Geng Wu 耿武
| Occupation | RNOfficial · Chief Clerk | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Cause of death | NKilled Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R1 |
Profile
Geng Wu was Chief Clerk (zhangshi) to Han Fu, Governor of Ji Province. When men sent by Yuan Shao were persuading Han Fu to yield Ji Province to Yuan Shao, he, together with the Attendant Officer Min Chun and the Headquarters Officer Li Li, remonstrated with Han Fu not to give up the province, saying that Ji Province had ample troops and grain while Yuan Shao was a lone stranger with a destitute army, but Han Fu would not listen. Records, Wei 6 §40 · 42
This passage is the only place in Chen Shou's main text where Geng Wu appears, and his courtesy name, origin and later career are not recorded. In the Romance he appears only in Chapter 7, 1 of its 120 chapters, and his name is in no chapter title. The Romance portrays him, when his remonstrance is not accepted, lying in wait outside the city with the Attendant Officer Guan Chun to stab Yuan Shao to death, and being cut down on the spot by Yuan Shao's general Yan Liang. Records, Wei 6 §42Romance, Ch. 7 §5–7
In the Records
After Yuan Shao raised troops in Bohai and became leader of the alliance, Han Fu, Governor of Ji Province, was stationed at Anping and was defeated by Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan entered Ji Province under the pretext of attacking Dong Zhuo but secretly meant to fall upon Han Fu, and Han Fu was uneasy. Just then Dong Zhuo went west into the Guanzhong region, and Yuan Shao turned his army back to Yanjin and sent Gao Gan of Chenliu, Xun Chen of Yingchuan and others to persuade Han Fu. Xun Chen said that Gongsun Zan's spearhead could not be withstood and that the Yuan would not be willing to remain beneath the general, so if he yielded Ji Province to the Yuan he would win a name for yielding to the worthy and his person would be as secure as Mount Tai. Han Fu, who had always been timid, approved the plan. Records, Wei 6 §39–42
At this point Han Fu's Chief Clerk Geng Wu, together with the Attendant Officer Min Chun and the Headquarters Officer Li Li, remonstrated with Han Fu. Though Ji Province was remote, they said, it had a million armored troops and grain enough to last ten years, while Yuan Shao, a lone stranger with a destitute army, depended on their every breath, like an infant held in the palm of the hand who could be starved to death at once by cutting off its milk; why then would he give the province to him? Han Fu reproached them, saying that he was a former subordinate of the Yuan, that his talent did not match Benchu's, and that weighing virtue and yielding was what the ancients prized. Records, Wei 6 §42
The Assistant Officers Zhao Fu and Cheng Huan asked to resist Yuan Shao with troops, but again Han Fu would not listen; in the end he yielded to Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao took on the governorship of Ji Province. Chen Shou's main text does not record what became of Geng Wu afterwards. Records, Wei 6 §43
In the Romance
In Chapter 7 of the Romance, Yuan Shao, whose troops are stationed at Henei, runs short of provisions and receives grain sent by Han Fu, Governor of Ji Province. Following a plan of his adviser Feng Ji, Yuan Shao writes to Gongsun Zan proposing that they attack Ji Province together and divide its land equally, and when Gongsun Zan raises troops, he has someone secretly inform Han Fu. When Han Fu hurriedly gathers Xun Chen and Xin Ping to confer, Xun Chen advises that if he invites Yuan Benchu to govern the affairs of the province with him, he will have nothing to fear from Gongsun Zan. Romance, Ch. 7 §2–4
When Han Fu sends his Attendant Officer Guan Chun to invite Yuan Shao, the Chief Clerk Geng Wu remonstrates. Yuan Shao, a lone stranger with a needy army, depends on their every breath, like an infant in the palm of the hand who would starve to death at once if its milk were cut off, so why would Han Fu entrust the affairs of the province to him? This, he says, is leading a tiger into a flock of sheep. When Han Fu says that he is a former subordinate of the Yuan family and that his ability does not match Benchu's, and asks why they are so jealous, Geng Wu sighs, 'Ji Province is finished!' Thereupon more than thirty men abandon their posts and leave, but Geng Wu and Guan Chun alone lie in wait outside the city for Yuan Shao. Romance, Ch. 7 §5–6
Several days later, when Yuan Shao arrives with his troops, Geng Wu and Guan Chun come out with drawn swords intending to stab Yuan Shao to death. Yuan Shao's general Yan Liang cuts down Geng Wu on the spot, and Wen Chou cuts Guan Chun down and kills him. Yuan Shao enters Ji Province, makes Han Fu General Who Displays Might, and divides the affairs of the province among Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Xu You and Feng Ji, stripping Han Fu of all his power. This passage of Chapter 7 is the only place in the Romance where Geng Wu appears. Romance, Ch. 7 §7
Where the Romance differs
Those who remonstrated with him: In Chapter 7 of the Romance, the Chief Clerk Geng Wu alone remonstrates with Han Fu, and the Attendant Officer Guan Chun appears as the man sent to invite Yuan Shao. In the Records, three men, the Chief Clerk Geng Wu, the Attendant Officer Min Chun and the Headquarters Officer Li Li, remonstrated together. Romance, Ch. 7 §5Records, Wei 6 §42
The words of the remonstrance: Geng Wu in Chapter 7 of the Romance, after likening Yuan Shao to an infant in the palm of the hand, adds that this is 'leading a tiger into a flock of sheep'. The remonstrance in the Records first says, before the same comparison, that Ji Province had a million armored troops and grain enough to last ten years, and has no comparison of the tiger and the flock of sheep. Romance, Ch. 7 §5Records, Wei 6 §42
The officials of Ji Province after the remonstrance: In Chapter 7 of the Romance, when Han Fu will not listen, more than thirty men abandon their posts and leave. Chen Shou's main text records that after the remonstrance of Geng Wu and the others, the Assistant Officers Zhao Fu and Cheng Huan asked to resist Yuan Shao with troops, but Han Fu would not listen. Romance, Ch. 7 §6Records, Wei 6 §43
His end: In Chapter 7 of the Romance, Geng Wu lies in wait outside the city with Guan Chun, tries to stab Yuan Shao to death, and is cut down on the spot by Yan Liang. In Chen Shou's main text Geng Wu appears only in the passage of the remonstrance with Han Fu, and his attempt to stab Yuan Shao and his death are not recorded. Romance, Ch. 7 §6–7Records, Wei 6 §42–43
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 total420 / 1000Rank 496 of 996 · Top 50%Romance total416 / 1000Rank 401 of 1,113 · Top 37%
Romance adaptation index−4Romance total − Records total
- LEA3531−4
- STR3335+2
- INT5855−3
- POL4540−5
- CHA3842+4
- VIR4870+22
- ADP4030−10
- SCH3533−2
- DIP5045−5
- DIS3835−3
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 (1)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history
- Han Fu faction (~191) · Records · 「馥長史耿武、別駕閔純、治中李歷諫馥」