Zhang Rang 張讓
| Occupation | RNOther · Regular Palace Attendant | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | R? N? Unverified | Native place | |
| Died | R189 N(same) Unverified | Place of death | NYellow River |
| Cause of death | RSuicide NSuicide Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R6 |
Profile
Zhang Rang was a Regular Palace Attendant at the end of the Later Han. He has no biography of his own in the Records, and in Chen Shou's main text his name appears once, in the biography of Dong Zhuo. He is the 'Regular Palace Attendant Zhang Rang and others' named in the letter that the General-in-Chief He Jin, after the death of Emperor Ling, had Dong Zhuo secretly submit, which denounced them for stealing favor, presuming on imperial grace and throwing the whole realm into turmoil, and declared that they would be punished. Records, Wei 6 §5
Chen Shou's main text does not record his courtesy name, origin or death. As the men who killed He Jin, seized the emperor and fled to Xiaoping Ford, it names only the Regular Palace Attendant Duan Gui and others, and Zhang Rang does not appear in the assessment of Records of Wei 6 either. Records, Wei 6 §5 · 35–36 · 96
In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 1 at the head of the 'Ten Regular Attendants' and appears in 4 of its 120 chapters, though his name is not in any chapter title. The Romance says that Emperor Ling revered him so much that he called him 'Father', and in Chapter 3 it depicts him luring He Jin into the palace and killing him, then fleeing with the emperor and the Prince of Chenliu in his grip and dying by throwing himself into the river. Romance, Ch. 1 §6Romance, Ch. 3 §6–7 · 10–11 · 17
In the Records
When Emperor Ling died and Emperor Shao took the throne, the General-in-Chief He Jin plotted with the Colonel-Director of Retainers Yuan Shao to put the eunuchs to death, but the empress dowager would not go along. He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo to bring his troops to the capital and at the same time had him secretly submit a letter. The letter said that 'the Regular Palace Attendant Zhang Rang and others steal favor and presume on imperial grace, throwing the whole realm into turmoil', and declared that, just as Zhao Yang of old had raised the troops of Jinyang to drive out the wicked men at the ruler's side, he would sound the bells and drums, march on Luoyang and at once punish Zhang Rang and the others. Chen Shou wrote that this was meant to intimidate the empress dowager. This is the only place in Chen Shou's main text where Zhang Rang's name appears. Records, Wei 6 §5–6
The biography of Yuan Shao records the same affair. When He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo in order to intimidate the empress dowager, the Regular Attendants and the eunuchs of the Yellow Gate heard of it, all came to He Jin to apologize, and placed themselves at his disposal. Yuan Shao urged him two or three times to settle the matter on the spot, but He Jin refused. This passage does not name the Regular Attendants who came to apologize. Records, Wei 6 §34
Afterwards, the men whom Chen Shou's main text names as He Jin's killers are the Regular Palace Attendant Duan Gui and others. Duan Gui and the others, falsely invoking the empress dowager's command, called He Jin in on the pretext of a consultation and killed him, and when Yuan Shu led the Rapid as Tigers guards and set fire to the Qingsuo Gate of the Jiade Hall in the Southern Palace, they seized the emperor and his younger brother the Prince of Chenliu and fled to Xiaoping Ford. Yuan Shao killed all the eunuchs, old and young alike, more than two thousand in all, and Duan Gui and the others, hotly pursued, all threw themselves into the Yellow River and died. Dong Zhuo met the emperor at Beimang and brought him back to the palace. Records, Wei 6 §35–36 · 6
The Annals of Emperor Wu record Dong Zhuo's deposing of the emperor and enthronement of Emperor Xian in their entry for the 6th year of Zhongping (189). Chen Shou's main text does not record Zhang Rang's courtesy name, origin, or how he died. Records, Wei 1 §5–6Records, Wei 6 §5–6 · 34–36
In his assessment in Records of Wei 6, Chen Shou called Dong Zhuo as fierce as a wolf, cruel, tyrannical and inhumane. Zhang Rang does not appear in the assessment. Records, Wei 6 §96
In the Romance
Chapter 1 of the Romance relates that after the Court Gentleman Cai Yong was banished for memorializing that the calamities and portents were caused by women and eunuchs meddling in government, ten men—Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Feng Xu, Duan Gui, Cao Jie, Hou Lan, Jian Shuo, Cheng Kuang, Xia Yun and Guo Sheng—banded together and committed every kind of evil, and people called them the 'Ten Regular Attendants'. The emperor is said to have revered and trusted Zhang Rang so much that he even called him 'Father'. Romance, Ch. 1 §5–6
In Chapter 2, Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang send men to demand gold and silk from the generals who defeated the Yellow Turbans, and have those who refuse removed from office by memorial. When Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun refuse to pay, Zhao Zhong and the others have them stripped of office, and the emperor makes Zhao Zhong and others General of Chariots and Cavalry and enfeoffs Zhang Rang and twelve others, thirteen men in all, as marquises. Romance, Ch. 2 §29
After Crown Prince Bian takes the throne and Yuan Shao proposes killing all the eunuchs, Zhang Rang and the others rush to Empress He and plead that the only one who first plotted to harm the General-in-Chief was Jian Shuo. Empress He promises to protect them and restrains He Jin. When Empress Dong summons Zhang Rang and the others to consult, Zhang Rang advises her that if she holds court from behind a screen, makes Imperial Prince Xie a prince, gives her brother Dong Chong high office and command of the army, and employs them in important posts, great things can be achieved. When Empress Dong's faction collapses, Zhang Rang and Duan Gui win over He Jin's younger brother He Miao and his mother Wuyangjun with gold, silver and treasures so that they will shield the eunuchs before Empress He, and when those around He Jin secretly report that Yuan Shao has again urged him to kill the eunuchs, Zhang Rang passes this on to He Miao and sends him more bribes. Romance, Ch. 2 §41–45 · 49 · 50–51
In Chapter 3, Dong Zhuo submits a memorial stating that 'the reason the realm's disorder and rebellion never cease is that the Regular Attendant of the Yellow Gate Zhang Rang and his like scorn the constant order of Heaven', and declares that he will sound the bells and drums, enter Luoyang and do away with Zhang Rang and the others. Learning that outside troops are coming, Zhang Rang and the others hide fifty assassins armed with swords and axes inside the Jiade Gate of the Changle Palace and beg Empress He to summon the General-in-Chief to the palace and talk him out of it. The empress dowager issues an edict summoning He Jin. Romance, Ch. 3 §3–4 · 6–7
Meeting He Jin at the gate of the Jiade Hall, Zhang Rang charges him with recklessly poisoning Empress Dong and failing to attend the funeral of the mother of the realm, and berates him: 'You were born among butchers and wine-sellers, and it was we who recommended you to the Son of Heaven and let you enjoy glory and riches.' The hidden assassins cut He Jin in two, and Zhang Rang and the others throw He Jin's head over the wall and proclaim that He Jin plotted rebellion and has been executed. Romance, Ch. 3 §10–11 · 13
When Yuan Shu's soldiers burst into the palace and kill the eunuchs, Zhang Rang, Duan Gui, Cao Jie and Hou Lan seize the empress dowager, the emperor and the Prince of Chenliu and flee by the back way toward the Northern Palace. Zhang Rang and Duan Gui, holding the young emperor and the Prince of Chenliu, break through smoke and flames and flee all night until they reach Mount Beimang, but when Min Gong, Clerk of the Central Division of Henan, comes in pursuit shouting 'Rebels, stop where you are!', Zhang Rang throws himself into the river and dies. Romance, Ch. 3 §14 · 17
In Chapter 115, Jiang Wei tells the Later Sovereign that Huang Hao is cunning and abuses his power like the Ten Regular Attendants of Emperor Ling's time, and urges him to take Zhang Rang as a warning close at hand and Zhao Gao as one from long ago. Romance, Ch. 115 §25
Where the Romance differs
The Ten Regular Attendants and 'Father': Chapter 1 of the Romance calls the ten men headed by Zhang Rang the 'Ten Regular Attendants' and says that the emperor called Zhang Rang 'Father'. Chen Shou's main text has no term 'Ten Regular Attendants', and Zhang Rang appears only as 'the Regular Palace Attendant Zhang Rang and others' in the letter He Jin had Dong Zhuo submit. Romance, Ch. 1 §6Records, Wei 6 §5
Dong Zhuo's letter: In Chapter 3 of the Romance, Dong Zhuo, having received He Jin's secret edict and set his troops in motion, submits a memorial on his own at the urging of his son-in-law and adviser in order to establish a pretext, declaring that he will do away with Zhang Rang and the others. In the biography of Dong Zhuo in the Records, it was He Jin who summoned Dong Zhuo to bring his troops and at the same time had him secretly submit the letter, and Chen Shou wrote that this was meant to intimidate the empress dowager. Romance, Ch. 3 §1–4Records, Wei 6 §5–6
The summons of He Jin: In Chapter 3 of the Romance, Empress He, at the request of Zhang Rang and the others, herself issues an edict summoning He Jin. In the biography of Yuan Shao in the Records, it was the Regular Palace Attendant Duan Gui and others who, falsely invoking the empress dowager's command, called He Jin in. Romance, Ch. 3 §6–7Records, Wei 6 §35
He Jin's killers: In Chapter 3 of the Romance, after Zhang Rang berates He Jin at the gate of the Jiade Hall, the hidden assassins cut him down. In the Records, the ones named as He Jin's killers are the Regular Palace Attendant Duan Gui and others, and Zhang Rang's name does not appear. Romance, Ch. 3 §10–11Records, Wei 6 §35
Those who fled with the emperor: In Chapter 3 of the Romance, Zhang Rang and Duan Gui flee as far as Mount Beimang holding the young emperor and the Prince of Chenliu. In the Records, it was Duan Gui and others who seized the emperor and the Prince of Chenliu and fled to Xiaoping Ford, and Dong Zhuo met the emperor at Beimang and brought him back to the palace. Romance, Ch. 3 §17Records, Wei 6 §35 · 6
Death: In Chapter 3 of the Romance, Zhang Rang, pursued by Min Gong, throws himself into the river and dies. Chen Shou's main text does not record Zhang Rang's death, and records that Duan Gui and the others, pursued, all threw themselves into the Yellow River and died. Romance, Ch. 3 §17Records, Wei 6 §36
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 total317 / 1000Rank 971 of 996 · Top 98%Romance total343 / 1000Rank 938 of 1,113 · Top 85%
Romance adaptation index+26Romance total − Records total
- LEA3131±0
- STR3131±0
- INT4055+15
- POL2012−8
- CHA3542+7
- VIR126−6
- ADP4042+2
- SCH3531−4
- DIP4060+20
- DIS3333±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
8 similar abilities — show evidence
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 (4)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →