Zhi Xi 脂習
| Occupation | ROfficial · Grandee of Palace Leisure | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | Native place | Jingzhao Commandery | |
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R2 |
Profile
Zhi Xi is a figure who appears in Chapter 40 of the Romance as 'a man of Jingzhao'. When Cao Cao kills Kong Rong and exposes his corpse in the marketplace, Zhi Xi throws himself on the corpse and wails, and Cao Cao, enraged, means to kill him, but he survives thanks to Xun Yu's words. Romance, Ch. 40 §8–9
Xun Yu says that Zhi Xi always remonstrated with Kong Rong, 'You are too unbending, sir; that is the road that invites disaster', and that since he has come to wail now that Kong Rong is dead, he is a righteous man and must not be killed. When Cao Cao lets the matter drop, Zhi Xi gathers the bodies of Kong Rong and his sons and buries them all. Romance, Ch. 40 §9
Of the 120 chapters of the Romance he appears only in 1, Chapter 40, and no chapter has his name in its title. He does not appear in Chen Shou's main text; there are records of him only in Pei Songzhi's commentary. The Biography of Cui Yan in Chen Shou's main text records that Taizu, jealous by nature, did not let alone those he could not bear, and that Kong Rong of Lu State and others were put to death for presuming on old ties and failing to show deference. Romance, Ch. 40 §9Records, Wei 12 §19
In the Romance
In Chapter 40 of the Romance, Cao Cao, saying that the only ones he worries about are Liu Bei and Sun Quan, sets out to pacify the south of the Yangtze by dividing a great army of 500,000 into five divisions, and fixes the bingwu day of the 7th month, in the autumn of the 13th year of Jian'an (208), as the day to march. The Grand Palace Grandee Kong Rong remonstrates that Liu Bei and Liu Biao are kinsmen of the Han imperial house and that Sun Quan has the natural barrier of the Yangtze, and that raising an unrighteous army will lose the confidence of the realm. Cao Cao angrily rebukes Kong Rong and sends him away, and issues an order that anyone who remonstrates again will surely be beheaded. Romance, Ch. 40 §4–6
When Kong Rong leaves the Chancellor's office and sighs, 'When the utterly inhumane attacks the utterly humane, how can he fail to be defeated!', the Imperial Counsellor Xi Lü, who had always been slighted by Kong Rong, hears these words from a retainer and reports them to Cao Cao. Xi Lü says that Kong Rong has always looked down on the Chancellor and was friendly with Mi Heng, and that Mi Heng's insulting of the Chancellor was also done at Kong Rong's instigation. Cao Cao orders the Commandant of Justice to arrest Kong Rong, and after beheading Kong Rong's household, down to his two young sons, exposes Kong Rong's corpse in the marketplace for all to see. Romance, Ch. 40 §7–8
Then Zhi Xi, a man of Jingzhao, throws himself on the corpse and wails. Hearing of this, Cao Cao is enraged and means to kill him, but Xun Yu says he has heard that Zhi Xi always remonstrated with Kong Rong that he was too unbending and that this was the road that invites disaster, and that since he has come to wail now that Kong Rong is dead, he is a righteous man and must not be killed. When Cao Cao lets the matter drop, Zhi Xi gathers the bodies of Kong Rong and his sons and buries them all. The Romance then praises Kong Rong with a poem by a later writer, and Zhi Xi's name does not appear again after this. Romance, Ch. 40 §9–10
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
There is no record in the main text of Chen Shou’s Records, so only the Romance score is given.
- LEA31
- STR31
- INT50
- POL38
- CHA45
- VIR80
- ADP38
- SCH42
- DIP50
- DIS38
Evidence by ability
NNo direct record — estimated from his brief recordCh. 40 §9
NNo direct record — estimated from his brief recordCh. 40 §9
NWarned Kong Rong that being too unbending invites disasterCh. 40 §9
NNo direct record — estimated from his brief recordCh. 40 §9
NNo direct record — estimated from his brief recordCh. 40 §9
NWailed over Kong Rong's corpse and buried him and his sons — Xun Yu called him a righteous manCh. 40 §9
NIncurred Cao Cao's wrath by wailing and nearly lost his lifeCh. 40 §9
NNo direct record — estimated from his brief recordCh. 40 §9
NAlways remonstrated with Kong RongCh. 40 §9
NNo direct record — estimated from his brief recordCh. 40 §9
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)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →