Zhao Zuo 趙祚
| Occupation | RNOfficial · Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R1 |
Profile
Zhao Zuo was an Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi Province under Liu Bei. The Records give him no biography of his own, and he appears once, in the Biography of the First Sovereign; Chen Shou's main text writes his name as 趙莋. In the 25th year of Jian'an (220), after Emperor Wen of Wei proclaimed himself emperor and auspicious omens were reported to Liu Bei one after another, he joined the Consultant Liu Bao, Qiao Zhou and others in submitting a document that cited the River Chart, the Luo Writing and the prophetic and apocryphal texts to ask Liu Bei to ascend the imperial throne. Records, Shu 2 §55–59
In the Romance he appears only in Chapter 80, and no chapter has his name in its title. The title of that chapter ends with 'The King of Han Takes the Rightful Throne and Continues the Great Succession', and his name is listed as 'Zhao Zuo, Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage' among the civil and military officials who come in when Zhuge Liang strikes the screen, prostrate themselves before the King of Hanzhong and ask him to perform the great ceremony. Romance, Ch. 80 §37
In the Records
In the 25th year of Jian'an (220) Emperor Wen of Wei proclaimed himself emperor and changed the era name to Huangchu. When word spread that the Han emperor had been killed, Liu Bei announced mourning, put on mourning garments and conferred on him the posthumous title Emperor Xiaomin. After this, reports of all kinds of auspicious omens came in from many places, day after day and month after month. Records, Shu 2 §55
Thereupon the Consultant and Marquis of Yangquan Liu Bao, the Marquis of Qingyi Xiang Ju, the Lieutenant Generals Zhang Yi (張裔) and Huang Quan, the Subordinate of the Grand Marshal Yin Chun, the Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi Province Zhao Zuo, the Headquarters Attendant Officer Yang Hong, the Libationer Attendant Officer He Zong, the Attendant Officer for Deliberation Du Qiong, and the Attendant Officers for Encouraging Learning Zhang Shuang, Yin Mo and Qiao Zhou, among others, submitted a document. The document said that the River Chart, the Luo Writing and the prophetic and apocryphal texts of the Five Classics had been sifted and made clear by Confucius, and it cited passages such as 'in the ninth generation it meets Bei (備), and they unite to become the time of the emperor' from the Luoshu Zhenyaodu. Records, Shu 2 §55–56
The document went on to cite how 'my father Qun (群)', while he was still alive, had said that a yellow vapour had several times risen straight up several zhang in the southwest and had been seen for years, and how during the 22nd year of Jian'an a vapour like a banner had several times crossed the middle of the sky from the west to the far east; and it reported that recently Mars had again followed Jupiter and appeared in the Wei, Mao and Bi lodges. It said that while the emperor at Xu was still alive the officials had not dared to let a word slip, and asked that the Great King respond to Heaven and accord with the people by swiftly taking up the great enterprise and bringing peace to the realm. Records, Shu 2 §57–59
The Grand Tutor Xu Jing, the General Military Adviser Zhuge Liang and others also submitted a separate document asking him to ascend the imperial throne, and in the 4th month of the 26th year of Jian'an (221) Liu Bei ascended the imperial throne south of Wudan in Chengdu. In Chen Shou's main text Zhao Zuo's name appears only once, among those who submitted the document above. Records, Shu 2 §55 · 60 · 64–65
In the Romance
In Chapter 80 of the Romance, when the rumour reaches Chengdu that Cao Pi has made himself Emperor of Great Wei and that the Han emperor has already been killed, the King of Hanzhong has the officials put on mourning and confers the posthumous title Emperor Xiaomin, and then, falling ill from grief, entrusts all affairs of state to Kongming. Kongming confers with the Grand Tutor Xu Jing and the Grandee of Splendid Happiness Qiao Zhou, wishing to raise the King of Hanzhong to emperor, and Qiao Zhou says that they should respond to the omens, citing auspicious winds and felicitous clouds, the yellow vapour to the northwest of Chengdu and the Emperor Star appearing in the field of the Bi, Wei and Mao lodges. Romance, Ch. 80 §29–30
When Kongming and Xu Jing lead the officials in submitting a memorial, the King of Hanzhong asks whether they wish to plunge him into disloyalty and unrighteousness, shakes out his sleeves and withdraws; when they ask again three days later he still refuses, asking how making himself emperor overnight would differ from usurpation. Kongming devises a plan and stays away, pleading illness, and tells the King of Hanzhong, who comes to visit him, that he is worried the officials will harbour resentment and scatter. When the King of Hanzhong says that it will not be too late to act once the Military Adviser has recovered, Kongming springs up from his couch and strikes the screen once. Romance, Ch. 80 §31–37
At this the civil and military officials waiting outside all come in, prostrate themselves on the ground and ask that, since His Highness has already consented, he choose a day to perform the great ceremony. The Romance counts them as eighteen men, including the Grand Tutor Xu Jing, the General Who Pacifies the Han Mi Zhu, the Marquis of Qingyi Xiang Ju, the Marquis of Yangquan Liu Bao and the Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage Zhao Zuo. The King of Hanzhong exclaims in alarm that it is they who have plunged him into unrighteousness, but Kongming has an altar built south of Wudan in Chengdu, and the King of Hanzhong ascends the altar and offers sacrifice. Zhao Zuo does not appear in the Romance after this. Romance, Ch. 80 §37–39
Where the Romance differs
Name and title: Chapter 80 of the Romance writes him as 趙祚 with the title biejia (Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage). Chen Shou's main text writes him as 趙莋 with the title Yizhou biejia congshi (Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi Province). Romance, Ch. 80 §37Records, Shu 2 §55
How the accession was requested: In Chapter 80 of the Romance he is one of the officials who come in and prostrate themselves before the King of Hanzhong when Kongming, having lain in bed pleading illness, strikes the screen. In the Records, twelve men including him, Liu Bao and Qiao Zhou jointly submitted a document setting out prophecies and auspicious omens, while Zhuge Liang submitted a separate document together with Xu Jing, Mi Zhu and others. The screen scene does not appear in the Records. Romance, Ch. 80 §34–37Records, Shu 2 §55–60
Who reported the auspicious omens: In Chapter 80 of the Romance, the urging of the accession on the strength of auspicious winds and clouds, the yellow vapour and the Emperor Star comes from the words of Qiao Zhou alone, as he confers with Kongming and Xu Jing. In the Records, the yellow vapour and the matter of Mars and Jupiter are contained in the document jointly submitted by twelve men, including Zhao Zuo. Romance, Ch. 80 §30Records, Shu 2 §55 · 57–58
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.
- LEA3131±0
- STR3131±0
- INT4240−2
- POL5048−2
- CHA3838±0
- VIR4545±0
- ADP4545±0
- SCH4240−2
- DIP4240−2
- DIS3835−3
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
No ability differs by 10 or more — the Romance portrays this person much as the Records do.
10 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi ProvinceShu 2 §55
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate CarriageCh. 80 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi ProvinceShu 2 §55
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate CarriageCh. 80 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi ProvinceShu 2 §55
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate CarriageCh. 80 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi ProvinceShu 2 §55
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate CarriageCh. 80 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi ProvinceShu 2 §55
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate CarriageCh. 80 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi ProvinceShu 2 §55
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate CarriageCh. 80 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi ProvinceShu 2 §55
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate CarriageCh. 80 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi ProvinceShu 2 §55
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate CarriageCh. 80 §37
RJoined other officials in submitting a document urging the First Sovereign to take the imperial titleShu 2 §55
NJoined the civil and military officials in asking for the great ceremony to be performedCh. 80 §37
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage of Yi ProvinceShu 2 §55
NNo direct record — estimated from his post as Attendant Officer with Separate CarriageCh. 80 §37
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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