RNo direct record — estimated from his career as Attendant GentlemanShu 8 §32
NRecommended the Ma brothers of Jingxiang, so that Ma Liang's plans were obtainedCh. 52 §11
Yi Ji 伊籍
| Occupation | ROfficial · General Who Illustrates Culture NOfficial · Erudite Who Illustrates Culture | Faction | Shu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | Book of Shu |
| Born | Native place | Shanyang Commandery | |
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R5 |
Profile
Yi Ji, courtesy name Jibo, was a man of Shanyang. In his youth he relied on Liu Biao, the General Who Guards the South, a man from his own county, and while the First Sovereign was in Jing Province he constantly came and went, entrusting himself to him of his own accord. When Liu Biao died he followed the First Sovereign south across the Yangtze, and followed him into Yi Province. Records, Shu 8 §32
When Yi Province was pacified he became Attendant Gentleman to the General of the Left. Sent as an envoy to Wu, when Sun Quan tried to get the better of him with words first, he turned the remark back at once, and Sun Quan thought him most remarkable. He was later transferred to General Who Illustrates Culture (zhaowen jiangjun), and drew up the Shu Code together with Zhuge Liang, Fa Zheng, Liu Ba and Li Yan. The Records do not give the time of his death. Records, Shu 8 §32–33
In his assessment, Chen Shou, the author of the Records, said of him together with Mi Zhu, Sun Qian and Jian Yong that 'all were treated with courtesy by the world for their graceful bearing and refined discourse'. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 34 as a guest adviser of Jing Province who tells Liu Bei not to ride the horse Dilu, and he appears in 10 of the 120 chapters, though no chapter has his name in its title. Records, Shu 8 §59Romance, Ch. 34 §12
In the Records
Yi Ji, courtesy name Jibo, was a man of Shanyang. In his youth he relied on Liu Biao, the General Who Guards the South, a man from his own county. While the First Sovereign was in Jing Province, Yi Ji constantly came and went, entrusting himself to him of his own accord. When Liu Biao died, Yi Ji at last followed the First Sovereign south across the Yangtze, and followed him into Yi Province. Records, Shu 8 §32
In the summer of the 19th year of Jian'an (214), Luo fell and the First Sovereign besieged Chengdu for several dozen days, whereupon Liu Zhang came out and surrendered. When Yi Province was pacified, Yi Ji became Attendant Gentleman to the General of the Left, and was treated next after Jian Yong, Sun Qian and others. Records, Shu 2 §33Records, Shu 8 §32
Yi Ji was sent east as an envoy to Wu. Sun Quan, having heard of his talent and eloquence, wanted to get the better of him with words first. Just as Yi Ji came in and bowed, Sun Quan said, 'Is it not wearisome serving an unprincipled lord?', and Yi Ji at once replied, 'One bow and one rising — that hardly counts as wearisome.' Chen Shou wrote that Yi Ji's quick wit was generally like this, and that Sun Quan thought him most remarkable. The Records do not give the time or the purpose of this mission. Records, Shu 8 §32–33
Yi Ji was later transferred to General Who Illustrates Culture (zhaowen jiangjun), and drew up the Shu Code together with Zhuge Liang, Fa Zheng, Liu Ba and Li Yan. Chen Shou wrote that the institutions of the Shu Code came from these five men. When and how Yi Ji died is not recorded in the Records. Records, Shu 8 §33
In his assessment, Chen Shou said that Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Jian Yong and Yi Ji were all treated with courtesy by the world for their graceful bearing and refined discourse. Records, Shu 8 §59
In the Romance
In Chapter 34 of the Romance, Liu Biao, hearing from Kuai Yue that the horse Liu Bei had given him was a Dilu that brings harm to its master, returns the horse to Liu Bei. As Liu Bei rides it out on his way to Xinye, Yi Ji, a guest adviser of Jing Province, bows deeply before the horse and tells him not to ride it. When Liu Bei answers that a man's life and death depend on fate, so how could a horse harm him, Yi Ji is struck with admiration for his lofty insight, and from then on constantly keeps company with Liu Bei. Romance, Ch. 34 §10–13
In the same chapter, when Cai Mao goes to the guesthouse to kill Liu Bei, Yi Ji discovers the plot, comes in the dead of night to tell him, and urges him to leave at once. Liu Bei returns to Xinye without waiting for daybreak. Later, at the banquet in Xiangyang, when the wine has gone round three times, Yi Ji raises a cup, goes before Liu Bei, signals with his eyes and tells him to go and change his clothes, and in the rear garden whispers in his ear that troops guard the east, south and north outside the city, so he can escape only by the west gate. Liu Bei flees through the west gate on the horse Dilu. Romance, Ch. 34 §25–26 · 34 · 39–40
In Chapter 40, Yi Ji comes to Liu Bei as an envoy sent by the young lord Liu Qi, reports that Liu Biao has died and that Lady Cai, after consulting with Cai Mao and others, has set up Liu Cong as master without even announcing the death, and conveys Liu Qi's request that they go together to Xiangyang to call them to account. On hearing that Liu Cong has already surrendered the nine commanderies of Jingxiang to Cao Cao, he advises Liu Bei to go to Xiangyang on the pretext of offering condolences, lure Liu Cong out and seize him. Zhuge Liang also says he is right, but Liu Bei refuses, saying he cannot seize the son his elder brother entrusted to him and take his land, and when Cao Cao's army reaches Bowang he sends Yi Ji back to Jiangxia. Romance, Ch. 40 §29–32
In Chapter 52, when Liu Bei, having won Jing Province, Nan Commandery and Xiangyang, asks for a plan to hold them for long, Yi Ji recommends Ma Liang, who has white hairs in his eyebrows, as the most outstanding of the five Ma brothers of Jingxiang. Liu Bei makes Ma Liang an Assistant Officer and Yi Ji his deputy. In Chapter 63, when Zhuge Liang enters Xichuan, Yi Ji is assigned together with Ma Liang, Xiang Lang, Mi Zhu and others to assist Guan Yu in holding Jing Province, and in Chapter 65 he is among those promoted and rewarded after Liu Bei wins Yi Province. Romance, Ch. 52 §11–13Romance, Ch. 63 §32Romance, Ch. 65 §47
In Chapter 67, when Cao Cao takes Dongchuan, Zhuge Liang proposes returning the three commanderies of Jiangxia, Changsha and Guiyang to Wu and sending an eloquent scholar to get Wu to attack Hefei. Yi Ji volunteers as envoy, first informs Guan Yu in Jing Province, and then meets Sun Quan at Moling. Yi Ji asks that, since the three commanderies are being returned, Sun Quan attack the undefended Hefei so that Cao Cao will withdraw his troops and turn back south. Following Zhang Zhao's advice, Sun Quan sends Yi Ji back to Shu and deliberates on raising troops. Romance, Ch. 67 §32–36
In Chapter 73, when Guan Yu leads his army forward, Yi Ji serves as an adviser together with Ma Liang. In Chapter 76, on the orders of Guan Yu, who has lost Jing Province, he and Ma Liang carry three dispatches through the night to Chengdu to ask for relief, and in Chapter 77 the two report to Liu Bei in detail that Jing Province has already fallen and that Guan Yu, defeated, is asking for relief. In Chapter 80, among the civil and military officials who ask the King of Hanzhong to hold the grand ceremony is the Erudite Who Illustrates Culture (zhaowen boshi) Yi Ji. Romance, Ch. 73 §36Romance, Ch. 76 §22Romance, Ch. 77 §43Romance, Ch. 80 §37
Where the Romance differs
How he grew close to Liu Bei: In Chapter 34 of the Romance, Yi Ji, as a guest adviser of Jing Province, tells Liu Bei not to ride the horse Dilu, and then, struck with admiration for Liu Bei's insight, constantly keeps company with him. The Records say only that while the First Sovereign was in Jing Province, Yi Ji constantly came and went, entrusting himself to him of his own accord, and there is no story of the horse Dilu. Romance, Ch. 34 §12–13Records, Shu 8 §32
Cai Mao's plots: In Chapter 34 of the Romance, Yi Ji twice warns Liu Bei of Cai Mao's plots, at the guesthouse and at the banquet in Xiangyang, and saves his life. The Biography of Yi Ji in the Records has nothing of this. Romance, Ch. 34 §25–26 · 39–40Records, Shu 8 §31–33
Liu Qi's envoy: In Chapter 40 of the Romance, Yi Ji, as an envoy sent by Liu Qi in Jiangxia, brings word of the death, advises seizing Liu Cong, and then returns to Jiangxia. The Records say only that when Liu Biao died Yi Ji followed the First Sovereign south across the Yangtze, with nothing about his serving as Liu Qi's envoy, and in the Biography of the First Sovereign the one who urged attacking Liu Cong was Zhuge Liang. Romance, Ch. 40 §29–32Records, Shu 8 §32Records, Shu 2 §20
Recommending Ma Liang: In Chapter 52 of the Romance, Yi Ji recommends Ma Liang and becomes deputy to Ma Liang, who is made an Assistant Officer. The Biography of Ma Liang in the Records says only that when the First Sovereign took charge of Jing Province he summoned Ma Liang and made him an Assistant Officer, without naming who recommended him, and the Biography of Yi Ji has nothing of this either. Romance, Ch. 52 §11–13Records, Shu 9 §13Records, Shu 8 §31–33
Staying in Jing Province: In Chapter 63 of the Romance, Yi Ji stays in Jing Province to assist Guan Yu, and in Chapters 73 and 76 he goes on campaign as Guan Yu's adviser and then goes to Chengdu to ask for relief. In the Records, Yi Ji followed the First Sovereign into Yi Province, and after Yi Province was pacified he became Attendant Gentleman to the General of the Left. Romance, Ch. 63 §32Romance, Ch. 73 §36Romance, Ch. 76 §22Records, Shu 8 §32
Envoy to Wu: In Chapter 67 of the Romance, Yi Ji goes to Sun Quan to return three commanderies and ask him to attack Hefei. In the Records, Yi Ji at once turned back Sun Quan's question, 'Is it not wearisome serving an unprincipled lord?', and Sun Quan thought him most remarkable, but the purpose of the mission is not recorded. The Romance does not have this exchange. Romance, Ch. 67 §34–36Records, Shu 8 §32–33
Offices and the Shu Code: In the Records, Yi Ji was transferred from Attendant Gentleman to the General of the Left to General Who Illustrates Culture, and drew up the Shu Code together with Zhuge Liang, Fa Zheng, Liu Ba and Li Yan. In the Romance he appears in Chapter 80 as the Erudite Who Illustrates Culture, and there is nothing about his drawing up the Shu Code. Records, Shu 8 §32–33Romance, Ch. 80 §37
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 total523 / 1000Rank 198 of 996 · Top 20%Romance total550 / 1000Rank 48 of 1,113 · Top 5%
Romance adaptation index+27Romance total − Records total
- LEA3131±0
- STR3131±0
- INT5068+18
- POL6845−23
- CHA5548−7
- VIR5878+20
- ADP5858±0
- SCH5250−2
- DIP8076−4
- DIS4065+25
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RDrew up the Shu Code together with Zhuge Liang, Fa Zheng, Liu Ba and Li YanShu 8 §33
NNo direct record — estimated from his career as deputy to Ma Liang as Assistant OfficerCh. 52 §13
REntrusted himself to Liu Bei while Liu Biao was still alive and followed him all the way into Yi ProvinceShu 8 §32
NRisked danger to save Liu Bei twice, once at night and once at a banquetCh. 34 §25Ch. 34 §39
RNo direct record — estimated from his choosing Liu Bei and his career as a civil officialShu 8 §32
NUncovered Cai Mao's plot and warned of it, and proposed seizing Liu Cong, which Kongming also approvedCh. 34 §25Ch. 34 §39Ch. 40 §30
6 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Gentleman, a civil officialShu 8 §32
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as an adviser and civil officialCh. 73 §36
RNo direct record — estimated from the absence of martial records as a civil officialShu 8 §32
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as an adviser and civil officialCh. 73 §36
RChen Shou's assessment says the world treated him with courtesy for his graceful bearing and refined discourseShu 8 §59
NNo direct record — estimated from the record that Liu Bei, indebted to him, held him in respectCh. 40 §29
RWhen Liu Biao died, followed Liu Bei south across the YangtzeShu 8 §32
NWarned of the Dilu's ill omen and urged Liu Bei to escape Cai Mao's harmCh. 34 §12Ch. 34 §25
RKnown for refined discourse and took part in drawing up the Shu CodeShu 8 §59Shu 8 §33
NWas a guest adviser of Jing Province and was listed as Erudite Who Illustrates Culture among those urging the titleCh. 80 §37
RAs envoy to Wu, turned back Sun Quan's opening challenge with one remark, and Sun Quan thought him remarkableShu 8 §32Shu 8 §59
NAs envoy to Sun Quan, delivered the return of three commanderies and persuaded him to attack HefeiCh. 67 §34
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 (10)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history
- Shu · Records · Records vol. 38 「表卒，遂隨先主南渡江」