RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a general stationed at Gong'anShu 15 §82
NAs vanguard he started a fire while drinking, burning weapons and provisions, and was stripped of his seals of officeCh. 73 §33Ch. 73 §34
Shi Ren 士仁
| Occupation | RGeneral · General | Faction | Shu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Born | N? Unverified | Native place | Guangyang Commandery |
| Died | N222 Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | NExecuted Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R8 |
Profile
Shi Ren, courtesy name Junyi, was a man of Guangyang. He has no separate biography in the Records, which says that as a general he was stationed at Gong'an under Guan Yu's command, but fell out with Guan Yu, turned against him and welcomed Sun Quan. Records, Shu 15 §82
In the 24th year of Jian'an (219), when Guan Yu marched out to attack Fancheng, Shi Ren and Mi Fang supplied the army's provisions but did not do their utmost to help him, and fearing Guan Yu's reckoning, Shi Ren responded to Sun Quan's enticements. When Sun Quan sent Lü Meng to take Gong'an by surprise, the Biography of the Lord of Wu records that Shi Ren was captured, while the Biography of Lü Meng records that Shi Ren and Mi Fang both surrendered. The Records does not record what happened to him afterward or his death. Records, Shu 6 §11–12Records, Wu 2 §26–27Records, Wu 9 §83
Yang Xi's 'Eulogies of the Supporting Ministers of Ji Han', which Chen Shou transcribed in Records of Shu 15, says of Mi Fang, Shi Ren, Hao Pu and Pan Jun that they cut themselves off from others and became the laughingstock of two states. In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 73 under the name Fu Shiren and appears in 5 of its 120 chapters. His name is not in any chapter title, but in Chapter 83 he is put to death before Guan Yu's spirit tablet on Liu Bei's orders. Records, Shu 15 §81–82Romance, Ch. 73 §33Romance, Ch. 83 §28
In the Records
Shi Ren, courtesy name Junyi, was a man of Guangyang. He became a general and was stationed at Gong'an under Guan Yu's command. He has no separate biography in the Records; his affairs appear in the note Chen Shou appended beneath Yang Xi's 'Eulogies of the Supporting Ministers of Ji Han' and in the Biography of Guan Yu, the Biography of the Lord of Wu and the Biography of Lü Meng. Records, Shu 15 §82 · 33
In the 24th year of Jian'an (219), when Guan Yu besieged Cao Ren at Xiangyang, Cao Cao, following the advice of Sima Yi and Jiang Ji, had Sun Quan strike at Guan Yu's rear. At this time Mi Fang, the Administrator of Nan Commandery, was at Jiangling, and the general Shi Ren was stationed at Gong'an, and both had long resented Guan Yu for slighting them. When Guan Yu marched out, Mi Fang and Shi Ren supplied the army's provisions but did not do their utmost to help him, and when Guan Yu said that on his return he would surely deal with them, both were fearful and uneasy. When Sun Quan secretly enticed them, Mi Fang and Shi Ren sent men to welcome Sun Quan. Records, Wu 2 §26Records, Shu 6 §11–12
The Biography of the Lord of Wu records that in the intercalary month, when Sun Quan attacked Guan Yu, he first sent Lü Meng to take Gong'an by surprise and captured the general Shi Ren, and that when Lü Meng reached Nan Commandery, Mi Fang surrendered the city. The Biography of Lü Meng records that Lü Meng hid his elite troops in covered boats, had men in white clothing row them, and pressed on day and night disguised as merchants, and that when he reached Nan Commandery, Shi Ren and Mi Fang both surrendered. The Biography of Lu Xun also says that Lu Xun and Lü Meng formed the vanguard and took Gong'an and Nan Commandery as soon as they arrived. Guan Yu's troops, who had lost Jiangling, scattered when their wives and children were all captured, and in the 12th month of that year Guan Yu was seized and beheaded at Linju. Records, Wu 2 §27 · 28Records, Wu 9 §82–83Records, Wu 13 §12Records, Shu 6 §12
Yang Xi's 'Eulogies of the Supporting Ministers of Ji Han', which Chen Shou transcribed in Records of Shu 15, groups Mi Fang, Shi Ren, Hao Pu and Pan Jun together, saying that resentment arose from the offices they held so that they did not regard great kindness, that with no one to rescue him they turned their backs and caused his rout, and that thus they cut themselves off from others and became the laughingstock of two states. Beneath it Chen Shou wrote that Shi Ren fell out with Guan Yu, turned against him and welcomed Sun Quan. The Records does not record what Shi Ren did after entering Wu or his death. Records, Shu 15 §81–82
In the Romance
The Romance calls him Fu Shiren. In Chapter 73, as Guan Yu sets out to attack Fancheng, he makes Fu Shiren and Mi Fang the vanguard, but while the two are drinking, they drop embers behind the tent, the fire cannons explode, and the weapons and provisions are all burned. Guan Yu wants to behead the two, but on Fei Shi's intercession he gives them forty strokes of the rod each, strips them of the vanguard's seals of office, and has Mi Fang guard Nan Commandery and Fu Shiren guard Gong'an, warning that if there is the slightest fault on the day he returns victorious, both offenses will be punished together. In the same chapter Wang Fu worries that the two will not do their utmost. Romance, Ch. 73 §33–35 · 46
In Chapter 75, after Lü Meng has taken Jing Province, Yu Fan, who says he has been close friends with Shi Ren since childhood, goes to Gong'an with five hundred troops. Fu Shiren, who has shut the city gates and is holding out, reads Yu Fan's letter, which is tied to an arrow and shot into the city, and recalling how Guan Yu resented him on the day he left, opens the gates and surrenders. Sun Quan lets him keep guarding Gong'an, but on Lü Meng's advice sends him to Nan Commandery to bring Mi Fang to surrender. Romance, Ch. 75 §38–42
In Chapter 76 Fu Shiren tells Mi Fang that he has already surrendered to Eastern Wu and urges him to surrender. While Mi Fang hesitates, citing the kindness of the King of Hanzhong, an envoy from Guan Yu arrives with orders to send a hundred thousand shi of white rice through the night, on pain of beheading if late. Fu Shiren draws his sword and beheads the envoy in the hall, and presses Mi Fang, saying that Guan Yu's real intent is to behead the two of them. When Lü Meng arrives below the city, Mi Fang goes out of the city with Fu Shiren and surrenders, and Sun Quan rewards them both generously. Romance, Ch. 76 §1–4
In Chapter 81 Liu Bei names Fu Shiren, Mi Fang, Pan Zhang and Ma Zhong as enemies he hates bitterly. In Chapter 83, after the battle of Xiaoting, when the Jing Province soldiers in the Wu camp whisper about killing the two and surrendering to Shu, Mi Fang proposes killing Ma Zhong and presenting his head to beg forgiveness. Fu Shiren tries to dissuade him, saying that disaster will surely follow if they go, but in the end the two stab Ma Zhong to death and present his head to Liu Bei. Liu Bei, angry that they have come only after things have become dangerous, has Guan Xing strip the two of their clothes, make them kneel before Guan Yu's spirit tablet, and personally slice their flesh with a knife as a sacrifice to Guan Yu. Romance, Ch. 81 §2Romance, Ch. 83 §23–28
Where the Romance differs
Name: The Romance calls him Fu Shiren. In the Records, the Biography of Guan Yu, the Biography of the Lord of Wu, the Biography of Lü Meng and the note to the 'Eulogies of the Supporting Ministers of Ji Han' all write Shi Ren. Romance, Ch. 73 §33Records, Shu 6 §11Records, Shu 15 §82
Why he fell out with Guan Yu: In Chapter 73 of the Romance, Fu Shiren and Mi Fang start a fire while drinking and burn the army's supplies, so they are beaten with the rod, removed from the vanguard and set to guard Gong'an. In the Records, Shi Ren was stationed at Gong'an as a general from the start and, together with Mi Fang, had long resented Guan Yu for slighting them. The fire does not appear in the Records. Romance, Ch. 73 §33–35Records, Shu 6 §11Records, Shu 15 §82
Who urged him to surrender: In Chapter 75 of the Romance, Yu Fan goes to Gong'an and persuades Fu Shiren by letter to surrender. In the Records it says only that Sun Quan secretly enticed Mi Fang and Shi Ren, and the Biography of the Lord of Wu records that Lü Meng took Gong'an by surprise and captured Shi Ren. There is no mention of Yu Fan persuading Shi Ren. Romance, Ch. 75 §38–41Records, Shu 6 §12Records, Wu 2 §27
Capture or surrender: In the Romance, Fu Shiren opens the city gates and surrenders of his own accord. In the Records, the Biography of the Lord of Wu says Shi Ren was captured, while the Biography of Guan Yu and the Biography of Lü Meng record that Shi Ren welcomed Sun Quan or surrendered, so the records differ. Romance, Ch. 75 §40–41Records, Wu 2 §27Records, Shu 6 §12Records, Wu 9 §83
Persuading Mi Fang: In Chapters 75 and 76 of the Romance, Fu Shiren goes to Nan Commandery on Sun Quan's orders, beheads Guan Yu's envoy and presses Mi Fang into surrendering with him. In the Biography of the Lord of Wu in the Records, Mi Fang surrendered the city when Lü Meng reached Nan Commandery, and there is no mention of Shi Ren persuading Mi Fang. Romance, Ch. 75 §41–42Romance, Ch. 76 §3Records, Wu 2 §27
Killing Ma Zhong: In Chapter 83 of the Romance, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren kill Ma Zhong and present his head to Liu Bei. In the Records, Ma Zhong appears only as Pan Zhang's Major who captured Guan Yu, and there is no record of Shi Ren and Mi Fang killing him. Romance, Ch. 83 §26–27Records, Wu 2 §28Records, Shu 15 §82
Death: In Chapter 83 of the Romance, Fu Shiren and Mi Fang are put to death before Guan Yu's spirit tablet on Liu Bei's orders. The Records does not record what happened to Shi Ren after he welcomed Sun Quan or his death. Romance, Ch. 83 §28Records, Shu 15 §82
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 total308 / 1000Rank 977 of 996 · Top 99%Romance total305 / 1000Rank 1,061 of 1,113 · Top 96%
Romance adaptation index−3Romance total − Records total
- LEA4225−17
- STR3535±0
- INT3331−2
- POL3235+3
- CHA3131±0
- VIR108−2
- ADP3230−2
- SCH3131±0
- DIP3148+17
- DIS3131±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RNo direct record — estimated from his military careerShu 15 §82
NPersuaded the hesitating Mi Fang by setting out the stakes, and surrendered together with himCh. 76 §1Ch. 76 §3
8 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a generalShu 15 §82
NNo direct record — estimated from his military role as an appointed vanguardCh. 73 §33
RSupplied the army's provisions but did not do his utmost to helpShu 6 §12
NNo direct record — estimated from his role guarding Gong'anCh. 73 §35
RNo direct record — estimated from his falling out with Guan YuShu 15 §82
NNo direct record — estimated from the worry that he would not do his utmostCh. 73 §46
RBetrayed Guan Yu and welcomed Sun Quan, becoming the laughingstock of two statesShu 6 §12Shu 15 §82
NBeheaded the envoy and led Mi Fang into surrender; later killed Ma Zhong and defected againCh. 76 §3Ch. 83 §26
RChose betrayal out of fear of punishment; the eulogy says he cut himself off from othersShu 6 §12Shu 15 §82
NSurrendered to Wu fearing resentment, and went along to Shu though he knew disaster awaitedCh. 76 §1Ch. 83 §25
RNo direct record — estimated from his military careerShu 15 §82
NNo direct record — estimated from his military roleCh. 75 §40
RNo direct record — estimated from his military careerShu 15 §82
NNo direct record — estimated from his overall conductCh. 75 §41
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 (5)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history Changed allegiance 1 times
Related events (2)
- Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province 219 · Appears (Romance scene)
- Liu Bei Catches His Enemies at Xiaoting 222 · Appears (Romance scene)
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).