RNo direct record — estimated from the record of the plotWei 9 §123
NPredicted that Zhuge Ke would soon die, and it came trueCh. 108 §37
Zhang Ji 張緝
| Occupation | RNOfficial · Grandee of Splendid Happiness | Faction | Wei |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | Book of Wei |
| Born | R? Unverified | Native place | Zuopingyi Commandery |
| Died | R254 Unverified | Place of death | NLuoyang County |
| Cause of death | RExecuted NExecuted Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R14 |
Profile
Zhang Ji (張緝) was the son of Zhang Ji (張既), Inspector of Liang Province of Wei, and a man of Pingyi. He succeeded his father, and rising gradually from Gentleman of the Palace Secretariat, he became Administrator of Dongguan. Records, Wei 15 §55–58Records, Wei 9 §123
In the Jiaping era, when his daughter became Cao Fang's empress, he became Grandee of Splendid Happiness and received the rank of Specially Advanced. In the 2nd month of the 6th year of Jiaping (254) he plotted with Li Feng, Prefect of the Palace Secretariat, to kill the General-in-Chief Sima Shi and entrust the government to Xiahou Xuan, but the plot came to light, and together with Li Feng, Xiahou Xuan and others he had his three sets of kin exterminated. Records, Wei 15 §58Records, Wei 4 §34 · 39 · 43Records, Wei 9 §122–126
Chen Shou appended a brief record of him to the end of the biography of his father Zhang Ji (張既), placed the course of events in the Biography of Xiahou Xuan, and did not deal with him in the assessment of Records of Wei 15 either. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 108 and appears in 3 of its 120 chapters; his name is in no chapter title. His best-known scene is in Chapter 109, where he receives a blood edict from Cao Fang, Ruler of Wei, is discovered by Sima Shi and is killed. Records, Wei 15 §57–58 · 89Romance, Ch. 108 §37Romance, Ch. 109 §28 · 32–33
In the Records
His father, Zhang Ji (張既), died in the 4th year of Huangchu (223) while serving as Inspector of Liang Province, and by edict his young son Zhang Wenggui was granted the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. When Emperor Ming took the throne, Zhang Ji (張既) was posthumously named Marquis Su, and his son Zhang Ji (張緝) succeeded him. Records, Wei 15 §55–56
Zhang Ji rose gradually from Gentleman of the Palace Secretariat to Administrator of Dongguan. In the 2nd month of the 4th year of Jiaping (252) a lady of the Zhang family was established as empress; when his daughter became empress in the Jiaping era, Zhang Ji was summoned to court, appointed Grandee of Splendid Happiness and given the rank of Specially Advanced, and his wife, Lady Xiang, was enfeoffed as Lady of Ancheng District. Records, Wei 15 §58Records, Wei 4 §34
Xiahou Xuan was held down because of his connection with Cao Shuang and could not achieve his ambitions. Li Feng, Prefect of the Palace Secretariat, had long enjoyed the affection and favor of the General-in-Chief Sima Shi, but his heart was with Xiahou Xuan, so he joined with the empress's father, the Grandee of Splendid Happiness Zhang Ji, in a plot to have Xiahou Xuan assist the government. Li Feng held power within the palace, his son had married a princess, and he was also a man of Pingyi like Zhang Ji, so Zhang Ji trusted him. Records, Wei 9 §122–123
Li Feng secretly had his younger brother Li Yi, Inspector of Yan Province, ask to come to court so that he could bring troops in, but this was not permitted. In the 2nd month of the 6th year of Jiaping (254), when an Honored Lady was to be invested, Li Feng and the others planned to take advantage of the moment when the Son of Heaven came out before the hall and guards lined the steps at the gates, to kill the General-in-Chief, replace him with Xiahou Xuan and make Zhang Ji General of Agile Cavalry. Li Feng also spoke secretly to people within the palace, such as Su Shuo, Supervisor of the Yellow Gates, and obtained their consent. Records, Wei 9 §123–124
The General-in-Chief caught wind of the plot, summoned Li Feng and killed him on the spot. The matter was handed over to the officials concerned, and Xiahou Xuan, Zhang Ji and the others were arrested and sent to the Commandant of Justice. The Commandant of Justice Zhong Yu reported it as high treason and impiety, and the deliberations of the high ministers and court officials agreed; these deliberations said that Zhang Ji, as an imperial in-law, had inherited the honor of the empress's family yet harbored a heart that plotted disaster. Li Feng, Xiahou Xuan, Zhang Ji and the others thereupon all had their three sets of kin exterminated, and their other relatives were moved to Lelang Commandery. Records, Wei 9 §124–126
The Annals of the Three Young Emperors record that on the gengxu day of the 2nd month of the 6th year of Jiaping (254) the Prefect of the Palace Secretariat Li Feng, together with the empress's father, the Grandee of Splendid Happiness Zhang Ji, and others, plotted to replace the chief ministers, and when the plot was discovered all those implicated were executed; they go on to record that in the 3rd month Empress Zhang was deposed. Records, Wei 4 §39 · 43
In the Romance
In Chapter 108 of the Romance, in the passage where Zhuge Ke of Wu is killed by Sun Jun, a story is attached that Zhang Ji, Grandee of Splendid Happiness of Wei, had once told Sima Shi that Zhuge Ke would soon die, and when asked why, answered, 'His might makes his sovereign tremble; how can he last long?' — and that this indeed came true. Romance, Ch. 108 §37
In Chapter 109, when Sima Shi comes up into the hall wearing his sword and decides affairs of state on his own, Cao Fang, Ruler of Wei, confers in a secret chamber with the three who remain in the rear hall: the Minister of Ceremonies Xiahou Xuan, the Prefect of the Palace Secretariat Li Feng and the Grandee of Splendid Happiness Zhang Ji. The Romance introduces Zhang Ji as the father of Empress Zhang and Cao Fang's father-in-law, and Cao Fang takes Zhang Ji's hand and weeps, lamenting that the state will sooner or later fall to Sima Shi. Cao Fang takes off his undershirt embroidered with dragons and phoenixes, bites his finger, writes an edict in blood and gives it to Zhang Ji, urging them, with the affair of Dong Cheng in mind, not to let it leak out. Romance, Ch. 109 §24–26 · 28
The three run into Sima Shi beside the Donghua Gate. Li Feng makes the excuse that they had been telling the Son of Heaven about Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou, but Sima Shi presses them, raising their eyes still red with tears, and Xiahou Xuan, cursing, lunges at him and is seized. When they are searched, an undershirt bearing a secret edict written in blood is found on Zhang Ji, and Sima Shi has the three cut in two at the waist in the marketplace and their three sets of kin exterminated. By the time the three reach the Eastern Market all their teeth have been knocked out, but they die still cursing. Romance, Ch. 109 §29–33
Sima Shi then enters the inner palace, throws the undershirt down before Cao Fang, and pointing to Empress Zhang, says that as Zhang Ji's daughter she must be done away with, and has her strangled with white silk inside the Donghua Gate. In Chapter 110, Sima Shi, lying ill, sees the three men Li Feng, Zhang Ji and Xiahou Xuan standing before his bed every night. Romance, Ch. 109 §34–36Romance, Ch. 110 §26
Where the Romance differs
How the plot began: In Chapter 109 of the Romance, Cao Fang summons the three to a secret chamber, weeps, proposes getting rid of Sima Shi and writes them an edict in blood. In the Records, the Prefect of the Palace Secretariat Li Feng joined with the empress's father Zhang Ji to have Xiahou Xuan assist the government, and Zhang Ji trusted Li Feng, a man of Pingyi like himself. Chen Shou's main text does not say that Cao Fang took part in this plot. Romance, Ch. 109 §26–28Records, Wei 9 §122–126Records, Wei 4 §43
The plan: In the Records, Li Feng and the others planned to kill the General-in-Chief on the day an Honored Lady was to be invested in the 2nd month of the 6th year of Jiaping (254), replace him with Xiahou Xuan and make Zhang Ji General of Agile Cavalry, and also tried to have Li Feng's younger brother Li Yi come to court leading troops. The plot in Chapter 109 of the Romance has no such date or division of posts. Records, Wei 9 §123Romance, Ch. 109 §26–28
How the plot came to light: In Chapter 109 of the Romance, the plot is exposed when the blood edict is found on Zhang Ji, seized beside the Donghua Gate. In the Records, the General-in-Chief caught wind of the plot, summoned Li Feng and killed him, then handed the matter over to the officials concerned, who arrested Zhang Ji and the others and sent them to the Commandant of Justice; no blood edict appears. Romance, Ch. 109 §32Records, Wei 9 §124
Execution: In Chapter 109 of the Romance, Sima Shi sends the three captives straight to the marketplace, has them cut in two at the waist and exterminates their three sets of kin. In the Records, their three sets of kin were exterminated after the Commandant of Justice Zhong Yu reported the crime as high treason and impiety and the high ministers and court officials had deliberated, and their other relatives were moved to Lelang Commandery. Romance, Ch. 109 §33Records, Wei 9 §125–126
Empress Zhang: In Chapter 109 of the Romance, Sima Shi has Empress Zhang strangled inside the Donghua Gate because she is Zhang Ji's daughter. The Annals of the Three Young Emperors in the Records say only that the empress of the Zhang family was deposed in the 3rd month, after the affair of Li Feng. Romance, Ch. 109 §36Records, Wei 4 §43
The remark about Zhuge Ke: Chapter 108 of the Romance records that Zhang Ji told Sima Shi that Zhuge Ke would soon die. This remark is not in the record of Zhang Ji in Chen Shou's main text or in the Biography of Xiahou Xuan. Romance, Ch. 108 §37Records, Wei 15 §56–58Records, Wei 9 §122–126Records, Wei 4 §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 total380 / 1000Rank 728 of 996 · Top 74%Romance total421 / 1000Rank 372 of 1,113 · Top 34%
Romance adaptation index+41Romance total − Records total
- LEA3531−4
- STR3131±0
- INT4066+26
- POL5038−12
- CHA3840+2
- VIR5072+22
- ADP2828±0
- SCH3835−3
- DIP3545+10
- DIS3535±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RPlotted with Li Feng to replace the chief minister and was put to deathWei 4 §43Wei 9 §123
NReceived Cao Fang's blood edict and swore in tears to destroy the traitorsCh. 109 §28
RRose gradually from Gentleman of the Palace Secretariat to Administrator of DongguanWei 15 §58
NNo direct record — estimated from his title of Grandee of Splendid HappinessCh. 109 §26
RNo direct record — none recordedWei 15 §58
NDiscussed Zhuge Ke's prospects with Sima ShiCh. 108 §37
6 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as an AdministratorWei 15 §58
NNo direct record — none recordedCh. 109 §26
RNo direct record — estimated from his being a civil officialWei 15 §58
NNo direct record — none recordedCh. 109 §26
RNo direct record — none recordedWei 15 §58
NNo direct record — none recordedCh. 109 §26
RTrusted Li Feng, a man from his own commandery, joined the plot, and had his three sets of kin exterminatedWei 9 §123Wei 9 §126
NCarried the blood edict on his person, was discovered and brought on disasterCh. 109 §32Ch. 109 §36
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as Gentleman of the Palace SecretariatWei 15 §58
NNo direct record — none recordedCh. 109 §26
RNo direct record — none recordedWei 15 §58
NNo direct record — none recordedCh. 109 §26
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 (3)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history
- Wei · Records · Records vol. 15 「太和中為溫令」
Family
| Parents | Zhang Ji(張旣) Records |
|---|---|
| Children | Empress Zhang Novel & History |
Based on Wikidata items for the historical and Romance figures. Relations without the Unverified badge were also confirmed in the Records.
Related events (1)
- Cao Fang Deposed: Retribution on the House of Cao 254 · Appears (Romance scene)
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).