gate and cuts him down, and Gui Lan and Dai Yuan lay the blame on Bian Hong and behead him in the marketplace. Romance, Ch. 38 §31–32
Taking advantage of the situation, the two seize Sun Yi's property and his concubines, and Gui Lan, seeing the beauty of Sun Yi's wife Lady Xu, tells her, 'I have avenged your husband, so you ought to follow me. If you do not, you will die.' When Lady Xu says that it will not be too late to marry after she has held the sacrifice on the last day of the month and put off her mourning clothes, Gui Lan agrees. Meanwhile Lady Xu secretly summons Sun Gao and Fu Ying, old generals who had been Sun Yi's trusted men, and asks them to avenge him, and the two send a trusted messenger to inform Sun Quan. Romance, Ch. 38 §32–34
On the last day of the month Lady Xu hides Sun Gao and Fu Ying behind the curtains of an inner chamber, and after finishing the sacrifice in the hall she takes off her mourning clothes, dresses herself finely, and laughs and talks as if nothing were amiss. Delighted to hear this, Gui Lan is invited to the official residence at night to drink, and when, drunk, he enters the inner chamber, he is felled by the sword of Fu Ying, who leaps out at Lady Xu's cry, and killed on the spot by Sun Gao's sword. Dai Yuan too is invited to the feast and killed. Lady Xu puts her mourning clothes on again and offers the two heads in sacrifice before Sun Yi's spirit tablet, and Sun Quan, arriving at Danyang, appoints Sun Gao and Fu Ying Generals of the Standard. Romance, Ch. 38 §35–37
Where the Romance differs
The murder of Sun Yi: In Chapter 38 of the Romance, Gui Lan and Dai Yuan conspire with Bian Hong to have him kill Sun Yi, and then lay the blame on Bian Hong and behead him. Chen Shou's main text records only that Sun Yi was murdered by his attendant Bian Hong and that Bian Hong too was soon executed, and does not say that Gui Lan and Dai Yuan plotted it. In Chen Shou's main text the two are rebuked by Sun He for failing to keep proper control. Romance, Ch. 38 §31–32Records, Wu 6 §34 · 41–42
Sun He and Liu Fu: In Chen Shou's main text, Gui Lan and Dai Yuan killed Sun He, who rebuked them, and tried to welcome Liu Fu, Inspector of Yang Province, and respond to him with Danyang. Chapter 38 of the Romance has neither the killing of Sun He nor the attempt to welcome Liu Fu. Records, Wu 6 §42Romance, Ch. 38 §31–37
Who killed Gui Lan: In Chapter 38 of the Romance, Sun Yi's wife Lady Xu devises the plan, and Sun Gao and Fu Ying, hidden behind the curtains, kill Gui Lan. Chen Shou's main text only records that Sun Yi's subordinates Xu Yuan, Sun Gao, Fu Ying and others killed Gui Lan and Dai Yuan, and Lady Xu does not appear. Romance, Ch. 38 §35–36Records, Wu 6 §42
Office: In Chapter 38 of the Romance, Gui Lan is the Supervising Commander of Danyang. In Chen Shou's main text he was a man whom Sheng Xian had recommended as Filial and Incorrupt, and when Sun Yi summoned him he became Grand Commander supervising the troops. Romance, Ch. 38 §31Records, Wu 6 §41
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 total339 / 1000Rank 938 of 996 · Top 95%Romance total284 / 1000Rank 1,089 of 1,113 · Top 98%
Romance adaptation index−55Romance total − Records total
- LEA4538−7
- STR3533−2
- INT3828−10
- POL3531−4
- CHA3531−4
- VIR156−9
- ADP2822−6
- SCH4031−9
- DIP3533−2
- DIS3331−2
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
9 similar abilities — show evidence
RBecame Grand Commander under Sun Yi and supervised the troopsWu 6 §41
NNo direct record — Supervising Commander of DanyangCh. 38 §31
RNo direct recordWu 6 §42
NNo direct recordCh. 38 §36
RNo direct recordWu 6 §41
NNo direct recordCh. 38 §31
RNo direct recordWu 6 §41
NNo direct recordCh. 38 §31
RWhen rebuked, killed Sun He and rebelled, seeking to welcome Liu FuWu 6 §42
NPlotted Sun Yi's murder, blamed Bian Hong, and plundered his property and concubinesCh. 38 §31Ch. 38 §32
RJudging they would not survive if Sun Quan came, chose rebellionWu 6 §42
NAnswered Lady Xu's invitation without caution and was killed on the spotCh. 38 §35
RNo direct record — recommended as Filial and IncorruptWu 6 §41
NNo direct recordCh. 38 §31
RNo direct recordWu 6 §42
NNo direct recordCh. 38 §32
RNo direct recordWu 6 §41
NNo direct recordCh. 38 §31
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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