RValiant and daring, surpassing others in ability and strength, feared by the whole regionWei 14 §85
NNo direct record — estimated as a power holder at Lake ChaoCh. 29 §43
Zheng Bao 鄭寶
| Occupation | RNRuler | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Cause of death | RKilled Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R5 |
Profile
Zheng Bao was the leader of a band commanding personal troops in Yang Province at the end of the Later Han. He has no biography of his own in the Records; in Chen Shou's main text he appears in the section on Liu Ye in Records of Wei 14, the Biographies of Cheng, Guo, Dong, Liu, Jiang and Liu, and in the section on Lu Su in Records of Wu 9, the Biographies of Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Lü Meng. Records, Wei 14 §85Records, Wu 9 §34
Among the men of Yang Province such as Zhang Duo and Xu Qian, each of whom commanded personal troops, he was the most valiant and outstanding in ability and strength, and the whole region feared him. He planned to drive the people across to the south of the Yangtze and tried to force Liu Ye to lead the scheme, but he was killed by Liu Ye's sword at a banquet when he came to call on Cao Cao's envoy. Lu Su's friend Liu Ziyang wrote in a letter that he commanded a following of more than ten thousand at Lake Chao. Records, Wei 14 §85–86Records, Wu 9 §34
The Records has no assessment of him. In the Romance his name is mentioned only in Chapter 29, in Zhou Yu's words recommending Lu Su to Sun Quan, and this is the one chapter of the 120 in which he appears; there is no chapter with his name in its title. Romance, Ch. 29 §41–43
In the Records
Among the men of Yang Province there were many who were reckless, swaggering, cunning and fierce, and men such as Zheng Bao, Zhang Duo and Xu Qian each commanded personal troops. Zheng Bao was the most valiant and daring, surpassing others in ability and strength, and the whole region feared him. He planned to drive and seize the people and cross the river to the south of the Yangtze, and he tried to coerce Liu Ye, a man of eminent family and fame, into leading the call for this scheme. Liu Ye, then a little over twenty, was inwardly troubled by this but had no way to deal with it. Records, Wei 14 §85
Just then Cao Cao sent an envoy to the province to investigate a certain matter, and Liu Ye met the envoy, discussed the situation with him, and brought him back to stay for several days. As expected, Zheng Bao came with several hundred followers, bringing oxen and wine, to call on the envoy. Liu Ye had his household servants seat Zheng Bao's men outside the middle gate and serve them wine and food, while he himself feasted with Zheng Bao inside and had strong men strike Zheng Bao down when they passed round the cups. But Zheng Bao by nature did not care for wine and was very sharp-eyed, so the cup-bearers did not dare to act, and Liu Ye drew the sword he wore himself and cut Zheng Bao down. Records, Wei 14 §85–86
Liu Ye cut off Zheng Bao's head and proclaimed to his troops that by the order of Lord Cao anyone who dared to move would be treated as guilty of the same crime as Zheng Bao. The men fled in alarm to their camp, where there were supervising officers and several thousand picked troops. Liu Ye rode Zheng Bao's horse with a few household servants to the gate of Zheng Bao's camp, called out the leaders and explained to them what would bring them misfortune or fortune; they all kowtowed, opened the gate and received Liu Ye, and then acclaimed him as their master. Records, Wei 14 §86–87
Liu Ye handed these personal troops over to Liu Xun, Administrator of Lujiang. When Liu Xun wondered at his reason, Liu Ye replied that Zheng Bao had no rules and discipline and his men had always made plunder their profit, so if he, having no wealth, tried to bring them into order, they would surely bear a grudge and it could not last long. Records, Wei 14 §87–88
The Biography of Lu Su contains a letter that Lu Su's friend Liu Ziyang sent him. Liu Ziyang wrote that a man named Zheng Bao, close at hand, was now at Lake Chao commanding a following of more than ten thousand and occupying fertile land, and that many people of the Lujiang region were going over to him, let alone men like themselves, and he urged Lu Su not to miss the moment. Lu Su replied approving the plan, but later, after hearing Zhou Yu's words, he followed Zhou Yu's advice. Records, Wu 9 §34–36
Chen Shou's main text does not record Zheng Bao's courtesy name, home commandery or county, or the year of his death, nor does it assess him. Records, Wei 14 §85–88Records, Wu 9 §34
In the Romance
In Chapter 29 of the Romance, when Sun Quan asks by what plan he should preserve the legacy of his father and elder brother, Zhou Yu recommends Lu Su of Dongchuan in Linhuai as the man to assist Sun Quan in his place. Zhou Yu says that after Lu Su buried his grandmother at Dongcheng, his friend Liu Ziyang invited him to go with him to Lake Chao and entrust himself to Zheng Bao, but Lu Su is still hesitating and has not gone, so Sun Quan should summon him quickly. Romance, Ch. 29 §40–43
When Zhou Yu comes to him on Sun Quan's orders, Lu Su says that Liu Ziyang recently invited him to Lake Chao and he was just about to go there. When Zhou Yu cites the words of Ma Yuan that in the present age subjects too choose their ruler, and urges him to go to Eastern Wu with him, Lu Su follows his advice and goes with Zhou Yu to see Sun Quan. In the Romance, Zheng Bao's name is only mentioned in Zhou Yu's words, and he has no scene in which he appears in person. Romance, Ch. 29 §43–45
Where the Romance differs
Zheng Bao's following: Chapter 29 of the Romance says only that Liu Ziyang invited Lu Su to go to Lake Chao and entrust himself to Zheng Bao, and does not say what sort of man Zheng Bao was. In the Biography of Lu Su in the Records, Liu Ziyang's letter says that Zheng Bao was commanding a following of more than ten thousand at Lake Chao and occupying fertile land, and that many people of the Lujiang region were going over to him. Romance, Ch. 29 §43Records, Wu 9 §34
Lu Su's intentions: In Chapter 29 of the Romance, Lu Su hesitates and then follows the advice of Zhou Yu, who has come to see him, and goes to Sun Quan. In the Records, Lu Su wrote back to Liu Ziyang approving the plan and, after the burial, intended to go north; when he explained his situation to Zhou Yu, who had already moved Lu Su's mother to Wu, Zhou Yu told him he need not take Liu Ziyang's words to heart, and Lu Su followed Zhou Yu's advice. Romance, Ch. 29 §43–45Records, Wu 9 §35–36
Zheng Bao's end: The Romance does not say what became of Zheng Bao. In the Biographies of Cheng, Guo, Dong, Liu, Jiang and Liu in the Records, Zheng Bao, while planning to drive the people across to the south of the Yangtze, was killed by Liu Ye's sword at a banquet when he came to call on Cao Cao's envoy, and his personal troops passed through Liu Ye's hands to Liu Xun, Administrator of Lujiang. Romance, Ch. 29 §43–44Records, Wei 14 §85–87
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 total413 / 1000Rank 534 of 996 · Top 54%Romance total385 / 1000Rank 627 of 1,113 · Top 57%
Romance adaptation index−28Romance total − Records total
- LEA5545−10
- STR7040−30
- INT4238−4
- POL2535+10
- CHA6250−12
- VIR1840+22
- ADP4238−4
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3333±0
- DIS3535±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RPlanned to drive and seize the people and cross to the south of the YangtzeWei 14 §85Wei 14 §88
NNo direct record — estimated as a power holder at Lake ChaoCh. 29 §43
RHad a following of over ten thousand at Lake Chao, and many people of Lujiang went over to himWu 9 §34
NLiu Ziyang, together with Lu Su, wished to entrust himself to himCh. 29 §43
RCommanded personal troops and kept several thousand picked troops in his campWei 14 §85Wei 14 §87
NNo direct record — estimated as a power holder at Lake ChaoCh. 29 §43
RHad no rules and discipline, and his men made plunder their profitWei 14 §88
NNo direct record — estimated as a power holder at Lake ChaoCh. 29 §43
5 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as leader of personal troopsWei 14 §85
NNo direct record — estimated as a power holder at Lake ChaoCh. 29 §43
RShunned wine and stayed keenly watchful, but was cut down at a banquetWei 14 §86
NNo direct record — estimated as a power holder at Lake ChaoCh. 29 §43
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as leader of personal troopsWei 14 §85
NNo direct record — estimated as a power holder at Lake ChaoCh. 29 §43
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as leader of personal troopsWei 14 §85
NNo direct record — estimated as a power holder at Lake ChaoCh. 29 §43
RNo direct record — estimated from his role as leader of personal troopsWei 14 §85
NNo direct record — estimated as a power holder at Lake ChaoCh. 29 §43
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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